Results Regression analyses on the mean number of inflations for unpopped balloons with explicit SE, implicit SE, ego threat condition, and their interactions as predictors produced no significant interactions. However, there was an unexpected explicit SE x implicit SE x ego threat x gender interaction (p =.005) for the first 5 balloons (the effect faded after 5 balloons). MEN WOMEN Positive Feedback ConditionNegative Feedback Condition Discussion Interestingly, only men with defensive SE engaged in risk-taking following ego threat in the current study. As expected, people with secure self-esteem did not react to ego threat by taking risks. These results suggest that there may be important gender differences in how people with defensive SE respond to ego threat. It may be more socially acceptable for men than for women to take risks to bolster a fragile sense of self- worth. However, it is possible that women with defensive SE might be prone to take different kinds of risks following ego threat (e.g., engaging in unsafe sex). Future research should explore whether men and women with defensive SE differ in the type of risk in which they engage following ego threat. The findings of the current study were specific to the first 5 of 20 balloons; no effects emerged for the later balloons. This result may suggest that a short-lived act of risk-taking was enough to shore up the sagging self-worth of men with defensive SE in the ego threat condition. Of course, in real life, a single poor risky decision can have tragic consequences (e.g., choosing to drive while intoxicated), so even a short-term increase in risk-taking can be important. Introduction Defensive versus Secure Self-Esteem Defensive self-esteem (SE), defined as high explicit SE paired with low implicit SE (Jordan et al., 2003), is associated with a variety of negative behaviors, including aggression (Sandstrom & Jordan, 2008) and discrimination (Jordan et al., 2005). Defensive SE and Response to Ego Threat People with defensive SE react strongly to ego threat. For example, relative to people with secure (high explicit/high implicit) SE, those with defensive SE were more likely to suppress thoughts following failure and to punish themselves for failure-related thoughts (Borton et al., 2012). Defensive SE and Self-Regulation Failure Following ego threat, people with defensive SE were more prone than those with secure SE to ignore information about their ability on a video game task and to set an unattainable future task goal, indicating a failure of self-regulation (Lambird & Mann, 2006). Goal of the Current Study Given that risk-taking can be a type of self-regulation failure, we sought to determine whether, following ego threat, people with defensive SE would be more likely to engage in risk-taking on a computerized gambling task than would those with secure SE. Hypothesis Following an ego threat, participants with defensive (relative to secure) self-esteem will engage in greater risk-taking on a computerized gambling task. References Borton, J. L. S., Crimmins, A. E., Ashby, R. S., & Ruddiman, J. F. (2012). How do individuals with fragile high self-esteem cope with intrusive thoughts following ego threat? Self and Identity, 11, doi: / Greenwald, A. G., & Farnham, S. D. (2000). Using the Implicit Association Test to measure self-esteem and self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, doi: / Inquisit [Computer software]. (2011). Seattle, WA: Millisecond Software LLC. Jordan, C. H., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., Hoshino-Browne, E., & Correll, J. (2003). Secure and defensive high self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 969 – 978. doi: / Jordan, C. H., Spencer, S. J., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). Types of high self-esteem and prejudice: How implicit self-esteem relates to ethnic discrimination among high explicit self-esteem individuals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, doi: / Lambird, K. H., & Mann, T. (2006). When do ego threats lead to self-regulation failure? Negative consequences of defensive high self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, doi: / Lejuez, C. W., Richards, J. B., Read, J. P., Kahler, C. W., Ramsey, S. E., Stuart, G. L., & Brown, R. A. (2002). Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 8, 75. doi: // X Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Sandstrom, M. J., & Jordan, R. (2008). Defensive self-esteem and aggression in childhood. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, doi: /j.jrp No significant interaction for men. Risk-Taking Following Ego Threat in Men with Defensive Self-Esteem Jennifer L. S. Borton 1, Mark A. Oakes 2, and Sarah E. Dreyer-Oren 1 1 Hamilton College, 2 St. Lawrence University No significant interaction for women in positive feedback condition. No significant interaction for women in negative feedback condition. No significant interaction for men in positive feedback condition. Positive Feedback Condition Defensive SE Significantly greater risk-taking for men with defensive SE in negative feedback condition (interaction p =.029). Negative Feedback Condition Method Participants:100 Hamilton College students (69 women, 31 men; mean age = 19.0 yrs.) Procedure: Participants completed the explicit SE measure online prior to arrival at the lab. All other measures were administered via Inquisit (2009). Clicking the mouse to inflate a balloon one “pump” of air earned $.05. Could continue to click, accruing money in a temporary pot. If balloon popped, money was lost. Popping occurred at random for each of 20 balloons. Could stop at any time and bank money in a permanent reserve. To increase the realism of the task, participants were paid a percentage of their actual earnings. The BART is correlated with a variety of real-world risky behaviors, including unsafe sex, shoplifting, gambling, and alcohol/drug abuse (Lejuez et al., 2002). DV: Mean number of inflations (mouse clicks) on unpopped balloons I AM ME, MY, I, SELF I AM NOT THEY, THEM, THEIR, OTHER warmth joy friend sunshine smile happy positive agony death disease vomit evil pain negative I AMI AM NOTor positivenegative happy Positive FeedbackNegative Feedback Risk-Taking Measure: Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART; Lejuez et al., 2002) Ego Threat Manipulation: Randomly assigned feedback on a GRE-like test of verbal abilities Implicit SE: Self-Esteem Implicit Association Task (IAT) (Greenwald & Farnham, 2000) Explicit SE: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965)