Self-esteem can be defined as how favorably individuals evaluate themselves.Baumeister, R.F. & Bushman, B. (2008). Social Psychology and Human Nature (1st Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. . According to Leary, self-esteem is the relationship between one's real self and one's ideal self, feeding off of favorable behaviors.Leary, M.R. (1999) Making Sense of Self-Esteem. Current Directions in Psychological Science 8 (1), 32–35. It refers to an individual's sense of his or her value or worth, or the extent to which a person values, approves of, appreciates, prizes, or likes him or herself.Adler, N & Stewart, J ( 2004) Self-Esteem. Research Network on SES & Health. Self-esteem is generally considered the evaluative component of the self-concept, a broader representation of the self that includes cognitive and behavioral aspects as well as evaluative or affective ones. There are several different proposals as to the functions of self-esteem. One proposal includes to satisfy the inherent need to feel good about one self. Another one would be to minimize social rejection.Anthony, D. B., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (2007). Testing sociometer theory: Self-esteem and the importance of acceptance for social decision-making. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(3), 425-432. Self-esteem is also known as a way for a person to remain dominant in relationships (Barkow, 1980).Barkow, J. (1980). Prestige and self-esteem: A biosocial interpretation. In D. R. Omark, F. F. Strayer, & D. G. Freedman (Eds.), Dominance relations: An ethological view of human conflict and social interaction (pp. 319–332). New York: Garland STPM Press. Self-esteem is known to protect people from fear that has potential of arising from the prospect of death- terror management theory. Self-esteem helps motivate people to achieve their goals- high self-esteem leading to coping in situations and low self-esteem leading to avoidance. The terror management theory  , developed by Sheldon Solomon at al. (1991),Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of self-esteem and cultural worldviews. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 24, 93–159. which in relation to self-esteem states that having self-esteem helps protect individuals from the fear they experience at the prospect of their own death. It is suggested that people are constantly searching for ways to enhance their self-esteem in order to quell unconscious death anxiety. This internalisation of cultural values is also a key factor in Terror Management Theory (TMT) in which self-esteem is seen as a culturally based construction derived from integrating specific contingencies valued by society into one's own ‘worldview’ . High self-esteem promotes positive affect and personal growth, psychological well-being and coping as a buffer against anxiety in the knowledge of our eventual certain death, and reduces defensive anxiety related behaviour. Nayler, C. (2005) Theories of Self Esteem. Positive Psychology. Terror management theory, based primarily on the writings of Ernest Becker (1962, 1971, 1973, 1975) and Otto Rank (1936, 1941), posits that self-esteem is sought because it provides protection against the fear of death (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski,1991a). From this perspective, the fear of death is rooted in an instinct for self-preservation that humans share with other species.Jones, E. McGreggor, H. Pyszczynski, T. Simon, L. & Solomon, S. (1997). Terror Management Theory and Self–Esteem Reduces Mortality Salience Effects. Personality and Social Psychology 72, 24-36 When applying sociometer theory, it suggests that the illusion of control is an adaptive response in order to self-regulate behaviour to cultural norms and thereby provide an individual with an increased level of self-esteem. In social psychology, the illusion of control is grouped with two other concepts and termed as the ‘positive illusions’ . Refer to link for a blog entry on illusion of control.
Self-esteem can be defined as how favorably individuals evaluate themselves.Baumeister, R.F. & Bushman, B. (2008). Social Psychology and Human Nature (1st Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. According to Leary, self-esteem is the relationship between one's real self and one's ideal self, feeding off of favorable behaviors.Leary, M.R. (1999) Making Sense of Self-Esteem. Current Directions in Psychological Science 8 (1), 32–35. It refers to an individual's sense of his or her value or worth, or the extent to which a person values, approves of, appreciates, prizes, or likes him or herself.Adler, N & Stewart, J ( 2004) Self-Esteem. Research Network on SES & Health. Self-esteem is generally considered the evaluative component of the self-concept, a broader representation of the self that includes cognitive and behavioral aspects as well as evaluative or affective ones. There are several different proposals as to the functions of self-esteem. One proposal includes to satisfy the inherent need to feel good about one self. Another one would be to minimize social rejection.Anthony, D. B., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (2007). Testing sociometer theory: Self-esteem and the importance of acceptance for social decision-making. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(3), 425-432. Self-esteem is also known as a way for a person to remain dominant in relationships (Barkow, 1980).Barkow, J. (1980). Prestige and self-esteem: A biosocial interpretation. In D. R. Omark, F. F. Strayer, & D. G. Freedman (Eds.), Dominance relations: An ethological view of human conflict and social interaction (pp. 319–332). New York: Garland STPM Press. Self-esteem is known to protect people from fear that has potential of arising from the prospect of death – terror management theory. Self-esteem helps motivate people to achieve their goals – high self-esteem leading to coping in situations and low self-esteem leading to avoidance. The terror management theory (TMT) , developed by Sheldon Solomon at al. (1991),Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of self-esteem and cultural worldviews. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 24, 93–159. which in relation to self-esteem states that having self-esteem helps protect individuals from the fear they experience at the prospect of their own death. It is suggested that people are constantly searching for ways to enhance their self-esteem in order to quell unconscious death anxiety. This internalisation of cultural values is also a key factor in terror management theory in which self-esteem is seen as a culturally based construction derived from integrating specific contingencies valued by society into one's own 'worldview' . High self-esteem promotes positive affect and personal growth, psychological well-being and coping as a buffer against anxiety in the knowledge of our eventual certain death, and reduces defensive anxiety related behaviour. Nayler, C. (2005) Theories of Self Esteem. Positive Psychology. Terror management theory, based primarily on the writings of Ernest Becker (1962, 1971, 1973, 1975) and Otto Rank (1936, 1941), posits that self-esteem is sought because it provides protection against the fear of death (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski,1991a). From this perspective, the fear of death is rooted in an instinct for self-preservation that humans share with other species.Jones, E. McGreggor, H. Pyszczynski, T. Simon, L. & Solomon, S. (1997). Terror Management Theory and Self–Esteem Reduces Mortality Salience Effects. Personality and Social Psychology 72, 24-36 When applying sociometer theory, it suggests that the illusion of control is an adaptive response in order to self-regulate behaviour to cultural norms and thereby provide an individual with an increased level of self-esteem. In social psychology, the illusion of control is grouped with two other concepts and termed as the 'positive illusions' . Refer to link for a blog entry on illusion of control.
D
.
R
death-
death –
R
goals-
goals –
A
(TMT)
R
Terror Management Theory (TMT)
terror management theory
R
‘worldview’
'worldview'
R
‘positive illusions’
'positive illusions'