Self-esteem functions

Self-esteem can be defined as how favorably individuals evaluate themselves. According to Leary, self-esteem is the relationship between one’s real self and one’s ideal self, feeding off of favorable behaviors. It refers to an individual's sense of his or her value or worth, or the extent to which a person values, approves of, appreciates, prizes, or likes him or herself. Self-esteem is generally considered the evaluative component of the self-concept, a broader representation of the self that includes cognitive and behavioral aspects as well as evaluative or affective ones. There are several different proposals as to the functions of self-esteem. One proposal includes to satisfy the inherent need to feel good about one self. Another one would be to minimize social rejection . Self-esteem is also known as A way for a person to remain dominant in relationships (Barkow, 1980). Self-esteem is known to protect people from fear that has potential of arising from the prospect of death- terror management theory. Self-esteem helps motivate people to achieve their goals- high self-esteem leading to coping in situations and low self-esteem leading to avoidance.

The sociometer theory was developed by Mark Leary (1999) to explain the functions of self-esteem. A sociometer is a measure of how desirable one would be to other people - this is influenced by one’s self-esteem. They suggested that self-esteem has evolved to monitor one’s social acceptance and is used as a gauge for avoiding social devaluation and rejection. The sociometer theory is strongly grounded in evolutionary theories which suggest that survival depends on social acceptance for reasons such as protection, reciprocal behaviours and most importantly reproduction. The monitoring of one's acceptance via self-esteem is therefore crucial in order to achieve these kinds of social interactions and be better able to compete for the social benefits of them.

Kirkpatrick and Ellis (2003) expanded on Leary’s work and suggested that the sociometer’s function was not only to ensure that an individual was not excluded from their social group but also to rate the strength of the social group compared to other groups. Leary and his colleagues stated that a sociometer is a measure of how a person is desirable by the people and this is oftentimes influenced through a person's self-esteem.

Self-determination theory (SDT) states that man is born with an intrinsic motivation to explore, absorb and master his surroundings and that true high self-esteem is reported when the basic psychological nutrients, or needs, of life (relatedness, competency and autonomy) are in balance Nayler, C. (2005) Theories of Self Esteem. Positive Psychology.

The ethological perspective (Barkow, 1980) suggests that self-esteem is an adaptation that has evolved for the purpose of maintaining dominance in relationships. It is said that human beings have evolved certain mechanisms for monitoring dominance in order to facilitate reproductive behaviours such attaining a mate. Because attention and favorable reactions from others were associated with being dominant, feelings of self-esteem have also become associated with social approval and deference. From this perspective, the motive to evaluate oneself positively in evolutionary terms is to enhance one’s relative dominance (Leary, 1999).

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