Self Esteem Theories - Research Paper Example

Self-Esteem Theories Personality of a human being is a dynamic aspect of his life. People’s behavior pattern depends on their emotional and psychological character traits. Hence, it can be said that people can change their personalities by changing their character traits. However, the study of the psychological theories like psychosexual development (by Freud) and Self actualization (by Maslow), makes one realize that changing one’s personality is not an easy thing. It is because according to these theories, the first few years of child’s life play a great role in the development of his personality in the adulthood. For example, according to Sigmund Freud, a child who experiences an uncaring and abrupt attitude by mother during the weaning period develops negative character traits in his adulthood (Magnavita, 2002, p.89). This shows that the childhood experience plays an important role in the development of different character traits of personality. The question is does the development of one of the most essential aspects of the personality, i.e. self-esteem, depend on the childhood experience? The theories of self-esteem reveal that even though self-esteem is the trait that depends on person’s idea about himself, the roots of that idea or the perception lies in his childhood experience. Only a positive and unconditional nurturing can make a child develop a high self-esteem in his adulthood. Definition Of Self-esteem According to Rosenberg and Owens (2001), self-esteem is a character trait which comes under the category of self concept (Guindon, 2010, p.1). As people’s satisfaction and happiness in life depend on their self-esteem, self-esteem is considered as one of the important aspect of human behavior pattern (Guindon, 2010, p.3). The choice that people make in their lives and their performance depend on their self-esteem level (Guindon, 2010, p.3). This shows that self-esteem affects almost all the aspects of human life. Sadly, the trait of self-esteem has become controversial as many researchers in the field of psychology have different opinions about its definition and function (Guindon, 2010, p.4). The difference of opinion has led to self-esteem being defined in different way by different researchers. It has also resulted in development of different theories of self-esteem. Nathaniel Branden (1969) defines self-esteem as a standard with which people judge themselves and their ability to fulfill the requirements of life (Guindon, 2010, p.9). Coppersmith (1967) studied the pre-secondary school children and concluded that self-esteem is a complex phenomenon of self evaluation and the behavior of children and their defense mechanism depend on how they evaluate themselves (Guindon, 2010, p.8). According to Bandura, self-esteem comes from the level of self efficacy and depends on people’s belief about their emotional capability, power and strength (Plummer, 2007, p.14). The different definitions of self-esteem have made it difficult for the professionals in the field of psychology to develop treatment methods for people suffering with low self-esteem (Guindon, 2010, p.4). Hence, the professional literature has gathered the information from different researchers and formed a general definition of self-esteem (Guindon, 2010, p.12). It is as follows: According to Guindon (2002), self-esteem is defined as “ the attitudinal, evaluative component of the self; the affective judgments placed on the self-concept consisting of feelings of worth and acceptance which are developed and maintained as a consequence of awareness of competence and feedback from the external world (Guindon, 2010, p.12). From the definition, it is understood that self-esteem is made up of different elements of a personality (Gundon, 2010, p.12). Hence, according to Demo (1985), it fluctuates according to the changing circumstances, social conditions and expectations (Gundon, 2010, p.12). However, researchers in the field of psychology have done their best to understand the root of self-esteem and its function in the development of human being’s life. Some of the professionals in the field of psychology like Maslow, Gecas, Coppersmith and Rogers have made important contribution to the study of self-esteem through their theories of personality. The theories are discussed below. Theories Of Self-esteem Self-esteem Theory By Abraham Maslow Under the humanistic tradition of counseling, Abraham Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of human needs’ gave immense importance to self-esteem as one of most basic needs of human beings. Maslow categorized the esteem needs into two parts, i.e. lower and higher esteem needs (Boeree, n.d., para 16). Maslow defined lower esteem needs as a need of human beings to gain status, power, respect, recognition, fame, power and dominance in the society (Boeree, n.d., para 16). The higher esteem needs are defined as a need for self respect which springs from internal feelings like confidence, competence, mastery over a skill, independence and freedom (Boeree, n.d., para 16). According to Maslow, human being cannot achieve his complete potential if his esteem needs are not fulfilled (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). Strength of Maslow’s theory of self-esteem. Maslow has contributed immensely to the aspect of self-esteem by showing the negative effects of lack of fulfillment of esteem needs in his ‘hierarchy of human needs’. Maslow has described in his theory that if a child’s needs of esteem are not fulfilled, he cannot achieve self actualization as