Measuring Self-Esteem

1. Self Esteem in Research

Studies on self-esteem have been prevalent since academic inquiry in psychology started. From James’s (1890) theories about the self to Leary and Baumeister’s work in 2000, it has been a popular subject for psychologists. The most accepted version of self-esteem has been put forward by academics like Gecas (1982), Rosenberg (1995) and Rosenberg et al (1995) who define self-esteem as the individual’s perception of their own self’s worth. It has primarily been categorized under two categories; competence and worth (Grecas et al, 1995).

According to Cast and Burke (2002), self-esteem in literature has been treated primarily as a phenomenon affected by external factors, as a motivational factor for people to do certain things, and as a protective shield against negativity. They isolated the source of self-esteem to be located in relativity to the group they belong to. Another theory suggests that self-esteem is seeking verification from groups where one is likely to be validated, instead of challenged (Swann, 1983, 1990).

The measurement of self-esteem is the central theme of several of these works. It is an important function when trying to understand the connection of self-esteem to other factors like success, initiative, happiness, and so on. But quantifying something as abstract as self-esteem becomes a difficult process without a suitable methodology. The purpose of this project is to discuss and elucidate a methodology which will be the most useful when measuring self-esteem in individuals. By a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, this project will attempt to formulate a methodology that can contribute to the body of literature which tries to measure self-esteem.

1.1 Defining Self-Esteem

The concept of self-esteem has been defined and re-defined to include new aspects over the years. Banaji and Greenwald (1995) had differentiated between explicit and implicit self-esteem. Explicit self-esteem is defined as when an individual consciously introspects or reflects the information. Implicit self-esteem is when we unconsciously associate with what we experience and evaluate ourselves accordingly. Mruk (2013) differentiates between two kinds of self-esteem; one which is related to the ‘ideal’ one wants to be and the other is what one really is. According to him, the closer these two perceptions are, the higher the self-esteem of the individual. Crocker and Park (2003, 2004) use the concept of success in defining self-esteem and point out the problems in the usage of this concept as well. They understand the desire of self-esteem gain through success could push people towards pursuing success without clearly understanding the stakes and the price of potential failure. Hence, Crocker and Park (2004, 2005) bring out a central problem with the definitions of self-esteem put forward by theorists so far; the reliance of competence on self-esteem and vice-versa allows enormous loopholes because failure is inevitable, despite competence.

1.2 The Problem of Defining Self-Esteem

The most obvious issue that arises when defining self-esteem is the difference between identifying if it’s a product of nature or nurture (Hewitt, 2002). The notion of self-esteem is intimately connected to the notions of identity, growth, love, consciousness, and other such phenomenons. It becomes difficult to make an all-encompassing view acceptable to psychologists and sociologists all across the world. However, in psychology, the starting point of the study of self-esteem comes from the ‘self’. The individual unit and his/her childhood, unique experiences, and decision making forms a part of their self-esteem. It is seen both as a trait that is present in different quantities in the individual throughout his/her life and also as a state of being. The different influences laying claim on it make it a complex phenomenon that requires an equally complex methodology to study.

2. Designing a Questionnaire to Measure Self-Esteem

The following section will detail the process and the considerations needed for the construction of a questionnaire to measure self-esteem. The principles of designing a questionnaire that will be elucidated here will be in relation to measuring self-esteem and seek to achieve that objective.

2.1 Developing Questions

The most important part of a questionnaire is the questions that will provide the necessary data. Since the topic is a much delved upon and multifaceted one, very easily the researcher can make the mistake of gathering too much data, a large part of which would be unusable and will lead to loss of research time. Hence, it is important to take measures in order to ask precise questions. Sudman et al (2004) isolate a few important considerations:

A focus group interview should precede the questionnaire making, to zero in on the key gaps in understanding and the particular affinities of the sample size. The researcher will try to understand if self-esteem is understood more as overall satisfaction with oneself or as showing qualities like confidence and assertiveness. The leanings of the group towards any or both perspectives will give the researcher a broad framework to work with.

Archival records will save the time of the researcher in providing important information which is cumbersome to collect. For example, if one of the parameters the research wants to locate itself into is self-esteem among college students in Mexico, it can go to the Mexican government website and find out the average age and gender ratios of Mexican college students.

