Self-esteem

Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, "I am competent", "I am worthy") and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame. Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example, "I believe I am a good writer and I feel happy about that") or have global extent (for example, "I believe I am a bad person, and feel bad about myself in general").

Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring personality characteristic ("trait" self-esteem), though normal, short-term variations ("state" self-esteem) also exist.

Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: self-worth, self-regard, self-respect, and self-integrity. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, "self-love" is "the instinct or desire to promote one's well-being".

Basics

The capacity to develop healthy confidence and respect for oneself [and for others] is inherent to human nature, since the mere fact of being able to think is the base of its suitability, and the mere fact of being alive is the base of the right to make an effort to achieve happiness. Thus, the natural state of human being should correspond to a high self-esteem. Nonetheless, the fact is that there is a lot of people who, whether they acknowledge it or not, whether they admit it or not, have a level of self-esteem below the theoretically natural.

That is due to the fact that, during development, and through life itself, people tend to move away from positive self-conceptualization [and conceptualization], or even not to approach to it. The reasons why this happens are diverse, and they can be found in negative influence from other people, self-punishment for breaking one's values [or one's social group's values], or shortage of understanding or compassion for one's actions Problems with this approach come from making self-esteem contingent upon success: this implies inherent instability because failure can occur at any moment. In the mid 1960s, Morris Rosenberg and social-learning theorists defined self-esteem in terms of a stable sense of personal worth or worthiness. Nathaniel Branden in 1969 defined self-esteem as "...the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness". According to Branden, self-esteem is the sum of self-confidence (a feeling of personal capacity) and self-respect (a feeling of personal worth). It exists as a consequence of the implicit judgement that every person does about, on one side, his/her ability to face life's challenges, that is, to understand and solve problems, and, on the other side, his right to achieve happiness, or, in other words, to respect and defend his own interests and needs. This two-factor approach, as some have also called it, provides a balanced definition that seems to be capable of dealing with limits of defining self-esteem primarily in terms of competence or worth alone.

Branden’s description of self-esteem includes the following primary properties:

self-esteem as a basic human need, i.e., "...it makes an essential contribution to the life process", "...is indispensable to normal and healthy self-development, and has a value for survival."

self-esteem as an automatic and inevitable consequence of the sum of individuals' choices in using their consciousness

something experienced as a part of, or background to, all of the individuals thoughts, feelings and actions.

Branden's concept of self-esteem is graduated, involving three main levels: To have a high self-esteem is to feel confidently capable for life, or, in Branden's words, to feel able and worthy, or to feel right as a person.

Implicit self-esteem refers to a person's disposition to evaluate themselves positively or negatively in a spontaneous, automatic, or unconscious manner. It contrasts with explicit self-esteem, which entails more conscious and reflective self-evaluation. Both explicit self-esteem and implicit self-esteem are subtypes of self-esteem proper. Implicit self-esteem is assessed using indirect measures of cognitive processing, including the Name Letter Task Such indirect measures are designed to reduce awareness of, or control of, the process of assessment. When used to assess implicit self-esteem, they feature stimuli designed to represent the self, such as personal pronouns (e.g., "I") or letters in one's name.

Variations

Level and quality of self-esteem, though correlated, remain distinct: # in terms of its constancy over time (stability) # in terms of its independence of meeting particular conditions (non-contingency) # in terms of its ingrained nature at a basic psychological level (implicitness or automatized)

Measurement

For the purposes of empirical research, psychologists typically assess self-esteem by a self-report inventory yielding a quantitative result. They establish the validity and reliability of the questionnaire prior to its use.

Whereas popular lore recognizes just "high" self-esteem and "low" self-esteem, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965) and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (1967/1981) both quantify it in more detail, and feature among the most widely used systems for measuring self-esteem. The Rosenberg test usually uses a ten-question battery scored on a four-point response system that requires participants to indicate their level of agreement with a series of statements about themselves. The Coopersmith Inventory uses a 50-question battery over a variety of topics and asks subjects whether they rate someone as similar or dissimilar to themselves.

Levels

Self-esteem is a graduated concept. Taking this into consideration, people may essentially have three main degrees of self-esteem:

To have a high self-esteem is to feel confidently capable for life, or, in Brandon's words, to feel able and worth, or to feel right as a person. firmly believe in certain values and principles, and are ready to defend them even when finding opposition, feeling secure enough to modify them in light of experience.

José-Vicente Bonet reminds that the importance of self-esteem is obvious when one realizes that the opposite of it is not the esteem of others, but self-reject, a characteristic of that state of great unhappiness that we call “depression”.

