Enhanced self-esteem reactivity in response to social prediction errors in adolescence

Le résumé fourni par la source

Self-esteem is an important cornerstone of mental health across the lifespan. Throughout life, but perhaps particularly during the socially sensitive phase of adolescence, self-esteem is shaped by appraisals from other people. Previous work in adults showed that momentary fluctuations in self-esteem are best explained not only by whether we are liked by others but whether we are liked more or less than we expected (‘social prediction errors’). However, it is unclear if adolescents and adults differ in this regard. To address this gap, this study examined age-related differences in how social experiences shape self-esteem in 141 participants aged 10 to 40 years. We combined data from an experiment that simulated peer evaluation in a social media context with daily-life measures of self-esteem and social interactions collected using ecological momentary assessment. Self-esteem reactivity in response to social experiences varied with age: in the experiment, self-esteem reactivity in response to unexpected social feedback increased during adolescence and decreased again during adulthood. In daily life, self-esteem reactivity decreased with age in response to the pleasantness of a previous social interaction, but also in response to naturalistic social prediction errors (the difference between expected and perceived pleasantness of a social interaction). Self-esteem reactivity in the lab was moderated by daily-life self-esteem reactivity, demonstrating a convergence between lab observations and everyday experiences. Our findings suggest that adolescents’ self-image is highly malleable during adolescence, a socially dynamic phase of life, where a key developmental challenge is the reconfiguration of self-image within new social environments.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.