You're OK, I'm Terrific. 'Self-Esteem' Backfires

Begley, Sharon, Newsweek

Unjustified feelings of self-worth cause aggression

SAY THIS FOR THE SELF-ESTEEM movement: despite taking hits from critics as varied as "Doonesbury" and the president of the American Psychological Association, it is still going strong 21 years after a psychologist first argued that instilling self-esteem should be a paramount goal of child rearing and education. If students work in classrooms where posters proclaim WE APPLAUD OURSELVES! and complete sentences like "I am special because ... "they will be inoculated against drug use, teen pregnancy, bad grades and just about everything else short of the common cold. Or so the story goes. Parents, like educators, have soaked up the message, trying to make their child feel good about himself no matter how many courses he fails or fly balls he drops.

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: You're OK, I'm Terrific. 'Self-Esteem' Backfires. Contributors: Begley, Sharon - Author. Magazine title: Newsweek. Volume: 132. Issue: 2 Publication date: July 13, 1998. Page number: 69. © 2009 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. COPYRIGHT 1998 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.