Self-esteem, belongingness, and worldview validation: Does belongingness exert a unique influence upon self-esteem?

The current work examined whether belongingness influences self-esteem independently from worldview validation (the extent to which one lives to beliefs that are shared by others). Questionnaire measures demonstrated that people with stronger social ties had higher self-esteem, and that worldview validation did not account for this relationship. Further, belongingness and worldview validation were manipulated such that they pulled self-esteem in opposing directions, yet belongingness still influenced self-esteem. Participants had higher self-esteem after writing about social acceptance than rejection even though acceptance was accompanied by either failing to live up to an important value or having one’s worldviews rejected. This latter effect was most pronounced among participants with high social anxiety. Results indicate that belongingness makes a unique contribution to self-esteem.