Increasing self-esteem using subliminal evaluative conditioning: a replication study

Abstract

Background: Self-esteem is an important moderator in the relationship between stress and (cardiovascular) health, with low self-esteem potentially exacerbating the impact of the stressor. Boosting self-esteem may therefore lower stress. This study aims to replicate Dijksterhuis (2004) who found that Subliminal Evaluative Conditioning (SEC) increased self-esteem. Given the need for short and evidence-based stress-reduction interventions, this finding seems promising, but is in need of replication. Methods: Eighty-four students were randomly divided into an experimental or control condition. Self-esteem was manipulated in the experimental condition by subliminally coupling self-related words with positive words (i.e., SEC procedure). Implicit self-esteem (Implicit Association Test) and explicit self-esteem (the State Self-Esteem Scale) were the primary outcomes. Findings: Subliminally boosting self-esteem significantly enhanced explicit self-esteem (t(82) = .-1.851, p =.034, d = -0.357 ), but not implicit self-esteem (t(82) = -1.629, p = .054, d = -0.405). Analyses were tested one-sided. Discussion: Results show that a subliminal intervention increased explicit self-esteem. The effects are small though and, according to Bayesian statistics, do not reflect a successful manipulation. Future studies need to further investigate its effectiveness.