Mindfulness as a potential self-esteem booster: Can mindfulness help those low in self-esteem to cope with negative feedback?
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Authors
Pham, Carina
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
self-esteem , mindfulness , feedback
Alternative Title
Abstract
Individuals tend to experience drops in self-esteem in response to negative feedback, whether it be in an evaluative or social context (Brown, 2010). Several strategies can be utilized to buffer one’s self-esteem, however those with low self-esteem are less likely to, and have more trouble recovering from negative feedback than those with high self-esteem. The former tend to ruminate and fixate on negative thoughts about the self, which consequently exacerbates negative self-views and prevents them from feeling motivated. One tool that may boost one’s self-esteem after threat is mindfulness, which involves adopting a non-judgmental self-view. Individuals higher in mindfulness tend to have greater self- and emotion-regulation skills, which enables them to be less reactive to stressful threats in their environment (e.g., Barnes et al., 2007). I hypothesized that participants with low self-esteem who received negative evaluative feedback would report higher levels of self-esteem after listening to a mindfulness meditation than those who listened to a control audio clip, and would be more motivated to persevere on a task under these circumstances. I conducted two studies to examine this hypothesis: both were online studies including an internally-focused meditation recording and fabricated evaluative feedback in response to different tasks. In Study 1, I found some support that a brief mindfulness exposure was beneficial for participants with low self-esteem in the face of negative evaluative feedback. For individuals with low self-esteem, there was a trend such that those in the mindfulness condition reported greater post-feedback self-esteem than those in the control condition. In contrast, amongst those with high self-esteem, there was an unexpected reversal such that those in the mindfulness condition reported lower post-feedback self-esteem than those in the control condition. Study 2 was underpowered and I did not find evidence to support my main hypotheses. I discuss limitations of the studies and implications of the findings, as well as the application of mindfulness meditation in enhancing positive responses in stressful contexts.
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This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States