ISSUE 5. Applying Social Psychology: Are Self-Esteem Programs Misguided?
YES: ROY F. BAUMEISTER, JENNIFER D. CAMPBELL, JOACHIM I. KRUEGER, AND KATHLEEN D. VOHS, FROM “EXPLODING THE SELF-ESTEEM MYTH,” SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN (JANUARY 2005)
NO: DAVID L. DUBOIS AND HEATHER D. TEVENDALE, FROM “SELF-ESTEEM IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE: VACCINE OR EPIPHENOMENON?” APPLIED AND PREVENTATIVE PSYCHOLOGY (1999)
Social psychologist Roy Baumeister and his colleagues argue that self-esteem generally has little or no influence on most important outcomes and that excessively high self-esteem can sometimes have negative consequences. Psychologists David DuBois and Heather Tevendale argue that self-esteem is an important factor in adolescent development. Although some advocates of self-esteem improvement programs have overstated the importance of having a positive self-image, programs designed to raise self-esteem still appear to have beneficial effects.