Self-esteem in psychology is the evaluation of the self in comparison with others. The neuropsychological model of the body schema is considered the anchor point of self-worth. Pathological self-esteem is suffered by narcissists.
What is self-esteem?
In psychology, self-esteem is the evaluation of the self in comparison with other people. Every person gives himself a certain evaluation. This evaluation results from one’s own positive or negative experiences as well as the comparison of oneself with others. The result of the comparison is also known as self-worth or self-confidence. Synonymous terms are self-confidence or self-esteem. From a neuropsychological point of view, self-confidence is anchored in the body schema. It can therefore only develop from the perception of one’s own body as distinct from the environment. Predominantly, however, self-esteem is shaped by social factors. Thus, self-esteem refers to one’s own personality, one’s own abilities, experiences made or one’s sense of self. As a concept in scientific psychology, self-esteem is primarily a topic of personality psychology and differential psychology. Self-esteem is one of three components of the self from the psychological point of view. It corresponds to the affective component. The cognitive component is the self-concept. The conative component is known as self-expression.
Function and task
The body schema is a neuropsychological concept that exists from birth. It describes the concept of one’s own body, including the body-surface demarcation from the environment. Presumably, the body schema is genetically anchored and develops in the context of interaction with the environment. Language development also contributes a part to the formation of the body schema. Self-awareness is imperatively dependent on a body schema. An evaluation of one’s own person is not possible without awareness of one’s own person. The person receives self-related information from three different sources. Self-observation informs him about behavior and experience. These observations can be compared with previous events and thus lead to positive or negative self-assessments. The second source is society. Depending on the social comparison with others, the person experiences himself differently. The feedback of others is the third source of self-related information. The individual draws his or her self-worth on the social level from various sources of self-worth. For example, a transient source of self-worth is beauty. These ephemeral sources are more susceptible to dips in self-worth. A person’s self-esteem influences each of his or her behaviors and thus, for example, the whole of his or her social life. Even young children develop self-worth through evaluations of “good” or “bad.” As development progresses, social comparison with others becomes increasingly relevant. At thresholds to new phases of life, self-esteem is usually in upheaval. Self-doubt characterizes puberty in particular. In girls, self-esteem declines during this time because their pubertal development usually does not correlate with socially set ideals of beauty, but their experiential space is also not yet sufficient to comprehend the exaggeration and artificiality of these ideals. In adulthood, family and professional successes and failures change the self-worth developed up to that point. Self-esteem reaches a peak at around age 60. Due to the change in socio-economic status in old age, it usually declines somewhat thereafter. Self-esteem can be disturbed in both directions. Too high self-confidence and thus susceptibility to delusions of grandeur is just as unhealthy from a psychological point of view as low self-esteem and susceptibility to resignation or self-hatred. Insecurities can trigger both forms of disturbed self-worth.
Illnesses and complaints
One of the best-known disorders involving disturbed self-esteem is narcissism. Everyday narcissism is not pathological. It is characterized by inflated, surreally positive self-evaluation and self-centeredness or lack of consideration for others. However, according to research, everyday narcissists are emotionally stable.Modern psychiatry is only interested in narcissism when narcissistic personality traits lead to problems in adapting to individual life situations or one’s own living environment. This phenomenon is known as narcissistic personality disorder. Patients struggle with their lives because they cannot meet the increased need for admiration. Emotional instability, bipolarity, feelings of insufficiency and extreme sensitivity to any criticism are the result. Shame, loneliness and fear or uncontrollable anger can also be symptoms. Above all, psychology suspects the anchor of narcissism, but also that of most other self-esteem disorders, in the responsiveness of parents during childhood. In the present, however, self-esteem disorders result not least from comparison with unrealistic media ideals. Disturbed self-esteem can promote psychological secondary disorders, such as eating disorders. From a certain stage, those affected also often suffer from disturbed body perception. Self-esteem is most commonly assessed by psychologists using self-description questionnaires. The ‘Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale’ is the best-known one-dimensional method. Self-esteem theories assume a hierarchical structuring of self-esteem. Therefore, multidimensional self-esteem scales are also used today to determine it, such as the ‘Feelings of Inadequacy Scale’. Some psychologists even try to capture implicit self-esteem. This spontaneous and unconscious evaluation of one’s self is determined by procedures such as the ‘Implicit Association’ test. Reaction times are said to be indicative of self-esteem. If there is a gap between explicit and implicit self-esteem, a self-esteem disorder is also present. Major depression may also originate in low self-esteem.
