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130-519: The construct of self-esteem has been shown to be a desirable one in psychology, as it is associated with a variety of positive outcomes, such as academic achievement, relationship satisfaction, happiness, and lower rates of criminal behavior. The benefits of high self-esteem are thought to include improved mental and physical health, and less anti-social behavior while drawbacks of low self-esteem have been found to be anxiety, loneliness, and increased vulnerability to substance abuse. Self-esteem can apply to

260-588: A science of man , which was expressed historically in the work of thinkers such as James Burnett , Adam Ferguson , John Millar , William Robertson and John Walker , all of whom merged a scientific study of how humans behave in ancient and primitive cultures, with an awareness of the determining forces of modernity . Modern notions of visual anthropology permeated the lectures of leading Scottish academics like Hugh Blair , and Alan Swingewood argues that modern sociology largely originated in Scotland. James Burnett

390-508: A certain strength not to boast about feats and not to be afraid of anti-feats. They are capable of fighting with all their might to achieve their goals because, if things go wrong, their self-esteem will not be affected. They can acknowledge their own mistakes precisely because their self-image is strong, and this acknowledgment will not impair or affect their self-image. They live with less fear of losing social prestige, and with more happiness and general well-being. However, no type of self-esteem

520-607: A difference in the life-span trajectory of self-esteem between generations due to societal changes such as grade inflation in education or the presence of social media . High levels of mastery, low risk taking, and better health are ways to predict higher self-esteem. In terms of personality, emotionally stable, extroverted, and conscientious individuals experience higher self-esteem. These predictors have shown us that self-esteem has trait-like qualities by remaining stable over time like personality and intelligence. However, this does not mean it can not be changed. Hispanic adolescents have

650-434: A generally positive self-image . However, their self-esteem is also vulnerable to the perceived risk of an imminent anti-feat (such as defeat, embarrassment, shame, discredit), consequently, they are often nervous and regularly use defense mechanisms. A typical protection mechanism of those with vulnerable self-esteem may consist in avoiding decision-making. Although such individuals may outwardly exhibit great self-confidence,

780-577: A healthy level of self-esteem: Some people have a secure high self-esteem and can confidently maintain positive self-views without relying on external reassurance. However, others have defensive high self-esteem, and while they also report positive self-views on the Rosenberg Scale, these views are fragile and easily threatened by criticism. Defensive high self-esteem individuals internalize subconscious self-doubts and insecurities, causing them to react very negatively to any criticism they may receive. There

910-827: A leading portrait painter to the Scottish nobility and he undertook portraits of many of the major figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, including his friend the philosopher David Hume and the visiting Jean-Jacques Rousseau . Gavin Hamilton (1723–98) spent almost his entire career in Italy and emerged as a pioneering neo-classical painter of historical and mythical themes, including his depictions of scenes from Homer's Iliad , as well as acting as an informal tutor to British artists and as an early archaeologist and antiquarian. Many of his works can be seen as Enlightenment speculations about

1040-552: A main feature, and while narcissism is defined by high self-esteem, the two constructs are not interchangeable. Threatened egotism is a phenomenon in which narcissists respond to criticism with hostility and aggression, as it threatens their sense of self-worth. Low self-esteem can result from various factors, including genetic factors, physical appearance or weight, mental health issues, socioeconomic status, significant emotional experiences, social stigma , peer pressure or bullying . A person with low self-esteem may show some of

1170-572: A major role in the further development of the transatlantic Enlightenment". Bruce Lenman says their "central achievement was a new capacity to recognize and interpret social patterns." The Scottish Enlightenment owed much to the highly literate culture of Scottish Presbyterianism. Established as the Church of Scotland following the Revolution of 1688, the Presbyterians supported the 1707 Act of Union, and

1300-442: A middle-class audience. It gained momentum when major Scottish composers like James Oswald (1710–69) and William McGibbon (1690–1756) became involved around 1740. Oswald's Curious Collection of Scottish Songs (1740) was one of the first to include Gaelic tunes alongside Lowland ones, setting a fashion common by the middle of the century and helping to create a unified Scottish musical identity. However, with changing fashions there

