Self-esteem and balance with impersonal attitude objects

Previous research demonstrates that cognitive-consistency predictions should take Ss’ self-esteem into account, for what is consistent for those with positive self-esteem may be inconsistent for those with negative self-esteem. In most studies the attitude object is the S himself, so that liking for others with whom one agrees is balancing for all Ss. For Ss with negative self-esteem, however, liking for others with whom one disagrees should be balancing when the object of disagreement is an impersonal one. In the present experiment Ss differing in self-esteem were presented with three levels of agreement-disagreement over the war in Vietnam, with three different hypothetical others. Contrary to the hypothesis, a Self-Esteem by Agreement interaction was not obtained, the only strong and consistent effect being a main effect for agreement. The results are discussed in terms of the limited range of the self-esteem variable and the questionable validity of the hypothesis.