Paper Topic:

The construct of self esteem

Running head : THE CONSTRUCT OF SELF ESTEEM

The Construct of Self Esteem

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Abstract

Social cognitive theory makes it possible to determine what low self-esteem is . Cognitive social theoretical framework is easy to understand and presents vast opportunities for explaining the major attributes of low self-esteem

The Construct of Self Esteem

Introduction

People possess a wide range of beliefs about the physical and social world . A subset of beliefs that are of particular importance to personality are beliefs about the

self (Pervin et al , 2005 . The social cognitive theory is extremely useful in determining what low self-esteem is , and how it works . Moreover , social cognitive theory also suggests the means of assisting those with low self-esteem

The basis of self-esteem formation within a specific personality is the set of schemas , which determine personal understanding of the self . It is crucial to understand that these schemas are formed under the impact of the external psychological environment , and under the influence of other people , too . Research of self-schemas suggests that once we have developed ways of thinking about ourselves (our self-schemas , there is strong tendency for them to be maintained (Pervin et al , 2005 . This means that once we have formed a specific understanding of our selves we will address others to support our views . It is even more important that in our low self-esteem schemas we will feel more comfortable with those , who do not deny our low self-esteem characteristics . Thus , low self-esteem in the terms of social cognitive theory is the set of our beliefs about self in the form of psychological schemas , which also require being maintained . The suggestion that low self-esteem schemas are formulated under the impact of other people is also supported by Andersen Chen (2002 . They have performed a profound research in the area of social cognitive theory as related to self-esteem formation . The authors concluded that the self is relational - or even entangled - with significant others and that this has implications for self-definition , self-evaluation , self-regulation , and , most broadly for personality functioning , expressed in relations to others (Andersen Chen , 2002 . Consequentially , the formation of low self-esteem schemas is impossible without external influence of other personalities

Social cognitive theory relates to the fact that people traditionally seek positive feedback , and do not accept negative feedback . The specific psychological characteristics of humans suggest that people try to follow their ideals : we try to associate ourselves with those perceived to have desirable features (Pervin et al , 2005 . As a result , when we do not achieve the pursued ideals , our self schemas do not work in accordance with the external conditions . This is where we can find the roots of the low self-esteem : it is actually the incongruence between our self , and the feedback from others which may violate our self-schemas

The discussed theory is very helpful towards those who seek psychological assistance , and want to improve their self-esteem . As stated above , the roots of low self-esteem are found in the wrong people 's...

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