1.2.2.

6 Theory of Mead on Self Esteem

James, Mead and their followers (in Bagley et al., 1979) proposed this

theory. Accordingly, the self arises from interaction with others. The individual's

notion of himself and especially his evaluation of himself is derived from his

interaction with others who evaluate him in various ways. This interactions'

inception of the self makes the self- social in origin: and the self arises in social

'interaction. According to the Meadian theory, the process, „taking the role of

others‟, describes how a person comes to have beliefs about himself (self-

concepts) which are similar to those significant others have of him (Bagley et al.,

1979). Thus, a person's -Self- Esteem is also congruent with the evaluation of

those around him.

1.2.2.7 Sociometer Theory

Sociometer theory was developed by Mark Leary (1999) and his

colleagues in order to explain the functions of Self Esteem. Self- Esteem is often

over attributed and misperceived in society as the driving force behind many

behaviours. They proposed, however, that Self- Esteem evolved to monitor one's

social acceptance and are used as a gauge for avoiding social devaluation and

rejection.

In general, people are highly motivated to protect their Self- Esteem and to

increase it through their thoughts and actions (Leary, 1999). A sociometer, as

proposed by Leary his colleagues, is a measure of how desirable one would be to

other people and this is influenced by one's Self Esteem. This measure may be

made in a variety of terms such as team member, relationship partner, employee,

and colleague or in numerous other ways.

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Although it is often treated as a monolithic entity, self- esteem differs

across various areas of people's lives; for example, the person with low academic

achievement may possess high Self- Esteem regarding social attributes and

moderate Self- Esteem regarding his or her athletic ability. Sociometer theory

predicts that primary domains of Self- Esteem should reflect factors that

determine the degree to which people are valued by others. In support of this

notion, the content of commonly used measures of Self- Esteem and self-concept

reflect valued social attributes.

Sociometer theory is useful in explaining why people are so concerned

with Self Esteem. Self- Esteem measures the traits you have according to how

socially acceptable they are and how these qualities integrate you into society.

This measurement helps to guide people through their social interactions on a

daily basis. A more complex version of this theory is known as terror management

theory, which states that having Self- Esteem helps protect people from the fear of

death so people are constantly searching for ways to enhance their Self- Esteem in

order to avoid thoughts of dying.

Self- Esteem can be defined as how favourably someone evaluates himself

or herself (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). There have been several different

proposals as to what the true function of Self- Esteem is and it is generally

believed that people have an inherent need to feel good about themselves, which is

why Self- Esteem becomes so important. From the perspective of humanistic

psychologists (Leary, 1999; Leary, 2000) Self- Esteem is the relationship between

one's real self and one's ideal self, feeding off of favourable behaviours.

According to Leary (1999), there are two distinctions commonly made in

Self Esteem: state Self- Esteem and trait Self Esteem. State Self- Esteem refers to

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the fluctuation in a person's feelings about themselves because of how they

perceive others is currently valuing their relationship. Self- Esteem is raised or

lowered based on positive or negative feedback. Trait Self Esteem, conversely,

refers to the sense a person has about the type of person who is generally valued

and accepted by others. This is sometimes referred to as the resting state for the

sociometer because this is how the person feels when relational information is

absent (Leary, 1999). The theory from the ethological perspective (Leary, 1999)

proposes that Self- Esteem developed as way for a person to remain dominant in

relationships since dominance has traditionally led to favourable partners and

reproduction practices. Finally, terror management theory (Leary, 1999) is one of

the more controversial in the theories of the function of Self Esteem, proposing

that Self- Esteem protects people from the fear that can arise from the prospect of

death.

Consistent with Jame's (1890) notion that Self- Esteem depends on

people's success and failures in domains that people regard as important. Self-

perceptions in a particular domain predict Self- Esteem only to the extent that

people regard the domain as important. Sociometer theory regards these

"important" domains as those on which an individual has staked his or her social

acceptance. An individual who believes her / his social acceptance is predicated

on her/his athletic ability but not on her intelligence will suffer a greater loss of

Self- Esteem following an athletic failure than an academic one. Although

sociometer theory focuses on the effects of perceived acceptance or rejection on

Self Esteem, it acknowledges that a person's current level of Self- Esteem (either

state or trait) can also moderate his or her perceptions of interpersonal feedback.

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In the fact that people with high trait Self- Esteem tend to believe that others are

more accepting of them than people with low Self Esteem.

Development of Trait Self Esteem: According to some theories

(Baumeister et al., 1993) low self- esteem is somewhat of a paradox; if people

have a strong motive to maintain high Self Esteem, why do certain people have

low Self Esteem? Has the Self- Esteem system of low-Self Esteem people

malfunctioned? According to Leary and Baumeister (2000), answer is "no", and.

in fact, it may be functioning quite well. People do not have a motive to maintain

high Self- Esteem per se. but rather a system for monitoring and responding to

threats to relational evaluation. For such a system to function properly, it must

alert the individual to possible relational devaluation. Presumably, then people

with relatively low Self- Esteem are those who have had more than their share of

cues indicating disinterest, rejection, or ostracism from parents, teachers, peers,

coaches, or whomever, when people experience relational devaluation, including

explicit rejection, repeatedly over time, they are likely to develop relatively low

trait Self Esteem. As Shaver & Hazan, (1987) noted "Low Self- Esteem is a

natural component of a negative model of self based an actual attachment- related

experiences", (P. 116).

Several studies have documented an inverse relationship between trait

Self- Esteem and negative reactions to failure and unfavourable evaluations

(Jones, 1973; Rosenberg, 1965). People with higher trait Self- Esteem appear less

bothered by negative evaluation than people with low trait Self Esteem.

Furthermore, people who have recently suffered a loss in Self- Esteem appear

particularly motivated to attain others' approval and to avoid disapproved, and

people who are low in trait Self- Esteem score higher in need for approval and

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fear of negative evaluation than those who are high in self- esteem (Leary

&Kowalski, 1993; Schneider, 1969).

Sociometer theory provides a straightforward interpretation of these

patterns. People who do not feel adequately valued and accepted will experience

low Self- Esteem because of the action of the sociometer. At the same time, they

will become acutely attuned to the degree to which they are being accepted or

rejected and. thus, will be quite aware that events in their social environment

affect their Self Esteem. Self - Esteem is affected not only by people's judgments

of their objective characteristics but by how they compare themselves to others.

Self- Esteem improves if we compare ourselves to those with less desirable

characteristics than ourselves (Schultz & Decker, 1989).

Sociometer theory provides a plausible framework for explaining and

integrating an erect deal of the Self- Esteem literature, notably, it provides a viable

account for why human beings appear to ha\e a pervasive need for Self- Esteem

and explains why low Self- Esteem is associated with many problems in living. If

the sociometer theory of Self- Esteem is even partially accurate researchers should

augment their study of Self- Esteem with increased attention to the psychological

systems by which people monitor and control and quality of their relationship with

other people. Psychologists have long recognized that people appear to need Self-

Esteem and possess a potent desire to be accepted and induced by others. Yet they

may have underestimated the powerful link between these two pervasive

psychological facts.

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