Comments on: Episode 9: How Do You Really Raise Self-Esteem? The Incredibles vs. American Idol

By: jonathan martinez

jonathan martinez — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:28:36 +0000

I have read Po Bronson’s article in my writing class in the previous semester but i am still appreciative your work in posting this because as you can tell in reading the “how not to talk to kids” it is prevalent in the world in how we instinctively praise kids.

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:19:04 +0000

More research on self-esteem:

Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130 (3), 392-414.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:23:18 +0000

Quinton, here’s a summary of a soon to be released article on self esteem: http://www.healthcanal.com/mental-health-behavior/14792-Popular-psychology-theories-self-esteem-not-backed-serious-research.html

I’ll try to get ahold of the article itself. Might be an interesting article to do another episode on.

By: Quinton

Quinton — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:32:51 +0000

Would it be possible to provide some citations supporting the hypothesis that self esteem grows by 1) Doing well (achieving your goals), on 2) Tasks that you value (are important to you)? As a clinical psychologist, I try to help people living with serious mental illness learn the skills it takes to get out of psychiatric hospitals and successfully navigate life in the community. My colleagues and I often disagree about where to start with treatment. Many of my peers emphasize building self-esteem directly through noncontingent praise, while some of us believe that contingent praise facilitates skill development that will, in turn, foster enduring self-esteem. It would be wonderful to have some research to inform our debate. Thanks again, it’s wonderful to have accessible but thought-provoking provoking presentations on these subjects.

By: Is There Hope for Those with Low-Self Esteem?

Is There Hope for Those with Low-Self Esteem? — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:34:42 +0000

[...] I just found the the psych file podcast. here is a podcast on self esteem Episode 9: How Do You Really Raise Self-Esteem? The Incredibles vs. American Idol ? The Psych Files … [...]

By: Anupama

Anupama — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:37:09 +0000

Hey,
I recently began listening to your podcasts and I must say I’m addicted. I’ve learnt so much and I can see there’s so much more to learn. Thank you so much for doing this.
I particularly like this episode because it deals with something that I’ve thought a lot about but I could never quite put my finger on what I felt was wrong with the whole self-esteem issue. This episode really helped make some sense of it. Shows like American Idol , the people in them that find it hard to take criticism have sort of thrown my own self-esteem out of whack. Every time I think I’m good at something or that I’ve done something well, I immediately question myself, ‘What if I’m like one of THOSE people who THINK they are good but just can’t see how terrible they actually are in reality.’ They really truly do BELIEVE that they’re…well..awesome. And it’s scary to think that I could be one of those people. Forget awesome, now I have a hard time believing I’m even remotely good at anything even if I’m told so. I can never quite assess myself and I find it hard to trust people’s opinions about me. I’ve always had trouble accepting compliments and I used to think this was because there was something wrong with me but now I realize it’s because of people like those you talk about who although good intentioned, throw people’s sense of self out of balance by only worrying about their self-esteem. Like someone commented before, this was really eye-opening.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 05:21:51 +0000

Oh that’s really cool! Thank you.

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:42:37 +0000

Ruth, Thanks so much for your comment! I’m glad you found the podcast. There are lots of good interviews with authors of parenting and childcare books here on The Psych Files. You can find them if you click on Developmental in the left navigation area. Thanks again.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:48:31 +0000

Hi. I am taking a psychology class this term and my teacher suggested your podcasts and things from your site to better our learning experience.
What I found interesting about this particular podcast was how to raise self-esteem in yourself and other people. I work at a day care, and this information from your podcast could really help me raise the self-esteem of the preschoolers I work with. Thanks for this!

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:44:46 +0000

Dee: Glad you liked the episode. Thanks. You might want to read the article that Douglas linked to in the previous comment. Also good stuff on authentic self-esteem.