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Self-esteem and social status: Dominance theory and hierometer theory

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Human beings, as self-conscious animals, evaluate themselves positively or negatively. In addition, as social animals, they also evaluate one another positively or negatively. Aiden Gregg discusses how Dominance theory and hierometer theory can show how self-esteem and status might interrelate.

Image courtesy of interviewee. June 10, 2024

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This video discusses the concepts of self-esteem and social esteem, highlighting their meanings and interconnections. The speaker explains that to "esteem" something means to evaluate it positively, and one can have positive or negative esteem for both objects and people. Social esteem refers to how others perceive an individual's worth, while self-esteem is about an individual's perception of their own worth.

This video introduces two theories related to esteem: Dominance Theory, which posits that the human impulse to dominate has evolved into a desire for social prestige and thus contributes to self-esteem, and Harter Theory, which suggests that self-esteem reflects social esteem and influences individuals' assertiveness in seeking respect and admiration from others.

Harter Theory further asserts that self-esteem serves both an indicative function (reflecting one's social esteem) and an imperative function (governing assertiveness). This video also emphasizes the importance of empirical evidence, including correlational and experimental studies, supporting the claims regarding the relationship between self-esteem and social esteem.

Finally, the speaker acknowledges that social esteem is not the only determinant of self-esteem, with exceptions existing where individuals may experience high self-esteem despite low social status, and vice versa. The discussion wraps up by suggesting future research directions that could explore these theories further, including their interaction with other theories of esteem and emotional responses such as pride, shame, depression, and anxiety.

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The word esteem is common

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to both the terms self-esteem and social esteem.

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So let's start with finding that

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to esteem something simply means to,

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to evaluate it positively.

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So why are things typically esteems?

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Um, well, the reason is they have some value

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or worth to somebody.

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For example, we esteem

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or we like, a, a new car

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because it gets us from A to B or because it looks cool

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or for several other reasons.

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Um, now, importantly,

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one can also have positive or negative esteem.

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One can like something or dislike.

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So if an old car breaks down, for example,

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or looks battered, then we use it negatively.

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Now we're accustomed to thinking

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of physical objects like cars as having a value or worth.

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However, people can also have a value

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or worth, to other people.

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So suppose person A is competent, kind,

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and attractive, whereas person B is an apt, mean

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or ugly, now might be a bit rude to say so,

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but person A generally has more value socially speaking

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than person B does.

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So one might say that that person A,

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enjoys more social esteem than person B.

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Okay, so that's social esteem. What about self-esteem?

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Well, human beings have big brains

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and fancy minds, so they're aware of their own existence

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and they can form conceptions of themselves.

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Uh, and this includes having con conception

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of their own worth, or value.

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So just as other people can like

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or dislike a person,

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so a person can like or dislike themselves.

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So self-esteem, is the personal counterpart

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of social esteem liking, or disliking oneself.

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So with that distinction, then we can ask several questions.

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So what is the relation

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between social esteem and self-esteem?

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And what function or functions might self-esteem serve in a

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social context, context?

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And what are the causes,

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or consequences of having high or low self-esteem?

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There are two theories, dominance theory and harter theory.

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The dominance theory is an older theory.

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It's developed by Jerome Barco.

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An anthropologist Harter theory is a more recent theory

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developed by myself and my psychologist, colleagues,

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professor Constantine and Dr.

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Nikila Ma Devan. So both the start from the premise

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that human psychology is shaped by our evolutionary past,

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and the aspects of our minds can be understood

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as adaptations that aid survival and reproduction.

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This includes self-esteem and things related to it.

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So let's start with dominance theory.

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So it begins by noting that animal societies like,

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like human ones are stratified.

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So that's to say that humans

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and other animals occupy ranks in a hierarchy.

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Some are on top, others on the bottom,

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most in the middle, in terms of, say their access

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to valued resources, mates or territory.

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Now, in non-human animals,

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disputes over goods like those,

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They're handled not always to open combat,

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but sometimes by ritualized dominance

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and submission displays.

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And as a result, you have the formation of

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what are called pecking orders that are well regulated

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where animals seem to know their place.

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And these arguably evolve

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because they serve to keep overall levels of conflict down,

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or all concerned

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where wherever they are in the, in the hierarchy.

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Now, nonetheless, in non-human animals,

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except maybe some of our nearest relatives, those at the top

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of the hierarchy, they get there by having

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or by projecting greater physical power.

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So the top dog is always the, the most powerful dog.

