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{{Self & identity}}
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'''Self-esteem''' is a term 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]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Hewitt|first=John P.|title=Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=217-224}}</ref>. 'The self-concept is ''what we think'' about the self; '''self-esteem''', the positive or negative evaluation of the self, is ''how we feel'' about it'.<ref>E. R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, ''Social Psychology'' (2007)p. 107</ref>
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A person’s [[self-concept]] consists of the beliefs one has about oneself, one’s [[Self-perception theory|self-perception]], or, as Hamlyn (1983: 241) expresses it, "the picture of oneself". Baumeister (1997) described self-concept as totally perception which people hold about him/ herself (p.&nbsp;681). It is not the "facts" about one-self but rather what one believes to be true about one-self (Sarah Mercer, p.&nbsp;14). Early researchers used self-concept as a descriptive construct, such as ‘I am an athlete’ (Rosenberg 1979).
   
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Recent theories adapted self-esteem with more evaluative statements like ‘I am good at tennis’ (Harter 1996). The latter statement not only describes the self, as the individual identifies herself or himself, but evaluates the self by putting worthiness on it. Therefore, self-esteem is defined as both descriptive and evaluative self-related statements. As a social psychological construct, self-esteem is attractive because researchers have conceptualized it as an influential predictor of relevant outcomes, such as academic achievement (Marsh 1990) or exercise behavior (Hagger et al. 1998). In addition, self-esteem has also been treated as an important outcome due to its close relation with psychological well-being (Marsh 1989). Self-concept (i.e. self-esteem) is widely believed to be composed of more than just perceived competence, and this leads to the relative degree of evaluative and cognitive beliefs of the construct.
In [[psychology]], '''self-esteem''' reflects a [[person]]'s overall [[self]]-appraisal of their own worth.
 
   
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Self-esteem is viewed as the most evaluative and affective of the three constructs (Harter, 1999a). Overlay, self-concept is considered as the beliefs about perceived competence and self-evaluative in a specific domain. 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.
Self-esteem encompasses both beliefs (for example, "I am [[competent|competent/incompetent]]") and emotions (for example: [[triumph]]/[[despair]], [[pride]]/[[shame]]). Behavior may reflect self-esteem, in (for example: [[assertive]]ness/[[shyness|timorousness]], [[confidence]]/caution).
 
   
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Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: '''self-worth''',<ref>Defined as "self-esteem; self-respect" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/58/S0245800.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.</ref> '''self-regard''',<ref>Defined as "consideration of oneself or one's interests; self-respect" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/18/S0241800.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.</ref> '''self-respect''',<ref>Defined as "due respect for oneself, one's character, and one's conduct" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/23/S0242300.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.</ref><ref>The [[Macquarie Dictionary]]. Compare ''The Dictionary of Psychology'' by Raymond Joseph Corsini. Psychology Press, 1999. ISBN 1-58391-028-X. Online via [[Google Book Search]].</ref> 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";<ref>Defined as "the instinct or desire to promote one's own well-being; regard for or love of one's self" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/89/S0238900.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.</ref> while [[François de La Rochefoucauld (writer)|La Rochefoucauld]] considered 'that ''[[amour-propre]]'' (self-regard) is the mainspring of all human activities'.<ref>Geoffrey Brereton, ''A Short History of French Literature'' (1954) p. 79</ref>
Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring personality characteristic (trait self-esteem), though normal, short-term variations (state self-esteem) occur.
 
   
 
==Definitions==
Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example: "I believe I am a good writer, and feel proud of that in particular") or have global extent (for example: "I believe I am a good person, and feel proud of myself in general").
 
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The original normal definition presents self-esteem as a ratio found by dividing one’s successes in areas of life of importance to a given individual by the failures in them or one’s "success / pretensions".<ref>James, W. (1983). ''The principles of psychology''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1890)</ref> Problems with this approach come from making self-esteem contingent upon success: this implies inherent instability because failure can occur at any moment.<ref>Crocker and Park, 2004</ref> In the mid 1960s, [[Morris Rosenberg]] and social-learning theorists defined self-esteem in terms of a stable sense of personal worth or worthiness.<ref>Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996</ref> [[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.<ref name="Branden">[http://books.google.es/books?hl=es&lr=&id=psvHFOqRuhkC&oi=fnd&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false Nathaniel Branden. ''Cómo mejorar su autoestima'']. 1987. Versión traducida: 1990. 1ª edición en formato electrónico: enero de 2010. Ediciones Paidós Ibérica. ISBN 978-84-493-2347-8.</ref> 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.<ref>Mruk, 2006</ref>
   
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''[[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 effect|Name Letter Task]]<ref>Koole, S. L., & Pelham, B. W. (2003). On the nature of implicit self-esteem: The case of the name letter effect. In S. Spencer, S. Fein, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), ''Motivated social perception: The Ontario Symposium'' (pp. 93-116). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.</ref> 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 (psychology)|self]], such as personal pronouns (e.g., "I") or characters in one's name.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}
Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include:
 
   
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==Measurement==
* self-worth<ref>Defined as "self-esteem; self-respect" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/58/S0245800.html, retrieved [[2007-11-15]]</ref>
 
 
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.
* self-regard<ref> Defined as "consideration of oneself or one's interests; self-respect" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/18/S0241800.html, retrieved [[2007-11-15]]</ref>
 
* self-respect<ref> Defined as "due respect for oneself, one's character, and one's conduct" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/23/S0242300.html, retrieved [[2007-11-15]]</ref>
 
* [[self confidence| self-confidence]] (a sometimes disparaging term which can (more than ''self-esteem'') suggest excessive self-regard<ref> The [[Macquarie Dictionary]]. Compare ''The Dictionary of Psychology'' by Raymond Joseph Corsini. Psychology Press, 1999. ISBN 158391028X. Online via [[Google Book Search]].</ref>
 
* self-love (which can express overtones of self-promotion)<ref> Defined as "the instinct or desire to promote one's own well-being; regard for or love of one's self" in ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'': Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/89/S0238900.html, retrieved [[2007-11-15]]</ref>
 
   
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Self-esteem is typically measured as a continuous scale. The Rosenberg (1965) 10-item scores each item 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.<ref>From the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health from the [[University of California, San Francisco]]. Online at http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/Psychosocial/notebook/selfesteem.html#Measurement. Retrieved 25 February 2008.</ref>
Compare:
 
   
* [[self-efficacy]]
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== Positive self-esteem ==
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[[File:Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.svg|thumb|300px|<center>[[Maslow's hierarchy of needs|Pyramid of Maslow]].</center>]]
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People with a healthy level of self-esteem:<ref>Adapted from D.E. Hamachek, ''Encounters with the Self'', Rinehart, New York, 1971.</ref>
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* 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.<ref name="Bonet">[http://books.google.es/books?hl=es&lr=&id=iTwVTnXcuBcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA11#v=onepage&q&f=false José-Vicente Bonet. ''Sé amigo de ti mismo: manual de autoestima'']. 1997. Ed. Sal Terrae. Maliaño (Cantabria, España). ISBN 978-84-293-1133-4.</ref>
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* are able to act according to what they think to be the best choice, trusting their own judgment, and not feeling guilty when others don't like their choice.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* do not lose time worrying excessively about what happened in the past, nor about what could happen in the future. They learn from the past and plan for the future, but live in the present intensely.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* fully trust in their capacity to solve problems, not hesitating after failures and difficulties. They ask others for help when they need it.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* consider themselves equal in dignity to others, rather than inferior or superior, while accepting differences in certain talents, personal prestige or financial standing.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* take for granted that they are an interesting and valuable person for others, at least for those with whom they have a friendship.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* resist manipulation, collaborate with others only if it seems appropriate and convenient.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* admit and accept different internal feelings and drives, either positive or negative, revealing those drives to others only when they choose.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* are able to enjoy a great variety of activities.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* are sensitive to feelings and needs of others; respect generally accepted social rules, and claim no right or desire to prosper at others' expense.<ref name="Bonet"/>
   
