The Role of SelfEsteem in Healthy Psychological Functioning

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The Role of Self-Esteem in Healthy Psychological
Functioning
2
Questions Concerning Self-Esteem

• What is Self-Esteem?
• What are the benefits and costs (if any) of
  self-esteem level to healthy psychological
  functioning?
• 3. What role does self-esteem have in affecting
  healthy psychological functioning?

3
Defining Self-Esteem Historical Perspectives

• William James (1890)
• Domain specific evaluations (e.g., physical
  attractiveness, intelligence, peer acceptance,
  etc).
• Average tone of self-feeling (e.g., How do you
  feel about yourself in general?)

4
Defining Self-Esteem Contemporary Perspectives

• Self-Esteem Level
• The degree that individuals generally have
  positive (favorable) or negative (unfavorable)
  feelings of self-worth.

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Rosenbergs (1965) Self-esteem Scale

• Assesses peoples general or typical feelings of
  self worth, liking, acceptance and competence
• how you generally or typically feel about
  yourself
• People are often grouped as being
• High or Low in Self-Esteem

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Rosenbergs (1965) Self-Esteem Scale Sample Items

• I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on
  an equal plane with others
• I take a positive attitude toward myself
• I wish that I could have more respect for
  myself (reverse scored)

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Findings for Self-Esteem Level

• Higher self-esteem levels relate to
• - greater self-confidence
• - more positive affect
• - more life satisfaction
• - more clear self-concept
• - less anxiety
• - less hopelessness
• - fewer depressive symptoms
• - greater task persistence in the face of
  
• failure feedback

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Summary Story for Findings on SE Level
High Self-Esteem Good!
Low Self-Esteem Bad!
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A Closer Look At SE Level

• Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (10-Items)
• Negatively skewed
• Average SE score is 40 with a range of
  possible scores from 10-50.
• High SE 40-50 Extremely favorable SE.
• Low SE 30-39 Neutral or moderately
• favorable feelings of self-worth.

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The Darkside to High Self-Esteem

• Higher SE Levels also relate to
• -more narcissism (e.g., inflated self-view)
• -self-serving biases
• success me
• failure ? me
• -defensive/overreact to negative feedback
• -self-enhancement motives
• Thus, some aspects of high self-esteem seem to
  suggest a fragile/defensive nature to high SE.

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The Story of Ripple
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HW 1 Draw a Self-Portrait that includes your
Philosophy on Life
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HW 2 Identify your worst weaknesses and draw
how you felt while writing the essay
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Reconciling the Findings on High Self-Esteem
the story of Ripple (Reviewed in Kernis
Goldman, 2002 Kernis, 2003)

• Secure High SE
• Feel worthwhile and valuable
• Like and satisfied with oneself
• Accept weaknesses
• Built upon strong or solid foundation of self
• Does NOT require continual validation or
  promotion

• Fragile High SE
• Feel very proud and
• seemingly confident
• Report liking and being
• satisfied with themselves
• Do not like to see weaknesses in themselves
• Built upon weak or unstable foundation of self
• Chronic tendency to enhance self-esteem

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Synthesizing Different Views of High Self-Esteem

• Whereas some people possess fragile
• high self esteem, other people possess
• secure high self-esteem.
• Traditional measures of SE level do not
• adequately distinguish between fragile
• and secure forms of high self-esteem.
• Thus, additional components of self-
• esteem are needed to distinguish empirically
  between them.

