Implicit self-esteem has been specifically defined as "the introspectively unidentified (or inaccurately identified) effect of the self-attitude on evaluation of self-associated and self-dissociated objects".
The vast majority of implicit self-esteem measures suggest that an individual's self-evaluation spills over to self-related objects.
Several researchers have suggested that levels of implicit self-esteem can be affected by evaluative conditioning, through pairing of construct of the self with positive or negative stimuli, with the objective of altering attitude towards the self.
The effectiveness of evaluative conditioning hinges on the understanding that implicit self-esteem is interpersonally associative in nature, and that there is a causal relationship between the self and positive/negative social feedback.
Studies have shown that participants repeatedly exposed to pairings of self-relevant information with smiling faces showed enhanced implicit self-esteem.
Intimacy of relationships predicts likelihood of upward social comparison, which inevitably leads to lower implicit self-esteem.
Another explanation in line with the interpersonal nature of self-evaluation stems from the belief that women are attracted to men's success.
An individual's level of implicit self-esteem affects him or her in various crucial domains that are relevant to social, emotional, and cognitive well-being.
In some cases, discrepancies between the implicit and explicit self-esteem effects affective well-being and are highly associated with clinical symptoms.
Indeed, damaged self-esteem has been found to correlate with a maladaptive pattern of perfectionism, which is hinged upon rigidly high expectations that often contribute to failure.
[12] The development of damaged self-esteem also showed a relationship to the use of self-defeating humor as a coping strategy, however, the causal direction is unclear.
[13] Damaged self-esteem has also been found to correlate positively with internet addiction, the underlying mechanism of which parallels that of clinical conditions such as bulimia nervosa.
Studies suggest that individuals with high implicit self-esteem tend to engage more in nonverbal positive behaviors during conflict when they perceive their partners to be committed.
It has been shown that uncertainty about the self makes people vulnerable to holding and expressing minority opinions, especially those who are susceptible to self-threat (low self-esteem).
[19][20] In women, the neural processes in the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, areas that are involved in forming self-schemas, were activated more than men.
Current research states that the reason gender differences in self-esteem may be more prevalent in western cultures is because of the emphasis on the physical appearance of women.
[20] Other research indicates that gender differences play a vital role in implicit self-esteem in how it is influenced by the performance of the significant other.
[21] Self-affirming activities that significantly raises implicit self-esteem, such as viewing one's own Facebook profile page, has been shown to decrease motivation to do well in cognitive tasks of moderate difficulty.
Results like this suggest that a peak in unconscious positivity associated with the self may discount an individual's efforts to further prove his worth in other areas.
[31] The implicit-association test is an experimental method used by psychologists to attempt to tap into a person's automatic, or subconscious association between a concept and an attribute.
[1] It has been widely used in an attempt to uncover a person's subconscious prejudices against certain members of society, such as those who are overweight, as well as other implicit stereotypes and associations.
Whether this is truly displaying implicit self-esteem is arguable; the findings may instead be linked with illusory superiority, in that people tend to rate themselves as above average on a number of scales.