Self-presentation, embarrassment, and facework as a function of self-evaluation, conditions of self-presentation, and feedback from others

96 female undergraduates who had failed or succeeded on an anagrams test (high or low self-evaluation) described themselves to another s when they either did or did not expect to meet her and when she would or would not know the s's name (public vs. Private). Ss then received positive or negative feedback. There was no between-condition differences in the direction of ss' self-presentations, but those low in initial self-esteem (measured independently 2 wk. Earlier) presented themselves more negatively than those high in it when they succeeded, and most negatively when they had failed privately. When they expected to meet the other, however, low-self-esteem ss who failed were as positive as high-self-esteem ss. Generally ss were more embarrassed by negative than by positive feedback. Low-self-esteem ss were most embarrassed when they failed publicly and received negative feedback. The positivity or negativity of ss' self-presentations was not related to subsequent embarrassment. Facework generally varied with differences in embarrassment, but under public conditions, ss discredited and derogated others who evaluated them in a manner inconsistent with their self-esteem. Results generally support an approval rather than a consistency theory of social interaction. (23 ref.)