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The construct of self-esteem (or self-concept) dates back to William James, in the late 19th century. In his work Principles of Psychology (1890), James studied the splitting of our "global self" into "knower self" and "known self." According to James, from this splitting, which we all are more or less aware of, self-esteem is born.[15] In the 20th century, the initial influence of Behaviorism minimized introspective study of mental processes, emotions and feelings, which was replaced by objective study through experiments on behaviors observed in relation with environment. Behaviorism placed the human being as an animal subject to reinforcements, and suggested placing psychology as an experimental science, similar to chemistry or biology. As a consequence, clinical trials on self-esteem were overlooked, since behaviorists considered the idea less liable to rigorous measurement hypothesis.[15] In the mid-20th century, Phenomenology and humanistic psychotherapy made self-esteem gain prominence again, and it took a central role in personal self-actualization and in the treatment of psychic disorders. Psychologists started to consider personal satisfaction and psychotherapy, and new elements were introduced, which helped to understand the reasons why people tend to feel less worthy, discouraged and unable to understand challenges by themselves.[15] Carl Rogers (1902–1987), the greatest exponent of humanistic psychology, exposed his theory about unconditional acceptance and self-acceptance as the best way to improve self-esteem.[15] Robert B. Burns regards self-esteem as a collection of an individual's attitudes toward himself. The human being perceives itself at a sensory level; thinks about itself and about its behavior, and evaluates both its behavior and itself. Consequently, humans feel emotions related to themselves. These emotions prompt behavioral tendencies aimed at oneself, at one's behavior, and at the features of one's body and character. These tendencies effect the attitudes which, globally, we call self-esteem. Thus, self-esteem, for Burns, is the evaluative perception of oneself. In his own words, an "individual's behavior is the result of his environment's particular interpretation, whose focus is himself".[15] The core self-evaluations approach includes self-esteem as one of four dimensions that comprise one's fundamental appraisal of oneself, along with locus of control, neuroticism, and self-efficacy.[61] The concept of core self-evaluations as first examined by Judge, Locke, and Durham (1997),[61] has since proven to have the ability to predict several work outcomes, specifically, job satisfaction and job performance.[61][62][63][64][65] Self-esteem may, in fact, be one of the most essential core self-evaluation dimensions because it is the overall value one feels about oneself as a person.[64] The idea of the importance of self-esteem—especially in education—has gained endorsement from some government and non-government groups, such that one can speak of a self-esteem movement.[66] |
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