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

120 SELF-ESTEEM RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICEand so forth, or in any combination of such domains. Social support orapproval from parents is especially important in childhood, but othersources become important, too, such as grandparents, teachers, andpeers. The result is that there are myriad developmental possibilities foreach individual and all of us must make our own unique way throughthem. Among other things, this condition is important for both assessingand for enhancing self-esteem. For example, such multidimensionalprocesses and possibilities mean that it is necessary to assess self-esteemthat way, too. For Harter, then, assessment begins with understandingthe various domains of life that are developmentally tied to the stages ofgrowth such as childhood, adolescence, and so forth. Then, it is necessaryto construct an instrument capable of assessing self-evaluation ineach relevant domain, together with a scale that assesses the generalevaluation of oneself (global self-esteem). The final step requires creatinga large enough sample of subjects to determine what is normative ateach major time in life.The fact that she and her colleagues have developed such instrumentsfor childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and late adulthood standsas a tribute to the range of this approach. However, it also has power. Forexample, this model of self-esteem and its measures have been used toresearch problems with self-esteem and depression in adolescents (Harter& Whitesell, 2003). In addition, we shall see that the approach evenlends itself to the practical world of specifically clinical work such as inthe treatment of conditions and problems that involve or affect selfesteemin childhood (Shirk & Harter, 1996).An Existential View: Terror Management TheoryTerror Management Theory (TMT), based on the work of Ernst Becker,places self-esteem at the intersection of two primary human motivations,which gives self-esteem great importance for understanding humanbehavior. One motivation is an irreducible, biologically based desire tolive, to expand, and, if conditions are right, to even flourish. The secondmotivation is having to live with the awareness of the fact that we mustall die. These processes are simply lived out for most organisms. Thedevelopment of consciousness, however, changes this natural conditionby creating a paradox unique to human beings: The same characteristicthat distinguishes our species as unique also creates a specific and terribleawareness of death. If left unchecked, consciousness of the inevitabilityof death is thought to be so overwhelming that it could only result in paralyticfear. Thus, human beings require something that will buffer themfrom existential dread in a way that allows them to live to the fullestwhile also facing reality: That something is self-esteem.