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.
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 innately found in each individual and that is exposed to multiple modifications throughout our lives.
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 with different perceptions of what we consider to be healthy self-esteem.
The 4 types of self-esteem
As we have commented, self-esteem needs to be fed, to varying degrees, from the outside. Although the foundations are built during childhood, self-esteem is not unalterable at 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 for ourselves, while self-esteem refers to the overall assessment 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 playing tennis, however he may have low self-esteem: he would still like to be taller or have a better physique, on the contrary, he trusts in his ability to beat his rivals on a tennis court. Self-efficacy could positively affect the individual’s self-esteem if he considers it to be a priority in his life.
Factors that explain good (or bad) self-esteem
It seems that there are 4 relevant factors that affect self-esteem, they are the following:
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 one’s self-esteem can be more or less high and more or less stable.
Next We present to you what 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 operate openly since they do not need to defend their image, it defends itself. Furthermore, the person is capable of defending his or her point of view without becoming destabilized.
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. They respond with a critical attitude to failure, since these are perceived as threats. The individual will show conviction in defending his point of view, but will not accept other points of view and will tend to monopolize the floor in a discussion.
The instability of self-esteem leads to placing self-esteem as a central concern and requires preserving it at any price and appealing to an aggressive attitude (to promote it) or a passive attitude (to protect it).
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 his or her personal image and undervalues himself.
Individuals with this type of self-esteem They are indecisive and have a great fear of making mistakes These people do not defend their points of view since their assessment of themselves is always negative, they believe that they do not measure up.
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 usually be sensitive and influenced by external events As soon as they face a successful event, their self-esteem goes up, but as soon as the euphoria of the moment ends, their level of self-esteem goes down again.
That is, this type of self-esteem It is defined by its lack of solidity and the instability it presents which makes it highly sensitive to all types of events, no matter how irrelevant they may seem from a rational point of view.
Certain types of narcissistic people, for example, are characterized, among other things, by having low self-esteem and being very dependent on the opinion they perceive of others.
Other authors also talk about 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 accept or recognize an error. Their self-perception is so inflated that they believe they are better than everyone else. When things get complicated, they do not recognize their 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 belittle others and adopt hostile behavior towards them.