he gets ‘stuck’ in the stage of development and starts to compensate through his behavior or negative actions (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). Many of the psychological problems like drug addiction, depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies have been associated with low self-esteem (Guidon, 2010, p.3). Children develop a low self-esteem if their esteem needs are not fulfilled (Boeree, n.d., para 17). The low self-esteem leads to development of inferiority complex and negative behavior pattern (Boeree, n.d., para 17). Maslow has concluded that without the adequate development of self-esteem, a person cannot utilize his complete potential and remains unhappy throughout his life. When a child’s need of esteem is fulfilled, he becomes confident about his abilities and his performance (Goble, 2004, p.56). Children with high self-esteem become more productive (Goble, 2004, p.56) as they are sure of themselves. Children with low self-esteem develop inferiority complex and feel helpless when faced with challenges (Goble, 2004, p.56). They fear competing and get discouraged with their feelings of helplessness (Goble, 2004, p.56). This leads to neurotic behavior and dependency (Goble, 2004, p.56). Maslow’s theory of self-esteem is one of most complete theories on self-esteem as it has rightly described that self-esteem comes not only from the social aspects of a person like family, financial condition and nurturing but also comes from the internal traits like confidence, ability and intelligence. This shows that self-esteem not only depends on the external factors but also on the character of human being and hence, with conscious efforts, people can develop a high self-esteem. Self-esteem Theory By Coppersmith Coppersmith (1981) emphasized that the judgmental values and the standards imbibed during the childhood are instrumental in development of capacities, performance level and the attributes of the adulthood (Guindon, 2010, p.8). According to Coppersmith, children who genuinely feel worthy and valuable develop ‘true’ self-esteem and children who deny or suppress the feeling of unworthiness develop ‘defensive’ self-esteem (Guindon, 2010, p.8). In this way, Coppersmith divided self-esteem into two kinds, one is a genuine and other is a fake one. Strength of Coppersmith’s theory of self-esteem. The strength of Coppersmith’s theory of definition was its ability to differentiate between the genuine self-esteem and the fake one. Coppersmith emphasized in the theory that the actual and perceived competence plays more important role in the development of self-esteem than the self evaluation (Plummer, 2007, p.13). It is the belief that ‘I am capable of contributing to the society’ and ‘I am in control of my life situations’ which is the foundation of the self-esteem (Plummer, 2007, p.14). Coppersmith not only focused on the problems related to self-esteem but also focused on finding the resolutions to those problems (Mrunk, 2006, p.111). For example, Coppersmith studied how children learn self-esteem, what are the ways to nurture the high self-esteem and what kind of behavior modification can help in developing high self-esteem (Mrunk, 2006, p.111). The self-esteem of a person is the foundation of his personal, social and professional success. On the basis of his study of children, he also suggested that “structured therapeutic techniques” are more effective in increasing the high self-esteem of a person than unstructured therapeutic techniques (Mrunk, 2006, p.112). Gecas’s Theory Of Self-esteem Similarly, Gecas also differentiated between the self-esteem. However, his differentiation was based on different aspects than Coppersmith’s. According to Gecas (1982), there are two kinds of self-esteem (Guindon, 2010, p.9). One kind of self-esteem is based on the external aspects of personality like competence, power and efficacy while the other kind of self-esteem depends on the internal aspects of personality like the moral values inculcated during the childhood (Guindon, 2010, p.9). Gecas realized that the self-esteem of a human being is not only a result of the values imbibed during childhood, but also is a result of his position in the society. Hence, the strength of his theory is the introduction of the fact that even the external factors are responsible for the self-esteem level of people. Also, according to Gecas, the external and the internal factors of self-esteem affect each other, i.e. a person’s feeling of worthiness can affect his competence level in the society (Guindon, 2010, p.9). Similarly, his social position and performance can affect his feelings and thoughts about himself. Hence, Gecas proposed that the internal and external factors are interrelated (Guindon, 2010, p.9). Strength of Gecas’s theory of self-esteem. Gecas’s theory of self-esteem throws a light on the influence of the self-esteem on the emotional and social aspects of people. At the same time, his theory also draws our attention to the fact that people’s performance and skills can influence their self-esteem levels. For example, when a child feels worthy about himself and has positive feelings about himself, he has more chances of making friends and handling social interactions successfully than a child who has negative feelings and thoughts about himself. However, at the same time, the external factors like attitude of important people in life, the result of the task performed and social position of a person affects the self-esteem of a person (Plummer, 2007, p.13). This shows that self-esteem is not just a product