Running Head: Self-esteem vs Narcissism

Self Confidence vs Narcissism

Eddie B

Professor

PSYC –

September 11, 2014

Jeanette
In the short scenario media program The Virtual Office, I chose the character Jeanette to discuss because she truly exhibited all the characteristics of narcissism. She came across as being a person who relies on validation from others to maintain her sensitive positive concept. Jeanette is a person who struggles with accepting constructive criticism; she showed that in her responses to her boss by shifting the blame on her peers, and also by becoming very defensive when asked certain questions. Instead of taking the constructive criticism, self evaluating, looking at the positives and applying it to better herself, she chose to view it all in a negative fashion and express herself with negative aggression.

Three Theories of Self Concept Maintenance
Researchers have examined several ways in which individuals actively maintain their sense of self in what can be termed “ self-concept maintenance” (Crisp and Turner, 2010, p. 10). There are three theories in relation to this I wish to discuss, self-evaluation maintenance, the social comparison theory, and finally the control theory of self-regulation. Let’s start by defining each of the three self-concept theories. Self-evaluation maintenance refers to the theory that one’s self-concept can be threatened by another individual’s behavior and that the level of threat is determined by both the closeness of the other individual and the personal relevance of the behavior.
The Social comparison theory was a theory initially proposed by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, it centers on how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these areas and learn how to define themselves. Finally, the control theory of regulation states that we expend our effort in control of what we think, say, and do trying to be the person we want to be, both in particular situations and in the longer term (Baumeister, 2007).

Similarities and Differences
We know the one thing all three theories have in common is that they assume that individuals learn about themselves and their surroundings through self-comparison. Let’s explore each theory a little further. When a person self-evaluates they come to know their own abilities, traits, and qualities by seeing themselves through the eyes of other people. They observe other’s reactions to construct reflected appraisals, or inferences about how they perceive us, and internalize those appraisals as elements of self-concept. (Cooley, 1902) and (Mead, 1934). Unlike the self-evaluation theory, our next theory, the social comparison theory states that instead of knowing your own abilities, traits etc., people develop self-knowledge by comparing (which is the bigger word here) their own traits, abilities, opinions, and emotions with those of others (Festinger, 1954). For example, if you compare yourself to someone better than you, that can lower your self-esteem, and by comparing yourself to someone worse off than yourself, which can in essence raise your self-esteem. Lastly, the self-regulation theory comes into play when there is a conflict of motivation. Self –regulation causes us to stop ourselves from doing or saying what we want when we know the timing isn’t right. An example would be basically calling someone an idiot. Another example could be walking away from a fight as opposed to starting one. Unlike the other two theories, self-regulation includes impulse control which manages short term desires.

Explanation of Behavior
In the media program the character of Jeanette displayed characteristics of each theory I explained earlier. She displayed self-evaluation by taking everything her boss explained to her in the feedback session in a negative manner. She saw herself as a failure in a sense through the eyes of her boss and that didn’t sit too well with her. In the end she chose to distance herself from the negative feedback by placing blame on her co-workers. Afterwards she began to display characteristics of the social comparison theory by comparing her work ethic to her peers, which in turn boosted her self-esteem, but didn’t impress the boss. The theory she didn’t exhibit very well was the self-regulation theory. Jeanette did use impulse, but not in a fashion that would help her socially, she reacted on her first impulse, not taking the time to stop and think about her responses to feedback whether positive or negative.

In conclusion, I learned quite a bit on how our self-perception can play a huge role in how we see ourselves in society. By self-evaluating we focus on how to react to situations based on how other people behave. Example being Jeanette who chose to distance herself from negative feedback from her boss by placing blame elsewhere. From the social comparison theory I learned how we compare our abilities and attitudes with other people and their opinions. For instance, If I want to find out how good of a basketball player I am, I’ll compare myself to Michael Jordan which would definitely lower my self-esteem. Self regulation is something we all have to utilize on a daily basis, I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve wanted to tell someone to just shut up.

References

The Handbook of Social Psychology Chapter 16, Self and Identity”

Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human Nature and the social order. New York: Scribner’s.

Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140.

Baumeister, R. F., and Vohs, K. D. (2007). Self-Regulation, Ego Depletion, and Motivation, Social and Personality Compass, 1, 10, 1-14.

Turner, J. (1985). Social categorization and the self-concept: A social cognitive theory of group behavior. In E.J. Lawler(Ed.), Advances in group processes: Theory and research (Vol.2, pp.77-122). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.