Heavy self-criticism, tending to create a habitual state of dissatisfaction with oneself. Hypersensitivity to criticism, which makes oneself feel easily attacked and experience obstinate resentment against critics. Respect from others entails recognition, acceptance, status, and appreciation, and was believed to be more fragile and easily lost than inner self-esteem. According to Maslow, without the fulfillment of the self-esteem need, individuals will be driven to seek it and unable to grow and obtain self-actualization.

Modern theories of self-esteem explore the reasons humans are motivated to maintain a high regard for themselves. Sociometer theory maintains that self-esteem evolved to check one's level of status and acceptance in ones' social group. According to terror management theory, self-esteem serves a protective function and reduces anxiety about life and death.

Grades and relationships

From the late 1970s to the early 1990s many Americans assumed as a matter of course that students' self-esteem acted as a critical factor in the grades that they earn in school, in their relationships with their peers, and in their later success in life. Under this assumption, some American groups created programs which aimed to increase the self-esteem of students. Until the 1990s little peer-reviewed and controlled research took place on this topic.

Peer-reviewed research undertaken since then has not validated previous assumptions. Recent research indicates that inflating students' self-esteem in and of itself has no positive effect on grades. One study has shown that inflating self-esteem by itself can actually decrease grades. The relationship involving self-esteem and academic results does not signify that high self-esteem contributes to high academic results. It simply means that high self-esteem may be accomplished due to high academic performance.

"Attempts by pro-esteem advocates to encourage self-pride in students solely by reason of their uniqueness as human beings will fail if feelings of well-being are not accompanied by well-doing. It is only when students engage in personally meaningful endeavors for which they can be justifiably proud that self-confidence grows, and it is this growing self-assurance that in turn triggers further achievement."

High self-esteem correlates highly with self-reported happiness. However, it is not clear which, if either, necessarily leads to the other.

Parental influence

Parental habits, whether positive or negative, can influence the development of those same habits of self-perception in their children.

Criticism and controversy

The American psychologist Albert Ellis criticized on numerous occasions the concept of self-esteem as essentially self-defeating and ultimately destructive. Although acknowledging the human propensity and tendency to ego rating as innate, he has critiqued the philosophy of self-esteem as unrealistic, illogical and self- and socially destructive – often doing more harm than good. Questioning the foundations and usefulness of generalized ego strength, he has claimed that self-esteem is based on arbitrary definitional premises, and over-generalized, perfectionistic and grandiose thinking. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a psychotherapy based on this approach.

In humanistic psychology

. Humanistics consider the arts to have an important role in psychology.]]

Self-esteem is the sum of attitudes which depend on perceptions, thoughts, evalutations, feelings and behavioral tendencies aimed toward ourselves, the way we are and behave, and our body's and character's features. In short, it's oneself's evaluative perception.

Carl Rogers, the greatest exponent of humanistic psychology, exposed that the origin of problems for many people is that they despise themselves and they consider themselves to be unvaluable and unworthy of being loved; thus the importance he gave to unconditional acceptance of client. Indeed, the concept of self-esteem is approached since then in humanistic psychology as an inalienable right for every person, summarized in the following sentence:

By virtue of this reason, even the most evil human beings deserve a human and considered treatment. This attitude, nonetheless, does not pretend to come into conflict with mechanisms that society has at its disposition to prevent individuals from causing hurt —of any type— to others.

The concept of self-esteem has frequently gone beyond the exclusively scientific sphere to take part in popular language.

False stereotypes

Comfort is not self-esteem

For a person with low self-esteem —or “wrong”, according to Branden's terminology—, any positive stimulus or incentive will make him feel comfortable, or, at most, better with respect to himself/herself for just some time. Therefore, properties, sex, success, or physical appearance, by themselves, will produce comfort, or a false and ephemeral development of self-esteem, but they won't really strengthen confidence and respect to oneself.

Self-esteem is not competitive nor comparative

Paradoxically, most people search for self-confidence and self-respect outside themselves, and that is the reason why they are doomed to failure. According to Branden, “self-esteem can be better understood as a sort of spiritual achievement, that is, a victory in pysche's evolution”. That way, self-esteem gives people spiritual calmness, which in turn allows them to enjoy life. Branden states that one of the most significant characteristics of healthy esteem is that it is the state of one who is not at war either with himself or with others.

True self-esteem is not expressed through self-glorification at the expense of others, or through eagerness to be superior to other people or to degrade them to elevate oneself. Arrogance, boastfulness and overvaluation of one's own capacities reveal a wrong self-esteem, not an excess of self-esteem.

