Concept of High Self-Esteem - Term Paper Example

Defining High Self-esteem High self-esteem (high self-esteem) is conceptualized as a person’s opinion of oneself- wither positive or negative. However, Elliot (2008) asserts that this unidimensional definition of self-esteem is not comprehensive and falls short of predicting the behavior and psychology of people with high and low self-esteems. This is evidenced by studies which show that although high self-esteem provides a number of benefits to individuals, people with high self-esteem have fragile self-concepts and are prone to exceedingly defensive behaviors. Moreover studies have shown that both low and high self-esteem can cause people to behave aggressively towards others, and is suggestive of the fact that self-esteem can not be defined by a unidimensional scale. Self-esteem can also be measured and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale is one of the most commonly used scales for measuring self-esteem. Self-esteem is not a passive process; rather it relates to the attitudes and feelings that promote growth. Self-esteem encompasses many elements such as self-worth, the person’s recognition and approval of oneself and one’s view on how capable one is. Therefore, it can be seen that self-esteem can not be a purely single category; in contrast to that, it entails a conglomeration of elements that constitute and contribute to its heterogeneity. Arguments supporting the Heterogeneity of High Self-Esteem Carol Craig (2006), from the Center for Confidence and Well-Being, reflects upon the heterogeneity of high self-esteem and concurs with Professor Roy Baumeister’s criticism that self-esteem is a very broad category. As a result, the individuals who can be classed as those with high self-esteem make a very heterogeneous group. According to Craig, people’s perception on what is considered self-esteem varies, and is largely responsible for the heterogeneous nature of high self-esteem. The definition of self-esteem, as proposed by the National Association for Self-Esteem (NASE), helps to articulate and account for the heterogeneity of high self-esteem. The NASE defines self-esteem as the experience that allows individuals to meet life’s challenges and to be worthy of happiness. The NASE distinguishes between accurate and inaccurate self-esteem. People with accurate self-esteem are those who take up responsibility for their actions and do not have to depend upon making a good image of themselves in the eyes of other people. They feel no need to disparage others and their self-esteem does not bring them to be arrogant to others. On the other hand, people with an inaccurate view of self-esteem strive to look good in the eyes of other people. They make an effort to leave an impression on others; consequently, their outlook on self-esteem is compromised and tends to describe their image in other people’s eyes. Their self-esteem is thus external and defensive. From the above argument, it can be deduced that people who consider themselves as those having high self-esteem fall into two diverse groups: people who have a genuine image of themselves in their view, and those who try to impress others and project an image of high self-esteem when they are not. Narcissists also complicate and increment the heterogeneity of high self-esteem. They are people who love themselves and consider themselves superior to others. Narcissists project a sense of self-esteem and bemoan others, while on the same hand they covet to have a positive image of themselves in the eyes of other people. Narcissism affects interpersonal relationships and narcissist individuals have an inflated view of their value and authority. Weiner et al. (2003) are of the view that people with a high self-esteem tend to have high levels of narcissism, although the correlation ranges from low to moderate. This imperfect connection suggests that high self-esteem is not a single category and is inclusive of conceited and inflated individuals as well as those who are satisfied with who they are without having to assert their superiority over others. Weiner et al. state that narcissism is a subtype of high self-esteem. It is very rare that individuals with low self-esteem score high on narcissism; thus documenting the likelihood of narcissism being a subset of high self-esteem and high self-esteem being heterogeneous. Petty et al. (2009) contend that a number of websites and psychologists have vouched for the heterogeneity of high self-esteem. Even people with explicit high self-esteem, there are subtypes that contribute to the varied nature of high self-esteem. Self-esteem can be both defensive and non-defensive. Individuals with low implicit self-esteem show a defensive behavior. When the positive self-perceptions of these people are tested, people with high explicit but low implicit self-esteem respond in a defensive way than those who have high explicit and implicit self-esteem. Petty et al. argue the heterogeneity of high self-esteem by elaborating upon the types of high self-esteem. high self-esteem can have two main types. One type of high self-esteem constitutes those individuals