Self Esteem Flashcards
Self Esteem
- Evaluation of one’s self
Self efficacy
- Belief in one’s abilities
Self - concept
- Definitions of one’s sense of self
Narcisism and self-esteem
- Both refer to a positive self evaluation
- although, some research suggests measures are only weakly correlated
Self-esteem and Psychological well-being
- Self esteem is linked to positive psychological adjustment
- Low self esteem - unrealistic goals, pessimistic
- High self esteem - clear sense of self, optimistic
Historical perspectives on self esteem
The self esteem movement (1970/80s)
- Low self esteem leads to societal dysfunction - high self esteem is cure
- Although lack of evidence of this and shouldn’t assume high self esteem is good
Self esteem state and trait
Trait - general evaluation of self esteem, stable across time and space
state - can have fluctuations at certain times, changes at different times
Rosenberg self-esteem scale (1965)
- series of statements, strongly disagree to strongly agree
e.g. ‘I am able to do things as well as most’
strongly dis, agree, strongly agree - Assess how people feel at that moment in time
Self-esteem and threat
- Self-esteem fluctuates in response to threat
- Heatherton et al (1991) - self esteem fluctuates, based on events.
- measures self esteem before being told about exam, after told about exam and after results.
- Self esteem falls each time
- Can anticipate threat easy test = success likely hard test = failure likely
Manipulating threatened self-esteem
- e.g. the difficulty of the test (RAT)
- shown 3 words have to find 4th
- provides false feedback to test
- measured attribution of test outcome, percent on test and test importance
- we protect self esteem by blaming failures on others or attribute it to luck
Response to threat - meta analysis
vanDellen et al (2011)
Breaking = lowering self expectations
e.g. decreased self esteem, positive evaluation of others, internal attribution of failure
Compensating = blaming others for their failure
e.g. increased self esteem, negative view of others, external attribution of failure
What is self-esteem?
- can refer to anything, academic, athletic etc.
- praise can increase self worth and self esteem
Contingent self esteem
- 1,418 college students
- 7 domains of self esteem such as competition and appearance
- self esteem is effected in all domains that our self esteem is contingent in
How does self esteem function
Self-certification (Swann,1987) prefers information which confirms self view
Self-enhancement (Kunda,1990) motive to develop a favourable self view and avoid negative self views
Self-affirmation (Steele, 1988) cope with threat by affirming self alternative domains
Cross-cultural variation in self-esteem
- Heine et al (1999), self esteem lower in non western cultures, self esteem doesn’t play a impact in some cultures
- higher self esteem after going abroad to Western cultures
- Boucher 2010, self esteem is attained differently in cultures but self esteem is universal i.e. individual collectivism
Role of culture In self esteem
- self esteem is derived from living up to perceived standards of conduct
- culture = socially constructed and consensually validated norms and beliefs
Costly pursuit of self esteem
Albert ellis - self esteem is the greatest sickness known to man or woman - also acknowledge that high self esteem has drawbacks
- Autonomy, do things for approval of others
- Competence, mistakes are criticisms rather than opportunities to grow
- Relatedness, lead to defensiveness and self absorbed
- Good physical health, unhealthy behaviours and stress
Healthier Pursuits of self-esteem
- Bases of self worth should be realistic
- FIND EXTRA RESEARCH FOR THIS
Why do we need self esteem
- Self esteem for it’s own sake (Steele,1988), we strive for it, doesn’t explain motives
- Managing existential based concerns (Greenberg et al, 1986), need to see life as meaningful, offer a contribution to society
- managing our inclusiveness (Leary & Baumeister, 2000), being part of group increases chances of survival, social exclusion affects self esteem
Beyond self esteem
- Not our only motive of behaviour
meaning, uncertainty, belonging distinctiveness, continuity, self efficacy
EXTRA RESEARCH ON THIS