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Um, and so it would make sense to have, for all animals

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to have a drive to acquire and maintain the power.

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Now, what dominance theory says is that in human beings,

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the impulse to physically dominate others has been largely

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transformed into an impulse

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to symbolically evaluate oneself as superior.

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So in a way, it's a misnomer.

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It's not really dominance theory,

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it's it's saying dominance has

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has been turned to something else.

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And dominance theory says that this, impulse

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to see oneself as superior, it calls that self-esteem.

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And you can see this transformation as being the result

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of animal instincts colliding with a bigger human brain

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over the course of evolution.

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So now, how do you succeed at

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evaluating yourself as superior?

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So Dom's theory suggests that the way to do

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that is gain prestige in the eyes of others.

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So loosely speaking, it says that

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human beings no longer seek to impose

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only tyrannical rule like most other animals,

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but they also try to get the democratic vote

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of their fellow human beings.

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So, essentially the end dom's theory says

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that self-esteem can come about

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through achieving social esteem.

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That's Dom's theory i's theory.

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Then, there are several points of agreement,

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but also some points of disagreement.

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So RA theory agrees about prestige.

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It says that being respected

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and admired by others is one primary source of self-esteem.

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And indeed, nowadays the world's status is used in the

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psychological literature

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to denote being respected and admired.

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And in contrast, the word rank is used

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to denote higher positions that are hierarchy

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that are not necessarily attended, by respect

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to admiration, but also by power struggles.

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So, that's a point of agreement.

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But the point of disagreement is that

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arm theory disagrees about the definition of self-esteem.

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So dominant theory says it's a type of thriving,

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but self-esteem, I think, is best characterized as a type

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of perception of your value and the describe.

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To see yourself positively

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or not see yourself negatively nowadays, that's referred to

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as the motive to self enhance or to self protect.

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And secondly, self-esteem isn't only about seeing yourself

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as superior to others.

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Uh, you can like or dislike yourself, without liking

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or disliking yourself more or less than others.

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Now, in addition, Dom, harary, pardon me.

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In addition, har theory goes further than

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dominance theory predictably.

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So it accepts that people strive for status

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and compete for it,

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but crucially, it acknowledges that it can be a mistake

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to strive and compete too much.

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And the reason is people can lose contest

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per status as well as win them.

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So if your initial status is high,

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contests are more likely to be won.

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But if your initial status is low,

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they're more likely to be lost.

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So the thrive in human society, people need

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to regulate their status seeking, judiciously

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and not just engage in it unconditionally.

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So it's like playing poker.

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Uh, you tend to bit more when you already hold a good hand.

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It's not fair, but that's, that's probably how it works.

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Okay, so how does self-esteem come into all this?

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Well, theory claims self-esteem is a crucial gear in the

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psychological mechanism.

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But first, your self-esteem will reflect your status.

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If people respect and admire, your self-esteem will rise.

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And if they don't, it'll fall.

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And that's what we call self esteem's indicative function.

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It indicates your social esteem

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and second, self-esteem will govern your assertiveness.

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If your self-esteem is high, you'll compete.

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And if it's low, you won't.

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So that's called self esteem's imperative function.

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So it makes you compete when the odds are good,

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but it stops you from com competing,

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when the odds are poor.

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So harm theories not only says that,

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self-esteem mirrors social esteem.

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It also says that self-esteem can make you strive for social

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esteem more or less, at least the type of social esteem

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that involves being, respected and admired.

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These are interesting theories,

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but, theories are always answerable to, to evidence.

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Um, so there is sort of circumstantial evidence,

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and then we're telling evidence for ter theory, I would say.

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So first, you've got the correlational evidence.

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You measure people's status

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through esteem and assertiveness.

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They tend to go together.

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So the same people who are objectively popular

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who report being popular,

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and they also report liking themselves.

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And the same people report liking themselves.

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They report being more confident at standing up

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for themselves or taking the initiative.

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Um, so we've all, we've established this, you know,

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at the level of traits and, and people's ongoing situations,

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but also we find that,

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in day-to-day fluctuations in people's status, self-esteem,

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and assertiveness.

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Uh, they, these go up and down from day to day.

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They're not constant, but they,

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they also fluctuate, together.

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So, there's sort of good correlational evidence,

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but I think, I think the best evidence is experimental.

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So we've done studies in lab, we bring participants in

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and we have them complete a bogus test on the basis

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of which we give them false feedback,

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and we tell them your future status is likely

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to be higher or lower.

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This is a valid and reliable test,

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and most of them believe that.