1430-440: A need to win, and asserting an independence from social acceptance which they may deeply desire. In this deep fear of being unaccepted by an individual's peers, they make poor life choices by making risky decisions. People with strong self-esteem have a positive self-image and enough strength so that anti-feats do not subdue their self-esteem. They have less fear of failure. These individuals appear humble, cheerful, and this shows

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1560-401: A new ending, going quickly, without thinking or censoring, and inventing endings when stuck. In this way, a therapist can facilitate the generation of awareness and insight (for example, with a stem such as, "If my fear could speak, it might say—"), and shifts in cognitive-motivational structure (for example, with a stem such as, "If I were to be kinder to myself when I'm afraid—"). By improvising

1690-403: A peak in middle age. A decrease is seen from middle age to old age with varying findings on whether it is a small or large decrease. Reasons for the variability could be because of differences in health, cognitive ability, and socioeconomic status in old age. No differences have been found between males and females in their development of self-esteem. Multiple cohort studies show that there is not

1820-402: A piece from 1973, he characterized his mode of therapy as consisting of four aspects: education, emotional unblocking, stimulation of insight, and encouragement of behavior change. In contrast to the exclusively experiential or exclusively cognitive (insight-oriented) methods of the day, Branden saw his mode of therapy as distinguished in part by "the integration of the emotional and the cognitive,

1950-448: A political one; likewise, individualism and personal autonomy are seen as essential to human freedom. Branden distinguished his approach to self-esteem from that of many others by his inclusion of both confidence and worth in his definition of self-esteem, and by his emphasis on the importance of internally generated practices for the improvement and maintenance of self-esteem. For this reason, he at times expressed lack of enthusiasm about

2080-411: A protective function and reduces anxiety about life and death. Carl Rogers (1902–1987), an advocate of humanistic psychology , theorized the origin of many people's problems to be that they despise themselves and consider themselves worthless and incapable of being loved. This is why Rogers believed in the importance of giving unconditional acceptance to a client and when this was done it could improve

2210-624: A resumption of their affair; his own marriage, meanwhile, was deteriorating, although he and Barbara were becoming closer as friends. Branden then met and fell in love with a young model, Patrecia Scott (née Gullison). The two began a secret affair in 1964. In mid-1965, Nathaniel told Barbara of the affair and the two separated (and subsequently divorced). Despite Rand's romantic involvement with Nathaniel, her close intellectual collaboration with him, and her strong public endorsements of him, both Brandens kept Nathaniel's affair with Patrecia secret from Rand, fearing her reaction. In 1968, four years into

2340-496: A sample of 383 Malaysian undergraduates participating in work integrated learning (WIL) programs across five public universities to test the relationship between self-esteem and other psychological attributes such as self-efficacy and self-confidence . The results demonstrated that self-esteem has a positive and significant relationship with self-confidence and self-efficacy since students with higher self-esteem had better performances at university than those with lower self-esteem. It

2470-433: A sequential pattern on cognitive levels. This development brings with it increasingly complicated and encompassing moral demands. This level is where individuals' self-esteems can suffer because they do not feel as though they are living up to certain expectations. This feeling will moderately affect one's self-esteem with an even larger effect seen when individuals believe they are becoming their dreaded selves. People with

2600-405: A significant barrier to growth and development. He has described human problems as occurring both "above the line"—that is, in the realm of cognition and volitional behavior—and "below the line"—that is, in the realm of unconscious trauma stored in the body. Branden married Barbara Weidman in 1953, with Rand and Rand's husband Frank O'Connor in attendance. Branden would later state the marriage

2730-458: A situation where the social self is devalued, such as a socially evaluated poor performance. Poor performance leads to a decrease in social self-esteem and an increase in shame, indicating a threat to the social self. This increase in shame can be helped with self-compassion . There are three levels of self-evaluation development in relation to the real self, ideal self, and the dreaded self. The real, ideal, and dreaded selves develop in children in

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2860-412: A slightly lower self-esteem than their black and white peers, but then slightly higher levels by age 30. African Americans have a sharper increase in self-esteem in adolescence and young adulthood compared to Whites. However, during old age, they experience a more rapid decline in self-esteem. Shame can be a contributor to those with problems of low self-esteem. Feelings of shame usually occur because of

