Self-esteem greatly affects an individuals personal and interpersonal success. Most theories of self-esteem believe that self-esteem is developed during childhood, an aspect of identity formation that is affected by environmental as well as genetic factors. If we look at the macro-level or environmental factors influencing self-esteem, there are many. During childhood we get many sources of feedback which contribute to the development of our self-esteem. We exist in an environment where we compare ourselves to others in order to understand and judge our own behavior. This is known as social comparison theory (Weiten, 1989, 466), but we don’t just choose anyone against who we compare ourselves. Instead, we are in an environment where we choose a reference group, “a particular group of people used as a standard in social comparisons”, through against who we try to gauge our own behavior and understand our own self.
Parents, teachers, peers and others influence the judgements made of others and, subsequently, of the self. When individuals who exhibit low self-esteem seek help, they typically are treated from a behavioral perspective that challenges the preformed perceptions of self and others. Involved in this process are things like getting the client to recognize unrealistic goals, directing them to modify negative thinking, helping them work to improve themselves, and recognizing that the locus-of-control for self-esteem is internal not external. Causal relationships are difficult to determine with low self-esteem. For example, does low self-esteem cause poor performance or does poor performance engender low self-esteem. Regardless of causal factors, low self-esteem is typically engendered through a variety of macro-experiences, i.e., environmental influences, “Our self-esteem, or global evaluation of ourselves, blends a number of dimensions of self-image, each of whic
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