The benefits of a "sidelong" approach to self-esteem need satisfaction: comment on Crocker and Park (2004)

Abstract

J. Crocker and L. E. Park (2004) have achieved an admirable integration of the self-esteem literature with their claim that self-esteem is better conceived of as a dynamic human striving, rather than as a passive state or personality characteristic. However, the costs of self-esteem striving may be overstated--these costs may arise only in certain constrained cases. Also, although Crocker and Park suggested that self-esteem is not a true psychological need, there is evidence that humans in all cultures need to feel a positive sense of self-worth (K. M. Sheldon, in press). Problems may arise only when people strive too directly for this feeling, rather than deriving it as a natural concomitant of non-self-focused goals. A "sidelong" approach to self-esteem need satisfaction is advocated in this commentary.