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Fragile Self-Esteem Assessed As Self-Esteem
Stability (e.g., Kernis et al., 1989)

• SE Stability Magnitude of short-term
  fluctuations in situational-based feelings of
  self-worth (e.g., how you feel about yourself at
  this moment)
• Unstable Self-esteem Substantial short-term
  fluctuations in situational-based immediate
  feelings of self-worth
• Stable self-esteem Minimal short-term
• variability in feelings of self-worth

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Empirical Support for SE Instability

• Kernis and colleagues found that compared with
  people with stable SE, people with unstable SE
• Experience greater increases in depressive
  symptoms when faced with daily hassles
• Have self-feelings that are more affected by
  everyday negative and positive events
• Possess more impoverished self-concepts
• Regulate their academic goals with relatively
  less self-determination

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Characteristics of Unstable High Self-Esteem
Relative to Stable High

• People with UNSTABLE HIGH Self-esteem
• (e.g. Reviewed in Kernis Goldman 2002
  Kernis, 2003)
• defensive and self-aggrandizing
• especially prone toward anger and hostility
• lower in psychological well-being
• Evaluative Set toward attending and
• evaluating events as being relevant for
• their self-esteem

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What role does SE have in Affecting Romantic
Relationship Adjustment?(Kernis, Goldman
Paradise, 2000)

• Examined the SE level and SE stability of
  individuals.
• Predicted reactions to potentially negative
  relationship events and general relationship
  quality.

SE Stability
Unstable
Stable
HIGH
SE Level
LOW
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Relationship Reaction Inventory

• Constructive Reactions
• Minimize taking event at face value
• Benign Explanation positive external
• rationale for event
• Destructive Reactions
• Personalizing Exaggerating the self-
  implications of the events relevance
• Reciprocating To get even

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Your Partner Leaves a Note Around From a Person
Named Pat and You Dont Know Anyone Named Pat

• Personalize
• Think that your partner
• is untrustworthy and
• might be betraying
• you

• Minimize
• Think that the note is
• nothing to be concerned
• with

• Benign Explanation Think that its okay for
  your partner to know people whom you dont

• Get Even
• Plan to leave a similar
• note for your partner
• to find in the next
• several days

22
Your Partner Does Not Look Up From What He or She
is Doing When You First Enter the Room and Begin
Talking. You Ask Several Questions and Still
Your Partner Answers Without Looking Up

• Minimize
• Not think very much
• about it

• Personalize
• Think that your partner does not care, value, or
  respect you enough

• Get even Go about your business, but treat
  your partner that very same way when he/she later
  approaches you

• Benign Explanation Think that your partner
  is engrossed in something very interesting or
  important

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Minimize Reaction
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Benign Explanation Reaction
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Internalize Reaction
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Get Even Reaction
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Perceptions of Relationship Quality

• Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976)
• Affection (e.g., agreement on displays of love
  and affection)
• Cohesiveness (e.g., experience laughter,
  discussions together)
• Satisfaction (e.g., happy with relationship and
  minimal conflict)

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Relationship Quality Total Score
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Relationship Study Conclusions

• Unstable High SE report less constructive and
  more destructive reactions to potential
  self-esteem threats than do Stable High SE.
• Unstable High SE report lower relationship
  quality than do Stable High SE.
• Unstable High SE individuals always scored at one
  extreme, and Stable High SE individuals scored at
  the other extreme

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Relationship Study Summary

• Of all the types of self-esteem Unstable High
  Self-Esteem individuals reported the most
  destructive and least constructive responses.
• Both SE Level and Stability are needed to
  determine the relative health of individuals
  psychological functioning

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Questions Concerning Self-Esteem

• What is Self-Esteem?
• What are the benefits and costs (if any) of
  self-esteem level to healthy psychological
  functioning?
• 3. What role does self-esteem have in affecting
  healthy psychological functioning?

32
Overall Summary and Implications

• High self-esteem can be either fragile or secure
• Stable Secure Unstable Fragile
• This distinction has important implications for
  how high self-esteem relates to interpersonal and
  psychological functioning.
• Self-Esteem level is not adequate for an in depth
  understanding of healthy psychological
  functioning.
• A full understanding of self-esteem processes
  requires consideration of whether or not ones SE
  is not only High, but fragile or secure (e.g.,
  both stability and level of self-esteem).

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The Story of Ripple Completed
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Markers of Fragile High and Secure High Forms of
SE

• Fragile High SE Secure High SE
• Unstable vs. Stable
• Contingent vs. True
• Low Implicit vs. High Implicit
• Defensive vs. Genuine