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Um, and then they fill out a seemingly unrelated

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self-esteem afterwards.

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Uh, and what you find is that that goes up and down too.

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So experiments like this in the lab, they're important

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because they isolate the

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hypothesized causal mechanism In correlational studies,

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you know, we could show a link between status,

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and self-esteem, but we could never be sure some other

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factor wasn't accounting for the relationship.

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So, we need to conduct more research,

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along these lines.

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Um, and in particular, we need to do more work on the link

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between self esteem and behavior certainly.

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But so far, at least to my knowledge, no,

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findings have emerged that contradict, higher theory.

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They're all consistent, with it.

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Um, but I will say this, so,

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I should acknowledge a, a limitation.

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So social esteem isn't the only determinant of self-esteem.

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So they cope very statistically

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and experimentally, but not perfect.

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So you always find cases where social esteem is high,

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and self-esteem is low.

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Uh, so for example, your productive people who are

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nonetheless depressed.

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Um, and you have the opposite too, ca cases

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where social esteem is low,

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but self-esteem is high criminals, for example,

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who remain fond of themselves.

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So Haram rat theory is meant to apply in general,

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but not, not to explain every single case.

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Okay? So I think I would say that our,

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our empirical work on haram rat theory helps us to classify

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what functions self-esteem might serve,

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and the link between social esteem and self-esteem.

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Now, in summary, I would say,

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self-esteem may have evolved partly to, to reflect

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how much people are respected and admired,

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and to control how keen they are to seek additional status.

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So future work, I think, is likely

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to focus on evaluating the significance

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of arm theory in the context of other modern theories.

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So I'll mention three such theories.

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First is socio ter theory developed

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by Mark Leary and Roy Boy Meister.

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Second might be called Mating Theory, as pursued

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by researchers such as Baylor Archer.

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And a third is social rank theory,

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which focuses more on emotions like, depression,

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anxiety, shame, or pride.

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So, first socio theory in its original form,

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it emphasized being accepted

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and cherished as opposed to respected

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and admired as a source of self-esteem.

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So that is a focus on people being included

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rather than having status

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and research, including our own shows.

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This is as important a determinant of self-esteem

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as as status.

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So, communion

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and relationships matter as much as agency and success.

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Um, what's less there,

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however, is whether drops in self-esteem make people strive

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to recl themselves.

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That's what predicts.

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But some evidence suggests, the opposite is true,

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that people are friendlier when their self-esteem is

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higher rather than lower.

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Now, mating theory has found that, people's appeal

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to potential sexual partners is

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also a source of self-esteem.

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So being fancied and desired as opposed to respected

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and admired or accepted

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and cherished also make us like ourselves.

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And exactly how this integrates with our theory

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and socio theory, needs to be worked out.

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But here's one possible idea.

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So, the idea is

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that people produce social value in three, in three ways.

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So first way is by being competent, by producing the goods,

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and that way you gain status.

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The other is by being kind, by distributing the goods,

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and that, generates inclusion.

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And the third might be just by being attractive,

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by being the goods yourself.

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So, that might be called, celebrity.

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So these are three ways, three sources of self-esteem.

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Our Amal theory deals primarily,

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and down theory, primarily with the first

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through getting satisfied, producing the goods.

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And then finally, there's social rank theory.

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And that, focuses on the emotions

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that often go together with self-esteem.

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So these include depression, anxiety when self-esteem is low

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and shame, but pride when it's high.

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So people have theorized

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that these emotions also serve, a function.

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The question is how, how does self-esteem

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and how do these emotions relate to each other?

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So I think a very plausible suggestion

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that self-esteem is the trigger for these emotions.

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Um, but that's difficult to demonstrate empirically

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because, well, they're very closely connected.

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Um, so sorting that out is will, will be a challenge.

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So those would be some future directions.

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The research might take.

"Understanding Esteem: The Interplay Between Self-Esteem and Social Esteem"

