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

A Meaning-Based, Two-Factor Theory of Self-Esteem 185new challenges of living means that self-esteem will always be a variablein our lives, sometimes weakly so, but sometimes strongly.Co-Constitution and Stability versus ChangeThe last issue we need to address before moving on to showing how aphenomenological meaning-based theory can be applied at the practicallevel concerns understanding how self-esteem can be both relativelystable and yet open to change. We know that research concerning thedevelopment, assessment, and modification of self-esteem indicatesthat, once established, it becomes fairly consistent: Even unstable selfesteemconstitutes a pattern of behavior that the person actually workshard to maintain, though not terribly consciously. At the same time, wealso saw that self-esteem changes fairly dramatically under certain circumstances,such as when large-scale change occurs in a person’s life orwith regard to certain kinds of crucial challenges. By this point, itshould be clear that a two-factor definition of self-esteem captures bothpossibilities, but now we know why. In addition, careful considerationof the matrix and the research findings in the field concerning changingself-esteem suggest that it can be altered in two ways: slow growth andsudden development.On one hand, then, we strive to co-constitute the world so that itmakes sense to us in ways that are consistent with our particular historicaland social circumstances. On the other hand, the world can makemaintaining stability difficult at times: It brings to us new people, differentopportunities, or unexpected situations, all of which can disturbexisting understandings. Some situations speak to us in terms of ourcompetence and worthiness in ways that place additional demands on theforces that maintain stability. Challenges that are not too threatening andthat are relatively easy to deal with are not terribly unpleasant becausethey do not require a large degree of change. This combination is onereason why the research on changing low self-esteem suggests small incrementalincreases may be better than larger or sudden ones (Bednar,Derezotes, Kim & Specht, 1989) for many clients, especially for peoplewith negativistic levels of low self-esteem. At the same time, some situationsunfold in ways that force us to confront our own problematic selfesteemthemes more directly, meaning that they also present anopportunity for major growth or setbacks, especially with regard toauthenticity or inauthenticity. The language of feedback and regulatoryprocesses probably can be massaged into describing this existential fact,but that does not change its lived character at all. The one thing thatdetermines whether self-esteem will change at these times is meaning, andthere is no need to reduce that phenomenon any further.