Contingencies of self-worth

Research on self-esteem has focused almost exclusively on level of trait se lf-esteem to the neglect of other potentially more important aspects such a s the contingencies on which self-esteem is based. Over a century ago, W. J ames (1890) argued that self-esteem rises and falls around its typical leve l in response to successes and failures in domains on which one has staked self-worth. We present a model of global self-esteem that builds on James' insights and emphasizes contingencies of self-worth. This model can help to (a) point the way to understanding how self-esteem is implicated in affect , cognition, and self-regulation of behavior; (b) suggest how and when self -esteem is implicated in social problems; (c) resolve debates about the nat ure and functioning of self-esteem; (d) resolve paradoxes in related litera tures, such as why people who are stigmatized do not necessarily have low s elf-esteem and why self-esteem does not decline with age; and (e) suggest h ow self-esteem is causally related to depression. In addition, this perspec tive raises questions about how contingencies of self-worth are acquired an d how they change, whether they are primarily a resource or a vulnerability , and whether some people have noncontingent self-esteem.