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self-esteem
Sign in to saveSelf-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie define it by saying "The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it (see self)."
Self-esteem is your confidence in your own worth, abilities, and morals—it includes both what you believe about yourself (like "I am worthy") and how you emotionally feel about yourself (such as pride or shame). It matters because these beliefs and feelings shape how you evaluate and experience yourself in the world.
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~48 min read
Article
33 sectionsContents
- History
- In public policy
- Theories
- Measurement
- Development across lifespan
- Influencing factors of self-esteem in adolescence
- Shame
- Real self, ideal self, and dreaded self
- Types of self-esteems
- High
- Secure vs. defensive
- Implicit and explicit
- Narcissism and threatened egotism
- Low
- The three states
- Shattered
- Vulnerable
- Strong
- Contingent vs. non-contingent
- Domain-specific self-esteem
- Importance
- Correlations
- China
- Mental health
- Neuroscience
- Criticism and controversy
- False attempts
- As narcissism
- Self-esteem in cancer patients
- Self-esteem in prostate cancer patients
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie define it by saying "The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it (see self)."
The construct of self-esteem has been shown to be a desirable one in psychology, as it is associated with a variety of positive outcomes, such as academic achievement, relationship satisfaction, happiness, and lower rates of criminal behavior. The benefits of high self-esteem are thought to include improved mental and physical health, and less anti-social behavior while drawbacks of low self-esteem have been found to be anxiety, loneliness, and increased vulnerability to substance abuse.