Self-esteem Based on Self Concept - Essay Example

 Self-esteem is based on self concept. Self-concept is characterized by how “I see myself” whereas self-esteem is “how I feel about how I see myself” (Raymore, Godbey, & Crawford, 1994). The world that exists and the world that is perceived by an individual – both these concepts affect the self-esteem of an individual. This indicates that an individual is always having different perceptions of himself. Global self-esteem is different from self-evaluation, self-confidence and racial or collective self-esteem (Crocker & Major, 1999). Self-esteem is a global evaluation of one’s self. It includes pride, egotism, arrogance, honor, conceitedness, narcissism, and sense of superiority (Baumeister, Smart & Boden, 1996). Self-esteem is a construct related to how one values one’s self. Self-esteem is an element of culture and deeply rooted cultural issues become personal issues that impact the self esteem (Iwasaki, 2008). Maintaining self-esteem is central function of the self’s activities (Yu & Berryman, 1996). Culture in any society comprises of a set of rules, customs and ideas. It provides an individual with a meaningful scheme of action, which makes fine shades of self-esteem possible. This implies that the individual learns about the self from the experience of socialization as well as from the interactions he has with others. Hence, self-esteem is related to many behavioural responses in an individual. People with low self-esteem do not like to be criticized and prefer to remain passive rather than expose themselves to situations where they can encounter threats (Raymore, Godbey, & Crawford, 1994). They are usually self-conscious while those with high self-esteem are likely to engage in exploratory and independent activities. They enjoy greater social independence. This study will explore how self-esteem impact leisure activities. Self-esteem is related to self-respect. People must first respect themselves before they have the confidence to take independent healthy decisions about their life. The need to have a sense of self-worth, to feel motivated and to overcome the aimlessness and boredom, in order to engage in some activities (West & Sweeting, 1997). Hence a low self-esteem has a negative impact on the activities of a person. Low self-esteem results from a disparity between different parts of the self – the public self and the private self (Yu & Berryman, 1996). During adolescence an individual undergoes rapid physical and sexual changes along with mental, psycho-social and moral development. These changes urge an individual to re-evaluate himself or herself. The two most important institutions at that time of life are the parents and peers. Hence during this period if an individual learns or achieves or acquires some recreational skills, it gives a sense of achievement and enhances the self-worth. Participating in recreational activities also enhances the self esteem. Individuals with a wide variety of leisure skills have a higher self-esteem than those with only a few skills. Self-esteem is enhanced when one learns new skills or develops new abilities. West and Sweeting (1997) did not find any equation between feelings of self-worth and self-esteem and adopting any lifestyle. At the age of 15 many young children are oriented towards ‘street leisure’ but they did not find a correlation between self-esteem and the orientation towards street leisure. It is more related to the institution or the group from where the youth come and how these groups provide them the self identity. Leisure behaviour is a result of childhood and adolescent experiences but there is no developmental approach to understanding the constraints on leisure. However Raymore, Godbey and Crawford (1994) found is a study of adolescents that a higher percentage of those with higher self-esteem participated in extra-curricular activities thereby suggesting that self-esteem affects choices in participation of leisure activities. This implies that there is a negative relationship between self-esteem and total constraints on leisure. People with low self-esteem have higher level of total constraint on leisure activities. Such people would not be likely to begin any leisure activity compared to those with high self-esteem. A study on mixed-sex leisure activities was conducted among adolescents. Leisure experiences have certain common elements – self-determination, intrinsic motivation, high-perceived competence, and pleasure (Darling, Dowdy, Horn & Caldwell, 1999). In leisure contexts adolescents are likely to experience flow and challenge characterized by excitement, interest and choice over the type of activity to engage in. Mixed-sex interaction is a common leisure activity in this age group and this is a positive challenge rather than a threat. It also gives rise to feelings of freedom, intrinsic motivation, enjoyment and competence. Even stress and nervousness gives pleasure in such leisure activities. Although the sixth graders experience pleasure, the study did not find any relation between mixed-sex interaction and global self-esteem. The boys that were dating and were not enthusiastic about having a girlfriend had lower self-esteem than the non-dating boys or peers. This was because boys at this tender age do not have the sex-related skills and as they are experimenting with girls of the same age, they felt low-esteem. Amongst the eight graders, the study found positive self-assessment when engaging in such leisure activity suggesting that the 8th graders did not experience low self esteem. Leisure activities have been known to assist people to cope with unemployment (Waters & Moore, 2002). Hence to examine the influence of self-esteem on unemployment and efforts in re-employment, engagement in leisure activities was taken as the basis. When the unemployed engaged in leisure activities they derived a sense of satisfaction, goal achievement, importance and interest. Higher levels of internal