How Self-Esteem is Informed by Culture,

Institutions and the Media

Week Six

Types of Institutions That Impact Self-Esteem

• Culture

• Religion

• Education

• Government

• Sports

• Media

The Concept of “Dominant Story” from Narrative Therapy• Michael White defines “Dominant

Story” as the collection of narratives about the individual, as written by parents, culture, institutions, etc.

• “Competing Stories” are small glimpses into other ways of thinking or succeeding that are drowned-out by the strength of the Dominant Story

Culture

• What is the role of culture in defining self-esteem?

• How does culture impart those definitions?

• How do cultural messages about SE complement or compete with messages from other institutions?

Culture• Individualistic cultures

– Independent self-conceptions emphasize the uniqueness of the individual and the separation of self from others

– Self-esteem is more likely to be based on the achievement of personal goals

• Collectivistic cultures– Interdependent self-conceptions stress the

connectedness of the person to the group and to fitting in with one's group

– Self-esteem is derived from the achievement of collective goals, such as those of family or society.

– For example, in collectivist cultures, such as those of Japan or China, the reflected appraisals from one's family, work group, or peer group are the primary sources of self-esteem and concomitant emotions such as shame and pride

Source: http://family.jrank.org/pages/1477/Self-Esteem-Culture-Ethnicity-Self-Esteem.html

Self Esteem in Asian Cultures• Researchers comparing the responses of Japanese, Chinese and

Filipino subjects have observed that those populations tend to devalue themselves, in a form of psychological deference, when presented with self-appraisal questions by older individuals of higher status

• Asian cultures are dependent to a large degree on family and social milieu for contextual cues on appropriate behaviors. Individuals who are highly dependent on others in organizing their lives tend to have poor self-differentiation, a kind of organic bond with close family and friends

• Comparative work on the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory between Japanese, Canadian and British high school students indicated much similarity between the two Western cultures, but the factor structure and age trends among the Japanese students were quite different

– Japanese students evaluated themselves in a very negative or self-effacing way.

– The male-female differences were larger than in any of the cultures studied

Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3765/is_199611/ai_n8746413/?tag=content;col1

Self-Esteem inLatino/Hispanic Cultures

Study of Mexican, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican children

• Found significant social and family effects on the cognitive stimulation and emotional support in the home environment

• However, the home environment was not predictive of child global self-esteem

• Socioeconomic status and family structure influence the presence of a cognitively stimulating and emotionally supportive home environment

• Aspects of the home environment do not influence the development of child self-worth and scholastic self-perception

Source = http://hjb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/516

Self-Esteem inBlack/African-American Cultures

• Researcher M. Hughes notes that African-Americans have high self-esteem but relatively low personal efficacy

• Black teenaged girls appear to draw strength from their families in both early and later adolescence, while white girls shift from supportive family relationships to their social life at school as a source of self-esteem

Self-Esteem inBlack/African-American Cultures

• The creator of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga, on self-esteem– It is important to have rootedness in your culture,

knowledge of our culture and encouragement to act and create in such a way that self-respect will come of itself.

– When you focus just on self-esteem you focus on individual orientation and that is against African values. We must focus on standing worthy before our people and in the world.

– Because we live in an individualistic society, people put such emphasis on self-gratification and self-indulgence they do not see that there is a collective aspect to what we are about as a people. The need to root oneself in one's culture, extract its models of excellence and possibility and emulate them in our ongoing efforts to be the best of what it means to be African and human.

Religion

• What is the role of religion in defining self-esteem?

• How does religion impart those definitions?

• How do religious messages about SE complement or compete with messages from other institutions?

One View of Religion as Antagonistic of Self Esteemby Dr. Locke of the Ayn Rand Foundation

• Asserts that religion undermines every essential precondition of self-esteem: – metaphysically, it declares that man is evil by nature– epistemologically, it regards faith as superior to reason– ethically, it advocates the "virtues" of obedience, altruistic

duty and humility; and – politically and economically, it declares money-making to

be sinful and demands some form of self-sacrifice for the greater good.

• Asserts that religion attacks the quest for self-esteem by denouncing its primary cause: pride– Locke states pride is not a sin but a virtue, the virtue of

moral ambitiousness– Pride is attained by constant adherence to reason in the

pursuit of moral perfection—a state which religion makes impossible, according to the author

Institutions of Government, Education

• What is the role of institutions in defining self-esteem?

• How do institutions impart those definitions?

• How do institutional messages about SE complement or compete with messages from other institutions?

Sports

• What is the role of sports in defining self-esteem?

• How do organized sports impart those definitions?

• How do messages from sports organizations about SE complement or compete with messages from other institutions?

Media Influences Upon Self-Esteem

• Advertising

• Movies

• Television

• Music

• Sports

• Famous only for being famous

Media (Film, TV, Advertising)

• What is the role of media in defining self-esteem?

• How does the media impart those definitions?

• How do media messages about SE complement or compete with messages from other institutions?

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

• Too many girls and young women develop low self-esteem from hang-ups about looks and consequently fail to reach their full potential in later life.

• The Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF) was established as an agent of change to inspire and educate girls and young women about a wider definition of beauty.

• The DSEF is committed to help girls build positive self-esteem and a healthy body image, with a goal of reaching 5 million girls globally by 2010. It has already reached 2 million young women.

• http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/selfesteem/

Branden’s Thoughts onSelf-Esteem & Culture

• The need for self-esteem is not “cultural”

• Self-esteem issues are universal

• Culture imparts beliefs through the “collective unconscious”

• Religious mentality

• Unique qualities of “American” culture