The finding is contrary to the common belief that all people
are motivated to alleviate negative moods, according to Jonathon Brown, a
University of Washington psychologist. (46) “Many people with
low self-esteem believe sadness is part of life and that you shouldn’t try to
get rid of it, while people with high self-esteem believe in doing something to
feel better if they have a negative experience or get in a bad mood, ”said
Brown. The researchers conducted five studies involving nearly
900 people. (47)In the key experiment, the researchers created a sad mood by
having subjects listen to music and found that people with low self-esteem were
significantly less likely than people with high self-esteem to select a comedy
video from among six tapes to break their mood. “People with
lowself-esteem feel resignation because they question whether anything will help
and say ‘ I’m not good at breaking or changing a mood, ” Brown said. “They also
believe sadness is not something you get rid of and that you learn and grow from
sadness. They feel it is not appropriate to try to change a mood. These are not
people who would necessarily go to the movies or shopping to feel better.
” There are things that people with low self-esteem can do to
snap a negative mood, according to Brown. (48) “If you have
low self-esteem, you should actively try to rise above the sadness and learn
that you will feel better if you do not passively accept sadness. You can
get better if you remind yourself to do something. You may have to kick yourself
in the butt to go to a movie because it will require a conscious effort rather
than something that comes automatically, ” he said. The other
four studies reinforced the idea that low self-esteem people are less motivated
to change a negative mood. The initial study asked students to record in a diary
a positive or negative experience that happened to them in the next 7 to 10 days
and what they did afterwards. (49)The second study found that people with low
self-esteem are equally knowledgeable as those with high self-esteem about
strategies to repair negative moods. The final two studies
asked people about their experiences when they were in a negative mood. (50)
Those with high self-esteem were more likely to express the need to do
something to change the mood and less likely to recall instances when they
didn’t find a way to improve their mood. Those with low self-esteem,
however, were more likely to say such moods are acceptable and that they
couldn’t change a mood even if they tried. They also were more likely to say
that negative moods sapped their energy.