SELF-ESTEEM: MEANING AND FOUNDATIONS

Self-esteem is an important psychological concept that refers to how individuals evaluate and value themselves. It reflects a person's perception of whether he or she is capable, worthy, competent and deserving of respect. Every individual develops an internal answer to questions such as: "Who am I?", "Am I capable?", "Am I valuable?", and "How do others see me?"

Self-esteem is therefore more than simply feeling confident. A person may be confident about performing a particular task but may still have a poor overall evaluation of himself or herself. Similarly, an individual may experience failure but continue to believe that he or she is a valuable person.

Self-esteem is closely related to, but different from, other concepts:

• Self-concept refers to what a person believes about himself or herself.
• Self-esteem refers to how the person evaluates that self.
• Self-confidence refers to confidence in one's ability or performance.
• Self-efficacy refers to the belief that one can successfully perform a particular task.
• Self-acceptance refers to accepting oneself realistically, including strengths and weaknesses.

William James and the Classical Concept of Self-Esteem

William James provided one of the earliest systematic psychological explanations of self-esteem in The Principles of Psychology (1890). James proposed that self-esteem is related to the relationship between success and aspirations.

Self-Esteem = Success ÷ Aspirations

This means that self-esteem does not depend only on what an individual achieves. It also depends on what the individual expects or wants to achieve.

For example, two students may obtain the same marks in an examination. One may feel satisfied because the result is better than expected, while the other may feel disappointed because the result is below his or her expectation. Their objective achievement is identical, but their self-evaluation differs.

James's idea remains important because it explains why unrealistic expectations and excessive perfectionism can reduce self-esteem even when individuals perform well.

Social Foundations of Self-Esteem

Self-esteem develops not only from personal experiences but also from interactions with other people.

Charles Horton Cooley introduced the concept of the "looking-glass self." According to Cooley, individuals partly develop their self-image by imagining how they appear to others, how others evaluate them and how they feel about that perceived evaluation.

For example, a child who repeatedly receives messages such as "You are capable" may gradually develop a positive perception of competence. Conversely, repeated criticism, humiliation or rejection may contribute to negative self-evaluation.

George Herbert Mead also emphasised the social development of the self. According to Mead, individuals learn to see themselves from the perspective of others through social interaction. Family members, teachers, friends, colleagues and society therefore become important sources of information about the self.

Rosenberg and Coopersmith

Morris Rosenberg made a major contribution to the empirical study of self-esteem through his 1965 work Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Rosenberg viewed self-esteem as an individual's overall positive or negative evaluation of the self and developed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, one of the most widely used measures of global self-esteem.

Stanley Coopersmith further examined the conditions that contribute to self-esteem in The Antecedents of Self-Esteem (1967). His work emphasised the importance of acceptance, competence, achievement, responsibility and meaningful participation.

These contributions demonstrate that self-esteem is not created merely through praise. It develops through genuine experiences of being valued, accomplishing meaningful tasks and experiencing competence.

DEVELOPMENT AND DETERMINANTS OF SELF-ESTEEM

Development of Self-Esteem

Self-esteem develops throughout the life span.

Early Childhood

Family relationships provide the earliest foundation. Children gradually develop beliefs about whether they are loved, valued and capable. Acceptance, affection, appropriate discipline and opportunities for independence can contribute to healthy self-esteem.

School Years

Schools introduce formal evaluation and social comparison. Academic performance, teacher feedback, friendships, sports and peer acceptance can influence how children evaluate themselves.

Adolescence

Adolescence is particularly important because young people experience physical changes, identity development and increasing sensitivity to peer evaluation. Questions such as "Who am I?" and "How do others see me?" become increasingly important.

Adulthood

In adulthood, self-esteem may become associated with professional success, relationships, financial independence, family responsibilities and social recognition.

Later Life

Retirement, changes in physical ability and changing social roles may challenge established sources of self-worth. Individuals with multiple sources of identity and meaning may adapt more effectively.

Major Determinants of Self-Esteem

Several factors influence the development of self-esteem.

Family Environment: Love, acceptance, communication, encouragement and respectful discipline contribute to healthy self-evaluation. Excessive criticism can produce feelings of inadequacy.

Educational Experiences: Teachers influence self-esteem through expectations, feedback, assessment and classroom relationships. Students require genuine opportunities to experience progress and mastery.

