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

Self-Esteem and Positive Psychology 245authenticity. They are awareness, especially of feelings, thoughts, values,hunches, and the ability to trust them; unbiased processing, whichinvolves a certain degree of openness to internal and external realities;action, or the ability to function in ways that are consistent with one’sauthentic self; and relatedness, which includes awareness of the importanceof others. When added together, “Authenticity can be characterizedas reflecting the unobstructed operation of one’s true, or core, self in one’sdaily enterprise” (Kernis, 2003a, p. 13). Koole and Kuhl (2003) notedthat Kernis was able to “operationalize” high, secure self-esteem basedon this approach and did so in ways that resulted in traditionally empiricalsupport for his work on self-esteem and authenticity.Kernis’ work also illustrates another potential link between selfesteemand positivistic positive psychology, one that is surely importantfor reaching what is called “psychological well-being” as it is presentedthere. In this case, the connection occurs in terms of what he called“optimal self-esteem.”I believe that optimal self-esteem involves favorable feelings of selfworththat arise naturally from successfully dealing with life challenges;the operation of one’s core, true, authentic self as a source ofinput to behavioral choices; and relationships in which one is valuedfor who one is and not for what one achieves. . . . Moreover, it is characterizedby favorable implicit feelings of self-worth that stem frompositive experiences involving one’s actions, contextual factors, andinterpersonal relationships. (Kernis, 2003a, p. 13)Dealing with life’s challenges, operating from one’s authentic self,and affirming relationships make this approach to self-esteem much differentthan one that is based on worthiness or competence alone.Researching self-esteem moments that involve facing major challenges ofliving certainly ought to be of interest to positivistic positive psychology,too. For example, we saw that acting with virtue is an important sourceof self-esteem. It is one that is usually connected with handling some sortof moral dilemma competently, which is to say that it brings the individuala sense of dignity or worth as a person. Other self-esteem momentsinclude acting with courage in the face of overwhelming odds, overcomingtemptation to make more worthy choices, placing higher values suchas justice or care for others over personal needs, and so on. All of thesepositive human experiences and characteristics, as well as the work thataccompanies it, should be of interest to the new positive psychology givenits stated priorities and goals.Although certainly not contingent in the fashion that Crocker andPark (2003, 2004) suggested, there is a way in which self-esteem dependson meeting certain standards: Having authentic self-esteem means that