Abstract
Ample evidence suggests that the behavior of people with low self-esteem (LSEs) can lead to problems in close relationships. To the authors' knowledge, however, no research has investigated the role that perceptions of close others' self-esteem play in undermining beneficial relational processes. In this article, the authors propose that capitalization, a process associated with greater relationship quality, might be hindered by the friends, partners, or family members of LSEs. Across three experiments, the authors show that people are reluctant to disclose their positive experiences (i.e., capitalize) when they believe that the recipient has low self-esteem. Furthermore, the results suggest that people hold back from LSEs largely because they expect the interaction to go poorly for themselves, not because they are concerned about making LSEs feel inferior.
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