00:00:00 - The word esteem is common to both the terms self-esteem and social esteem. So let's start with finding that to esteem something simply means to, to evaluate it positively. So why are things typically esteems? well, the reason is they have some value or worth to somebody. For example, we esteem or we like, a, a new car because it gets us from A to B or because it looks cool or for several other reasons. now, importantly, one can also have positive or negative esteem. One can like something or dislike. So if an old car breaks down, for example, or looks battered, then we use it negatively. Now we're accustomed to thinking
00:00:44 - However, people can also have a value or worth, to other people. So suppose person A is competent, kind, and attractive, whereas person B is an apt, mean or ugly, now might be a bit rude to say so, but person A generally has more value socially speaking than person B does. So one might say that that person A, enjoys more social esteem than person B. Okay, so that's social esteem. What about self-esteem? Well, human beings have big brains and fancy minds, so they're aware of their own existence and they can form conceptions of themselves.
00:01:23 - of their own worth, or value. So just as other people can like or dislike a person, so a person can like or dislike themselves. So self-esteem, is the personal counterpart of social esteem liking, or disliking oneself. So with that distinction, then we can ask several questions. So what is the relation between social esteem and self-esteem? And what function or functions might self-esteem serve in a social context, context? And what are the causes, or consequences of having high or low self-esteem? There are two theories, dominance theory and harter theory.
00:02:05 - It's developed by Jerome Barco. An anthropologist Harter theory is a more recent theory developed by myself and my psychologist, colleagues, professor Constantine and Dr. Nikila Ma Devan. So both the start from the premise that human psychology is shaped by our evolutionary past, and the aspects of our minds can be understood as adaptations that aid survival and reproduction. This includes self-esteem and things related to it. So let's start with dominance theory. So it begins by noting that animal societies like, like human ones are stratified. So that's to say that humans and other animals occupy ranks in a hierarchy.
00:02:47 - most in the middle, in terms of, say their access to valued resources, mates or territory. Now, in non-human animals, disputes over goods like those, They're handled not always to open combat, but sometimes by ritualized dominance and submission displays. And as a result, you have the formation of what are called pecking orders that are well regulated where animals seem to know their place. And these arguably evolve because they serve to keep overall levels of conflict down, or all concerned where wherever they are in the, in the hierarchy. Now, nonetheless, in non-human animals, except maybe some of our nearest relatives, those at the top
00:03:30 - or by projecting greater physical power. So the top dog is always the, the most powerful dog. and so it would make sense to have, for all animals to have a drive to acquire and maintain the power. Now, what dominance theory says is that in human beings, the impulse to physically dominate others has been largely transformed into an impulse to symbolically evaluate oneself as superior. So in a way, it's a misnomer. It's not really dominance theory, it's it's saying dominance has has been turned to something else. And dominance theory says that this, impulse to see oneself as superior, it calls that self-esteem.

"Self-Esteem and Social Esteem: Understanding the Dynamics of Status and Value in Human Behavior"

00:04:12 - of animal instincts colliding with a bigger human brain over the course of evolution. So now, how do you succeed at evaluating yourself as superior? So Dom's theory suggests that the way to do that is gain prestige in the eyes of others. So loosely speaking, it says that human beings no longer seek to impose only tyrannical rule like most other animals, but they also try to get the democratic vote of their fellow human beings. So, essentially the end dom's theory says that self-esteem can come about through achieving social esteem. That's Dom's theory i's theory.
00:04:53 - but also some points of disagreement. So RA theory agrees about prestige. It says that being respected and admired by others is one primary source of self-esteem. And indeed, nowadays the world's status is used in the psychological literature to denote being respected and admired. And in contrast, the word rank is used to denote higher positions that are hierarchy that are not necessarily attended, by respect to admiration, but also by power struggles. So, that's a point of agreement. But the point of disagreement is that arm theory disagrees about the definition of self-esteem.
00:05:36 - but self-esteem, I think, is best characterized as a type of perception of your value and the describe. To see yourself positively or not see yourself negatively nowadays, that's referred to as the motive to self enhance or to self protect. And secondly, self-esteem isn't only about seeing yourself as superior to others. you can like or dislike yourself, without liking or disliking yourself more or less than others. Now, in addition, Dom, harary, pardon me. In addition, har theory goes further than dominance theory predictably. So it accepts that people strive for status and compete for it,
00:06:18 - to strive and compete too much. And the reason is people can lose contest per status as well as win them. So if your initial status is high, contests are more likely to be won. But if your initial status is low, they're more likely to be lost. So the thrive in human society, people need to regulate their status seeking, judiciously and not just engage in it unconditionally. So it's like playing poker. you tend to bit more when you already hold a good hand. It's not fair, but that's, that's probably how it works. Okay, so how does self-esteem come into all this? Well, theory claims self-esteem is a crucial gear in the
00:06:59 - But first, your self-esteem will reflect your status. If people respect and admire, your self-esteem will rise. And if they don't, it'll fall. And that's what we call self esteem's indicative function. It indicates your social esteem and second, self-esteem will govern your assertiveness. If your self-esteem is high, you'll compete. And if it's low, you won't. So that's called self esteem's imperative function. So it makes you compete when the odds are good, but it stops you from com competing, when the odds are poor. So harm theories not only says that, self-esteem mirrors social esteem. It also says that self-esteem can make you strive for social
00:07:43 - that involves being, respected and admired. These are interesting theories, but, theories are always answerable to, to evidence. so there is sort of circumstantial evidence, and then we're telling evidence for ter theory, I would say. So first, you've got the correlational evidence. You measure people's status through esteem and assertiveness. They tend to go together. So the same people who are objectively popular who report being popular, and they also report liking themselves. And the same people report liking themselves. They report being more confident at standing up for themselves or taking the initiative. so we've all, we've established this, you know,