who have positive perceptions of themselves and are secure and exhibit confidence about them. On the other hand, the second type includes those people who project that they have positive perceptions, yet are insecure and are susceptible to threat. The second type of people resort to a myriad of behaviors that is defensive and self-enhancing on many levels. These behaviors are demonstrated at the cost of others in their social milieu. The stability of self-esteem can be a criterion for distinguishing between fragile and secure types of behavior (Kernis, 2005). Individuals claiming to have high self-esteem can be classed into those with stable and unstable views. Those with stable views tend to be secure and confident, whereas those with unstable views are vulnerable and take up defensive approaches to cover up for their insecurity. It has been suggested by many psychologists that people who profess to have high self-esteem maybe insecure but are not aware of it. It has been argued that people showing positive self-perceptions try to cover up their insecurities by believing that they are secure and confident. Many theorists have also accounted for a similar reason for narcissism; people who consider themselves superior to themselves are actually attempting to cover their feelings of doubt and hatred for themselves. As a result, such individuals, are characteristic of a high explicit but a low implicit self-esteem. It is this behavior that gives rise to defensive traits in behavior. According to Lambird and Mann (2006), hypotheses aiming to conceptualize and establish the heterogeneity of high self-esteem have accrued empirical evidence. Lambird and Mann give four supporting arguments presented by theorists over the period of time to conceptualize and prove the heterogeneity of high self-esteem. Kernis and his colleagues discerned that people reporting high self-esteem may fluctuate in the stability of their feelings of self worth with the passage of time and on different situations that they find themselves in. Research has shown that, in contrast to people with a stable self-esteem, people who have an unstable self-esteem exhibit more symptoms of depression on daily issues or worrying events, have self-feelings that are easily influenced by the good or bad happenings of the day, employ a more protective approach to toward learning to safeguard their self-esteem and pay more attention to threats that endanger their self-esteem (Leary & Tangney, 2005). Also, people with high, yet unstable, self-esteem demonstrate motivation that is not self-determined to achieve goals and have a rather straitened view of themselves. Lambird and Mann also assert that people with defensive high self-esteem try to cover up for their unstable feelings and pretend to have a very high self-esteem; they refute and hide events that are painful and embarrassing, reflecting their negative feelings about themselves. High score in self-esteem scales referring to the part where the individual is asked if he or she tries to be socially desirable and makes an effort to impress others is representative of the defensive attitude of people faking high self-esteem. Furthermore, there are differences in the degree to which self-esteem depends on the individual’s motivation to reach goals. Lambird and Mann also contend that individuals who demonstrate high levels of high self-esteem may have differences in their levels of implicit self-esteem. These variations in the nature of self-esteem represent the efforts made by theorists to form a comprehensive definition of high self-esteem that addresses its various elements. Emler (2001) give reasons for how successes and failures impact self-esteem and how they might resort to defensive behavior in order to cover up for their negative feelings of self-worth. People might accept that they might not be good in studies, do not have a musical talent and may not be organized, yet they would believe that they are of great worth and boast a high self-esteem level. Emler contends that people’s feelings about themselves and their global sense of worth is partially affected by their actual achievements and is imperfectly associated with their own estimates of these. He is of the view that accomplishments only have a moderate impact on a person’s self-esteem. This is because the person might seek options such as bad luck, little effort and a prejudiced teacher not wanting to award fair marks for their reasons for failure. The person tries to cover up for his lack of self-esteem by excuses like poor memory. People may even go to the heights of regarding their good performances as false in order to hide their feelings of worthlessness. It has been seen that those with high self-esteem take no notice of their inadequacies. Those with low self-esteem also disregard any positive evidence, and use the techniques of people with high self-esteem in reverse. These indicators and the reactions of people to them represent the heterogeneity in the attitudes of those marked with high self-esteem. People with unstable high self-esteem also show a defensive behavior and discrimination can be used as a defensive