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=== Importance ===
== History of the concept of self-esteem ==
 
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[[Abraham Maslow]] states that psychological health is not possible unless the essential core of the person is fundamentally accepted, loved and respected by others and by her or his self. Self-esteem allows people to face life with more confidence, benevolence and optimism, and thus easily reach their goals and self-actualize.<ref name="Branden"/> It allows oneself to be more ''ambitious'', but not with respect to possessions or success, but with respect to what one can experience [[emotion]]ally, [[creativity|creatively]] and [[spirituality|spiritually]]. To develop self-esteem is to widen the capacity to be happy; self-esteem allows people to be convinced they deserve [[happiness]].<ref name="Branden"/> Understanding this is fundamental, and universally beneficial, since the development of positive self-esteem increases the capacity to treat other people with respect, benevolence and goodwill, thus favoring rich interpersonal relationships and avoiding destructive ones.<ref name="Branden"/> For [[Erich Fromm]], [[love]] of others and love of ourselves are not alternatives. On the contrary, an attitude of love toward themselves will be found in all those who are capable of loving others.
   
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Self-esteem allows [[creativity]] at the workplace, and is a specially critical condition for [[teaching]] professions.<ref name="Miranda">Christian Miranda. [http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/551/55130179.pdf La autoestima profesional: una competencia mediadora para la innovación en las prácticas pedagógicas]. Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación. 2005. Volume 3, number 1. PDF format.</ref>
The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' (OED)<ref>
 
"self-esteem" in ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1989.
 
</ref>
 
traces the use of the word "self-esteem" in English back as far as 1657.
 
After a career in the proto-psychological lore of [[phrenology]] in the 19th century<ref>
 
"self-esteem" in ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1989.
 
</ref>
 
the term entered more mainstream psychological use in the work of the American psychologists and philosophers [[Lorne Park]]{{Fact|date=January 2008}} and [[William James]] in [[1890]].
 
   
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José-Vicente Bonet reminds us that the importance of self-esteem is obvious when one realizes that the opposite of it is not the esteem of others, but self-rejection, a characteristic of that state of great unhappiness that we call "[[Major depressive disorder|depression]]".<ref name="Bonet"/> As [[Freud]] put it, the depressive has suffered 'an extraordinary diminution in his self-regard, an impoverishment of his ego on a grand scale....He has lost his self-respect'.<ref>Sigmund Freud, ''On Metapsychology'' (PFL 11) p. 254-6</ref>
<!-- On another note, the term "self-love" commonly characterizes those who place the need of others so far and beyond those of their own that they term other people as part of themselves.{{or}} Thus, those people called "self lovers" are the most caring people in the world{{npov}}. -->
 
Self-esteem has become the third most frequently occurring theme in psychological literature: as of 2003 over 25,000 articles, chapters, and books referred to the topic.<ref>
 
Rodewalt & Tragakis, 2003
 
</ref>
 
   
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[[The Yogyakarta Principles]], a document on [[international human rights law]] addresses the discriminatory attitude toward [[LGBT]] peoples that makes their self-esteem low to be subject to human rights violation including [[human trafficking]].<ref>[[The Yogyakarta Principles]], Preamble and Principles 11</ref> and [[World Health Organization]] recommends in "Preventing Suicide" published in 2000 that strengthening students' self-esteem is important to protect children and adolescents against mental distress and despondency, enabling them to cope adequately with difficult and stressful life situations.<ref>[http://www.who.int/mental_hearth/media/en/62.pdf Preventing Suicide, A resource for teachers and other school staff, WHO, Geneva, 2000]</ref>
== Definitions of self-esteem ==
 
   
 
==Low self-esteem==
Given a long and varied history, the term has, unsurprisingly, no less than three major types of definitions in the field, each of which has generated its own tradition of research, findings, and practical applications:
 
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Low self-esteem can result from various factors, including a physical appearance or weight, socioeconomic status, or peer pressure or bullying.<ref>{{cite newspaper article |author=Jones FC |title=Low self esteem |Newspaper=Chicago Defender|pages=33|year=2003 |ISSN=0745-7014 </ref>
 
# The original definition presents self-esteem as a ratio found by dividing one’s successes in areas of life of importance to a given [[individual]] by the failures in them or one’s “success / pretensions”.<ref>
 
James, 1890
 
</ref> Problems with this approach come from making self-esteem contingent upon success: this implies inherent instability because failure can occur at any moment.<ref>
 
Crocker and Park, 2004
 
</ref>
 
# In the mid 1960s [[Morris Rosenberg]] and social-learning theorists defined self-esteem in terms of a stable sense of personal worth or worthiness, measurable by [[self-reporting|self-report]] testing. This became the most frequently used definition for research, but involves problems of boundary-definition, making self-esteem indistinguishable from such things as [[narcissism]] or simple bragging.<ref>
 
Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996
 
</ref>
 
# [[Nathaniel Branden]] in 1969 briefly defined self-esteem as "…the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness". 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.<ref>
 
Mruk, 2006
 
</ref>
 
   
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Low self-esteem occasionally leads to suicidal ideation and behaviour. These can include self-imposed isolation, feelings of rejection, dejection, insignificance, and detachment, and increased dissatisfaction with current social relationships. A lack of social support from peers or family tends to create or exacerbate stress on an individual, which can lead to an inability to adjust to current circumstances.<ref>Judith Johnson, Alex M. Wood, Patricia Gooding, Peter J. Taylor, Nicholas Tarrier, (2011) Resilience to suicidality: The buffering hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review 31:4, pages 563-591.</ref> Drug abuse and forms of delinquency are common side effects of low self-esteem.<ref>{{cite book|last=Spencer|first=David G. Myers, Steven|title=Social psychology|year=2006|publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson|location=Toronto|isbn=0-07-095202-7|pages=51|edition=3rd Canadian ed.}}</ref>
Branden’s (1969) description of self-esteem includes the following primary properties:
 
   
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A person with low self-esteem may show some of the following characteristics:<ref>Adapted from J. Gill, "Indispensable Self-Esteem", in ''Human Development'', vol. 1, 1980.</ref>
# 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 individual's thoughts, feelings and actions.
 
   
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* ''Heavy self-criticism'' and dissatisfaction.<ref name="Bonet"/>
Compare the usage of terms such as ''self-love'' or ''self-confidence''.
 
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* ''Hypersensitivity to criticism'' with resentment against critics and feelings of being attacked.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Chronic indecision'' and an exaggerated fear of mistakes.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Excessive will to please'' and unwillingness to displease any petitioner.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Perfectionism'', which can lead to frustration when perfection is not achieved.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Neurotic guilt'', dwelling on and exaggerating the magnitude of past mistakes.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Floating hostility'' and general defensiveness and irritability without any proximate cause.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Pessimism'' and a general negative outlook.<ref name="Bonet"/>
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* ''Envy'', invidiousness, or general resentment.<ref name="Bonet"/>
   
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==Theories==
== Measuring self-esteem ==
 
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Many early theories suggested that self-esteem is a basic human need or motivation. American psychologist [[Abraham Maslow]], for example, included self-esteem in his hierarchy of needs. He described two different forms of esteem: the need for respect from others and the need for self-respect, or inner self-esteem.<ref>Maslow A. H. (1987). ''Motivation and Personality'' (3rd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.</ref> 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]].
   
