Abstract
Self-esteem is a central construct in clinical, developmental, personality, and social psychology, and its role in psychological functioning has been studied for nearly a century. Though there have been periods in which research on self-esteem fell into disfavor (cf. Wylie, 1974), in the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest. This resurgence has yielded significant advances in our understanding, as revealed in the other chapters in this volume, as well as in other recent compilations (e.g., Baumeister, 1993a). Nonetheless (and perhaps not surprisingly), significant controversies remain. At their core, these controversies revolve around the essence of what it means to be either high or low in self-esteem. For example, is high self-esteem a precious commodity that must be zealously defended and promoted in order to survive? Or does it reflect a global and secure sense of one’s self-worth that is not readily threatened? Likewise, to what extent is low self-esteem indicative of maladjustment? Is it inevitably associated with an absence of self-protective and self-enhancement strategies?
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Greenier, K.D., Kernis, M.H., Waschull, S.B. (1995). Not All High (or Low) Self-Esteem People Are the Same. In: Kernis, M.H. (eds) Efficacy, Agency, and Self-Esteem. The Springer Series in Social Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1280-0_4
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