Self Esteem - Term Paper Example

It is a situation of attitudes and believes contradicting. Notice that there is dual communication taking place in the individual. He does not want to do it but ends up doing it because there is a division between the actual self and the ideal self (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). Self-evaluation maintenance theory According to (Rustemeyer & Wilbert, 2001), self evaluation maintenance theory goes hand in hand with jealousy and rivalry. This moulds how someone will behave at a particular time. Someone might smoke wanting to get more attention than the others around him even though he knows that smoking might cost him his health.

For the case of Wheeler, he was desperate to be rich so as to be the attention getter and have more power. If attention is given to someone else, the other person will automatically sense threat, and this might cause him to act in an irrational way. Consider people in an intimate relationship, when a partner gives attention to someone else rather than his fiancee. The fiancee might be terribly angry and therefore leave the relationship or try his/her best to impress the other partner. This clearly shows how elements of life depend on the type of knowledge and wisdom.

We can use them to better the strategies we have so that we can achieve. It should also be noted that individuals have different ways of looking at different things thus; there is a vast difference in the way they accomplish.  Self-affirmation theory Self affirmation happens when a person does his best to maintain a healthy image to the society, notes (Moss, 2008). They are forced to maintain integrity whenever they go. Even when they are cornered, they will do their best to highlight where they are skilful in so that their integrity is defended.

The story of Wheeler clearly shows how he did not think about his decision. He confidently gives the excuse of lemon juice being applied on his face. McAthur Wheeler was a thief who robbed a bank without a mask on while there were surveillance cameras on. He was then arrested only to say that he had applied some lemon juice which through some magic known to himself, will help him not to be noted by the cameras. His need to rob a bank brewed in his mind because he knew the more the money, the more his self esteem will be raised.

He was so desperate that he could not come up with better way of protecting his face from the cameras. Rationalization trap “Rationalization is a mechanism that is designed to justify making a certain decision” (Birnesser, 2011) notes. This normally happens when an individual is excusing oneself. Giving excuses shows how a human mind can give judgment to a situation without rethinking about it first. Self-discrepancy theory As an individual matures, he learns his part to play in life, (Moss, sychlopedia, 2009) notes.

These responsibilities are then adapted into the individual's life as “a must do”. When these responsibilities are not met, this person is bound to feel guilty and insufficient, and this may make someone acting awkwardly. Conclusion Self esteem is how a person values oneself. It is a personality trait which comes from the inside of a person. It is all about what one believes about his abilities like his looks, emotions and how he behaves. It is an extremely essential need in a person so that he can behave normally and be socially healthy.

Self esteem is intertwined with a person’s thoughts. It can also be called self worth, self respect or self value (Cherry, 2010). People often hold overly