(I'm posting a blog I wrote a few years ago as it's just as relevant today as it was in 2011. Enjoy!)
I was watching a George Carlin HBO special a couple of weeks ago. During his stand-up he spent a few minutes talking about the self-esteem movement and how it "crashed and burned and wound up in the shit house." Now, I don't typically get my scholarly information from George Carlin, however, this comment stayed with me since watching it. Intrigued, I decided to spend some time scouring the Internet in search of whether or not self-esteem is all it's cracked up to be. It appears to be much different than I, and I think most of us, have been lead to believe.
Of the articles I found relating to the myth of self-esteem they all pointed back to this one particular research article that is quite comprehensive in it's work on the topic: Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth. Carlin must have viewed the same research article as his references were spot on to what the article cites.
Research has shown that high self-esteem, or raising self-esteem, does not offer much benefit to students and, actually, "artificially boosting self-esteem may lower subsequent performances." Even with regard to workers' self-regard and job performance the link is not really strong.
Check this out: "those with high self-esteem are less inhibited, more willing to disregard risks and more prone to engage in sex." Interesting. Along the lines of risky behavior the data for low adolescent self-esteem has not been consistently shown to cause or even correlate with the abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Hmm, maybe Gothic Greg isn't the one dancing with Mary Jane and boozing with Jack Daniel's, but probably Honor's Student Steve. Something to be curious about for sure.
Oh, you know that thing about how a bully is someone who has low self-esteem and that's why they pick on other kids? Well, ditch it. Roy Baumeister (one of the author's of this article) reviewed a variety of studies and "concluded that perpetrators of aggression generally hold favorable and perhaps even inflated views of themselves." Furthermore, bullies seem to report less anxiety and are more sure of themselves than other children. Baumeister found this to be true with violent adults as well.
Since the self-esteem movement got rockin' and rollin' in the '70s and '80s people have connected high self-esteem with happiness. However, research has shown that "the strong correlation between self-esteem and happiness is just that -- a correlation." Wonder if the wild notion of self-esteem is only a product of occupational, academic, or interpersonal successes, which cause both happiness and high self-esteem? With the same line of thinking, then, failure in occupational, academic, or interpersonal realms would cause both unhappiness and low self-esteem. The authors also mention how, possibly, "happiness, in the sense of a temperament or disposition to feel good, induces high self-esteem." I think this is crucial to think about. The works we do may determine how we feel about ourselves versus this nebulous idea of self-esteem. The correlation may be opposite of what we generally have accepted to be true.
The researchers show that people with high self-esteem appear to be more prejudiced compared to those with low self-esteem. Makes sense with every thing else we're learning today.
The word that I've used to title this blog, "floccinaucinihilipilification," is defined as " the action or habit of estimating as worthless." So, people with low self-esteem are not just bummed out about themselves, but they're negative about everything. "Floccinaucinihilipilifcation also raises the danger that those who describe themselves disparagingly may describe their lives similarly, thus furnishing the appearance that low self-esteem has unpleasant outcomes."
As George Carlin has seen the self-esteem movement as bunk, I now see it that way. It received a huge push in the '80s with the advent of a task force in California to show that raising self-esteem would greatly reduce, or even eliminate, crime, pollution, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, and school underachievement. Some research was conducted on relevant literature and appeared in a 1989 volume entitled, The Social Importance of Self-Esteem. They stated that "many, if not most, of the major problems plaguing society have roots in the low self-esteem of many of the people who make up society." Nevertheless, there was little evidence to support this bold assertion.
As of now, there is no real accurate way to measure self-esteem. Self-reports and surveys are used, which are subjective at best and prove very little in terms of scientific research. Psychologist have not found a sensible, scientific way to judge self-esteem. Until they do it's all theory and not anymore scientific than your daily horoscope.
Of the articles I found relating to the myth of self-esteem they all pointed back to this one particular research article that is quite comprehensive in it's work on the topic: Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth. Carlin must have viewed the same research article as his references were spot on to what the article cites.
Research has shown that high self-esteem, or raising self-esteem, does not offer much benefit to students and, actually, "artificially boosting self-esteem may lower subsequent performances." Even with regard to workers' self-regard and job performance the link is not really strong.
Check this out: "those with high self-esteem are less inhibited, more willing to disregard risks and more prone to engage in sex." Interesting. Along the lines of risky behavior the data for low adolescent self-esteem has not been consistently shown to cause or even correlate with the abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Hmm, maybe Gothic Greg isn't the one dancing with Mary Jane and boozing with Jack Daniel's, but probably Honor's Student Steve. Something to be curious about for sure.
Oh, you know that thing about how a bully is someone who has low self-esteem and that's why they pick on other kids? Well, ditch it. Roy Baumeister (one of the author's of this article) reviewed a variety of studies and "concluded that perpetrators of aggression generally hold favorable and perhaps even inflated views of themselves." Furthermore, bullies seem to report less anxiety and are more sure of themselves than other children. Baumeister found this to be true with violent adults as well.
Since the self-esteem movement got rockin' and rollin' in the '70s and '80s people have connected high self-esteem with happiness. However, research has shown that "the strong correlation between self-esteem and happiness is just that -- a correlation." Wonder if the wild notion of self-esteem is only a product of occupational, academic, or interpersonal successes, which cause both happiness and high self-esteem? With the same line of thinking, then, failure in occupational, academic, or interpersonal realms would cause both unhappiness and low self-esteem. The authors also mention how, possibly, "happiness, in the sense of a temperament or disposition to feel good, induces high self-esteem." I think this is crucial to think about. The works we do may determine how we feel about ourselves versus this nebulous idea of self-esteem. The correlation may be opposite of what we generally have accepted to be true.
The researchers show that people with high self-esteem appear to be more prejudiced compared to those with low self-esteem. Makes sense with every thing else we're learning today.
The word that I've used to title this blog, "floccinaucinihilipilification," is defined as " the action or habit of estimating as worthless." So, people with low self-esteem are not just bummed out about themselves, but they're negative about everything. "Floccinaucinihilipilifcation also raises the danger that those who describe themselves disparagingly may describe their lives similarly, thus furnishing the appearance that low self-esteem has unpleasant outcomes."
As George Carlin has seen the self-esteem movement as bunk, I now see it that way. It received a huge push in the '80s with the advent of a task force in California to show that raising self-esteem would greatly reduce, or even eliminate, crime, pollution, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, and school underachievement. Some research was conducted on relevant literature and appeared in a 1989 volume entitled, The Social Importance of Self-Esteem. They stated that "many, if not most, of the major problems plaguing society have roots in the low self-esteem of many of the people who make up society." Nevertheless, there was little evidence to support this bold assertion.
As of now, there is no real accurate way to measure self-esteem. Self-reports and surveys are used, which are subjective at best and prove very little in terms of scientific research. Psychologist have not found a sensible, scientific way to judge self-esteem. Until they do it's all theory and not anymore scientific than your daily horoscope.
Folks, in any field there are always people who have interests and agendas, high-stakes interests, in the outcome of particular ideas, theories, or products. The fields of counseling, psychology, and psychiatry are no different. I'm a proponent of seeking out the truth and not accepting what's been marketed to me in order to better assist those that I work with. Learning about this myth will change my approach and how I view how individuals view their situations. The more the field of counseling boldly and accurately addresses what's factual and resist blindly following the agenda's of special interests groups, government policy, and Big Pharma's drug peddling to our children then we can get back to the art of truly listening and being with a person in order to understand their story and assist them in meaningful ways.
I encourage you to be an advocate for yourself, for your family.
With gratitude,
James