of self evaluation but also is the product of the influence of external factors (Plummer, 2007, p.13). Carl Rogers’s Theory Of Self-esteem According to Carl Rogers (1961) people who accept themselves as they are and whose personality is congruent, have high self-esteem (Mrunk, 2006, p.112). According to him, self-esteem is a very important element for the healthy functioning of a human being (Mrunk, 2006, p.112). He says that development of self-esteem takes place naturally during the childhood, if a child gets “unconditional positive regard” from his parents and people surrounding him (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). The fulfillment of the needs and the wants of a person, either complete or partial, lead to enhancement of his self-esteem (Rogers, 1079, p.4). Hence, it can be said that a person has achieved growth when he achieves high self-esteem (Rogers, 1995, p.ix). Strength of Rogers’s theory of self-esteem. According to Rogers, people’s self-esteem is a result of the nurturing style they experience during their childhood. By talking about “unconditional positive regard” as one of the major factor for high self-esteem, Rogers has emphasized the importance of parent’s and caretaker’s attitude and behavior pattern in the development of high self-esteem in children. Rogers pointed out that if parents appreciate their child only if a child achieves or reaches the target that they have set for him, then the child starts depending on their opinion about him for the feeling of self-esteem (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). If a child gets unconditional appreciation from his parents, his growth continues normally and he develops a high self-esteem (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). This develops confidence in them. It has been observed that children with high self-esteem make peer friends easily (Werner, 2003, p.117) and display healthy self confidence. However, the lack of unconditional positive regard leads to children depending on other’s approval for feeling self worth (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). This leads to stunted growth of self-esteem (Mrunk, 2006, p.113) as rather than valuing their own opinion about themselves, they start giving importance people’s opinion about them. This leads them to depend on others for their feeling of self-esteem (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). In this way, children who do not get unconditional positive regard become victims of other people’s opinion and remain miserable and dependent on others for rest of their lives. Hence, according to Rogers, it is extremely important to nurture a child in a very positive environment and create an ‘achievement free’ environment for him (Mrunk, 2006, p.113). This makes a child to believe that he is complete in himself and does not need to ‘become someone’ in order to gain acceptance from parents, teachers or friends. This kind of nurturing leads a child to develop high self-esteem and enjoy a fulfilled life. Conclusion The study of the self-esteem theories shows how self-esteem plays a major role in development of emotional and social intelligence of children. The theories that are discussed above throws a light o the fact that it is the environment provided to children that plays a vital role in the development of self-esteem level in children. Carl Rogers is right when he suggested in his theory that self-esteem is not a result of the external factors but is a result of ‘unconditional’ love, support, appreciation and warmth that a child gets in his childhood. During the practical work of early childhood education, one should have a ‘mindful’ approach to working (Plummer, 2007, p.7). Care should be taken not to facilitate any practice which encourages conditional regard or appreciation. As Rogers has put it correctly, it is only when a person feels complete in himself, can he achieve happiness and fulfillment. Hence, during the practical work, every child should be treated in such a way that he feels accepted and appreciated as he is and is not indirectly forced to ‘become’ someone else in effort to be accepted. In short, the best way to develop a high self-esteem in child is to shower him with unconditional love, regard and appreciation. Only then can we expect a creation of happy and fulfilled society. References: Boeree, C.G. (n.d.). Abraham Maslow. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html Goble, F.G.(2004). The third Force: The psychology of Abraham Maslow. Richmond, CA: Maurice Bassett Publishing. Guindon, M.H. (2010). Self-esteem across the lifespan: Issues and intervention. New York City, NY: Routledge. Magnavita, J.J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York City, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Inc. Mrunk, C.J. (2006). Self-esteem research, theory, and practice: Toward a positive psychology of self-esteem. New York City, NY: Springer. Plummer, D.M. (2007). Self-esteem games for children. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Rogers, C.R. (1979). The Foundations of the Person-Centred Approach. Retrieved from http://www.if-evelopment.co.uk/Facilitation/Person%20centered%20approach.pdf Rogers, C.R. (1995). On becoming a person: A therapist’s view of psychotherapy. New York city, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. Werner, E.E. (2003). Protective factors and individual resilience. In J.P.Shonkoff & S.J. Meisels (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention. (pp.115- 134). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP. Read More