A Research On The Relationship Among Implicit Self-esteem, Explicit Self-esteem And Parental Rearing Pattern

In the view of cognition, self-esteem is individuals'global emotional evaluation and experience of the value and function of their own, which is need for individuals'positive self-regard. Because we each hope ourselves are capable, successful, important and valuable. Self-report scale is hard to eliminate effects in social commendment effect. The self-esteem mentioned above is explicit self-esteem, and correspondent to explicit self-esteem, it is implicit self-esteem. Greenwald&Banaji suggested that implicit self-esteem is a kind of effect on one's own attitude which cannot be recognized or correctly recognized. This effect would result in evaluation effect for objects related to one-self or irrelated to one-self. Family is an important occation for children's development in socialization. Among so many family factors, parental rearing pattern is one of the most factors that reflect children's development of socialization and mental health. As an most important affect factors to one's early development of self-esteem, parental rearing pattern often consistently takes effects in one's whole life. Parental rearing pattern is a kind of behavior trend in everyday life that appeared when parents educate and train their children. This becomes the synthesis appearance on parents'educational ideas and behaviors. Related researches both home and abroad suggested that parental rearing pattern had significant effects on children's development of self-esteem. It not only significantly affected general development level in self-esteem, but also affected speed and direction in development of children's self-esteem.This research attempts to make a confirmation research on the relation between implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem with construct equation, and so we can provide theoretical and experimental foundation for next research. Considered that previous researches always used only one implicit measurement to explore relations between implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem, we try to make researches in the view of multiple implicit measures. Using IAT ( Implicit Association Test ) and its variant—GNAT(Go/No-Go Association Task), as well as three classical measures of explicit self-esteem, we studied the relationship between implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem.Meanwhile, this research attempts to study the relationship between implicit and explicit self-esteem from the view of family factors especially parental rearing patterns. So that predecessors'research conclusion can be confirmed. Also, we would seek one way to improve the level of implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem. The former researches always paid attention to the research on relationship, however, ignored to study the change and improvement on self-esteem level.To conform implicit and explicit self-esteem to forecast some specific behavior, as well as to find methods and ways to change and improve levels of implicit and explicit self-esteem levels are our main intention.With three self-esteem scales which are in most common use and the Implicit Association Test (IAT), as well as GNAT and EBMU serving as the main research tools, this research studied undergraduates'relationship between their implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem, and so on ,it also studied relationship among undergraduates'implicit self-esteem, explicit self-esteem and parental rearing pattern. The results indicated that:1. Implicit self-esteem actually existed and there was significant implicit self-esteem effect, which characteristic appeared that individuals tended to connect themselves with positive categories or things , yet connect others with negative categories or things.2.Undergraduates'implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem were separate structures. Actually, they were two relatively dependent self-evaluation systems. Using Structure Equation Modeling, our conclusion further supports the hypothesis that implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem are a type of two-dimension structure.3.There is significant relationship between undergraduates'parental rearing pattern and explicit self-esteem, especially that parental warmth and understanding showed significantly positive correlation with self-esteem of undergraduates, while their poor rearing pattern such as punishment, refusal, rejection and father's overprotection showed negative correlation with self-esteem of their children.4.The relationship between undergraduates'parental rearing pattern and implicit self-esteem came to edge significant level. Parents'warmth and understanding showed edge significantly positive correlation with implicit self-esteem of undergraduates, while their poor rearing pattern such as punishment, refusal, rejection and mother's overprotection showed edge significantly negative correlation with self-esteem of their children.5.Parental rearing pattern influenced levels of implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem. Positive rearing pattern could promote implicit self-esteem level and explicit self-level, while negative rearing pattern was an influence factor that resulted in the inconsistentency for implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem.In view of the fact that this research only explored the relationship between undergraduates'implicit self-esteem and parental rearing pattern primarily, a great deal of further researches on that mentioned above should be carried on. Based on this condition, there are some shortcomings in this research and we should further research as follows:1.Since self-esteem involves two components such as emotion and evaluation, Materials used in Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the Go/No-Go Association Task (GNAT) mainly were evaluative category words. Whether this could effectively measure implicit self-esteem or not is still in discussion. In fact, we should explore a way that uses combination emotional IAT and GNAT with evaluative IAT and GNAT to make further comprehensive measurement and analysis.2.This research confirmed that self-esteem was a two-dimension structure, which involved two components of implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem. Whatever structures existed respectively on implicit stratification and explicit stratification of self-esteem, whether self-positivity and other-negativity are two poles of one dimension or attitudes people having to themselves and others are fundamentally two dimensions need to be studied further more.3.This research mainly studied relationship among undergraduates'implicit self-esteem, explicit self-esteem and parental rearing pattern, however, some questions concerned to continuous nature and stability of relationship among this three variables has not been considered. From now on, we should devote to the development research on implicit self-esteem, explicit self-esteem and parental rearing pattern, so that we can further comprehensively understand how can parental rearing pattern influence self-esteem, especially how can it influence implicit self-esteem.4.Former researches indicated that Implicit Association Test (IAT) was a valid tool for implicit attitude measurement. Yet, this research only studied one aspects of implicit social cognition such as implicit self-esteem. In the future, we can use IAT to study other aspects of implicit social cognition, such as implicit aggressivity, implicit cognition research on decision-making and so on. Then we can also further explore relationship between parental rearing pattern and other dimensions of implicit social cognition.5.New measure modes based on IAT scheme has appeared ,for example, GNAT(The Go/No-Go Association Task),EAST(The Extrinsic Affective Simon Task)and so on, which provide opportunity for further research mentality.6.Whether the Structure Equation Modeling can be used to explore the relationship among implicit self-esteem, explicit self-esteem and parental rearing pattern still need to be considered further.7. In view of theory, the concept of self-esteem structure (combination with individuals'implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem) will become a focus on self-esteem research. Our research should not only pay attention to single function of implicit self-esteem or explicit self-esteem, because there are two self-esteem structures in one's mind at the same time. One self-esteem structure is probably mediated by the other self-esteem structure. Therefore, theoretic construction on self-esteem will appear new tendency that dual self-esteem mode will instruct us to explore and study classical problems of self-esteem research brand-newly.8. On the measurements, implicit self-esteem measuring primarily use IAT and its variant—GNAT and EAST at present. Though there are relatively good reliability and validity supporting the measure of implicit self-esteem, self-esteem especially implicit self-esteem is throughout a type of attitude. And then the stability of attitude is worth of being further explored. Meanwhile, how much degree such tools as measurement of implicit self-esteem demonstrate implicit self-esteem level is also a research direction to which we should devote.9. The extrapolation of our research conclusions is also worth being explored and considered. We often use samples easily obtained such as undergraduates or even limited by students majoring psychology. Therefore, extrapolation of these research conclusions may be greatly weakened. Multiplicity and multi-level of sample scope will be an important base on implicit self-esteem.