State Self-Esteem Scale

Abstract

The State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES) is a psychometric instrument designed to measure an individual’s immediate, transient feelings of self-worth and competence, distinguishing these temporary ‘state’ fluctuations from stable, deeply held ‘trait’ self-esteem. Developed by Heatherton and Polivy (1991), the 20-item scale assesses current self-evaluations across three distinct domains: Academic Performance, Social Evaluation, and Appearance. It utilizes a 5-point Likert scale format and is primarily intended for use in research settings studying mood, situational context, and short-term psychological changes.

Keywords

State Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Social Psychology, Academic Performance, Appearance, Social Evaluation, Transient Mood, Psychological Assessment.

Authors

Todd F. Heatherton, Janet Polivy.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SSES is to provide a brief, reliable measure of self-esteem that is highly sensitive to immediate situational contexts and momentary changes in mood or environment. Unlike global measures of self-esteem, which capture stable personality traits, the SSES captures the current thought and momentary feeling state of the respondent.

This assessment is crucial in experimental research where investigators need to evaluate the impact of a specific manipulation or event—such as success or failure feedback—on a subject’s momentary self-perception. The division of self-esteem into three specific subfactors allows for a nuanced understanding of which aspect of the self is most immediately affected by a given situation.

Construct

The scale measures state self-esteem, which is defined as an individual’s dynamic, temporary self-evaluation that fluctuates based on immediate circumstances, events, and performance feedback. This construct is conceptually distinct from trait self-esteem, which reflects a stable, enduring disposition regarding one’s overall worth.

The SSES operationalizes state self-esteem across three orthogonal dimensions, reflecting the multidimensional nature of self-worth: Academic Performance (or competence), Social Evaluation (concerns about others’ opinions and acceptance), and Appearance (satisfaction with one’s current physical self).

Validity

The original development and validation study (Heatherton & Polivy, 1991) established the SSES as a robust measure of momentary self-appraisal. Construct validity was demonstrated through the scale’s ability to successfully distinguish between experimentally induced states, such as measuring significantly lower self-esteem following failure feedback compared to success feedback in controlled settings.

The scale exhibits strong discriminant validity, showing low correlations with measures of general mood or anxiety that do not specifically target self-evaluation, confirming that it measures self-esteem specifically, rather than just negative affect. Furthermore, the three-factor structure consistently emerges across various samples, supporting the theoretical distinctions between academic, social, and appearance domains.

Reliability

The SSES demonstrates acceptable to high levels of internal consistency reliability, particularly for the overall scale score and its subscales. High internal consistency ensures that the items within each subscale are measuring the same underlying psychological dimension at that moment in time.

While state measures are inherently designed to fluctuate rapidly, making traditional test-retest reliability inappropriate, the scale demonstrates adequate temporal stability over very short intervals when no intervening emotional event or manipulation has occurred, suggesting its consistency in measuring the current psychological state accurately.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis performed during the development of the SSES revealed a clear three-factor structure, which accounts for the variability in state self-esteem responses. These factors are:

1. Academic Performance: Items reflecting current feelings of intellectual competence, ability, and understanding.
2. Social Evaluation: Items relating to current concerns about being judged by others, acceptance, and social desirability.
3. Appearance: Items addressing current satisfaction or dissatisfaction with one’s body, weight, and overall physical attractiveness.

This three-factor model suggests that an individual’s momentary self-worth is not monolithic but is composed of distinct, yet correlated, components that may react independently to situational demands.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological assessment.

Format: 20 questions rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Several items require reverse scoring. The scoring ranges from 1 (Not at All) to 5 (Extremely), with larger numbers indicating higher self-esteem.

Language Available: English (Original version).

Population Group: General adolescent and young adult populations.

Age Group: College students (primarily tested), potentially applicable for middle and high school students.

Population Details: Has been extensively used in experimental settings with undergraduate students to measure rapid affective changes. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://cart.rmcdenver.com/instruments/state_self.pdf.

Test Methodology: Pencil and paper administration or oral self-report, typically requiring only a few minutes to complete due to its brevity.

Keywords

Self-esteem assessment, State measurement, Psychological scales, Appearance evaluation, Social competence, Academic Performance, Psychometrics.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Provided.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Provided.

Correspondence Address: Todd Heatherton, Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA 02138.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1991.

Fees and Requirements: None noted in the source material, suggesting the scale is generally available for academic research use without licensing fees, although users should always verify current usage permissions with the authors or publisher.

Permissions: Designed for research application, particularly for measuring temporary changes in self-perception in experimental settings.

Reference’s

Heatherton, T.F. & Polivy, J. (1991). Development and validation of a scale for measuring state self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 60, 895-910.

Items of the State Self-Esteem Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Current Thought

1. I feel confident about my abilities.
2. I am worried about whether I am regarded as a success or failure.
3. I feel satisfied with the way my body looks right now.
4. I feel frustrated or rattled about my performance.
5. I feel that I am ha‎ving trouble understanding things that I read.
6. I feel that others respect and admire me.
7. I am dissatisfied with my weight.
8. I feel self-conscious.
9. I feel as smart as others.
10. I feel displeased with myself.
11. I feel good about myself.
12. I am pleased with my appearance right now.
13. I am worried about what other ha‎vingle think of ha‎ving.
14. I feel confident that I understand things.
15. I feel inferior to others at this moment.
16. I feel unattractive.
17. I feel concerned about the impression I am making-
18. I feel that I have less scholastic ability right now than others.
19. I feel like I’m not doing well
20. I am worried about looking foolish.