THEORIES OF SELF-ESTEEM

William James: A Historical Perspective with Current Relevance.

This author highlights the values and successes of the person, he also emphasizes the
aspirations of each person, and he uses the method of introspection.

James describes the fact that each person is born around possible social frictions that
are created by factors such as history, culture, family, etc. Change can occur in both
what you value (aspirations) and how often you affirm yourself (successes) depending
on the person. Increasing success increases self-esteem. Self-esteem, although it is
quite constant, is also valuable. This theory also has limitations because it relies heavily
on introspection results.

Robert White and the Psychodynamic approach.-

According to White, unsatisfied needs promote an impulsive state of moving the body to
satisfy these needs in order to reduce tension and regain a state of balance. The desire
for stimulation of biological origin and its corresponding effort to dominate the
environment are included in the use of the term competition. According to White, self-
esteem has its central root in effectiveness.

“Each small victory accumulates over time and eventually leads to an overall sense of
competence in the sense of being able to effectively impact life.”

Paying therapeutic attention to competence and definition is useful for other clinical
aspects. White's work is important because it places self-esteem in the context of
human development.

The sociocultural approach: Morris Rosemberg.-

Social attitudes and behaviors influence self-esteem, this theory is deeply social, the
values that define deservingness arise from the cultural context. Attitudes toward
ourselves recall the forms of attitudes toward other objects. A person has self-esteem to
the extent that he or she perceives himself or herself as having a sample of self-values.
Rosemberg's research pursues social factors that influence self-esteem, because the
values that define deservingness are results of the cultural context. This theory also has
its limitations, since sociological work tends to focus on self-esteem from the outside
and not from the inside; It is difficult to sociologically modify the self-esteem of an
individual life.

Stanley Coopersmith and the behavioral perspective

There are four main bases of self-esteem: competence, meaning, virtue and powers,
say people who evaluate themselves, this author sees self-esteem through Psychology.
There is some similarity between Stanley Coopersmith and Rosemberg, as they both
see self-esteem as an attitude and an expression of deservingness. From the
psychological point of view, Coopersmith focuses on the relationship that exists
between self-esteem, threat and defensiveness. He offers many clinical guidelines to
improve self-esteem and negative factors. Their work has a greater degree of
acceptance and credibility because it uses observation methods, in addition to case
studies and interviews. Their practical suggestions are more acceptable than others as
they seem to be more applicable and have been incorporated into many current
programs.

The humanistic vision of Nathaniel Branden.-

Branden sees self-esteem as a basic human need, which influences our behavior, in
other words self-esteem is a need that we must learn to satisfy through the exercise of
our human faculties: reason, choice and responsibility. All this means that we must live
rationally, which is equivalent to exercising our own conscious abilities to be able to
evaluate the situation realistically and to know how to respond coherently. Branden
converts self-esteem into a personal aspect, not only social or evolutionary, but also To
acquire self-esteem, we must manage it and this throughout life. The suggestions he
offers to strengthen self-esteem are consistent with his irony, but there is little
documentation to support them being effective.

The cognitive-experiential perspective of Seymor Epstein.-

Epstein defines self-esteem as a basic human need to be worthy of love, it occupies a

central role in our lives as a motivational force, Epstein's theory is more inclined to
personality development than self-esteem, the cognitive perspective tends to be
mechanical, reductionist when trying to understand the human phenomena of our lives.
Epstein's approach is based on cognitive ideas about experience, organization,
representation, and the evolutionary process. Epstein says that two human beings
organize information and experience of the world, of themselves and of others; in
personal theories of reality. This means that it is a way of understanding the world and
others; It helps us survive and grow by influencing our motivation and behavior. Self-
esteem has effects on behaviors and emotions; The regulation of self-esteem is
important for the person, but this varies from person to person; Not everyone has the
same perception of the world. Each being is individual.