strategy. Emler concluded that people with high self-esteem show greater ethnic discrimination and racism than those with low self-esteem. This is also an evidence of the low implicit self-esteem coupled with high explicit self-esteem and attests to the heterogeneous nature of high self-esteem. Santrock (2007) is of the view that reviewing the effects of high self-esteem is difficult due to the heterogeneous nature of high self-esteem. high self-esteem is a category that entails individuals who not only boast a high level of self-esteem and are well adjusted, but also those people who are narcissistic, defensive and arrogant. Thomas W. Miller (2008) advocates the view of heterogeneity in high self-esteem. He emphasizes that people with high self-esteem may differ more from each other since high self-esteem can be a genuine and accurate reflection of the person’s qualities, or it can be greatly doubtful projection of personal supremacy that is not true. Moreover, people with a secure image of oneself are not disheartened or encouraged by feedback, whereas those with a less secure image crave for feedback and try to be socially desirable. These differences in responses accentuate the different subtypes of high self-esteem and negate the idea of high self-esteem being a single category. Implications of Studies on High Self-Esteem Lambird and Mann (2006) are of the view that an obstacle in the researches conducted on high self-esteem is the difficulty to integrate previous researches with researches that establish a heterogeneous and complex nature of high self-esteem. One of the implications of research studies is that the some of the findings are not applicable to everyone; the results of the studies may be driven by a particular subtype of high self-esteem and does not apply to all individuals. Null results can also occur when contrasting elements cancel out each other. When the study fails to establish the predicted result, it is assumed that the result can only be attained from experimenting on another subtype of high self-esteem individuals. Studies that have been based on high-low distinctions are also not very strong and so there is a need to reanalyze these studies. Lambird and Mann adhere to the view that more researches need to be conducted to establish and understand better the nature of high self-esteem. Conclusion In conclusion, high self-esteem is heterogeneous in nature and can not be regarded as a single category. high self-esteem encompasses those individuals who frankly accept their good traits as well as individuals who are narcissist, arrogant and defensive (Baumeister et al., 2003). Individuals’ high self-esteem can be considered defensive rather than genuine. Recent studies have linked defensive high self-esteem with self-deception and impression management. high self-esteem is regarded as defensive if it tends to fall high on the self-deception scale. Moreover, the variety in high self-esteem is also due to individuals who have high explicit self-esteem but low implicit self-esteem. Studies have shown that heterogeneity of high self-esteem does exist; however more researches need to be done to further establish the theory (Lumei & Xiangkui, 2006). Reference List Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I. & Vohs, K. D., 2003. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, [Online] 4 (1). Available from: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/pspi/pdf/pspi411.pdf [Accessed 11 June 2010]. Craig, C., 2006. Definitional difficulties. [Online] Available from: http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/pp/overview.php?p=c2lkPTYmdGlkPTAmaWQ9MTY2 [Accessed 11 June 2010]. Elliot, A. J., 2008. Handbook of approach and avoidance motivation. New York (NY): CRC Press. Kernis, M. H., 2005. Measuring Self-Esteem in Context: The Importance of Stability of Self-Esteem in Psychological Functioning. Journal of Personality, [Online] 73 (6), Available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118646166/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 [Accessed 11 June 2010]. Lambird, K. H. & Mann, Y., 2006. When Do Ego Threats Lead to Self-Regulation Failure? Negative Consequences of Defensive High Self-Esteem? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, [Online] 32. Abstract only. Available at: http://psp.sagepub.com/content/32/9/1177.abstract [Accessed 11 June 2010]. Leary, M. R. & Tangney, J. P., 2005. Handbook of self and identity. New York (NY): Guilford Press. Lumei, T. & Xiangkui, Z., 2006. Heterogeneity of High Self-Esteem. Advances in Psychological Science, [Online] 05. Abstract only. Available at: http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-XLXD200605009.htm [Accessed 11 June 2010]. Miller, T. W., 2008. School Violence and Primary Prevention. New York (NY): Springer. Petty, R. E., Fazio, R. H. & Briñol, P., 2009. Attitudes: insights from the new implicit measures. CRC Press. Santrock, J. W., 2007. Psychology Essential 2 Updated Edition. Tata McGraw-Hill. Weiner, I. B., Borman, W. C., Ilgen, D. R. & Klimoski, R. J., 2003. Industrial and organizational psychology. New Jersey (NJ): John Wiley and Sons. Read More