Say it ain't so! Could the past three decades of obsession with teaching kids self-esteem so that they can achieve more have been ... worthless?

Maybe so, according to various studies now beginning to get prominence. It seems that thinking highly of oneself and actually being a productive member of society don't have much correlation.

Recently, however, some psychologists have begun debunking the notion that a poor self-image is the malady behind most of society's complaints — and bolstering self-esteem its cure.

"D" students, it turns out, think as highly of themselves as valedictorians, and serial rapists are no more likely to ooze with insecurities than doctors or bank managers.

At the same time, high self-esteem, studies show, offers no immunity against bad behavior. Research by Dr. Brad J. Bushman of Iowa State University and Dr. Roy F. Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University finds that some people with high self-regard are actually more likely to lash out aggressively when criticized than those with low-self esteem. The list of groups — neo-Nazis, street toughs, school bullies — who combine preening self-satisfaction with violence belies the power of one to ameliorate the other.

"I think we had a great deal of optimism that high self-esteem would cause all sorts of positive consequences, and that if we raised self-esteem people would do better in life," Dr. Baumeister said. "Mostly, the data have not borne that out."

Actually, it's not all that surprising. Many self-esteem programs focused more on kids feeling good about themselves than on their actually accomplishing anything. Small wonder, then, that accomplishment and self-esteem don't correlate.

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Hi I am doing research paper on the cons of high self-esteem and I found this reading to be very interesting. I was wondering if I would be able to do a interview with the person by phone with the individual that wrote the article.

Thank You

You would have to contact those individuals through their individual institutions, as cited above and in the article.

The comments abut self_esteem are not in the right context. I beleive the article talks about narcicism -an ulterior form of high-self-esteem acted out.

positive self-esteem is an ideal. one that is good self worth always in balance with the possibility of low self-worth. Respect, tolerance and forgiving are part of this ideal. So is communication, civility and so on.... A social concensus for our epoch and our modern (whatever society) historical context. AN IDEAL that is self rewarding and socially accepted.