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

114 SELF-ESTEEM RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICEBranden maintained that the need for self-esteem is so great that the lackof it motivates people just as strongly, but in negative ways.So intensely does a man feel the need of a positive view of himself, thathe may evade, repress, distort his judgment, disintegrate his mind—inorder to avoid coming face to face with facts that would affect his selfappraisaladversely. . . . If and to the extent that men lack self-esteem, theyfeel driven to fake it, to create the illusion of self-esteem—condemningthemselves to chronic psychological fraud—moved by the desperatesense that to face the universe without self-esteem is to stand naked,disarmed, delivered to destruction. (1969, p. 110)If one is cut off from legitimate sources of self-esteem (or, more properly,if one cuts oneself off from them), then one searches for substitutes.Branden called the result of this deficiency “pseudo self-esteem,” which ismanifested in all kinds of negative behavior ranging from mild neurosisto acute forms of depravity.In a later book entitled Honoring the Self (1983), Branden clarifiedthe dynamic nature of self-esteem by specifying two conditions. First, heidentified four basic “pillars” of positive self-esteem: the degree of anindividual’s conscious awareness; one’s integrity as a person; the willingnessto accept responsibility for one’s decisions; and self-acceptance orbeing honest about the kind of choices one makes. Second, he emphasizedthat we all must struggle to honor the self because it may be challengedat any time. Thus, self-esteem “is often a struggle of heroicproportions” (p. 19).We see how each pillar supports the others by looking at what happenswhen one is missing. For instance, the lack of awareness of the needfor self-esteem makes it more difficult to understand how important it isfor us to make choices that affirm our integrity as a person. A low degreeof integrity means that our actions become incongruent and lessen ourability to engage in honest struggle. Failing to take responsibility is a selfdeceptionof the greatest sort because it limits our ability to see, let alonecorrect, our self-esteem mistakes. Finally, the inability to accept the valueof being ourselves leads to the possibility of self-neglect, which mayexpress itself relatively mildly, as in the form of mere insecurity, or maylead to more severe forms of disturbance such as addiction, an exaggeratedneed for power, or even various forms of cruelty. In later work,Branden (1994) added two more pillars to complete the picture of selfesteemthat he drew. They are assertiveness, which involves honoringone’s wants and needs, and purposefulness, which pertains to goal settingand efficacy. Although early humanistic theories concerning self-esteemwere not accompanied by a significant degree of empirical support, weshall see that this situation is different today.