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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.<ref>Greenberg, J. (2008). Understanding the vital human quest for self-esteem. ''Perspectives on Psychological Science'', ''3'', 48-55.</ref>
For the purposes of empirical research, psychologists typically assess self-esteem by a [[self-reporting|self-report]] [[questionnaire]] yielding a quantitative result. They establish the validity and reliability of the questionnaire prior to its use.
 
   
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Self-esteem is the sum of attitudes which depend on perceptions, thoughts, evaluations, 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.<ref name="Bonet"/>
Popular lore recognizes just "high" self-esteem and "low" self-esteem.
 
   
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The importance of self-esteem lies in the fact that it concerns to ourselves, the way we are and the sense of our personal value. Thus, it affects the way we are and act in the world and the way we are related to everybody else. Nothing in the way we think, feel, decide and act escapes the influence of self-esteem.<ref name="Bonet"/>
The "Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire" and the "Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory" are among the most widely used systems for measuring self-esteem. The Rosenberg Test is seen as the "standard" and usually uses a ten question battery scored on a four-point response system. The Coopersmith Inventory uses a 50 question battery over a variety of topics and asks the subject whether positive or negative characteristics of someone are considered to be similar or dissimilar to themselves.<ref> From the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
 
Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health from the [[University of California, San Francisco]]. Online at http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/Psychosocial/notebook/selfesteem.html#Measurement, retrieved [[2008-02-17]]</ref>
 
   
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[[Abraham Maslow]], in his [[hierarchy of human needs]], describes the ''need for esteem'', which is divided into two aspects, the esteem for oneself (self-love, self-confidence, skill, aptitude, etc.), and respect and esteem one receives from other people (recognition, success, etc.) The healthiest expression of self-esteem, according to Maslow, "is the one which manifests in respect we deserve for others, more than renown, fame and flattery".{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}
== Maslow's approaches to esteem ==
 
   
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[[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.<ref name="Bonet"/> 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:
[[Abraham Maslow|Maslow]] described two kinds of esteem needs — the need for respect from others and the need for self-respect.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Respect from others entails recognition, acceptance, status, and appreciation.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Without the fulfillment of these needs, Maslow suggests, an individual feels discouraged, weak and inferior.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
 
   
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{{cquote|''Every human being, with no exception, for the mere fact to be it, is worthy of unconditional respect of everybody else; he deserves to esteem himself and to be esteemed''.<ref name="Bonet"/>}}
== Quality and level of self-esteem ==
 
   
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By virtue of this reason, even the most evil human beings deserve respect 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.<ref name="Bonet"/>
Level and quality of self-esteem, though correlated, remain distinct. Level-wise, one can exhibit high but fragile self-esteem (as in [[narcissism]]) or low but stable self-esteem (as in [[humility]]). However, investigators can indirectly assess the quality of self-esteem in several ways:
 
# 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 [[automaticity]]).
 
   
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The [[concept]] of self-esteem has frequently gone beyond the exclusively [[science|scientific]] sphere to take part in popular language.
== Excessive self-esteem ==
 
   
 
==Grades and relationships==
Humans have portrayed the dangers of excessive self-esteem and the advantages of more [[humility]] since at least the development of [[Greek tragedy]], which typically showed the results of [[hubris]]. Ongoing social concern with too much perceived self-esteem reflects in everyday language: we speak of "overweening" types and of the need to "take a person down a peg or two". Spiritual practices (notably Eastern spiritual practices) which de-emphasize the [[self (psychology)|self]] may lead to a more socially acceptable balance in the personal self-esteem stakes.
 
 
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 [[Interpersonal relationship|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.
   
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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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Baumeister|first=Roy F.|coauthors=Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger and Kathleen D. Vohs|title=Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth|journal=Scientific American|year=2005|month=January|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=exploding-the-self-esteem|accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref> 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 due to the other variables of social interactions and life events affecting this performance.<ref name="BaumeisterCampbell2003">{{cite journal|last1=Baumeister|first1=R. F.|last2=Campbell|first2=J. D.|last3=Krueger|first3=J. I.|last4=Vohs|first4=K. D.|title=Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?|journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest|volume=4|issue=1|year=2003|pages=1–44|issn=1529-1006|doi=10.1111/1529-1006.01431}}</ref>
== Criticisms ==
 
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<blockquote>"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."<ref>Reasoner, Robert W. (n.d.). "[http://www.self-esteem-international.org/Research/Extending research.htm Extending self-esteem theory and research]". Retrieved February 20, 2011.</ref></blockquote>
   
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The pro-esteem position was caricatured in 1992 in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'', with Calvin claiming that 'Homework is bad for my self-esteem. It sends the message that I don't know enough!....So instead of trying to learn, I'm just concentrating on liking myself the way I am'.<ref>Quoted in Smith/Mackie, p. 109</ref>
Critics see the all pervading importance given to self-esteem in [[popular culture]] and in modern psychology as misleading and dogmatic. A review{{Fact|date=January 2008}} of self-esteem literature by [[Roy Baumeister]] confirmed that high self-regard ''per se'' is not necessarily "good"; nor does it translate into higher estimates by others of a person's intellect, appearance or virtue. Baumeister describes the view of self-esteem as panacea as "a very compelling illusion" because it correlates with happiness and other good things; he sees psychologists as "a little too eager in promoting the program before the data were in." Some social constructionists{{who?}} argue that modern-day [[United States of America| America]] — with its overwhelming cultural bias towards self-enhancement — has fabricated and validated the dogma of self-esteem as a universal human goal that all must strive towards perfecting. This fails to consider the absence of such an emphasis in other flourishing cultures, in which people neither celebrate high self-esteem so much nor regard it as so central a concept.
 
   
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High self-esteem correlates highly with self-reported happiness; whether this is a causal relationship has not been established.<ref name="BaumeisterCampbell2003" /> Additionally, self-esteem has been found to be related to forgiveness in close relationships, in that people with high self-esteem will be more forgiving than people with low self-esteem.<ref name="EatonWardstruthers2006">{{cite journal|last1=Eaton|first1=J|last2=Wardstruthers|first2=C|last3=Santelli|first3=A|title=Dispositional and state forgiveness: The role of self-esteem, need for structure, and narcissism|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|volume=41|issue=2|year=2006|pages=371–380|issn=0191-8869|doi=10.1016/j.paid.2006.02.005}}</ref>
Psychological literature and popular culture both concentrate on the presence or absence of high self-esteem, however some evidence suggests that the overemphasis on the self-esteem mantra can lead to rapid falls when the self becomes invalidated in the domains that one considers important. In addition this pursuit may have negative consequences on the welfare of [[society]] as a whole. Eastern philosophy, particularly [[Buddhism| Buddhist]] and [[Hinduism| Hindu]] thought, tends to see the self in its limited form as illusory; it perceives a "true self" as a sublime and transcendent entity, whose nature remains hidden from the limited or [[ego]]ic self.
 
