The 4 types of self-esteem: do you value yourself?

There are different types of self-esteem depending on whether it is high or low and stable or unstable. Self esteem is one of the most relevant factors for personal well-being and a key to relating to the environment around us in a positive way.

Since the different types of self-esteem have their peculiarities, in today's article we are going to review their characteristics.

Self-esteem and its relation to well-being

Although the concept of self-esteem has been one of the most confusing, questioned and analyzed Throughout the history of psychology, most experts indicate that it is an element that is found innately in each individual and is exposed to multiple modifications throughout our lifetime.

Self-esteem evolves and develops due to the relationship with the world, and it changes constantly since it is linked to the change of society. Different social and cultural contexts will correspond to different perceptions of what we consider to be healthy self-esteem.

The 4 types of self-esteem

As we have commented, the

self-esteem it needs to be fed, to varying degrees, from the outside. Although the foundations are built during childhood, self-esteem is not unchanged in other stages of life.

It is important to note that self-esteem is not the same as self-confidence. Self-confidence (also called self-efficacy) is related to the specific objectives and goals that we set ourselves, while self-esteem refers to the global rating what we make of ourselves.

Since self-efficacy refers to the confidence in ability of oneself for a specific goal task, someone may think that he is very good at practicing tennis, however he may have a self-esteem low: he would still like to be taller or have a better physique, on the contrary, he relies on his ability to beat his rivals on a field of tennis. Self-efficacy could positively affect an individual's self-esteem if they consider it a priority in her life.

• To learn more about self-confidence, you can visit our article "Albert Bandura's Self-Efficacy: Do you believe in yourself?”.

Factors that explain good (or bad) self-esteem

It seems that there are 4 relevant factors that affect self-esteem, they are the following:

• The history of triumphs and the position achieved through the recognition that triumphs bring.

• The areas associated with the different triumphs, always and when they are significant for the person.

• The respect, acceptance and interest that the individual receives from the people he considers important in his life.

• The control and defense against negative consequences and implications. That is, the internal or external attribution that the person makes of negative events.

In his book Self-esteem and identity. Narcissism and social values, Luis Hornstein proposes 4 types of self-esteem. According to the author, the types of self-esteem vary because the value of oneself can be more or less high and more or less stable.

Then We present to you which are the four types of self-esteem that exist, and their characteristics.

1. High and stable self-esteem

External circumstances and life events have little influence on self-esteem. People with this type of self-esteem they develop in an open way since they do not need to defend his image, it defends itself. In addition, the person is able to defend her point of view without destabilizing.

2. High and unstable self-esteem

People with this type of self-esteem have high self-esteem but are unable to maintain it constant. Competitive contexts can have a destabilizing effect. Respond critically to failure, since these are perceived as threats. The individual will show conviction when defending her point of view, but will not accept other points of view and will tend to monopolize the floor in an argument.

Instability of self-esteem leads to placing self-esteem as a central concern and requires preserve it at any cost and appeal to an aggressive attitude (to promote it) or passive (to protect her).

3. Low and stable self-esteem

In cases where there is low and stable self-esteem, external events (whether favorable or not) do not alter the self-esteem of the subject, who does not make an effort to promote her personal image and undervalues.

Individuals with this type of self-esteem they are indecisive and have a great fear of being wrong. These people do not defend their points of view since their assessment of themselves is always negative, they believe that they are not up to par.

This type of self-esteem is very common in people with depressive tendencies, who because of their pessimistic mentality do not usually perceive their personal achievements as such, assuming that they are the result of luck or chance.

4. Low and unstable self-esteem

People with this type of self-esteem often be sensitive and influenced by external events. As soon as they face a successful event, their self-esteem rises, but as the euphoria of the moment ends, their self-esteem level drops again.

That is, this type of self-esteem is defined by its lack of solidity and the instability that it presents, which makes it highly sensitive to all kinds of events, no matter how irrelevant they may seem from a rational point of view.

Certain kinds of narcissistic people, for example, are characterized among other things by having low self-esteem and highly dependent on the opinion they perceive of others.

• To learn more about this kind of self-esteem, I recommend that you read this article: "Low selfsteem? When you become your worst enemy "

Bonus: Inflated Self-Esteem

Other authors also speak of a type of self-esteem that is detrimental to well-being, inflated self esteem. But what is inflated self-esteem?

The person with inflated self-esteem is unable to listen to others, much less to accept or acknowledge a mistake. Their perception of themselves is so inflated that they think they are better than the rest. When things get complicated, they fail to acknowledge mistakes and immediately blame others. This type of attitude generates negative behaviors since they are not capable of self-criticism and correcting mistakes. In general, these individuals look down on others and adopt hostile behavior towards them.

Bibliographic references:

• Branden, N. (2001). The psychology of self-esteem: a revolutionary approach to self-understanding that launched a new era in modern psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Coopersmith, S. (1967). The Antecedents of Self-Esteem, New York, W. H. Freeman.

• Hill, S.E. & Buss, D.M. (2006). "The Evolution of Self-Esteem." In Michael Kernis, (Ed.), Self Esteem: Issues and Answers: A Sourcebook of Current Perspectives ..

• Mruk, C. (2006). Self-Esteem research, theory, and practice: Toward a positive psychology of self-esteem (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.

• Twenge, Jean M. (2007). Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable Than Ever Before. Free Press.