2990-548: A special accelerated high school for adults, and subsequently did well in that environment. After graduating from high school, Branden went on to earn his BA in psychology from the University of California Los Angeles , an MA from New York University , and in 1973, a Ph.D. in psychology from the California Graduate Institute (CGI), then an unaccredited , state-approved school whose graduates may be licensed by

3120-404: A specific attribute or globally. Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring personality characteristic ( trait self-esteem ), though normal, short-term variations ( state self-esteem ) also exist. Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: self-worth, self-regard, self-respect, and self-integrity. The concept of self-esteem has its origins in the 18th century, first expressed in

3250-597: A student of Turnbull's, along with minister George Campbell (1719–96) and writer and moralist James Beattie (1735–1803), formulated Common Sense Realism . Reid set out his theories in An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764). This approach argued that there are certain concepts, such as human existence, the existence of solid objects and some basic moral "first principles", that are intrinsic to

3380-426: A subject's answers demonstrate solid self-regard, the scale regards them as well adjusted. If those answers reveal some inner shame, it considers them to be prone to social deviance. Implicit measures of self-esteem began to be used in the 1980s. These rely on indirect measures of cognitive processing thought to be linked to implicit self-esteem , including the name letter task (or initial preference task ) and

3510-442: A succession of such stems, many based on endings generated by a previous stem, a therapist can, according to Branden, lead a client on a sometimes dramatically emotional journey of self exploration and self-discovery. Eventually, Branden integrated techniques from the field of energy psychology, such as Thought Field Therapy and Seemorg Matrix work, into his practice, viewing psychological trauma (which such techniques target) as

3640-479: A variety of Objectivist intellectuals, including Rand, Branden, and Alan Greenspan , whom Branden had brought into Rand's fold. During this time, Branden also contributed articles to Rand's newsletters on subjects ranging from economics to politics to psychology. Branden's work at NBI included translating the principles expressed by Rand in her fiction and non-fiction writing into a systematized construct that became known as Objectivism. NBI expanded considerably over

3770-568: A vivid interest in philosophical exploration and development. After the publication of Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged , Branden sensed an interest on the part of Rand's readers in further philosophic education. In 1958 he created the Nathaniel Branden Lectures, later renamed the Nathaniel Branden Institute (NBI). The organization disseminated Rand's philosophy of Objectivism by offering live and taped lecture courses by

3900-432: Is a disposition people may have that represents an excessive love for one's self. It is characterized by an inflated view of self-worth. Individuals who score high on narcissism measures, Robert Raskin's Narcissistic Personality Inventory, would likely respond "true" to such prompt statements as "If I ruled the world, it would be a much better place." There is only a moderate correlation between narcissism and self-esteem; that

4030-573: Is a major source on one of the English Enlightenment's major men of letters and his circle. Allan Ramsay (1686–1758) laid the foundations of a reawakening of interest in older Scottish literature, as well as leading the trend for pastoral poetry, helping to develop the Habbie stanza as a poetic form . The lawyer Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–1782) made a major contribution to the study of literature with Elements of Criticism (1762), which became

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4160-422: Is a need for constant positive feedback from others for these individuals to maintain their feelings of self-worth. The necessity of repeated praise can be associated with boastful, arrogant behavior or sometimes even aggressive and hostile feelings toward anyone who questions the individual's self-worth, an example of threatened egotism. The Journal of Educational Psychology conducted a study in which they used

4290-522: Is clear that many Scottish students learned a useful form of visual literacy that allowed them to organise and remember information in a superior fashion. By the 17th century, Scotland had five universities, compared with England's two. After the disruption of the civil wars ( Wars of the Three Kingdoms ), Commonwealth and purges at the Restoration , they recovered with a lecture-based curriculum that

4420-493: Is closely linked to forming psychotic symptoms as well. Metacognitive therapy , EMDR technique, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy , rational emotive behavior therapy , cognitive behavioral therapy and trait and construct therapies have been shown to improve the patient's self-esteem. This classification proposed by Martin Ross distinguishes three states of self-esteem compared to the "feats" ( triumphs , honors , virtues ) and

4550-460: Is indestructible, and due to certain situations or circumstances in life, one can fall from this level into any other state of self-esteem. A distinction is made between contingent (or conditional) and non-contingent (or unconditional) self-esteem. Contingent self-esteem is derived from external sources, such as what others say, one's success or failure, one's competence, or relationship-contingent self-esteem . Therefore, contingent self-esteem

