student who breezes through classes and the one who struggles can both have
high self-esteem. Similarly, the star athlete and the ultimate physical klutz canboth feel good about themselves. Returning to humanistic personality theory,
it is ultimately up to us to choose which standards we use for this evaluation.
On the down side, people sometimes select contingencies that are difficult to
achieve. A young woman loved and admired by family and friends still might
not feel good about herself if she feels academically inferior to some of her
peers.
Thinking of self-esteem in terms of contingencies of worth also helps us
understand why some people have relatively stable feelings of self-worthwhereas others fluctuate wildly between liking and not liking themselves.That’s because some contingencies leave us at the mercy of other people and
unmanageable forces. We can ’t always control whether we will be accepted
by others, retain good looks, or succeed in competition. As a result, peoplewho tie their self-esteem to uncontrollable forces may be more prone to bouts
of anxiety and depression (Crocker & Park, 2004). Undergraduates who base
their self-worth largely on academic performance often experience depressionand a drop in self-esteem when they receive a low grade (Crocker, Karpinski,
Quinn, & Chase, 2003; Park, Crocker & Kiefer, 2007) or a rejection letter
from graduate school (Crocker, Sommers, & Luhtanen, 2002). In one study
students who used academic performance as a contingency of self-worth ex-
perienced more stress —but did not obtain higher grades —than students who
relied on other contingencies (Crocker & Luhtanen, 2003).
Making one ’s self-esteem contingent on physical appearance or the ap-
proval of others also can lead to an emotional roller coaster. A compliment
or a pleasant conversation might lead to pride and self-liking, but a rude re-
mark or a broken date can trigger self-doubt. People who make their self-
esteem contingent on the state of their romantic relationships may be subject
to strong emotional reactions when inevitable relationship issues surface(Knee, Canevello, Bush, & Cook, 2008). Participants in one study who based
their self-esteem on physical appearance felt alone and rejected when simply
made aware of flaws in their appearance (Park, 2007). Another investigationfound that college freshmen who based their self-worth on their appearance
were more prone to drinking alcohol, presumably because their self-esteem
was threatened in the kinds of situations (parties and social events, for exam-ple) in which drinking occurs (Luhtanen & Crocker, 2005).
In short, people who rely on uncontrollable self-esteem contingencies may
be putting their emotional well-being on the line every day. On the otherhand, people who base their self-esteem on contingencies largely under their
control (such as virtue or God ’s love) are less prone to depression and anxiety
than those who rely on more externally based contingencies (Sargent,
Crocker, & Luhtanen, 2006).
Self-Esteem and Culture
People growing up in Western culture often assume that everyone wants to
excel, to stand out from the crowd, to be recognized for personal accomplish-
ments. Teachers and parents foster high self-esteem in children by identifying330 CHAPTER 12 The Humanistic Approach