meaningful leisure activities have influenced the lower sense of latent deprivation among those who were re-employed. Thus participating in leisure activities can enhance the self-esteem which allows an individual to cope with the situation of employment and subsequently gain employment. Traveling is another major leisure activity and women of late have been traveling solo. Self-esteem is generally related to luxury traveling conditions but a study found that women that travel alone usually are budget travelers (Chiang & Jogaratnam, 2005). Money is a big factor for them and they do not mind staying in budget hotels, backpacking and eating local food. Such women have a passion for travel, independent travel makes them autonomous and they thrive on adventure. Hence self-esteem was not important to undertake solo travel by women. Iwasaki discusses about leisure-like pursuits instead of leisure in non-western countries. Leisure-like activities enhances self-esteem and spirituality. People from different cultural backgrounds find a context through such pursuits to enhance their social identity which is closely linked to self-esteem and spirituality. Indigenous activities like traditional ceremonies and festivals in societies like Alaskan Natives or Aboriginal Australians inspires pride and self-esteem and help gain cultural meaning. Culturally appropriate forms of leisure-like activities can promote self-esteem. Even in Muslim countries like Egypt, Iran and Turkey, leisure-like activities, religious festivals and cultural tourism provide an opportunity to enhance self-esteem. Self-esteem was studied in connection with recreation and acculturation program among the Chinese immigrant adolescents in the US. The study revealed that these students were at a low level of acculturation but had a moderately high level of self-esteem (Yu & Berryman, 1996). They participated in a lot of leisure activities both at home and indoors and were also attracted to various mass media using the Chinese language and music. The activities that they engaged in were less expensive, less organized, less physically active, less skill oriented but helped to enhance the self-esteem of this group of students. Parents and peers are central to the development of self-esteem in adolescents. At the workplace employers are realizing the benefits of participating in leisure activities. It enhances the quality of life of the employee, increases self-confidence, leads to a more positive attitude both at workplace and at home and ultimately enhances the self–esteem (Morehouse, 2009). Through the leisure activities the employee develops a sense of well being and it reinforces the individual’s capacity to cope with stressful situations. Hence, it can be seen that an individual’s self esteem is not always related to leisure activities. Leisure activities range from mixed-se interactions to recreation and travel. Studies of various age groups have been considered and it has been found that up to the sixth grade, children are not concerned about self-esteem. This starts building up at a later age – during adolescence. During this period because of phenomenal changes taking place in an individual, he starts re-evaluating himself. This has an impact on leisure activities. They find positive self-assessment when they engage in leisure activities. In non-western countries leisure-like pursuits enhance self-esteem but women traveling solo is not related to self-esteem. Those with low self-esteem are reluctant to engage in activities for fear of being criticized or looked down upon. The process of recognizing the self and identifying the self starts during adolescence. It is during this period that individuals are trying to define themselves. Overall the research suggests that engaging in leisure activities can enhance self-esteem and enable an individual to cope with the different stressful situations in life. At the same time self-esteem also coerces the individual to engage in leisure activities, which further increases self-worth. Reference: Baumeister, RF Smart, L & Boden, JM 1996, 'Relation of Threatened Egotism to Violence and Aggression: The Dark Side of High Self-Esteem', Psychological Review, vol. 103. no. 1, pp. 5-33. Chiang, C & Jogaratnam, G 2005, 'Why do women travel solo for purposes of leisure?', Journal of Vacation Marketing, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 59. Crocker, J & Major, B 1989, 'Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma', Psychological Review, vol. 96, no. 4, pp. 608-630. Darling, N Dowdy, BB Horn, ML & Caldwell, LL 1999, 'Mixed-sex settings and the perception of competence', Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 461. Iwasaki, Y 2008, 'Pathways to Meaning-Making Through Leisure-Like Pursuits in Global Contexts', Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 231 Morehouse, BC 2009, 'Leisure Activities: The Way To Beat Stress ', retrieved online 21 May 2009 from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Leisure_Activities_The_Way_To_Beat_Stress.html Raymore, LA Godbey, GC & Crawford, CD 1994, 'Self-esteem, gender, and socioeconomic status: Their relation to perceptions of constraint on leisure among adolescents', Journal of Leisure Research. Arlington: Second Quarter 1994, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 99 Waters, LE & Moore, KA 2002, 'elf-esteem, appraisal and coping: A comparison of unemployed and re-employed people', Journal of Organizational Behavior, Chichester: Aug 2002, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 593 West, P & Sweeting, H 1997, '“Lost souls” and “rebels”: a challenge to the assumption that low self-esteem and unhealthy lifestyles are related', Health Education, vol. 97, no. 5, pp. 161-167. Yu, P & Berryman, DL 1996, 'The relationship among self-esteem, Acculturation, and recreation participation of recently arrived Chinese Immigrant Adolescents', Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 251. Read More