Self-esteem - what it is: concept, structure, types and levels. Self-esteem correction

Why is self-esteem needed?

Self-esteem is how high or low a person evaluates his personal qualities and capabilities, how he sees himself and how he interacts with the world around him. If a person's internal self-esteem does not correspond to what others think of him, it is considered inadequate and can be overestimated or underestimated. A person with low self-esteem does not believe in himself, underestimates his knowledge and capabilities, shows indecisiveness, or feels some kind of inferiority complex. With inflated self-esteem, a person tends to overestimate his knowledge and abilities: he self-confidently takes on tasks that exceed his real capabilities, and explains all his failures by external circumstances.

Adequate self-esteem is a person’s objective assessment of his abilities, qualities and capabilities, which corresponds to real results and facts and coincides with what others think about him. People with inadequate self-esteem create a certain discomfort for others: a person with high self-esteem cannot be relied upon, and people with low self-esteem are often boring and pessimistic, have a negative attitude towards everything that happens, notice only the negative sides in everything and see everything around them in gray. Psychologists advise staying away from such people, because they negatively influence others, disrupt their inner harmony, and interfere with their self-development.

Self-esteem is directly related to the level of a person’s aspirations: the higher it is, the higher the level of aspirations, and vice versa. If you want to improve your standard of living, start improving your self-esteem and tell yourself that you can do it and you are worth it.

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List of second order factors

The content characteristics of second-order factors require analysis of first-order factors. The level of factors determines the place assigned to the factor in the structural-hierarchical model of personality. Finding second-order factors is possible by factorizing correlations between first-order factors. This process can theoretically be repeated until one or more unrelated factors remain.

Attitudes towards multi-level personality models are quite contradictory. Thus, J. Guilford had a negative attitude towards higher-order factors, since the reliability of correlations between primary factors largely depends on the experimental conditions, the characteristics of the groups being studied, cultural traditions and other side effects.

G. Eysenck, on the contrary, considers primary factors to be unreliable, since their content strongly depends on the specifics of information collection, the tests used and the methods of factor analysis.

Cattell's position can be seen as a compromise. He insists on the usefulness of multilevel models of personality, especially in solving practical applied problems. In these cases, the values ​​of higher order factors must be specified by indicating the primary factors from which they are formed. For example, introversion will have a qualitatively different meaning depending on which of the first-order factors is more pronounced. A person whose factor A is more pronounced than factor H or F will be characterized as more reserved, timid in social contacts, shy in unfamiliar groups of people, but sociable in direct interpersonal contacts. Therefore, if we do not want to lose the predictive power of tests, we should use factors of different levels.

The identified secondary factors “extraversion - introversion” and “anxiety” have already appeared as primary factors in objective tests; they play an important role in Eysenck’s system. And if among the primary factors that have too specific content, those are found that have no correspondence in the factors identified from the Q-data, then with the help of second-order factors one can get closer to more fundamental factors. Based on the Cattell system, the main lines indicating the origin of the factors are determined:

a) constitutional factors (according to Eysenck and Cattell, they most often serve as characteristics of temperament in all its dynamic manifestations);

b) factors determined by the environment;

c) structural factors (the set of factors considered by Guilford, Eysenck and Cattell), according to the degree of their generalization, constitute a hierarchical organization of personality.

Cattell, thanks to statistical processing of second-order factors, also obtained third-order factors. However, to date, there are only two studies of third-order factors and nine factors have been obtained, eight of which correspond exactly to the second-order factors shown in Table 1. 2. The ninth factor is identified, but not interpreted. Therefore, we do not consider third-order factors.

Below are the substantive characteristics, compiled by R. Cattell, of the main second-order factors.

Heightened self-esteem

People with high self-esteem are confident that they are better, smarter and more capable than everyone else, and that their actions are the most correct, which can involve them in difficult life situations. This is explained simply. While maintaining high self-esteem, such people ignore personal failures, do not see that their cause lies in themselves, explaining everything by external factors or the machinations of ill-wishers. People with high self-esteem take on impossible tasks and set unattainable goals for themselves, and when they fail to achieve what they want, they blame others for this - those who, in their opinion, prevented them from doing this.

About who and how breaks our self-esteem

We evaluate a child from the first day of life, because it is convenient to control a child with the help of shame. At school it is customary to evaluate, in kindergarten it is customary to evaluate. Especially at school, problems begin, since there are certain evaluation criteria. The child relates himself to them and begins to measure himself. He can get three C's, decide that he is a fool, and be a fool all his life. In adolescence, all you need is some thrown phrase that will cause painful sensations, and you can get stuck in it forever.

