Autonomy and control motivation and self-esteem

Two studies examined the hypothesis that primed autonomy and control motivations would influence self-esteem (SE) in the direction of autonomy increasing and control decreasing SE. Explicit, implicit, and defensive (i.e., the discrepancy between implicit and explicit) SE were measured. Results confirmed the hypothesis for implicit and for defensive SE. There were substantial sex differences, with men showing greater reactivity to motivation priming and threat than women. Results are interpreted in terms of a self-determination theory view of motivation and SE (Deci & Ryan, 2000).