Self-esteem maintenance: The selective-valuing of a memory-enhancement technique

Crocker & Major (1989) proposed three cognitive mechanisms that members of stigmatized group may use as a means of self-esteem protection. The present investigation examined the use of the selective-valuing mechanism by 174 African American (93) and Caucasian (81) middle school students from an urban setting. The students were in regular education programming and were equally distributed among the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. There was an equal number of male and female participants and the students ranged in age from 11 to 15 years. The majority of the students come from families categorized as middle to lower middle class. Self-esteem was measured using the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory-2nd Edition. Results indicated no significant differences between African American and Caucasian students in General, Social, and Parental Self-Esteem. African American students presented significantly higher levels of Academic Self-Esteem than Caucasian students. There were no gender differences for self-esteem. Attributions for academic success and failure was measured using the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire. Caucasian females were more likely to take responsibility for academic success than any other group. There were no other gender or ethnic differences for academic success/failure. Participants were taught a memory-enhancing strategy and changes in the relative value placed on the learning strategy were measured using the researcher designed Selective-Valuing Scale. This instrument measured two aspects of the selective-valuing construct: outcomes and process. The process subscale was related to the process of learning to use ACRONYMs as a mnemonic device, while the outcomes subscale was associated with the outcomes of using this type of learning tool. The students were issued either positive or negative feedback following a test of their performance using the memory-enhancing skill. Negative feedback was associated with a devaluing of both the process and outcomes of the learning strategy. The devaluing effect was particularly evident for African American and male students. The influences of ethnicity, gender, self-esteem, and attributions for success/failure on the use of the selective-valuing mechanism are discussed. Implications for psychologists and educators, and recommendations for future research are presented.