Self-esteem is not narcissism

A common mistake is to think that loving oneself is equivalent to narcissism. However, narcisism is a symptom of low self-esteem, that is, lack of love to oneself. A person with a healthy self-esteem accepts and loves himself/herself unconditionally. He knows his virtues, but also his faults. In spite of everything, he is able to acknowledge and accept both all virtues and faults and live loving himself. On the contrary, a narcissistic person is not able to acknowledge and accept his faults, which he always tries to hide. At the same time, the narcissistic emphasizes his virtues in the presence of others, just to try to convince himself that he is a valuable person and try to stop feeling guilty for his faults.

History

Self-esteem, as a psyche's experience, has gone with human being since its beginning.

The construct of self-esteem (or self-concept) dates back to William James, in the late 19th century, who, in his work Principles of Psychology, studied the splitting of our “global self” into “knower self” and “known self”. According to James, from this splitting, which we all are more or less aware of, self-esteem is born.

In the 20th century, the initial influence of Behaviorism minimized introspective study of mental processes, emotions and feelings, which was replaced by objective study through experiments on behaviors observed in relation with environment. Behaviorism placed the human being as an animal subject to reinforcements, and suggested to place psychology as an experimental science, similar to chemistry or biology. As a consequence, clinical trials on self-esteem were overlooked, since it was considered a less liable to rigorous measurement hypothesis.

In the mid 20th century, Phenomenology and humanistic psychotherapy made self-esteem gain prominence again, and it took a central role in personal self-actualization and psychic disorders' treatment. Personal satisfaction and psychotherapy started to be considered, and new elements were introduced, which helped to understand the reasons why people tend to feel less worthy, discouraged and unbable to understand challenges by themselves.

Carl Rogers, the greatest exponent of humanistic psychology, exposed his theory about unconditional acceptance and self-acceptance as the best way to improve self-esteem.

Robert B. Burns considers that self-esteem is a collection of the individual's attitudes toward himself. The human being senses himself at a sensorial level; thinks about himself and about his behaviors, and evaluates them and himself. Consequently, he feels emotions related to himself. That starts in him behavioral tendencies aimed to himself, to his way to be and behave, and to his body's and character's features, and, in turn, that forms the attitudes which, globally, we call self-esteem. Thus, self-esteem, for Burns, is the evaluative perception of oneself. In his own words: "individual's behavior is the result of his environment's particular interpretation, whose focus is himself".

See also

Notes

References

Baumeister, Roy F., Smart, L. & Boden, J. (1996). "Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of self-esteem". Psychological Review, 103, 5–33.

Baumeister, Roy F. (2001). "Violent Pride: Do people turn violent because of self-hate or self-love?", in Scientific American, 284, No. 4, pages 96–101; April 2001.

Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). "The costly pursuit of self-esteem". Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 392–414.

Mruk, C. (2006). Self-Esteem research, theory, and practice: Toward a positive psychology of self-esteem (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.

Further reading

Branden, N. (1969). The psychology of self-esteem. New York: Bantam.

Branden, N. (2001). The psychology of self-esteem: a revolutionary approach to self-understanding that launched a new era in modern psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. ISBN 0-7879-4526-9

Burke, C. (2008)"Self-esteem: Why?; Why not?", [Homiletic and Pastoral Review, New York, February 2008]; http://cormacburke.or.ke

Franklin, Richard L. (1994). "Overcoming The Myth of Self-Worth: Reason and Fallacy in What You Say to Yourself". ISBN 0963938703

Hill, S.E. & Buss, D.M. (2006). "The Evolution of Self-Esteem". In Michael Kernis, (Ed.), Self Esteem: Issues and Answers: A Sourcebook of Current Perspectives.. Psychology Press:New York. 328-333. Full text

Lerner, Barbara (1985). "Self-Esteem and Excellence: The Choice and the Paradox", American Educator, Winter 1985.

Maslow A. H. (1987). Motivation and Personality (3rd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.

Mecca, Andrew M., et al., (1989). The Social Importance of Self-esteem University of California Press, 1989. (ed; other editors included Neil J. Smelser and John Vasconcellos)

Rodewalt, F. & Tragakis, M. W. (2003). "Self-esteem and self-regulation: Toward optimal studies of self-esteem". Psychological Inquiry, 14(1), 66–70.

Ruggiero, Vincent R. (2000). "Bad Attitude: Confronting the Views That Hinder Student's Learning" American Educator.

Sedikides, C., & Gregg. A. P. (2003). "Portraits of the self." In M. A. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds.), Sage handbook of social psychology (pp. 110–138). London: Sage Publications.

Twenge, Jean M. (2007). Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-7432-7698-6

External links

Category:Bullying Category:Positive mental attitude Category:Psychological attitude Category:Conceptions of self Category:Positive psychology Category:Motivation Category:Happiness