Such excessive self-consciousness, as occurs with contingent self-esteem, involves extreme criticism of one's self, concern of how they are perceived by their peers, and feelings of discomfort in social settings.
[2] When individuals have self-validation goals, mistakes, failures, criticism, and negative feedback are seen as threats rather than learning opportunities.
[2] People with high levels of CSE are prone to making social comparisons based on appearance.
On the positive side, appearance related social comparisons can help develop and maintain one's level of self-worth.
[3] Women who measure their self-worth based on cultural standards may be affected more by social comparisons, particularly when they have a low self-perception of attractiveness.
[3] Comparisons with media standards can cause an individual with high levels of CSE to acquire feelings of inadequacy.
[3] Although this is true in most cases, everyone is not equally affected by unrealistic standards of beauty in the media and social comparisons with the people they are surrounded by.
[4] Individuals who base their self-worth upon contingencies of outer image often spend a lot of time trying to reach standards for appearance and obtain social acceptance.
[4] Body mass index (BMI) has a great influence on the attitudes and behaviors in men and women.
[4] Women in the westernized society believe being thin is the cultural norm, while men are striving to gain weight and muscles.
[4] Relationship contingent self-esteem (RCSE) is a psychological disorder that has been researched by Chip Knee and his colleagues at the University of Houston.
[5] Chip Knee and a group of researchers also studied heterosexual relationships in college and how they are affected by RCSE.