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

A Meaning-Based, Two-Factor Theory of Self-Esteem 165consciously, and consistently violate the rights of others to get whatthey want do not seem to be particularly interested in feeling worthy asthe term applies to self-esteem. In its most extreme form, antisocialcompetence-based self-esteem is helpful in understanding human brutalitysuch as that demonstrated by the absolute ruthlessness of various dictatorsaround the world. Thus, competence-based self-esteem accountsfor another portion of the negative behavior and aggression that is saidto reflect self-esteem’s dark side.Levels of High or Secure Self-EsteemNow that the pseudo forms of high self-esteem that create the problem ofheterogeneity have been placed in their proper locations, it is possible tolook at the remaining quadrant, which consists of positive competenceand positive worthiness or genuinely high self-esteem. Because the cluttercaused by the heterogeneity of self-esteem has been significantly reduced,let us first consider the upper-most end of this continuum, which beginsat the +5, +5 level of the matrix.Authentic Self-EsteemThis first thing to notice about the quadrant in which genuinely high selfesteemis located is that it is the only one that consists of a positive relationshipbetween self-esteem’s two factors. It is reasonable to assume thatsuch self-esteem is more secure or stable than other forms because of thisbalanced state and one should be able to place research on high positiveself-esteem in this area. According to Kernis’s (2003a, p. 23) analysis, thehighest form of self-esteem is characterized by four main qualities. Ingeneral, high self-esteem is secure enough to allow the individual to perceiveand admit faults or limitations; consistent across conscious(explicit) and non-conscious (implicit) levels; true in that it does notrequire continual validation of either worthiness or competence; andstable, which is to say that it is largely balanced over time. These characteristicscertainly warrant being placed in the upper right quadrant.However, one should not confuse such “optimal” self-esteem, as Kernisreferred to it, with lived realities. In real life, we could expect the individualwith this kind of self-esteem to be usually secure, as people alwayshave bad days; mostly uniform, because learning about oneself alwaystakes time; generally true, as we all encounter challenges of living fromtime to time and cannot be expected to handle all of them perfectly; andlargely stable because we all undergo periods of uncertainty in life.Next, there is the question of what to call this type of high self-esteem.In some ways, it is unfortunate that we can no longer use the classical term