Lecture 10: Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem: The Holy Grail of Psychology?
The Self-Esteem Craze

  • Historical Overview:

    • 1983: John Vasconcellos rises to prominence advocating self-esteem.

    • 1986: Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility established.

    • 1990: Report titled "Toward A State Of Self-Esteem" released highlighting the importance of self-esteem in society.

Correlation and Implications

  • High Self-Esteem (SE) Correlates with:

    • Happiness

    • Productivity

    • Success

  • Low Self-Esteem Correlates with:

    • Crime

    • Teen pregnancy

    • Environmental pollution

  • An assertion made: "All of society's ills can be explained by an epidemic of low self-esteem".

The Self-Esteem Movement

  • Prominent Publications and Authors:

    • Matthew McKay, Patrick Fanning – "Self-Esteem: Understanding and Improving the Way We Think and Feel About Ourselves".

    • M. Scott Peck – "A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth".

    • Andrew M. Mecca – Edited works on self-esteem.

Methodological Issues in Measuring Self-Esteem

  • Challenges in Measurement:

    • Various scales lead to difficulties in comparing research results.

    • Empty results may arise from inconsistent measures.

  • Key Authors Mentioned:

    • Roy Baumeister, Blascovich, and Tomaka (1991) suggest uneven quality in self-esteem measures.

Defining Self-Esteem

  • William James's Perspective:

    • Defined as a fraction: self-esteem = success / pretensions

    • Suggestions to increase self-esteem include reducing pretensions or increasing actual successes.

Types of Self-Esteem

  • Distinctions in Self-Esteem:

    • State vs Trait:

    • State: Current feelings.

    • Trait: General level across situations.

    • Global vs Specific:

    • Global focuses on overall self-value; Specific focuses on self-evaluations in certain life areas.

    • Implicit vs Explicit:

    • Implicit is unconscious perceptions; Explicit is conscious self-evaluation.

Developmental Aspects of Self-Esteem

  • Trends Over Time:

    • Increase in self-esteem post-adolescence, peaking around age 60, then declining around 70.

    • Influences include home environment quality and parental care.

Correlation vs Causation

  • Understanding Relationships:

    • Importance of determining whether high SE causes positive outcomes or merely correlates with them.

    • Need for theoretical frameworks, such as Self-Verification Theory, Sociometer Theory, and Terror Management Theory.

  • Sociometer Theory:

    • Suggests self-esteem functions to monitor relational value and acceptance in social groups.

Aggression and Self-Esteem

  • Contradictory Findings:

    • High self-esteem may also relate to aggression under certain conditions.

    • Criminal behavior often associated with high (but unstable) self-esteem.

    • Variability in results regarding social behaviors: high SE can predict both aggression and social initiative.

Researcher Bias in Self-Esteem Studies

  • Examples of Bias:

    • John Vasconcellos’s political ties with self-esteem theories may influence research objectivity.

    • Calls for controlled examination of findings that align with self-esteem’s significance.

Nature of Healthy Self-Esteem

  • Fragile vs Stable SE:

    • Fragile Self-Esteem: Fluctuates based on external validation.

    • Stable Self-Esteem: Remains constant, associated with psychological clarity.

  • Optimal Self-Esteem (Kernis):

    • Described as self-esteem derived from authenticity and intrinsic worth.

    • Encourages engagement in mindfulness and flow experiences to foster genuine self-regard.