 19. Cognitive–Affective Processes in Rejection Sensitivity  417
harm (Breines & Ayduk, 2015). In a series of 
laboratory studies, participants were primed 
with rejection subliminally or through a re -
call task or with other negative or neutral 
events in the control conditions. On both ex -
plicit (e.g., “I feel an urge to harm myself,” 
behavioral measure of willingness to endure 
pain) and implicit (e.g., self-harm implicit as -
sociation test [IAT]) measures, high-RS peo -
ple showed higher levels of self-harm-  related 
cognitions following rejection compared to 
control conditions, and this effect was above 
and beyond the association between RS and 
other-  directed hostility.
The Self‑Fulfilling  Prophecy
Consistent with the CAPS model described 
earlier, the dynamics of RS are maintained 
in part by a feedback loop that serves as a 
self- fulfilling prophecy. In particular, high-
RS people’s hostility plays a crucial role in 
eliciting actual partner rejection, which 
confirms their worst fears (Downey et al., 
1998). Across both daily diary (Study 1) and 
lab-based studies (Study 2), for example, the 
partners of high-RS women reported more 
anger and thoughts of ending the relation -
ship following conflict, with the high-RS 
women’s greater hostility during the conflict 
mediating this relationship (Downey et al., 
1998; Study 2). Consistently, the relation -
ships of both high-RS men and women are 
likely to be of shorter duration than those 
of low-RS individuals (Downey et al., 1998), 
and high-RS individuals tend to be overrep -
resented among people who are not involved 
in relationships (e.g., Ayduk et al., 2003).
Mean‑Level Differences and  If–Then Profiles 
of RS
Mischel and Shoda (1995) argued that a 
dynamic, situationally sensitive personal -
ity system such as CAPS is able to gener -
ate both mean-level differences in behavior 
and if–then profile differences between per -
sonality types. In the case of RS, empirical 
evidence suggests that there are no mean dif -
ferences in aggression as a function of this 
personality dynamic (see Mischel, Shoda, & 
Ayduk, 2007). Rather, as we outlined ear -
lier, the high-RS CAPS system generates an 
if–then  signature, such that the presence of 
psychological features that signal rejection (ifs) trigger hostility and aggression ( thens ). 
Importantly, however, in the absence of re -
jection, high-RS people are not particularly 
more aggressive than low-RS individuals; 
if anything, as we have also seen, high-RS 
individuals may be more likely to engage in 
accommodation and ingratiation as part of 
a concerted effort to avoid rejection and to 
curry favor with partners or social groups 
(e.g., Ayduk et al., 2003). In short, high-RS 
individuals’ if–then signature is one in which 
they are aggressive if rejected but accommo -
dative if they are not.
For internalizing behaviors, particularly 
for depression, the data point to another pat -
tern. Here, the evidence points to mean-level 
differences between high- and low-RS indi -
viduals (Ayduk et al., 2001; Ayduk, Gyurak, 
et al., 2008). Mean differences in depressive 
symptomatology and confusion about self- 
concept clarity presumably arise because re -
jection for high-RS individuals is intricately 
tied to the self and may affect the self more 
globally. Nevertheless, alongside mean-level 
differences, we still see an if–then pattern, 
such that high-RS individuals’ vulnerability 
to internalizing behaviors is accentuated fol -
lowing episodes of rejection.
Moderation by  Self‑Regulatory  Competencies
In the previous section, we described RS as 
a CAPS processing dynamic, consisting of 
anxious expectations, ready perceptions, 
and intense affective and behavioral reac -
tions triggered in specific situations (when 
the situation affords the possibility of rejec -
tion). However, the CAPS model explicitly 
recognizes that any given dynamic or pro -
cess within the CAPS system is itself influ -
enced by other CAUs in the system. Consis -
tent with this notion, research also shows 
the behavioral and longer-  term outcomes 
associated with RS depend on the availabil -
ity and accessibility of self-  regulatory com -
petencies.
Ayduk and colleagues (2000) followed up 
a cohort of preschoolers who had completed 
the classic delay of gratification task (see 
Mischel, Shoda, & Rodriguez, 1989, for re -
view) at age 4 into adulthood (mean age 25). 
High-RS participants who, as preschoolers, 
were able to wait longer for their preferred 
reward, had higher self-  esteem than their 
high-RS counterparts with low delay scores 