Peer Relationships: Acceptance and friendship can strengthen social self-esteem, whereas bullying, rejection and exclusion can undermine it.

Achievement and Competence: Successfully mastering meaningful challenges strengthens feelings of competence. However, achievement should not become the sole basis of personal worth.

Social Comparison: People naturally compare themselves with others. Moderate comparison can motivate improvement, but continuous comparison may produce feelings of inferiority.

Physical Appearance: Appearance can become an important source of self-evaluation, especially during adolescence. Unrealistic standards of attractiveness may negatively affect self-esteem.

Social Acceptance: Being respected and accepted by significant others contributes to perceived social worth. Rejection and humiliation can negatively affect self-esteem.

Culture: Cultural values influence the standards by which people evaluate themselves. Some cultures may emphasise individual achievement and independence, while others may place greater emphasis on family, social responsibility and group harmony.

 Self-Esteem and Failure

One of the most important characteristics of healthy self-esteem is the ability to deal with failure.

Consider two interpretations:

"I failed, therefore I am a failure."

and

"I failed at this task, so I need to understand what went wrong."

The first interpretation converts a temporary outcome into a negative identity. The second treats failure as information for learning.

Healthy self-esteem therefore allows individuals to distinguish between failure of performance and failure of the person.

 Conditional Self-Esteem

Self-esteem becomes fragile when personal worth depends upon particular conditions.

Examples include:

• "I am valuable only when I succeed."
• "I am worthy only when people admire me."
• "I matter only when I am better than others."
• "I deserve respect only when I never make mistakes."

Such conditions are unstable because success, appearance, status, relationships and social approval can change.

Healthy self-esteem allows individuals to pursue achievement while maintaining a basic sense of personal worth independent of temporary outcomes.

 

ACTIVITY I

SELF-ESTEEM - ITS IMPORTANCE

A. The statements below describe self-esteem and how people with high and low self-esteem behave. Read the statements and mark true or false against each.

Sl. No.	Statement	True/False
1	Self Esteem means feeling good about yourself.
2	Self Esteem means feeling good about others.
3	Self Esteem means being proud of who and what you are.
4	A person who care about his health has high self esteem.
5	A person with low self-esteem is unhappy when others succeed.
6	High self-esteem means doing things that make other people happy.
7	A person with high self-esteem is always concerned about what other people may think of him.
8	A person with high self-esteem learns from others.
9	A person with high self-esteem feels good while making fun of others.
10	A person with high self-esteem is very confident and optimistic.
11	High self-esteem means being full of pride or having a “big head”.
12	A person with low self-esteem enjoys new experiences.

OVERCOMING LOW SELF-ESTEEM

Having low self-esteem can cause hindrances in the process of growing up. As one gets older and is faced with having to make tough decisions, especially under pressure, the more self-esteem one has the better decisions one can make. It is important that an individual understands and knows his or her worth.

Symptoms of low self-esteem are:

• Fears like – no one loves me, my friends do not like me, I am useless, etc.
• Feeling of shame – I am not rich, I am dark, I am a curse on earth, etc.
• Depressed feeling – That is feeling sad for a long time.
• Unrealistic expectations and feeling bad upon not achieving it.
• Body image problem – not liking one’s looks in general.
• Belief that the world is a ‘bad place’ – finding everything unfair to them.

Here are tips to overcome your self-esteem. Study them carefully and answer the questions in Worksheet below:

1. Love yourself: Take care of yourself. Remember that you are unique.
2. Do what you love: This would give you a good feeling.
3. Write down your good qualities: This would remind you of your strengths.
4. Develop long and short term goals: This can keep you motivated.
5. Have a sense of humour: Learn to laugh at yourself.
6. Help others – both people and animals: This brings pure joy and satisfaction.
7. Drop your negative friends: Because they pull down your confidence.
8. Celebrate success: Celebration boosts self-confidence and good feeling.

OVERCOMING LOW SELF-ESTEEM

1. Do you love yourself? Describe the ways in which you take care of yourself?
2. List the things that you love to do?

List of Things That I Love To Do
1	2
3	4
5	6
7	8
9	10

 3. List your good qualities

List of My Good Qualities
1	2
3	4
5	6
7	8
9	10

4. Have you ever laughed at yourself? Describe the situation.

5. Have you helped any person or animal in the recent past? Describe the situation.