Sexual attitudes, cognitive
associative networks, and perceived vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy
Gabie E. Smith, Tami J.
Eggleston, Meg Gerrard, Frederick X. Gibbons
(1996) Journal of Research in
Personality, 30, 88-102.
This article reports 2 studies
testing the hypothesis that individuals with high self-esteem are more likely
than those with low self-esteem to interpret information about their personal
vulnerability to health risks in a self-serving manner. Study 1 used an
experimental paradigm to demonstrate that self-esteem moderates the influence
of review of sexual and contraceptive behavior on college women’s perceptions
of vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy (N=125). Study 2 used a longitudinal
design to demonstrate that self-esteem also moderates the relation between
naturally occurring changes in college women’s sexual behavior and changes in
their risk perception (N=273). Together, these studies provide evidence that
people with high self-esteem use self-serving cognitive strategies to maintain
their risk perceptions.