The effect of social exclusion on state paranoia and explicit and implicit self-esteem in a non-clinical sample.
- Stewart C School of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Electronic address: c.stewart2@nuigalway.ie.
- Rogers F School of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
- Pilch M School of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
- Stewart I School of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
- Barnes-Holmes Y Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
- Westermann S Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland.
- 2017-04-19
Published in:
- Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry. - 2017
Implicit self-esteem
Paranoia
Self-esteem
Social exclusion
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Attention
Female
Humans
Male
Paranoid Disorders
Personality Inventory
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Random Allocation
Self Concept
Self Report
Social Distance
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
English
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The relationship between self-esteem and paranoia may be influenced by social stress. This study aimed to replicate previous research on the impact ofsocial exclusion on paranoia and self-esteem in a non-clinical sample and to extend this work by examining the effect of exclusion on self-esteem at the 'implicit' level.
METHODS
Non-clinical participants (N = 85) were randomly allocated to the Inclusion or Exclusion condition of a virtual ball-toss game ('Cyberball'). They completed self-reportmeasures of state paranoia and self-esteem, and two implicit measures of self-esteem - theImplicit Association Task (IAT) and Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) -prior to and after exposure to Cyberball.
RESULTS
Social exclusion increased state paranoia. This effect was moderated by distress associated with trait paranoia. Exclusion was also associated with decreased self-reported self-esteem, as well as reduced implicit self-esteem on the IAT. Changes in self-reported self-esteem were associated with state paranoia at post-Cyberball. The IRAP indicated that reductions in implicit self-esteem may be due to increases in 'Me-Negative' and 'Others-Positive' biases (rather than reductions in 'Me-Positive' bias).
LIMITATIONS
The current study involved a non-clinical sample and so findings cannot be generalized to clinical paranoia.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings are consistent with previous evidence that paranoia is associated with negative self-evaluations, whereas positive self-evaluations can persist in paranoia. They also provide support for the suggestion that investigations of self-esteem in paranoia should extend beyond global self-esteem and might benefit from a distinction between positive and negative components.
The relationship between self-esteem and paranoia may be influenced by social stress. This study aimed to replicate previous research on the impact ofsocial exclusion on paranoia and self-esteem in a non-clinical sample and to extend this work by examining the effect of exclusion on self-esteem at the 'implicit' level.
METHODS
Non-clinical participants (N = 85) were randomly allocated to the Inclusion or Exclusion condition of a virtual ball-toss game ('Cyberball'). They completed self-reportmeasures of state paranoia and self-esteem, and two implicit measures of self-esteem - theImplicit Association Task (IAT) and Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) -prior to and after exposure to Cyberball.
RESULTS
Social exclusion increased state paranoia. This effect was moderated by distress associated with trait paranoia. Exclusion was also associated with decreased self-reported self-esteem, as well as reduced implicit self-esteem on the IAT. Changes in self-reported self-esteem were associated with state paranoia at post-Cyberball. The IRAP indicated that reductions in implicit self-esteem may be due to increases in 'Me-Negative' and 'Others-Positive' biases (rather than reductions in 'Me-Positive' bias).
LIMITATIONS
The current study involved a non-clinical sample and so findings cannot be generalized to clinical paranoia.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings are consistent with previous evidence that paranoia is associated with negative self-evaluations, whereas positive self-evaluations can persist in paranoia. They also provide support for the suggestion that investigations of self-esteem in paranoia should extend beyond global self-esteem and might benefit from a distinction between positive and negative components.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1016/j.jbtep.2017.04.001
- PMID 28419917
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/184827
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