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

Major Self-Esteem Research Findings 85On one hand, most of the positive characteristics traditionally associatedwith high self-esteem are still affirmed. However, they can also beseparated into two general types: those that help maintain the self andthose that allow the self to actualize. Recall that these two basic positivefunctions of self-esteem are traditionally known as the self-maintenanceor consistency function of self-esteem and its growth or enhancementfunction. The maintenance function of self-esteem that has received mostempirical support concerns its capacity to act as a buffer. For example,Baumeister and colleagues (2003) found evidence supporting the positionthat high self-esteem is helpful in dealing with stress and avoiding anxietyin a way that allows a person to continue functioning in the face ofstress or even trauma (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger & Vohs, 2003). Inaddition, Terror Management Theory offers considerable support for theimportance of self-esteem in managing both ordinary and existential anxietyabout death (Greenberg, Pyszczynski & Solomon, 1995; Pyszczynski,Greenberg & Goldberg, 2003). In short, the “anxiety buffer hypothesis”about high self-esteem, as it is often called, is largely confirmed.The enhancement function of self-esteem also has received considerablesupport because a good body of work reports the positive affectiveand behavioral benefits of high self-esteem. For example, there is a positivestatistical relationship between high self-esteem and happiness(Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger & Vohs, 2003), thereby making highself-esteem generally attractive and desirable. Similarly, the “hedonic”quality of self-esteem is preferable to the absence of such a positive generalfeeling, which includes many types of negative affects (Leary &MacDonald, 2003): People with high self-esteem simply feel better aboutthemselves, about life, about the future, and so forth than do people withlow self-esteem. High self-esteem is also associated with desirable personaland interpersonal characteristics and behavior. For example, suchself-esteem appears to help job performance and problem solving undercertain circumstances, especially those that require initiative and persistence(Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger & Vohs, 2003; Dubois & Flay, 2004).High self-esteem is also associated with extraversion (Leary &MacDonald, 2003), autonomy (Kernis, 2003a; Leary & MacDonald,2003), and authenticity (Kernis, 2003b).In addition, there is empirical support linking high self-esteem tovarious types of positive interpersonal phenomena. For example, highself-esteem may be related to prosocial behavior, such as upholding highmoral or healthy standards, relationship satisfaction (Leary &MacDonald, 2003), and positive group performance, especially in relationto task achievement (Baumeister et al., 2003). A small body ofresearch indicates that there may be a positive relationship between selfesteemand immunocompetence (Strauman, Lemieux & Coe, 1993;