Self-Esteem its Mirage - Essay Example

In “Is the Allure of Self-Esteem a Mirage After All?” Joachim Krueger, Kathleen Vohs, and Roy Baumeister discuss their views in regard to self-esteem and the role of society. Responding to a previous study that claims that people base their self-esteem on the expectancy of society and the need to be accepted by society, Kruger et al. argue that this would be an unsuccessful battle. While people may be encouraged to have high self-esteem based on the need to impress society, they do not have self-esteem for the sake of how society views them. Also, self-esteem is not always displayed for the benefit of others, but for the individual alone.

The methodology that was undergone in this study was a series of ten items that divulged possible reasons that someone might have high self-esteem. The purpose of the list was to determine how others viewed themselves and how society played a role. However, the authors argue that the ten items left too much room for additional questions to be considered. This consists of potential future research as the authors want to get into more detail about why people have self-esteem, what it is made of, and if they do or do not have self-esteem for the purpose of pleasing society.

The conclusion of the author’s argument is that society does not play nearly as large of a role in the development and display of self-esteem as previous studies have attempted to show. Not all people with high self-esteem have good intentions or are all-around good people. This goes against Plato’s belief that all good things go together. People who display high levels of self-esteem do so for their own sake. If it somehow benefits society, it is out of chance, not intent. This information is useful because it provides insight into how people hold themselves in the eyes of society and why they do, it when applicable.