"Exploring the Interplay Between Social Esteem and Self-Esteem: Evidence, Limitations, and Future Directions"

00:08:25 - but also we find that, in day-to-day fluctuations in people's status, self-esteem, and assertiveness. they, these go up and down from day to day. They're not constant, but they, they also fluctuate, together. So, there's sort of good correlational evidence, but I think, I think the best evidence is experimental. So we've done studies in lab, we bring participants in and we have them complete a bogus test on the basis of which we give them false feedback, and we tell them your future status is likely to be higher or lower. This is a valid and reliable test, and most of them believe that.
00:09:04 - self-esteem afterwards. and what you find is that that goes up and down too. So experiments like this in the lab, they're important because they isolate the hypothesized causal mechanism In correlational studies, you know, we could show a link between status, and self-esteem, but we could never be sure some other factor wasn't accounting for the relationship. So, we need to conduct more research, along these lines. and in particular, we need to do more work on the link between self esteem and behavior certainly. But so far, at least to my knowledge, no, findings have emerged that contradict, higher theory.
00:09:45 - but I will say this, so, I should acknowledge a, a limitation. So social esteem isn't the only determinant of self-esteem. So they cope very statistically and experimentally, but not perfect. So you always find cases where social esteem is high, and self-esteem is low. so for example, your productive people who are nonetheless depressed. and you have the opposite too, ca cases where social esteem is low, but self-esteem is high criminals, for example, who remain fond of themselves. So Haram rat theory is meant to apply in general, but not, not to explain every single case. Okay? So I think I would say that our, our empirical work on haram rat theory helps us to classify
00:10:26 - and the link between social esteem and self-esteem. Now, in summary, I would say, self-esteem may have evolved partly to, to reflect how much people are respected and admired, and to control how keen they are to seek additional status. So future work, I think, is likely to focus on evaluating the significance of arm theory in the context of other modern theories. So I'll mention three such theories. First is socio ter theory developed by Mark Leary and Roy Boy Meister. Second might be called Mating Theory, as pursued by researchers such as Baylor Archer.
00:11:07 - which focuses more on emotions like, depression, anxiety, shame, or pride. So, first socio theory in its original form, it emphasized being accepted and cherished as opposed to respected and admired as a source of self-esteem. So that is a focus on people being included rather than having status and research, including our own shows. This is as important a determinant of self-esteem as as status. So, communion and relationships matter as much as agency and success. what's less there,
00:11:49 - to recl themselves. That's what predicts. But some evidence suggests, the opposite is true, that people are friendlier when their self-esteem is higher rather than lower. Now, mating theory has found that, people's appeal to potential sexual partners is also a source of self-esteem. So being fancied and desired as opposed to respected and admired or accepted and cherished also make us like ourselves. And exactly how this integrates with our theory and socio theory, needs to be worked out. But here's one possible idea.

"Exploring the Sources and Emotional Correlates of Self-Esteem"

00:12:30 - that people produce social value in three, in three ways. So first way is by being competent, by producing the goods, and that way you gain status. The other is by being kind, by distributing the goods, and that, generates inclusion. And the third might be just by being attractive, by being the goods yourself. So, that might be called, celebrity. So these are three ways, three sources of self-esteem. Our Amal theory deals primarily, and down theory, primarily with the first through getting satisfied, producing the goods. And then finally, there's social rank theory.
00:13:14 - that often go together with self-esteem. So these include depression, anxiety when self-esteem is low and shame, but pride when it's high. So people have theorized that these emotions also serve, a function. The question is how, how does self-esteem and how do these emotions relate to each other? So I think a very plausible suggestion that self-esteem is the trigger for these emotions. but that's difficult to demonstrate empirically because, well, they're very closely connected. so sorting that out is will, will be a challenge.
00:13:53 - The research might take.

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