Why do people with low self-esteem prefer only close others?: Effects of self-esteem and quality of interaction on selecting interaction partners

Abstract

This study examined the effect of self-esteem on selection of close/non-close others as interaction partners, and the moderation effect of social rejection on those selecting interaction partners using the "Settoku Nattoku Game" (SNG; Sugiura, 2003). We conducted a SNG in which 90 undergraduates participated. Following the features of the SNG, we set our dependent variable as the number of others that the persuader persuaded, and conducted our analysis separately for Session 1 (S1), and Session 2 (S2). As a result, for the selection of others at S1 (the start of the game), people with high self-esteem (HSEs) selected non-close others as interaction partners more than people with low self-esteem (LSEs) did. This pattern of difference was not confirmed for selection of close others. In addition, for S2, the frequency of being selected as interaction partner by others during S1, i.e. having had or not had social rejection, moderated the effects of self-esteem on the selection of other. In particular, with those who experienced social rejection, HSEs actively sought non-close others relative to LSEs. This pattern was not evident with those who had not experienced rejection, and there were no differences found regarding close others. On the basis of these results, we discussed the possibility that HSEs and LSEs take different approaches when interacting with others, and discussed the influence that social rejection has on their approaches.View full abstract