Relationship between Self-Esteem and Self-Consciousness in Adolescents: An Eye-Tracking Study
- Author:
Eun Seong KIM
1
;
Yeon Ju HONG
;
Minwoo KIM
;
Eun Joo KIM
;
Jae Jin KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Self-esteem; Self-consciousness; Facial emotions; Eye-tracking; Adolescence
- MeSH: Adolescent; Emotional Adjustment; Humans
- From:Psychiatry Investigation 2019;16(4):306-313
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Self-esteem and self-consciousness are important determinants of behaviors. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-esteem and self-consciousness in adolescents using the eye-tracking measurement. METHODS: Fifty-five adolescents with high self-esteem and 58 adolescents with low self-esteem participated in self-consciousness-related eye-tracking experiments of selecting happy, disgusted, and angry facial emotions while recognizing one's own usual expressions and the others' usual expressions toward oneself. RESULTS: When recognizing one's own, adolescents with high self-esteem showed significantly more selection counts and longer fixation time for ‘happy’ than adolescents with low self-esteem. When recognizing the others', adolescents with low self-esteem showed significantly more selection counts and longer fixation time for ‘disgusted’ and ‘angry’ than adolescents with high self-esteem. CONCLUSION: These suggest higher self-esteem is connected to more positive identification of one's usual expressions and others' usual expressions toward oneself. There is a close relationship among low self-esteem, suppressing positive emotions, decreased psychological adjustment, and increased negative emotions.
