Compared with true high self-esteem individuals, contingent high self-esteem individuals are more afraid of rejection from others or groups and may even develop negative behaviors such as aggression after facing rejection. However, the reasons for the difference in performance between the two when rejecting information remain unclear. This study screened individuals with contingent high self-esteem and those with true high self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Contingent Self-Esteem Scale and analysed the cognitive processing differences in rejecting information between individuals with contingent high self-esteem and those with true high self-esteem using the negative priming paradigm combined with measuring event-related potentials. The amount of negative priming due to rejective face pictures was significantly smaller in individuals with contingent high self-esteem than in individuals with true high self-esteem, and inhibition of rejection information was lacking. Individuals with contingent high self-esteem had a larger N1 latency in the negative priming condition of rejection messaging, allocated more attentional resources to the rejection message, and their middle frontal lobes played an important role. These findings provide electrophysiological support for the hypothesis that individuals with contingent self-esteem show selective attention to rejecting information.