SELF-ESTEEM
What is Self Esteem ?
Self esteem is your opinion of yourself.
High self esteem is a good opinion of
yourself and low self esteem is a bad
opinion of yourself.
Nope.
It is not that.
Kids with high self-esteem
• Don‟t smoke as much
• Don‟t drink/do drugs as much
• Don‟t engage in premature sex as much
Right?
Nope.
They smoke just as much.
Do drugs and alcohol as much.
Have sex just as much.
Give me something!
They do better in school,
Yes?
Nope.
Not necessarily.
• Headed by Brown's Joachim Krueger and
three other university professors, an APA
requested taskforce researched over
15,000 articles and studies on self-
esteem, to discover what they could about
what self-esteem WAS related to.
• Anything?
Sure there is…
• First, let us look at the reality of self-esteem:
• What is it?
• Where does it come from?
• How does it relate to terms like self-concept,
identity?
• And what can we really DO to enhance self-
esteem?
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Is it worth the trouble?
I will let you be the judge of that,
as you should---
The answers are variable
and quite personal.
Human Development of the
'Self'
There is nothing but me
And there is only self-esteem…no
healthy or unhealthy…what we
call healthy self-esteem is just me
But let us begin at the
beginning.
At birth…
In all my purity…
Within the unvarnished self
All that I see is me. How did this happen?
Let us see how I became
ME
The Road We All Travel…
The Pristine Self
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
+'s and –'s of Characteristics Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Ego-Ideal is Created &
Turned “On”
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics
Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Ego-Ideal is Created & Turned “On”
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics
Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Self-Esteem
arrives on the scene…
Low Self-Esteem Crystallizes High
Low Self-Esteem Crystallizes High
Ego-Ideal is Created & Turned “On”
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics
Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Low Self-Confidence
Crystallizes High
Low Self-Esteem Crystallizes High
Ego-Ideal is Created & Turned “On”
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics
Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Low Success Potential
Crystallizes High
Low Self-Confidence Crystallizes High
Low Self-Esteem Crystallizes High
Ego-Ideal is Created & Turned “On”
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
Low Success Potential Crystallizes
High
Low Self-Confidence Crystallizes
High
Low Self-Esteem Crystallizes High
Ego-Ideal is Created & Turned “On”
Identity Formed
+'s and –'s of Characteristics
Internalized
Characteristics Evaluated
by Significant Others
Self-Concept Formed
Characteristics Are Highlighted by
Significant Others
Who Am I? & How Do I Do It?
Pristine Self
We are in The Success Business!!
The GOLDEN QUESTION
HOW can I change a child‟s quotient of
success potential?
Clue: The critical “entry point” is below where
the „Identity‟ is formed. If there is to be a
significant change to a child‟s self-esteem,
either the characteristics ingrained need to
have a valence shift and/or new
characteristics need to be evolved with
positive valence.
List several examples of how
that could be done.
Copyright 2009 Anthony Dallmann-Jones PhD
asdjones@gmail.com www.DoctorZest.com