Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediating effect of shame in the relationship between self-esteem instability and aggressive behavior. A total of 118 college students completed self-reported Self-Esteem instability, Self-Esteem, and Shame scales. In the experiment, they were presented with ego threatened situation, Aggressive behavior was measured using the modified Competitive Reaction Time Test. Results showed that the higher self-esteem instability, the stronger shame in ego threatened situation. Furthermore, the direct effect of self-esteem instability on offensive behaviors was insignificant, while the indirect effect of shame-mediated was significant. These results suggest that shame could fully mediate the association between self-esteem instability and offensive behaviors. The implications of this study are discussed.