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Self-Esteem Increase Motivates Similar Behavior

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Self-esteem and perceived social value; Self-esteem as self-perceptions of social worth

Definition

Self-esteem is a theory that addresses an individual’s overall affective feeling of self-worth. Individuals differ both in their stable sense of self-esteem and in their self-esteem responsive to stimuli. Humans are highly motivated to increase self-esteem and thus experience motivation to engage in similar behavior as that which previously boosted these feelings of self-worth.

Introduction

Self-esteem describes an individual’s overall sense of self-worth or value based on an affective evaluation regarding the self. This evaluation encompasses both feelings about the self (e.g., “I am worthy”) and emotional states, such as pride or shame. This differs from the self-concept in that one’s self-concept encompasses thoughts and beliefs about the self. Self-esteem may be global (i.e., “I’m a good person”), or it may be domain specific (i.e., “I’m great at basketball”). Some...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Wyoming Community College, Rock Springs, WY, USA

    Shane Westfall

  2. West Texas A & M University, Canyon, TX, USA

    Shaunna Rhea Westfall

Authors
  1. Shane Westfall
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  2. Shaunna Rhea Westfall
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shane Westfall .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, Beaver, Monaca, PA, USA

    Kevin Bennett

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Westfall, S., Westfall, S.R. (2019). Self-Esteem Increase Motivates Similar Behavior. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1451-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1451-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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