   
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==Parental influence==
== Self-esteem, grades and relationships ==
 
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Parental habits, whether positive or negative, can influence the development of those same habits of self-perception in their children.<ref>Brown, Asa Don (2011) ''[http://www.ccpa-accp.ca/blog/?p=261 Children's Self-Esteem and Parental Influence]'' Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. Retrieved April 14, 2011.</ref>
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Children are also likely to remember parental responses accordingly to their current emotional state at those certain times. For example, when the child receives positive reinforcement or praise when she or he currently has a high self-esteem, or receives criticisms in a low-self-esteem state, it is effectively embedded in their memories.<ref>Zielinski, Mary A. and Richard B. Felson (1989) '' [http://www.jstor.org/stable/352171?seq=2 Children's Self-Esteem and Parental Support]'' national Council on Family Relations. Retrieved Dec 4, 2011.</ref>
   
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==Criticism and controversy==
{{limitedgeographicscope}}
 
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The American psychologist [[Albert Ellis (psychologist)|Albert Ellis]] criticized on numerous occasions the concept of self-esteem as essentially self-defeating and ultimately destructive.<ref name="Ellis, A. 2001">Ellis, A. (2001). Feeling better, getting better, staying better. Impact Publishers</ref> 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 [[premise]]s, and over-generalized, perfectionistic and grandiose thinking.<ref name="Ellis, A. 2001"/> Acknowledging that rating and valuing behaviours and characteristics is functional and even necessary, he sees rating and valuing human beings' totality and total selves as irrational and unethical. The healthier alternative to self-esteem according to him is unconditional self-[[acceptance]] and unconditional other-acceptance.<ref>Ellis, A. ''The Myth of Self-esteem''. 2005.</ref> [[Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy]] is a psychotherapy based on this approach.<ref>Albert Ellis, Windy Dryden. [http://books.google.es/books?id=pPeFALg673MC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ''The Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy''.]</ref>
   
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== False stereotypes ==
From the late 1970s to the early 1990s 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 [[Interpersonal relationship|relationships]] with their peers, and in their later success in [[personal life| life]]. Given this assumption, many American groups created programs which aimed to increase the self-esteem of students, assuming that grades would increase, [[conflict]]s would decrease, and that this would lead to happier and more successful lives. Until the 1990s little peer-reviewed and controlled research took place on this topic.
 
 
=== Comfort is not self-esteem ===
   
  +
For a person with low self-esteem—or "wrong" self-esteem, 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.<ref name="Branden"/>
{{cquote|The concept of self-improvement has undergone dramatic change since 1911, when [[Ambrose Bierce]] mockingly defined self-esteem as "an erroneous appraisement." Good and bad character are now known as "personality differences". Rights have replaced responsibilities. The research on [[egocentrism]] and [[ethnocentrism]] that informed discussion of human growth and development in the mid-20th century is ignored; indeed, the terms themselves are considered politically incorrect. A revolution has taken place in the vocabulary of self. Words that imply responsibility or accountability — self-criticism, self-denial, self-discipline, self-control, self-effacement, self-mastery, self-reproach, and self-sacrifice — are no longer in fashion. The language most in favor is that which exalts the self — self-expression, self-assertion, self-indulgence, self-realization, self-approval, self-acceptance, self-love, and the ubiquitous self-esteem.|20px|20px|Ruggiero, 2000}}
 
   
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[[Neville Symington]] described such 'transitory comforts...as like short-term memory': any such input 'keeps me going for a couple of days, but then I need another pick-me-up dose'.<ref>Neville Symington, ''Narcissism: A New Theory'' (London 2003) p. 93 and p. 55-6</ref>
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.<ref>
 
Baumeister 2005
 
</ref>
 
   
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=== Self-esteem and culture ===
High self-esteem correlates highly with self-reported happiness. However, it is not clear which, if either, necessarily leads to the other.<ref>
 
Baumeister, 2003
 
</ref>
 
   
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Branden has claimed that "self-esteem can be better understood as a sort of spiritual achievement, that is, a victory in psyche's evolution".<ref name="Branden"/>
== Bullying, violence and murder ==
 
   
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More recent studies demonstrate both a correlation between self-esteem and life satisfaction, and that such levels of correlation are to an extent culturally relative.<ref name="Diener">[http://www.springerlink.com/content/j242712q147tkk1h/ Ed Diener and Marissa Diener. ''Cross-Cultural Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem '']. 2009. {{doi|10.1007/978-90-481-2352-0_4}}.</ref>
Some of the most interesting results of recent studies center on the relationships between [[bullying]], [[violence]], and self-esteem. People used to assume that bullies acted violently towards others because they suffered from low self-esteem (although supporters of this position offered no controlled studies to back up this belief).
 
   
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=== High self-esteem is not necessarily narcissistic ===
{{cquote|These findings suggest that the low-esteem theory is wrong. But none involves what social psychologists regard as the most convincing form of evidence: controlled laboratory experiments. When we conducted our initial review of the literature, we uncovered no lab studies that probed the link between self-esteem and aggression.|20px|20px|Baumeister, 2001}}
 
   
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A common mistake is to think that [[self-love|loving oneself]] is necessarily equivalent to [[narcissism]], as opposed for example to what [[Erik Erikson]] speaks of as 'a post-narcissistic love of the ego'.<ref>Erik H. Erikson, ''[[Childhood and Society]]'' (Penguin 1973) p. 260</ref> A person with a healthy self-esteem accepts and loves himself/herself unconditionally, acknowledging both virtues and faults in the self, and yet, in spite of everything, being able to continue to live loving her/himself.
In contrast to old beliefs, recent research indicates that bullies act the way that they do because they suffer from unearned ''high'' self-esteem.
 
   
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In narcissists, by contrast, an 'innate uncertainty about their own worth gives rise to...a self-protective, but often totally spurious, aura of [[grandiosity]]'<ref>Simon Crompton, ''All about Me'' (London 2007) p. 16</ref> - producing the class 'of ''narcissists'', or people with very high, but insecure, self-esteem...fluctuating with each new episode of social praise or rejection'.<ref>Smith/Mackie, p. 479</ref> Narcissism can thus be seen as a symptom of fundamentally low self-esteem (that is, lack of love towards oneself), but often accompanied by 'an immense increase in self-esteem' based on 'the [[defense mechanism]] of denial by overcompensation'.<ref>Otto Fenichel, ''The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis'' (London 1946) p. 407-10</ref>
{{cquote|Violent criminals often describe themselves as superior to others - as special, elite persons who deserve preferential treatment. Many murders and assaults are committed in response to blows to self-esteem such as [[insults]] and [[humiliation]]. (To be sure, some perpetrators live in settings where insults threaten more than their opinions of themselves. Esteem and respect are linked to status in the social hierarchy, and to put someone down can have tangible and even life-threatening consequences.)}}
 
   
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The narcissist, then, is not able to acknowledge and accept his faults, which he always tries to hide: his 'idealized love of self...rejected the part of him' which he denigrates - 'this destructive little child'<ref>Neville Symington, ''Narcissism: A New Theory'' (London 2003) p. 114</ref> within. Instead, the narcissist emphasizes his virtues in the presence of others, just to try to convince himself that he is a valuable person and to try to stop feeling ashamed for his faults;<ref name="Bonet"/> unfortunately such 'people with unrealistically inflated self-views, which may be especially unstable and highly vulnerable to negative information...tend to have poor social skills'.<ref>Smith/Mackie, p. 126</ref>
{{cquote|The same conclusion has emerged from studies of other categories of violent people. [[Gang|Street-gang]] members have been reported to hold favourable opinions of themselves and turn to violence when these estimations are shaken. Playground bullies regard themselves as superior to other children; low self-esteem is found among the victims of bullies, but not among bullies themselves. Violent groups generally have overt [[belief system]]s that emphasise their superiority over others.|20px|20px|Baumeister, 2001}}
 
   
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==In Buddhism==
The presence of superiority-complexes can be seen both in individual cases, such as the criminals Baumeister studied, and in whole societies, such as Germany under the [[Nazi]] régime.
 
  +
In [[Buddhism]], [[Māna]]—overly high self-esteem or [[wikt:conceit#Noun|conceit]]— is one of the bonds of which an [[anagami]] is not yet free. It is one of the blockages of paths towards [[nirvana]].<ref>http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/various/bl014.html</ref>
   
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== History ==
The findings of this research do not take into account that the concept of self-esteem lacks a clear definition and that differing views exist of the precise definition of self-esteem. In his own work, Baumeister often uses a "common use" definition: self-esteem is how you regard yourself (or how you appear to regard yourself) regardless of how this view was cultivated. Other psychologists believe that a "self esteem" that depends on external validation of the self (or other people's approval), such as what seems relevant in the discussion of violent people, does not, in fact, equate to "true" self-esteem. Nathaniel Branden labeled external validation as "pseudo self-esteem", arguing that "true self-esteem" comes from internal sources, such as self-responsibility, self-sufficiency and the knowledge of one's own competence and capability to deal with obstacles and adversity, regardless of what other people think.
 