4680-409: Is limited by the extent of the market" has been described as the "core of a theory of the functions of firm and industry " and a "fundamental principle of economic organization." In an argument that includes "one of the most famous passages in all economics," Smith represents every individual as trying to employ any capital they might command for their own advantage, not that of the society, and for

4810-419: Is marked by instability, unreliability, and vulnerability. Persons lacking a non-contingent self-esteem are "predisposed to an incessant pursuit of self-value". However, because the pursuit of contingent self-esteem is based on receiving approval, it is doomed to fail, as no one receives constant approval, and disapproval often evokes depression. Furthermore, fear of disapproval inhibits activities in which failure

4940-411: Is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics . He was the first major figure to argue that mankind had evolved language skills in response to his changing environment and social structures. He was one of a number of scholars involved in the development of early concepts of evolution and has been credited with anticipating in principle the idea of natural selection that

5070-419: Is no way difficult to account for their forsaking the faith … & loving a present World & the mode of thinking fashionable in it." (James Wodrow to Samuel Kenrick, 25 January 1769). The first major philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment was Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746), who was professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow from 1729 to 1746. He was an important link between the ideas of Shaftesbury and

5200-426: Is not only defined by inflated self-esteem, but also by characteristics such as entitlement, exploitativeness, and dominance. Additionally, while positive self-image is a shared characteristic of narcissism and self-esteem, narcissistic self-appraisals are exaggerated, whereas in non-narcissistic self-esteem, positive views of the self compared with others are relatively modest. Thus, while sharing positive self-regard as

5330-584: Is now widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and became a major figure in the Romantic movement. As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. Burns's poetry drew upon a substantial familiarity with and knowledge of Classical , Biblical , and English literature , as well as the Scottish Makar tradition. Adam Smith developed and published The Wealth of Nations ,

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5460-477: Is possible. "The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.... This is the Pauline-Lutheran doctrine of 'justification by faith.'" Paul Tillich Non-contingent self-esteem is described as true, stable, and solid. It springs from a belief that one is "acceptable period, acceptable before life itself, ontologically acceptable". Belief that one is "ontologically acceptable"

5590-421: Is to believe that one's acceptability is "the way things are without contingency". In this belief, as expounded by theologian Paul Tillich , acceptability is not based on a person's virtue. It is an acceptance given "in spite of our guilt, not because we have no guilt". Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment ( Scots : Scots Enlichtenment , Scottish Gaelic : Soillseachadh na h-Alba )

5720-477: Is to say that an individual can have high self-esteem but low narcissism or can be a conceited, obnoxious person and score high self-esteem and high narcissism. However, when correlation analysis is restricted to the sense of superiority or self-admiration aspects of narcissism, correlations between narcissism and self-esteem become strong. Moreover, self-esteem is positively correlated with a sense of superiority even when controlling for overall narcissism. Narcissism

5850-587: Is typically assessed using self-report inventories. One of the most widely used instruments, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) is a 10-item self-esteem scale score that requires participants to indicate their level of agreement with a series of statements about themselves. An alternative measure, the Coopersmith Inventory uses a 50-question battery over a variety of topics and asks subjects whether they rate someone as similar or dissimilar to themselves. If

5980-490: The core self-evaluations approach included self-esteem as one of four dimensions that comprise one's fundamental appraisal of oneself—along with locus of control , neuroticism , and self-efficacy . The concept of core self-evaluations has since proven to have the ability to predict job satisfaction and job performance. Self-esteem may be essential to self-evaluation. The importance of self-esteem gained endorsement from some government and non-government groups starting around

6110-550: The humanist and rational outlook of the Western Enlightenment of the same time period, the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment asserted the importance of human reason combined with a rejection of any authority that could not be justified by reason. In Scotland, the Enlightenment was characterised by a thoroughgoing empiricism and practicality where the chief values were improvement, virtue, and practical benefit for

6240-547: The "anti-feats" ( defeats , embarrassment , shame , etc.) of the individuals. The individual does not regard themselves as valuable or lovable. They may be overwhelmed by defeat, or shame, or see themselves as such, and they name their "anti-feat". For example, if they consider that being over a certain age is an anti-feat, they define themselves with the name of their anti-feat, and say, "I am old". They express actions and feelings such as pity, insulting themselves, and they may become paralyzed by their sadness. The individual has

