Create a 9 page essay paper that discusses The Development of Self-Esteem from Infancy to Old Age.Download file to see previous pages... Some researchers have even identified several concepts of self-

Create a 9 page essay paper that discusses The Development of Self-Esteem from Infancy to Old Age.

Some researchers have even identified several concepts of self-esteem as a collective self-esteem, contingent self-esteem, implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem. Greenberg as cited in Guindon (2010) even classifies self esteem as “a basic human need” (p. 3). Nonetheless, Guindon (2010) and several other writers all agree that self-esteem is first and foremost a construct. Wells and Marwell as cited in Guindon (2010) have presented a categorization of self-esteem which still stands today(p. 5).They have classified the construct from four different perspectives, namely, object/attitudinal approach, the relational approach, psychological responses approach and function/component approach. The object/attitudinal approach refers to the self as “an object just like any other thing” therefore we are able to “have reactions toward ourselves, in this case toward that part of self we call self-esteem” (p. 5). The relational approach addresses the reactional dimension of self-esteem as well as “the relationship or difference between sets of attitudes” (p. 5). For this reason Guindon (2010) notes that we can have varying feelings about ourselves when we compare “our ideal self with our real self” (p. 5). ...

As a part of personality self-esteem is directly connected to “motivation and self-regulation” (p. 5). Therefore self-esteem is involved in how we interact with the principles and values as stipulated by society. In spite of the plethora of definitions, several authors construe the majority of the definitions of self esteem, there are two essential commonalities, namely, “evaluation and its emotional experience or affect” (p. 5). Added to these two elements are Smelser’s as cited in Guindon (2010) “cognitive, affective and evaluative elements”. Today, these elements still hold as the “universally accepted components of self esteem” (p. 5). Koch as cited in Guindon (2010) warns that “the popular definition of self-esteem may not match the psychological definition of self” (4). Thus, in light of the various definitions and elements of self-esteem it is imperative that practitioners be accurate in their analysis of an individual’s self-esteem or wrong interventions may be implemented which may cause more harm than good to the individual’s self-esteem. Given this understanding of the difficulty of defining self-esteem, the author of this paper has chosen the definition put forward by Guindon (2010) since she appears to have encapsulated all of these elements in the research and defined self-esteem as “the attitudinal evaluative component of the self. the affective judgments placed on the self-concept consisting of feelings of worth and acceptance which are developed and maintained as a consequence of awareness of competence and feedback from the external world” (p. 12).