   
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* The [[construct (philosophy of science)|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.<ref name="Bonet"/>
Psychologists who agree with Branden's view dismiss Baumeister's findings. Such psychologists{{who?}} say that Baumeister mistakes [[narcissism]] as "high self-esteem" in criminals. They see such narcissism as an inflated opinion of self, built on shaky grounds, and opine that violence comes when that opinion comes under threat. Those with "true" self-esteem who valued themselves and believed wholly in their own competence and worth would have no need to resort to violence or indeed have any need to believe in superiority or prove superiority.
 
   
  +
* In the 20th century, the initial influence of [[Behaviorism]] minimized introspective study of [[mental processes]], [[emotion]]s and [[feeling]]s, which was replaced by objective study through [[experiment]]s on [[behavior]]s observed in relation with environment. Behaviorism placed the [[Homo sapiens|human being]] as an [[animal]] subject to [[reinforcement]]s, and suggested to place [[psychology]] as an [[experimental science]], similar to [[chemistry]] or [[biology]]. As a consequence, [[clinical trial]]s on self-esteem were overlooked, since it was considered a less liable to rigorous [[measurement]] [[statistical hypothesis testing|hypothesis]].<ref name="Bonet"/>
== Contingencies of self-worth ==
 
   
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* In the mid 20th century, [[Phenomenology (psychology)|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.<ref name="Bonet"/>
Contingencies of self-worth comprise those qualities a person believes he or she must have in order to class as a person of [[worthiness| worth]] and [[value]]; proponents claim the contingencies as the core of self-esteem.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
 
   
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* [[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.<ref name="Bonet"/>
Contingencies of self-worth can motivate well, but often have great costs to [[personal relationship|relationship]]s, learning, autonomy, self-regulation, and mental and physical health.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Using their contingencies of self-worth, people{{who?}} attempt to validate or “prove” their abilities and qualities to themselves and to others.
 
   
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* Robert B. Burns considers that self-esteem is a collection of the individual's attitudes toward himself. The [[Homo sapiens|human being]] perceives itself at a [[sense|sensory]] level; [[thinking|thinks]] about itself and about its [[behavior]], and evaluates both its behavior and itself. Consequently, humans feel [[emotion]]s related to themselves. These emotions prompt behavioral tendencies aimed at oneself, at one's behavior, and at the features of one'S body and character. These tendencies effect 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".<ref name="Bonet"/>
In the field of social psychology, Jennifer Crocker has carried out major research on the topic of contingencies of self-worth. She says that her research "explores what it is that people believe they need to be or do to have value and worth as a person, and the consequences of those beliefs". She claims that people pursue self-esteem by trying to prove that they have worth and value, and this pursuit affects "the satisfaction of the fundamental human needs for learning, relationships, autonomy, self-regulation, and mental and physical health" (Crocker, 2007). Crocker argues that this pursuit of self-worth affects not only the individual, but everyone around the person as well.
 
   
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* Self-esteem has been included as one of the four dimensions that comprise [[core self-evaluations]], one's fundamental appraisal of oneself, along with [[locus of control]], [[neuroticism]], and [[self-efficacy]].<ref name=Judge1997>Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., & Durham, C. C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 151–188.</ref> The concept of core self-evaluations was first examined by Judge, Locke, and Durham (1997),<ref name="Judge1997">Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., & Durham, C. C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. ''Research in Organizational Behavior,'' 19, 151–188.</ref> and since has proven to have the ability to predict several work outcomes, specifically, job satisfaction and job performance.<ref name="Judge1997"/><ref name=BonoJudge2003>Bono, J. E., & Judge, T. A. (2003). Core self-evaluations: A review of the trait and its role in job satisfaction and job performance. European Journal of Personality, 17(Suppl1), S5-S18. {{doi|10.1002/per.48}}</ref><ref name=dorman2006>Dormann, C., Fay, D., Zapf, D., & Frese, M. (2006). A state-trait analysis of job satisfaction: On the effect of core self-evaluations. ''Applied Psychology: An International Review,'' 55(1), 27-51.</ref><ref name=judge1998b>Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., Durham, C. C., & Kluger, A. N. (1998). Dispositional effects on job and life satisfaction: The role of core evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(1), 17-34.</ref><ref name=judge2001a>Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2001). Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. ''Journal of Applied Psychology,'' 86(1), 80-92.</ref> Self-esteem may, in fact, be one of the most essential core self-evaluation dimensions because it is the overall value one feels about oneself as a person.<ref name="judge1998b"/>
According to the "Contingencies of Self-Worth model" (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001) people differ in their bases of self-esteem. Their beliefs — beliefs about what they think they need to do or who they need to "be" in order to class as a person of worth — form these bases. Crocker and her colleagues (2001) identified seven "domains" in which people frequently derive their self-worth, including:
 
 
# [[virtue]]
 
# [[divine love| God’s love]]
 
# support of family
 
# academic competence
 
# physical attractiveness
 
# gaining others' [[approval]]
 
 
Individuals who base their self-worth in a specific domain (such as, for example, academic success) leave themselves much more vulnerable to having their self-esteem threatened when negative events happen to them within that domain (such as when they fail a test at school). A 2003 study by Crocker found that students who based their contingency of self-worth on academic criteria had a greater likelihood of experiencing lower-state self-esteem, greater negative [[affect (psychology)| affect]], and negative self-evaluative thoughts when they did not perform well on academic tasks, when they received poor grades, or when graduate schools rejected them (Crocker, Karpinski, Quinn, & Chase, 2003; Crocker, Sommers, & Luhtanen, 2002).
 
 
Crocker and her colleagues (2003) have constructed the "Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale", which measures the seven domains mentioned above that previous research{{Fact|date=December 2007}} had hypothesized as providing important internal and external sources of self-esteem. Crocker argues that the domains on which people base self-worth play a greater role than whether self-worth is actually [[contingency| contingent]] or not. Contingencies of self-worth can function internally, externally, or somewhere in between. Some research has shown that external contingencies of self-worth, such as physical appearance and academic success, correlate negatively to well-being, even promoting [[depression]] and [[eating disorder| eating-disorder]]s (Jambekar, Quinn, & Crocker, 2001). Other work has found internal contingencies, on the other hand, unrelated or even positively related to well-being (Sargent, Crocker, & Luhtanen, 2006).
 
 
Research by Crocker and her colleagues also suggests that contingencies of self-worth have [[self-regulation| self-regulatory]] properties (Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette, 2003). Crocker ''et al.'' define successful self-regulation as “the willingness to exert effort toward one’s most important [[goal]]s, while taking setbacks and failures as opportunities to [[learning| learn]], identify weaknesses and address them, and develop new strategies toward achieving those goals” (Crocker, Brook, & Niiya, 2006). Since many individuals strive for a feeling of [[worthiness]], it makes sense that those people would experience special motivation to succeed and actively to avoid failure in the domains on which they base their own self-worth. Accordingly, successful self-regulation can prove difficult for people aiming to maintain and enhance their self-esteem, because they would have to actually embrace failure or criticism as a learning-opportunity, rather than avoid it. Instead, when a task which individuals see as fundamental to their self-worth proves difficult and failure seems probable, contingencies of self-worth lead to [[stress (medicine)| stress]], feelings of [[peer pressure| pressure]], and a loss of intrinsic [[motivation]].{{Fact|date=December 2007}} In these cases, highly contingent people may withdraw from the situation.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} On the other hand, the positive emotional affect following success in a domain of contingency may become addictive for the highly contingent individual (Baumeister & Vohs, 2001). Over time, these people may require even greater successes to achieve the same satisfaction or emotional “high”. Therefore, the goal to succeed can become a relentless quest for these individuals (Crocker & Nuer, 2004).
 
