Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF

The Value of Self: Measuring Self-Esteem Rebecca Laudarji University of Illinois at Chicago

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF The Value of Self: Measuring Self-Esteem We all as individuals struggle with the idea of self esteem. Self esteem is usually

explained as the way in which we value ourselves. Whether of not we view ourselves in a positive or negative manner affects our level of self esteem. A person who thinks highly or him/herself is said to have higher self esteem then someone else who thinks very little of him/herself. Our level of self esteem also affects how we live our lives (Snyder, Lopez. 2002). In this research I will define self esteem as the way in which an individual values his/herself. A person with high self esteem will appreciate and think positively of his/herself. A person with low self esteem on the other hand will be less appreciative of self and will see self in a negative manner. In the Handbook of Positive Psychology, John Hewitt (2002) says that self esteem is usually explained in a psychological manner where self evaluation ranges from a person who is self affirming to someone who is self demeaning. According to Hewitt, self-esteem is founded on acceptance, evaluation, comparison, and efficacy. The development of self esteem begins in the early stages of childhood. It begins when a child starts to feel the need to be accepted in society and feelings of being left out will in the long run have an effect on the childs self esteem. A persons evaluation of self also affects their self-esteem. Comparisons begin to happen when we start to evaluate ourselves and take note of other peoples evaluations of us. Efficacy deals with our motivation or desire to accomplish tasks. Hewitt states that when a person has low self esteem, it will also affect their level of efficacy (Hewitt, 2002). Robert Reasoner (2001) in his summary gives the differentiation between a person with high self esteem and a person with low self esteem. He states that a person

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF with high self esteem is not a narcissistic person per se but rather someone with self respect. Someone who appreciates self and recognizes personal faults, a person with

intrinsic motivations, and who does not see self as superior or inferior to others. A person with low self esteem on the other hand finds motivation from extrinsic factors and is very defensive scared to make mistakes, sensitive to criticism and usually has a negative outlook on life. Reasoner emphasizes Hewitts statement that the development of selfesteem begins in the early stages of childhood (Reasoner, 2001). Blascovich and Tomaka (1991) explain that although self esteem is about how a person views self, not every self evaluation affects the persons self esteem. They give an explanation of how a persons singing capabilities may not affect that persons self esteem. They go on further to state that when a person begins to feel depressed due to that incapability, then that persons self esteem is being affected. This adds emphasis to Reasoners statement about a person with high self esteem recognizing faults or in this case, inabilities. Blascovich and Tomaka state that self esteem is not about single attributes of an individual but about the self as a whole. These articles support my construct of self-esteem by further shedding light on the fact that self esteem has a lot to do with how an individual views his/herself. Reasoners article helps in the measurement of my construct because the items used for measurement will have qualities that Reasoner speaks of in his article. By looking at the different ways the articles discuss self esteem, I was able to put together a self-questionnaire which will be used to measure self-esteem. The questionnaire will contain questions regarding different ways in which a person views his/herself from feelings of shame to positive feelings etc.

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF

Methods In the test there were 20 items which were measured using the 5-point Likert scale. Each question had elements that helped in measuring how a person valued themselves either through their work, social life, or just daily experiences. The scale was ranked from 1 to 5. 1 being strongly agree, 2 was agree, 3 was neutral, 4 was disagree, and 5 was strongly disagree.

Participants There were 10 people selected to take the test. All of them were UIC students ranging from freshmen to seniors. The age range varied but they all fell within the ranges of 18-25 years of age.

Procedures The participants were informed through personal contact and asked to take the 20 item test. They were also informed about taking the test twice. After they agreed to take the test, they were given 20 minutes to take the test. After two to three days, the test was administered again. There was no definitive location in which the test was taken so the subjects all took the test at the different locations they were at when the test was given to them. This was done for both the test and the retest.

Test Overview

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF The Self Evaluation scale ranges from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree) and covers items that evaluate how an individual values him/herself. It is based on Rosenbergs self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1989). Some of the items on the scale included statements like I get defensive when I am being criticized or I take criticism well etc.

Scoring For the positively worded items, strongly agree was 5 points, agree was 4 points, neutral was 3 points, disagree was 2 points and strongly disagreed was 1 point. The reverse of that was done for the negatively worded items such that strongly agree was 1 point, etc so it looked like this 5=1, 4=2, 3=3, 4=2, and 5=1. Scores ranged from 20 to 100 points such that the lowest an individual could score was 20 and the highest was 100. A score ranging between 20-50 points indicated the likelihood of having low self esteem while a score ranging between 70-100 points and above indicated the likelihood of high self esteem. Scores that fell between 51-69 points were those who neither had low self esteem nor high self esteem.

Data Analysis Results

Discussion

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF I took the self evaluation test and my score was a 48 which is below the average score. According to the cut off ranges, I fall under the category of people who have low self esteem. I think the scale predicted well how I feel on the inside most of the time. However, that does not guide how I behave of live my life. I have a higher esteem of my

self socially than I do personally. Overall I think the scale accurately predicted how I feel personally but not socially.

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF

References Blascovich, Jim, Tomaka Joseph. Measures of Self-Esteem. In Robinson John P., Wrightsman Lawrence S., Andrews Frank M. (1991). Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes. Hewitt, John P. The Social Construction of Self-Esteem. In Snyder, C. R., Lopez, Shane J. (2002). Handbook of Positive Psychology. 135-146 Oxford University Press, NY. Reasoner, Robert W. (2001) Extending Self-Esteem Theory and Research. NY, NY http://www.self-esteem-international.org/Research/Extending%20research.htm Rosenberg, Morris. 1989. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Revised edition. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.

Running head: THE VALUE OF SELF Appendix A I think positively about myself *Its hard for me to make up my mind I always do the right thing *I get defensive when I am being criticized I have many good qualities *I feel useless at times I am pretty sure of myself *There are lots of things about myself I would change if I could If I have something to say, I usually say it *I often feel ashamed of myself I am pretty confident in myself *I cant make up my mind and stick to it *Its not every time that I do the right thing I take criticism well *There are no good qualities about me I rarely feel useless *I question myself a lot There is nothing I would change about myself *Sometimes even if I have something to say I dont say it I am proud of myself 1 Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree Strongly agree 2 Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree 3 Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral 4 Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree

5 Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree agree * Negatively worded items that were reverse-scored.