Past research has shown that those low in self-esteem tend to persist less after initial failure than do those high in self-esteem. It is not clear, however, whether this motivational vulnerability is attributable to low self-competence, low self-liking, or both. To address this question, the persistence and performance of students with distinct self-esteem composites were examined using an anagram task. The persistence results revealed that low self-liking was independently associated with decreased effort following performance failure, suggesting that it is this dimension of low self-esteem that is of primary importance in accounting for the previously demonstrated phenomenon. Differences in performance, although less pronounced, corresponded roughly with differences in persistence.
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