 
Researchers such as Crocker believe that people confuse the boosts to self-esteem resulting from successes with true human needs, such as learning, mutually supportive relationships, [[autonomy]], and safety (Crocker & Nuer, 2004; Crocker & Park, 2004; Deci & Ryan, 2000). Crocker claims that people do not seek "self-esteem", but basic human needs, and that the contingencies on which they base their self-esteem has more importance than the level of self-esteem itself.
 
   
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
  +
* [[Assertiveness]]
 
  +
* [[Basking in reflected glory]]
  +
* [[Body image]]
  +
* [[Bullying]]
  +
* [[Core self-evaluations]]
  +
* [[Dignity]]
  +
* [[Dunning–Kruger effect]]
 
* [[Emotional competence]]
 
* [[Emotional competence]]
 
* [[Emotional intelligence]]
 
* [[Emotional intelligence]]
 
* [[Hubris]]
 
* [[Hubris]]
 
* [[Human Potential Movement]]
 
* [[Human Potential Movement]]
 
* [[Implicit self-esteem]]
 
* [[Intercultural competence]]
 
* [[Intercultural competence]]
 
* [[Narcissism]]
 
* [[Narcissism]]
  +
* [[Optimism bias]]
  +
* [[Outline of self]]
  +
* [[Passivity (behavior)|Passiveness]]
  +
* [[Performance anxiety]]
  +
* [[Presenteeism]]
 
* [[Self-awareness]]
 
* [[Self-awareness]]
  +
* [[Self-concealment]]
  +
* [[Self concept]]
  +
* [[Self confidence]]
  +
* [[Self-compassion]]
  +
* [[Self-enhancement]]
  +
* [[Self-esteem functions]]
  +
* [[Self-evaluation maintenance theory]]
 
* [[Self image]]
 
* [[Self image]]
* [[Self (philosophy)]]
+
* [[Self perception]]
* [[Self (psychology)]]
+
* [[Self respect]]
* [[Self (sociology)]]
+
* [[Shame]]
* [[Self (spirituality)]]
+
* [[Shyness]]
  +
* [[Social anxiety]]
  +
* [[Social phobia (disambiguation)|Social phobia]]
 
* [[Social skills]]
 
* [[Social skills]]
 
* [[Sociometer]]
 
* [[Sociometer]]
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[[Category:Positive mental attitude]]
 
[[Category:Positive mental attitude]]
 
[[Category:Psychological attitude]]
 
[[Category:Psychological attitude]]
[[Category:self]]
+
[[Category:Self]]
[[Category:social psychology]]
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[[Category:Social psychology]]
   
 
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Self & identity
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Identity
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Self-esteem is a term 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[1]. 'The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the positive or negative evaluation of the self, is how we feel about it'.[2] A person’s self-concept consists of the beliefs one has about oneself, one’s self-perception, or, as Hamlyn (1983: 241) expresses it, "the picture of oneself". Baumeister (1997) described self-concept as totally perception which people hold about him/ herself (p. 681). It is not the "facts" about one-self but rather what one believes to be true about one-self (Sarah Mercer, p. 14). Early researchers used self-concept as a descriptive construct, such as ‘I am an athlete’ (Rosenberg 1979).

Recent theories adapted self-esteem with more evaluative statements like ‘I am good at tennis’ (Harter 1996). The latter statement not only describes the self, as the individual identifies herself or himself, but evaluates the self by putting worthiness on it. Therefore, self-esteem is defined as both descriptive and evaluative self-related statements. As a social psychological construct, self-esteem is attractive because researchers have conceptualized it as an influential predictor of relevant outcomes, such as academic achievement (Marsh 1990) or exercise behavior (Hagger et al. 1998). In addition, self-esteem has also been treated as an important outcome due to its close relation with psychological well-being (Marsh 1989). Self-concept (i.e. self-esteem) is widely believed to be composed of more than just perceived competence, and this leads to the relative degree of evaluative and cognitive beliefs of the construct.

Self-esteem is viewed as the most evaluative and affective of the three constructs (Harter, 1999a). Overlay, self-concept is considered as the beliefs about perceived competence and self-evaluative in a specific domain. 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,[3] self-regard,[4] self-respect,[5][6] 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";[7] while La Rochefoucauld considered 'that amour-propre (self-regard) is the mainspring of all human activities'.[8]

Definitions

The original normal definition presents self-esteem as a ratio found by dividing one’s successes in areas of life of importance to a given individual by the failures in them or one’s "success / pretensions".[9] Problems with this approach come from making self-esteem contingent upon success: this implies inherent instability because failure can occur at any moment.[10] In the mid 1960s, Morris Rosenberg and social-learning theorists defined self-esteem in terms of a stable sense of personal worth or worthiness.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

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[14] 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 characters in one's name.[citation needed]

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.

Self-esteem is typically measured as a continuous scale. The Rosenberg (1965) 10-item scores each item 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.[15]

Positive self-esteem

File:Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.svg

Pyramid of Maslow.

People with a healthy level of self-esteem:[16]

  • 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.[17]
  • are able to act according to what they think to be the best choice, trusting their own judgment, and not feeling guilty when others don't like their choice.[17]
  • do not lose time worrying excessively about what happened in the past, nor about what could happen in the future. They learn from the past and plan for the future, but live in the present intensely.[17]
  • fully trust in their capacity to solve problems, not hesitating after failures and difficulties. They ask others for help when they need it.[17]
  • consider themselves equal in dignity to others, rather than inferior or superior, while accepting differences in certain talents, personal prestige or financial standing.[17]
  • take for granted that they are an interesting and valuable person for others, at least for those with whom they have a friendship.[17]
  • resist manipulation, collaborate with others only if it seems appropriate and convenient.[17]
  • admit and accept different internal feelings and drives, either positive or negative, revealing those drives to others only when they choose.[17]
  • are able to enjoy a great variety of activities.[17]
  • are sensitive to feelings and needs of others; respect generally accepted social rules, and claim no right or desire to prosper at others' expense.[17]

Importance

Abraham Maslow states that psychological health is not possible unless the essential core of the person is fundamentally accepted, loved and respected by others and by her or his self. Self-esteem allows people to face life with more confidence, benevolence and optimism, and thus easily reach their goals and self-actualize.[12] It allows oneself to be more ambitious, but not with respect to possessions or success, but with respect to what one can experience emotionally, creatively and spiritually. To develop self-esteem is to widen the capacity to be happy; self-esteem allows people to be convinced they deserve happiness.[12] Understanding this is fundamental, and universally beneficial, since the development of positive self-esteem increases the capacity to treat other people with respect, benevolence and goodwill, thus favoring rich interpersonal relationships and avoiding destructive ones.[12] For Erich Fromm, love of others and love of ourselves are not alternatives. On the contrary, an attitude of love toward themselves will be found in all those who are capable of loving others.