There are parents who try to evaluate not the personality, but the actions. And it seems like a slightly healthier person grows up, but he still understands that poorly assessed actions characterize him as a bad person, and well-assessed actions characterize him as a good one. What they said is what we live with, but we can work on it.

Low self-esteem

Low self-esteem is more common than high self-esteem. In this case, the person is constantly in an anxious state and experiences lack of confidence in himself and his abilities. Such people can be shy, suspicious and very self-critical. They set themselves low, uncomplicated and easily achievable goals, although they could achieve more; they are ready to admit their mistakes and criticize themselves for them, but cannot praise themselves for their achievements.

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“I need” and “I want”

Most people have very little knowledge of their shortcomings, strengths, feelings and what they really want. A paradox arises: a person knows what he SHOULD do (go to work, be polite, respect his parents, etc.), but does not know what he WANTS to do. We must strive to bring our “need” and our “want” into line.

To achieve this, you need to learn to adequately assess each situation. If you have to go to work, but you don’t want to, try to understand all the reasons that cause this conflict. For example, you are tired, today is Friday, and you have had a hard week. Or maybe you don't like this job and don't have any interest in it. By understanding all the specific reasons, you can avoid internal conflict and reach agreement with yourself.

What to pay attention to

Psychologist, psychiatrist Evgenia Streletskaya about healthy self-esteem and self-love:

1. Self-esteem is not only what we think about ourselves, but also our attitude towards ourselves, i.e. the emotions we feel towards ourselves. If you feel hatred, shame, disgust, or guilt towards yourself, you have low self-esteem.

2. Our self-esteem critically depends on how our loved ones treat us. If you are subjected to domestic violence, then you will a priori have low self-esteem. There can only be one way out: change the environment to a favorable one. The rest won't help.

3. There are 2 types of low self-esteem - namely self-hatred with specific precise negative beliefs (among which stands out the case with history, when, for example, someone called names, and the habit of scolding oneself + laziness) and the lack of positive ideas about oneself.

4. It includes several sectors. For convenience, you can highlight beauty (appearance), intelligence, achievements, character, highlights.

5. How is self-esteem formed? At the ages of 3 to 6 years, especially parents should give us a lot of real, reflective of our true self, positive assessments, which are at this evolutionary stage of the formation of the psyche an expression of genuine interest on the part of the parents.

How to achieve harmony

For most people, self-esteem comes from comparing themselves to others. Very often this happens under the influence of external factors: a friend went to the gym and lost weight - I also need to lose weight, a colleague is studying a second foreign language - I need to learn at least English, everyone goes for cosmetic procedures - I also need... A person strives to be “like everyone else” “And at the same time he doesn’t think about whether he wants it himself. When comparing oneself with other people, a person often sets himself impossible goals. As a result, internal discomfort arises: a person cannot achieve the goals that he has come up with for himself and justify his own high expectations. This makes him angry, but he doesn’t understand who he should be angry with: himself or external circumstances.

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What to pay attention to when analyzing

Praise and criticism of yourself Please note whether you praise or criticize yourself more. You should definitely praise yourself, even for minor achievements. Childhood: were your parents happy or unhappy with you? Our mothers and fathers can, without malicious intent, create insecurity in us with their criticism. In any case, we need to analyze our childhood and start working on our self-esteem on our own. What qualities in other people attract you? An example should always be taken from the best. If you find it difficult to understand yourself, pay attention to how confident people behave. Communicate with successful and confident people, learn everything you need to gain confidence. What is your reaction to insults and insults? A self-confident person will not pay attention to insults and comments addressed to him. At most he will respond with the same coin. On the contrary, even a harmless remark can unsettle a woman with low self-esteem. How does the process of falling asleep occur? If you fall asleep without problems and nothing bothers you, then everything is clear - everything is fine with self-esteem. But if you can’t fall asleep for a long time and are engaged in introspection, then your self-confidence is clearly weak. Don't compare yourself to other people. And if you compare, then you need to be equal to the best. Take care of yourself. A new hairstyle, a stylish wardrobe and a toned body will increase your confidence in your attractiveness. And this is already half the success.

Create uniqueness. Be unique. No need to copy anyone, create your own unique world. Radiate positivity. Filter criticism. Don't take other people's opinions to heart. Often they just want to hurt and offend us. Always remain confident. Hang out with nice people. Surround yourself with positive people who give you good vibes

We humans are herd creatures and communication is very important to us. Be positive and you will attract good people. Practice psychotechnics (self-hypnosis, meditation)

It is no longer news that all life is built by the power of our thoughts. Work on your inner self. Let joy and confidence always reign inside, then your life will go as you wish. Be sure to love and appreciate yourself. And then life will give you gifts in return, and the most worthy men and good friends will be next to you.

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