Effects of Self-Esteem on Self-Viewing: An Eye-Tracking Investigation on Mirror Gazing

Abstract

While some people enjoy looking at their faces in the mirror, others experience emotional distress. Despite these individual differences concerning self-viewing in the mirror, systematic investigations on this topic have not been conducted so far. The present eye-tracking study examined whether personality traits (self-esteem, narcissism propensity, self-disgust) are associated with gaze behavior (gaze duration, fixation count) during free mirror viewing of one’s face. Sixty-eight adults (mean age = 23.5 years; 39 females, 29 males) viewed their faces in the mirror and watched a video of an unknown person matched for gender and age (control condition) for 90 s each. The computed regression analysis showed that higher self-esteem was associated with a shorter gaze duration for both self-face and other-face. This effect may reflect a less critical evaluation of the faces.

Face yourself: The social neuroscience of mirror gazing

“…The authors showed that, compared to typical subjects, subjects with high scores of narcissism have greater activation in areas of the brain which are typically correlated with expectancy violation and negative emotion. Another study (Potthoff and Schienle, 2021) performed with eye-tracking show that subjects with low self-esteem look longer at their own face, possibly reflecting a higher critical gaze on oneself. Further studies have found correlations between affective selfknowledge and psychological and behavioral responses during perception of one's own face and body.…”

Personality, Intervention and Psychological Treatment: Untangling and Explaining New Horizons and Perspectives

“…These studies address theoretical and practical advances on personality in different populations and age groups, as well as the research findings of interventions and treatment strategies involving personality. Of the seven original research articles and one scoping review on personality included in this Special Issue, three are focused on healthy adult populations [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], two in healthy children and adolescent [ 4 , 5 ], other two in chronic pain conditions (migraine [ 6 ] and fibromyalgia [ 7 ]) and one in personality disorders (cluster B and C [ 8 ]). The variety of conditions, populations, personality traits and research methods used in the included studies makes difficult a direct comparison of the findings but provide a wider approach to personality, intervention, and psychological treatment.…”

“…First, the study by Pottof et al [ 1 ] aimed at examining—for the first time—the influence of personality in the self-viewing on a mirror and others viewing on a video using different gaze parameters (duration and fixation) and the eye-tracking technique. Gender differences in gaze parameters were also analyzed.…”

“…Duration and fixation of the gaze were not related either narcissism or self-disgust, ruling out the role of these personality factors on self-viewing. Pottof et al [ 1 ] concluded that self-esteem protects against critical evaluation of the faces. Unlike previous evidence supporting females as more critical of their physical appearance than males, in this study males needed more time to evaluate themselves and others (likely critically) than females.…”

“…Several conclusions are drawn from the results. First, self-esteem arises as a personality factor to be evaluated and improved before or in interaction with the mirror exposure therapy [ 1 ]. Second, individual differences on personality traits such as neuroticism and related factors such as intolerance to uncertainty and negative autofocus should be taken into consideration when designing prevention programs aiming to dampen the psychological impact of any sudden and unforeseen change in anyone’s life [ 2 ].…”