Pilot testing is a good way to gather pretest data and also determine the lucidity and user-friendliness of the questionnaire. According to Sudman et al (2004), pilot testing of a few questions and then incorporating comments about the questions from the respondents is helpful before constructing a questionnaire.

2.2 Formulation of Questionnaire Questions

The preliminary process before constructing actual questions to measure self-esteem being over, the questions of the main questionnaire have to be made.

2.2.1 The Type of Questions to be Used

A questionnaire typically consists of either open or closed-ended questions. The project of the measurement of self-esteem is a topic that needs the existence of both kinds of questions. A close-ended question like this would be suitable:

I believe my qualifications exceed my job requirements.

Yes No Can’t Say

The close-ended questions should always precede the open-ended questions as open-ended questions require more time to record and give answers in greater detail. Another kind of close-ended question which could be asked after this is the rank order question:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely do you think it is that you will get a better paying job than the one you are doing now.

This is especially good for quantifying something as ambiguous as self-esteem. Even though it is a futile exercise to put a number on something which is subject to change and relies on the dynamic social situations, it is useful when trying to get an idea about the general perception of people. This technique is called scaling techniques for measuring responses and DeVellis (2016) emphasizes the usage of correct categories of scaling in order to not misconstrue the data.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to ask for a raise in your current job?

For the purpose of this research, the more commonly used Likert scales will be more appropriate. A Likert scale gives responders a set of responses varying in scale and asks the responders to choose between them.

How likely are you to get a raise in your current job if you ask for it?

1 2 3 4

Very Likely Likely Unlikely Very Unlikely

Open-ended questions are the questions that will be suitable in two stages of the research process. First, when pilot tests and preliminary research is being conducted and the researcher needs information to build his questionnaire onto. Second, when the researcher wants answers which are qualitative in nature, which he can use directly in his project with little analysis. However, the researcher must make sure the question is not too vague as self-esteem is the kind of trait that depends heavily on the situation and mental state of the subject (Mruk, 2013). The likelihood of the answers being influenced by how the subject is feeling on that particular day is high because it is impossible for the researcher to know if the subject has recently experienced victory or loss, joy or sadness. The following question can be asked to assess the self-esteem in an individual. The previous question will be a close-ended question asking if they think they deserve a raise in their current job. The following will be asked to individuals who answer yes:

Why do you think you deserve a raise?

2.2.2 Considerations

A few considerations must be kept in mind while formulation questions for this topic:

The researcher must only ask for one answer to a single question. The topic of self-esteem is a complex one and often it will become troublesome for the subject to organize their thoughts and answer coherently. For example, questions like these should be avoided:

Why and how do you think your employer should give you more job benefits?

This question appears as one, but in reality, asks two different questions; why their employer should give them more job benefits and how they should give him more job benefits. These kinds of questions confuse the subject and important data is lost in the process.

The issue of self-esteem needs to be measured while keeping in mind that it may be a sensitive issue to some. The questions should not be like this:

Do you think you refuse to ask for a raise because you are not confident about your workplace abilities?

Questions like these are problematic in two ways; firstly they are pointed and egg the subject to answer in a certain way instead of arriving at the answer independently. Second, they can be considered offensive for some as the subject may feel the researcher is judging them as being low in confidence and undeserving of a raise.

The layout of the questionnaire should be correct. This will be discussed in the next section.

The researcher should keep in mind that the length of the questionnaire should be as short as possible. This is true in the case of a questionnaire where the sample size has been subjected to pilot studies as well. In the case of measuring self-esteem, it has been established that a coherent study will need the research to start with pilot studies. The respondents will be unwilling to participate in a long drawn questionnaire or answer the question without thinking if it is too long.

2.3 Layout of the Questionnaire

The layout of the questionnaire should be such that it gives the subject a clear idea about how to proceed and leaves no ambiguity in their mind. A suitable way of starting like that is by printing a page of instructions on the very first page, or in the case of using online survey methods, the first page being instructional before the actual survey is launched. Burton (2000) stipulates that the best way of ensuring that the layout of the survey is as user-friendly as possible is by looking at large government survey forms, which are available online with the datasets that the surveys produced.