Self-esteem allows creativity at the workplace, and is a specially critical condition for teaching professions.[18]

José-Vicente Bonet reminds us that the importance of self-esteem is obvious when one realizes that the opposite of it is not the esteem of others, but self-rejection, a characteristic of that state of great unhappiness that we call "depression".[17] As Freud put it, the depressive has suffered 'an extraordinary diminution in his self-regard, an impoverishment of his ego on a grand scale....He has lost his self-respect'.[19]

The Yogyakarta Principles, a document on international human rights law addresses the discriminatory attitude toward LGBT peoples that makes their self-esteem low to be subject to human rights violation including human trafficking.[20] and World Health Organization recommends in "Preventing Suicide" published in 2000 that strengthening students' self-esteem is important to protect children and adolescents against mental distress and despondency, enabling them to cope adequately with difficult and stressful life situations.[21]

Low self-esteem

Low self-esteem can result from various factors, including a physical appearance or weight, socioeconomic status, or peer pressure or bullying.[22]

Low self-esteem occasionally leads to suicidal ideation and behaviour. These can include self-imposed isolation, feelings of rejection, dejection, insignificance, and detachment, and increased dissatisfaction with current social relationships. A lack of social support from peers or family tends to create or exacerbate stress on an individual, which can lead to an inability to adjust to current circumstances.[23] Drug abuse and forms of delinquency are common side effects of low self-esteem.[24]

A person with low self-esteem may show some of the following characteristics:[25]

  • Heavy self-criticism and dissatisfaction.[17]
  • Hypersensitivity to criticism with resentment against critics and feelings of being attacked.[17]
  • Chronic indecision and an exaggerated fear of mistakes.[17]
  • Excessive will to please and unwillingness to displease any petitioner.[17]
  • Perfectionism, which can lead to frustration when perfection is not achieved.[17]
  • Neurotic guilt, dwelling on and exaggerating the magnitude of past mistakes.[17]
  • Floating hostility and general defensiveness and irritability without any proximate cause.[17]
  • Pessimism and a general negative outlook.[17]
  • Envy, invidiousness, or general resentment.[17]

Theories

Many early theories suggested that self-esteem is a basic human need or motivation. American psychologist Abraham Maslow, for example, included self-esteem in his hierarchy of needs. He described two different forms of esteem: the need for respect from others and the need for self-respect, or inner self-esteem.[26] 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.[27]

Self-esteem is the sum of attitudes which depend on perceptions, thoughts, evaluations, 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.[17]

The importance of self-esteem lies in the fact that it concerns to ourselves, the way we are and the sense of our personal value. Thus, it affects the way we are and act in the world and the way we are related to everybody else. Nothing in the way we think, feel, decide and act escapes the influence of self-esteem.[17]

Abraham Maslow, in his hierarchy of human needs, describes the need for esteem, which is divided into two aspects, the esteem for oneself (self-love, self-confidence, skill, aptitude, etc.), and respect and esteem one receives from other people (recognition, success, etc.) The healthiest expression of self-esteem, according to Maslow, "is the one which manifests in respect we deserve for others, more than renown, fame and flattery".[citation needed]

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.[17] 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:

Every human being, with no exception, for the mere fact to be it, is worthy of unconditional respect of everybody else; he deserves to esteem himself and to be esteemed.[17]

By virtue of this reason, even the most evil human beings deserve respect 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.[17]

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

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.[28] 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 due to the other variables of social interactions and life events affecting this performance.[29]

"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."[30]

The pro-esteem position was caricatured in 1992 in Calvin and Hobbes, with Calvin claiming that 'Homework is bad for my self-esteem. It sends the message that I don't know enough!....So instead of trying to learn, I'm just concentrating on liking myself the way I am'.[31]

High self-esteem correlates highly with self-reported happiness; whether this is a causal relationship has not been established.[29] Additionally, self-esteem has been found to be related to forgiveness in close relationships, in that people with high self-esteem will be more forgiving than people with low self-esteem.[32]

Parental influence

Parental habits, whether positive or negative, can influence the development of those same habits of self-perception in their children.[33] Children are also likely to remember parental responses accordingly to their current emotional state at those certain times. For example, when the child receives positive reinforcement or praise when she or he currently has a high self-esteem, or receives criticisms in a low-self-esteem state, it is effectively embedded in their memories.[34]

Criticism and controversy

The American psychologist Albert Ellis criticized on numerous occasions the concept of self-esteem as essentially self-defeating and ultimately destructive.[35] 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.[35] Acknowledging that rating and valuing behaviours and characteristics is functional and even necessary, he sees rating and valuing human beings' totality and total selves as irrational and unethical. The healthier alternative to self-esteem according to him is unconditional self-acceptance and unconditional other-acceptance.[36] Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a psychotherapy based on this approach.[37]

False stereotypes

Comfort is not self-esteem

For a person with low self-esteem—or "wrong" self-esteem, 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.[12]

Neville Symington described such 'transitory comforts...as like short-term memory': any such input 'keeps me going for a couple of days, but then I need another pick-me-up dose'.[38]

Self-esteem and culture

Branden has claimed that "self-esteem can be better understood as a sort of spiritual achievement, that is, a victory in psyche's evolution".[12]

More recent studies demonstrate both a correlation between self-esteem and life satisfaction, and that such levels of correlation are to an extent culturally relative.[39]

High self-esteem is not necessarily narcissistic

A common mistake is to think that loving oneself is necessarily equivalent to narcissism, as opposed for example to what Erik Erikson speaks of as 'a post-narcissistic love of the ego'.[40] A person with a healthy self-esteem accepts and loves himself/herself unconditionally, acknowledging both virtues and faults in the self, and yet, in spite of everything, being able to continue to live loving her/himself.

In narcissists, by contrast, an 'innate uncertainty about their own worth gives rise to...a self-protective, but often totally spurious, aura of grandiosity'[41] - producing the class 'of narcissists, or people with very high, but insecure, self-esteem...fluctuating with each new episode of social praise or rejection'.[42] Narcissism can thus be seen as a symptom of fundamentally low self-esteem (that is, lack of love towards oneself), but often accompanied by 'an immense increase in self-esteem' based on 'the defense mechanism of denial by overcompensation'.[43]

The narcissist, then, is not able to acknowledge and accept his faults, which he always tries to hide: his 'idealized love of self...rejected the part of him' which he denigrates - 'this destructive little child'[44] within. Instead, the narcissist emphasizes his virtues in the presence of others, just to try to convince himself that he is a valuable person and to try to stop feeling ashamed for his faults;[17] unfortunately such 'people with unrealistically inflated self-views, which may be especially unstable and highly vulnerable to negative information...tend to have poor social skills'.[45]

In Buddhism

In Buddhism, Māna—overly high self-esteem or conceit— is one of the bonds of which an anagami is not yet free. It is one of the blockages of paths towards nirvana.[46]

History

  • 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.[17]
  • 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.[17]
  • Robert B. Burns considers that self-esteem is a collection of the individual's attitudes toward himself. The human being perceives itself at a sensory level; thinks about itself and about its behavior, and evaluates both its behavior and itself. Consequently, humans feel emotions related to themselves. These emotions prompt behavioral tendencies aimed at oneself, at one's behavior, and at the features of one'S body and character. These tendencies effect 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".[17]
  • Self-esteem has been included as one of the four dimensions that comprise core self-evaluations, one's fundamental appraisal of oneself, along with locus of control, neuroticism, and self-efficacy.[47] The concept of core self-evaluations was first examined by Judge, Locke, and Durham (1997),[47] and since has proven to have the ability to predict several work outcomes, specifically, job satisfaction and job performance.[47][48][49][50][51] Self-esteem may, in fact, be one of the most essential core self-evaluation dimensions because it is the overall value one feels about oneself as a person.[50]

