Conditional Eigenvalue

Conditional self-worth, defined as a person’s perception of self-worth that attaches to some situations was introduced into the literature professor Jennifer Crocker and Doctor Connie one.

Professor Crocker developed a scale called “Self-Worth Scale” and examined the conditions under which individuals value themselves in two main categories: internal and external conditions. 2 Accordingly, external conditions are situations that are accepted as confirmed in the society with which the person associates his self-worth; These included areas such as appearance, competition, and approval from others. Family support, virtue, and religious belief were internal conditions that a person associated with his or her self-worth.

Crocker et al.’s studies examining the effects of conditional self-worth on psychological fragility and negative behavior show that people seek value by pursuing success in certain areas of life, and that this search negatively affects other needs such as learning, relationships, self-regulation, mental-physical health, and eventually predicts addiction and some psychiatric disorders.^3-5

Depression

In the study conducted by the same team of university students, the Self-Esteem Scale was administered to first-year university students during student orientation and then in the second semester. The study found that students who pursued self-worth based on external circumstances (appearance, competition, and approval from others) were significantly more likely to develop symptoms of depression.⁴

Alcohol Use

Another study conducted on the same sample examined students’ alcohol use and self-worth. Ultimately, it was revealed that low self-esteem was not a predictor of alcohol use, but rather the internal states a person associates with their self-worth (family support, virtue, and religious belief) predicted alcohol use behavior.⁵

Internet Gaming Disorder

Gaming Disorder can be defined as the obsessive use of internet games and video games as an escape from life, while remaining uninterested in daily activities and continuing to play games despite possible negative consequences. In 2018, they were recorded in the International Classification of Diseases as disorders resulting from addictive behavior.

As with alcohol use, the effect of conditioned self-value has been investigated in Gaming Disorder. An association was found between having fragile or unstable self-worth, seeking out internet gaming as an event that affirmed one’s self-worth, and using it as a buffer for fragile self-worth.⁶

Eating disorder

In another study with university students, anxiety, appearance-related self-worth, frequency of appearance-related talk, and eating disorder behavior were investigated in female students. According to the findings, participants with the three-way combination of high anxiety, high appearance-related self-esteem, and frequent appearance talk were more likely to report binge eating disorders. Eating restriction behaviors were explained by high anxiety and high self-esteem due to appearance. ⁷

Conclusion

The common conclusion of all these studies is that low self-esteem does not directly cause pathological behaviors, but situations that connect a person’s self-worth (appearance, competition, family support, approval, etc.) explain these behaviors. For this reason, identifying the situations that a person associates with his or her self-worth is important in diagnosis and treatment.

RESOURCES:

1. Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self- worth. Psychological review, 108(3), 593.
2. Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2003). Contingencies of self- worth in college students: Theory oath measurement. Journal of Personality oath Social Psychology, 85, 894–908.
3. Crocker, Jennifer (2002). “ Contingencies of self- worth: Implications for self- regulation oath psychological vulnerability ”. Self and Identity. 58 (3): 597–615. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00279.
4. Sargent, Judy T.; Crocker, Jennifer; Luhtanen, Riia K. (2006). “ Contingencies of self- worth oath depressive symptoms in college students ”. Journal of Social oath clinical Psychology. 25 (6): 628. doi:10.1521/jscp.2006.25.6.628.
5. Luhtanen, Riia K.; Crocker, Jennifer (2005). “ Alcohol use in college students: effects of level of self- esteem, narcissism, and contingencies of self- worth ”. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 19 (19): 99–103. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.19.1.99. PMID 15783284.
6. Beard, C. L., & Wickham, R. E. (2016). Gaming- contingent self- worth, gaming motivation, and internet gaming disorder _ Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 507-515.
7. Bardone-Cone, AM, Brownstone, LM, Higgins, MK, Fitzsimmons-Craft, EE, & Harney, MB (2013). Anxiety, appearance contingent self- worth, and appearance conversations with friends in relationship to disordered eating: Examining moderator models. cognitive therapy oath research, 37(5), 953-963.