Self-Esteem Research, Theory, and Practice Toward a Positive ...

42 SELF-ESTEEM RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICERealityExperimentalMethodCorrelationalMethodLab ObservationMethodInterviewMethodCase StudyMethodIntrospectiveMethodFigure 2.1The Traditional Methodological Pyramid.Branden, 1969; Pope, McHale & Craighead, 1988), through surveys andtests (Rosenberg, 1965), experimentally (Coopersmith, 1967), and phenomenologically(Jackson, 1984; Mruk, 1983). One way of understandingsuch methodological diversity in the social sciences is to organize it interms of increasing degrees of objectivity (measurability), which results ina kind of pyramid, as shown in Figure 2.1.According to this arrangement, the most subjective (qualitative) methodsare placed lowest on the hierarchy and the most measurable or objective(quantitative) ones are placed at the top, with the experiment standingas the epitome of the scientific method. Let me move quickly through thispyramid in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodsas they are used for researching self-esteem. In the next section, I examinethe range of methods from a different, more revealing angle.IntrospectionThis approach was first used by James (1890/1983) to study self-esteemmore than a century ago. However, examining one’s own experience bysimply describing it is rarely used in self-esteem research today becausethe method is considered to be extremely subjective. For example, classicallyintrospective research depends on one individual’s perception of hisor her own experience and is therefore vulnerable to problems with reliabilityand validity associated with having a sample of only one.Nevertheless, it is instructive to note that some of James’ early findings