In the case of measuring self-esteem, this particular phenomenon spans across both professional and personal life. It is important for the questionnaire to section off different areas, to make data more manageable and also to ease the subject into more sensitive information, which they won’t be so willing to answer in the very beginning. For example, consider the following question:

This particular question, though not necessarily problematic in itself, may give varied answers in accordance with the position of the question in the questionnaire. Early into the questionnaire, respondents will not be very willing to answer this question in detail. But if the respondents have been warmed up by questions which take less effort and fewer details, by the time the respondent arrives at this question in the next section, they are more aware of what they’d feel like and will describe it in more detail. The questionnaire should start with fact-based questions and gradually go to opinion-based questions (Sudman et al, 2004).

2.3.1 The First Section

The first section of the questionnaire will contain general details about the subjects like their age, sex, gender, etc.

This section will mostly be comprised of close-ended questions that will uncover details like what people associate with self-esteem, how do people understand self-esteem (as confidence, extroversion, competence, etc.).

2.3.2 The Second Section

The second section will comprise of both close and open-ended questions. This section will try to understand what people would do in most situations. Since there has been considerable research in the area of self-esteem, this section will rely on the previously discovered traits associated with high and low self-esteem and relate it to that.

2.4 What to Avoid in the Questionnaire

Certain things need to be kept in mind when formulating the questions to a questionnaire, some of them are discussed below:

Negative constructions must be avoided generally in the questions and the responses. Questions and responses should not have the words “not”, “doesn’t”, “shouldn’t” and similar words. This is because the cognitive function of processing a question with negative connotation is harder and the questionnaire wants to make easily understandable questions (Dörnyei et al, 2009).

As discussed earlier, questions that ask two things at the same time or double-barrelled questions should be avoided.

Questions that have obvious answers and are most likely to be answered in the same way by everyone should be avoided. For example:

Do you believe self-esteem is important for professional success?

Yes No Can’t Say

Most probably, the majority of the population will answer ‘yes’ to this question.

Pointed questions must be avoided to instigate people to respond in a certain way. For example, asking a question like this would be problematic:

Do you think if you were more physically attractive, you’d have more confidence?

Yes No Can’t Say

Instead, the correlation between people’s perception of attractiveness and confidence can be better established with the following question:

Do you think conventional attractiveness has anything to do with confidence? If so, why?

Through the usage of an open-ended question and not asking the respondent specifically about themselves, the question became easier and more comfortable for the respondent to answer.

3. Conclusion

The design of a good questionnaire depends on a good working knowledge of the research sample and also the concept the research is trying to study. Psychological studies like the examination of self-esteem in individuals can be tricky to measure. But a good questionnaire which is a mixture of research tools and tailored questions and structure makes the job of the researcher quite easy.

References

James, W., 1890. The perception of reality. Principles of psychology, 2, pp.283-324.

Leary, M.R. and Baumeister, R.F., 2000. The nature and function of self-esteem: Sociometer theory. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 32, pp. 1-62). Academic Press.

Gecas, V., 1982. The self-concept. Annual review of sociology, 8(1), pp.1-33.

Cast, A.D. and Burke, P.J., 2002. A theory of self-esteem. Social forces, 80(3), pp.1041-1068.

Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., Schoenbach, C. and Rosenberg, F., 1995. Global self-esteem and specific self-esteem: Different concepts, different outcomes. American sociological review, pp.141-156.

Greenwald, A.G. and Banaji, M.R., 1995. Implicit social cognition: attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological review, 102(1), p.4.

Mruk, C.J., 2013. Self-esteem and positive psychology: Research, theory, and practice. Springer Publishing Company.

Crocker, J. and Park, L.E., 2004. The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological bulletin, 130(3), p.392.

Park, L.E. and Crocker, J., 2005. Interpersonal consequences of seeking self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(11), pp.1587-1598.

Hewitt, J.P., 2002. The social construction of self-esteem. Handbook of positive psychology, (s 135147).

DeVellis, R.F., 2016. Scale development: Theory and applications (Vol. 26). Sage publications.

Bradburn, N.M., Sudman, S. and Wansink, B., 2004. Asking questions: the definitive guide to questionnaire design--for market research, political polls, and social and health questionnaires. John Wiley & Sons.

Take a deeper dive into Leadership Profiling Exercise with our additional resources.