criticisms in the field of self-esteem research have led to new methods for conceptualizing and measuring the construct. one such method proposed by crocker and wolfe (2001) is that of contingent self-worth (csw). studies of heart rate variability (hrv) may also provide a novel biological method by which to examine an individual's self-esteem (martens et al., 2008). the present study sought to determine whether self-esteem and csw could predict hrv and affective reactivity. female participants (n = 96) completed a series of questionnaires and then participated in a therapy role-play and video review while their hrv was recorded. following the experimental tasks participants also completed questionnaires pertaining to their affective reaction to the role-play and video review. a series of moderated multiple regressions were conducted to test whether csw would moderate any relationship between self-esteem and hrv or affective reactivity. some support was found for this proposal, with appearance csw moderating the effect of appearance self-esteem upon hrv reactivity during role-play, but only when the topic was appearance related. participants who placed a higher importance on appearance as a source of their self-worth demonstrated greater hrv reactivity to the appearance role-play when they also had low appearance self-esteem. in regards to affective reactivity, for positive affect (pa) during both role-play and video review it was found that participants with higher appearance csw were more likely to retrospectively report higher pa if they also had high appearance self-esteem. these findings support the value of examining contingencies of self-worth when investigating the interplay between self-esteem and parasympathetic response to a social challenge.