Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem: What's Your Value?

Self-Esteem and Self-Concept

  • Self-esteem is your assessment of your worth or value, reflecting your perception of skills, abilities, talents, and appearance.
  • Self-concept is your description of who you are.
  • Self-concept clarity is the extent to which beliefs about oneself are clearly and confidently identified and stable over time.
  • Low self-esteem is associated with a less clearly defined sense of self.
  • Self-esteem can fluctuate due to minor events or major upheavals.

Factors Affecting Self-Esteem

Gender
  • Gender includes biological sex, psychological and emotional characteristics, attitudes about appropriate roles, and sexual orientation.
  • In patriarchal (male-dominated) cultures, women and girls often experience a greater loss of self-esteem than men and boys do.
Social Comparisons
  • Social comparison is the process of measuring oneself against others to determine self-worth.
  • Social media can contribute to self-esteem fluctuations, with online comparisons potentially leading to negative feelings.
  • Fitspirations, while potentially motivating, can also lead to self-esteem loss through constant comparison.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
  • A self-fulfilling prophecy is when beliefs about oneself come true because one expects them to.
  • Expectations influence actions and outcomes, reinforcing initial beliefs.

Key Definitions

  • Self-esteem: Yourassessmentofyourworthorvalueasreflectedinyourperceptionofsuchthingsasyourskills,abilities,talents,andappearance.Your assessment of your worth or value as reflected in your perception of such things as your skills, abilities, talents, and appearance.
  • Self-concept clarity: Theextenttowhichbeliefsaboutoneselfareclearlyandconfidentlyidentifiedandstableovertime.The extent to which beliefs about oneself are clearly and confidently identified and stable over time.
  • Gender: Aculturalconstructionthatincludesone′sbiologicalsex,psychologicalandemotionalcharacteristics,attitudesaboutthesexes,andsexualorientation.A cultural construction that includes one's biological sex, psychological and emotional characteristics, attitudes about the sexes, and sexual orientation.
  • Social comparison: Processofcomparingoneselftootherstomeasureone′sworth.Process of comparing oneself to others to measure one's worth.
  • Self-fulfilling prophecy: $$The notion that predictions about one's future are likely to come true because one believes that they will come true.$"