Savoring Versus Dampening: Self-Esteem Differences in Regulating Positive Affect.

Undergraduate participants' memories for a positive event and their reported reactions to a success supported the dampening prediction, and results suggest that self-esteem may be especially important for certain types of positive events and positive affect regulation.

Abstract

Five studies examined the hypotheses that when people experience positive affect, those low in self-esteem are especially likely to dampen that affect, whereas those high in self-esteem are especially likely to savor it. Undergraduate participants' memories for a positive event (Study 1) and their reported reactions to a success (Study 2) supported the dampening prediction. Results also suggest that dampening was associated with worse mood the day after a success (Study 2), that positive and negative affect regulation are distinct, that self-esteem is associated with affect regulation even when Neuroticism and Extraversion are controlled (Studies 3 and 4), and that self-esteem may be especially important for certain types of positive events and positive affect regulation (Study 5).