See also

Notes

  1. Hewitt, John P. (2009). Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, 217-224, Oxford University Press.
  2. E. R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, Social Psychology (2007)p. 107
  3. Defined as "self-esteem; self-respect" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/58/S0245800.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  4. Defined as "consideration of oneself or one's interests; self-respect" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/18/S0241800.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  5. Defined as "due respect for oneself, one's character, and one's conduct" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/23/S0242300.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  6. The Macquarie Dictionary. Compare The Dictionary of Psychology by Raymond Joseph Corsini. Psychology Press, 1999. ISBN 1-58391-028-X. Online via Google Book Search.
  7. Defined as "the instinct or desire to promote one's own well-being; regard for or love of one's self" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition, 2000. Online at http://www.bartleby.com/61/89/S0238900.html. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  8. Geoffrey Brereton, A Short History of French Literature (1954) p. 79
  9. James, W. (1983). The principles of psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1890)
  10. Crocker and Park, 2004
  11. Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Nathaniel Branden. Cómo mejorar su autoestima. 1987. Versión traducida: 1990. 1ª edición en formato electrónico: enero de 2010. Ediciones Paidós Ibérica. ISBN 978-84-493-2347-8.
  13. Mruk, 2006
  14. Koole, S. L., & Pelham, B. W. (2003). On the nature of implicit self-esteem: The case of the name letter effect. In S. Spencer, S. Fein, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Motivated social perception: The Ontario Symposium (pp. 93-116). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  15. From the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health from the University of California, San Francisco. Online at http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/Psychosocial/notebook/selfesteem.html#Measurement. Retrieved 25 February 2008.
  16. Adapted from D.E. Hamachek, Encounters with the Self, Rinehart, New York, 1971.
  17. 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 17.14 17.15 17.16 17.17 17.18 17.19 17.20 17.21 17.22 17.23 17.24 17.25 17.26 17.27 17.28 17.29 17.30 José-Vicente Bonet. Sé amigo de ti mismo: manual de autoestima. 1997. Ed. Sal Terrae. Maliaño (Cantabria, España). ISBN 978-84-293-1133-4.
  18. Christian Miranda. La autoestima profesional: una competencia mediadora para la innovación en las prácticas pedagógicas. Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación. 2005. Volume 3, number 1. PDF format.
  19. Sigmund Freud, On Metapsychology (PFL 11) p. 254-6
  20. The Yogyakarta Principles, Preamble and Principles 11
  21. Preventing Suicide, A resource for teachers and other school staff, WHO, Geneva, 2000
  22. {{cite newspaper article |author=Jones FC |title=Low self esteem |Newspaper=Chicago Defender|pages=33|year=2003 |ISSN=0745-7014
  23. Judith Johnson, Alex M. Wood, Patricia Gooding, Peter J. Taylor, Nicholas Tarrier, (2011) Resilience to suicidality: The buffering hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review 31:4, pages 563-591.
  24. Spencer, David G. Myers, Steven (2006). Social psychology, 3rd Canadian ed., 51, Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
  25. Adapted from J. Gill, "Indispensable Self-Esteem", in Human Development, vol. 1, 1980.
  26. Maslow A. H. (1987). Motivation and Personality (3rd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
  27. Greenberg, J. (2008). Understanding the vital human quest for self-esteem. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 48-55.
  28. Baumeister, Roy F., Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger and Kathleen D. Vohs (January 2005). Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth. Scientific American.
  29. 29.0 29.1 (2003). Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4 (1): 1–44.
  30. Reasoner, Robert W. (n.d.). "research.htm Extending self-esteem theory and research". Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  31. Quoted in Smith/Mackie, p. 109
  32. (2006). Dispositional and state forgiveness: The role of self-esteem, need for structure, and narcissism. Personality and Individual Differences 41 (2): 371–380.
  33. Brown, Asa Don (2011) Children's Self-Esteem and Parental Influence Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  34. Zielinski, Mary A. and Richard B. Felson (1989) Children's Self-Esteem and Parental Support national Council on Family Relations. Retrieved Dec 4, 2011.
  35. 35.0 35.1 Ellis, A. (2001). Feeling better, getting better, staying better. Impact Publishers
  36. Ellis, A. The Myth of Self-esteem. 2005.
  37. Albert Ellis, Windy Dryden. The Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.
  38. Neville Symington, Narcissism: A New Theory (London 2003) p. 93 and p. 55-6
  39. Ed Diener and Marissa Diener. Cross-Cultural Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem . 2009. DOI:10.1007/978-90-481-2352-0_4 .
  40. Erik H. Erikson, Childhood and Society (Penguin 1973) p. 260
  41. Simon Crompton, All about Me (London 2007) p. 16
  42. Smith/Mackie, p. 479
  43. Otto Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (London 1946) p. 407-10
  44. Neville Symington, Narcissism: A New Theory (London 2003) p. 114
  45. Smith/Mackie, p. 126
  46. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/various/bl014.html
  47. 47.0 47.1 47.2 Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., & Durham, C. C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 151–188. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Judge1997" defined multiple times with different content
  48. Bono, J. E., & Judge, T. A. (2003). Core self-evaluations: A review of the trait and its role in job satisfaction and job performance. European Journal of Personality, 17(Suppl1), S5-S18. DOI:10.1002/per.48
  49. Dormann, C., Fay, D., Zapf, D., & Frese, M. (2006). A state-trait analysis of job satisfaction: On the effect of core self-evaluations. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 55(1), 27-51.
  50. 50.0 50.1 Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., Durham, C. C., & Kluger, A. N. (1998). Dispositional effects on job and life satisfaction: The role of core evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(1), 17-34.
  51. Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2001). Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 80-92.
  • Baumeister, R., 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", in Scientific American, 284, No. 4, pages 96–101; April 2001.
  • Baumeister, Roy F., et al. (2003). "Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?", Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4 (1), pages 1–44; May 2003. (ed: other researchers: Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger and Kathleen D. Vohs)
  • Baumeister, Roy F., et al. (2005). "Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth" Scientific American, January 2005. (ed. This study also involved Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger and Kathleen D. Vohs)
  • 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 0787945269
  • Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). "The costly pursuit of self-esteem". Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 392–414.
  • James, W. (1983). The principles of psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1890)
  • Lerner, Barbara (1985). "Self-Esteem and Excellence: The Choice and the Paradox", American Educator, Winter 1985.
  • 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)
  • Mruk, C. (2006). Self-Esteem research, theory, and practice: Toward a positive psychology of self-esteem (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.
  • 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 978-0743276986

Contingencies of self-worth references

  • Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). "Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles?" Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(1), 1-44.
  • Crocker, J. (2007). Professional Profile: Jennifer Crocker. Retrieved September 27, 2007 from http://crocker.socialpsychology.org/
  • Crocker, J., Brook, A. T., & Niiya, Y. (2006). The pursuit of self-esteem: Contingencies of self-worth and self-regulation. Journal of Personality, 74(6), 1749-1771.
  • Crocker, J., Karpinski, A., Quinn, D. M., & Chase, S. (2003). When grades determine self-worth: Consequences of contingent self-worth for male and female engineering and psychology majors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 507-516.
  • Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, R. K. (2003). Level of self-esteem and contingencies of self-worth: Unique effects on academic, social, and financial problems in college freshmen. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 701-712.
  • Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, S. (2003). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 894-908.
  • Crocker, J. & Nuer, N. (2004). Do people need self-esteem? Comment on Pyszczynski et al. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 469-472.
  • Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 392-414.
  • Crocker, J., Sommers, S., & Luhtanen, R. (2002). Hopes dashed and dreams fulfilled: Contingencies of self-worth in the graduate school admissions process. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1275-1286.
  • Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review, 108, 593-623.
  • Jambekar, S., & Quinn, D. M., & Crocker, J. (2001). Effects of weight and achievement primes on the self-esteem of college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25, 48-56.
  • Sargent, J. T., Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, R. K. (2006). Contingencies of self-worth and depressive symptoms in college students. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 25(6), 628-646.

Further reading

  • 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


External links

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