6370-648: The 18th century, access to Scottish universities was probably more open than in contemporary England, Germany or France. Attendance was less expensive and the student body more socially representative. In the eighteenth century Scotland reaped the intellectual benefits of this system. In France, the Enlightenment was based in the salons and culminated in the great Encyclopédie (1751–1772) edited by Denis Diderot and (until 1759) Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1713–1784) with contributions by hundreds of leading intellectuals such as Voltaire (1694–1778), Rousseau (1712–1778) and Montesquieu (1689–1755). Some 25,000 copies of

6500-498: The 1970s, such that one can speak of a self-esteem movement. This movement provides evidence that psychological research can shape public policy. This has expanded to recent years such as 2023 where psychologists are planning to re-invent the approach to research, treatments, and therapy. The new approach emphasizes population health where psychological researchers have prioritized one-one therapy in regards to analyzing social emotional conflict like low self-esteem. The underlying idea of

6630-512: The 35-volume set were sold, half of them outside France. In Scottish intellectual life the culture was oriented towards books. In 1763 Edinburgh had six printing houses and three paper mills; by 1783 there were 16 printing houses and 12 paper mills. Intellectual life revolved around a series of clubs, beginning in Edinburgh in the 1710s. One of the first was the Easy Club, co-founded In Edinburgh by

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6760-564: The Ayn Rand mystique" and for "contributing to that dreadful atmosphere of intellectual repressiveness that pervades the Objectivist movement." Branden argued that self-esteem is a human psychological need and that to the extent this need remains unmet, pathology (defensiveness, anxiety, depression, difficulty in relationships, etc.) tends to result. He defined self-esteem formally as "the disposition to experience oneself as competent to cope with

6890-480: The Earth (1795) challenging existing ideas about the age of the Earth . His ideas were popularised by the scientist and mathematician John Playfair (1748–1819). Prior to James Hutton , Rev. David Ure then minister to East Kilbride Parish was the first to represent the shells 'entrochi' in illustrations and make accounts of the geology of southern Scotland. The findings of David Ure were influential enough to inspire

7020-511: The Implicit Association Task. Such indirect measures are designed to reduce awareness of the process of assessment. When using them to assess implicit self-esteem, psychologists apply self-relevant stimuli to the participant and then measure how quickly a person identifies positive or negative stimuli. For example, if a woman was given the self-relevant stimuli of female and mother, psychologists would measure how quickly she identified

7150-643: The Jacobite printer Thomas Ruddiman . Clubs did not reach Glasgow until the 1740s. One of the first and most important in the city was the Political Economy Club, aimed at creating links between academics and merchants, of which noted economist Adam Smith was a prominent early member. Other clubs in Edinburgh included The Select Society , formed by the younger Allan Ramsay , a prominent artist, and philosophers David Hume and Adam Smith and, later, The Poker Club , formed in 1762 and named by Adam Ferguson for

7280-463: The Scottish endeavour to the recording and interpretation of natural history and Fossils , a major part of the Scottish Enlightenment. Edinburgh became a major centre of medical teaching and research. Representative of the far-reaching impact of the Scottish Enlightenment was the new Encyclopædia Britannica , which was designed in Edinburgh by Colin Macfarquhar , Andrew Bell and others. It

7410-600: The University of Edinburgh. The careers of sceptics, such as Adam Smith and David Hume, owed much to the tolerance, support and friendship of Moderate clergy. Such was the reputation of the Scottish clergy for their Enlightenment values that a friend in England asked the Rev. James Wodrow, a minister in Ayrshire, whether two thirds of the Scottish clergy were in reality Deists. Wodrow dismissed

7540-597: The actual cause of Rand's denunciation of him was his unwillingness to engage in a romantic relationship with her. (Branden later explained in his memoir that he and Rand had in fact been romantically intimate for a period of time in the late 1950s; see personal life .) After the break, Branden went on to publish The Psychology of Self-Esteem (many chapters of which he had published originally in Rand's newsletter), and then to develop his theory and mode of therapy more independently of Rand's influence. Though he remained supportive of

7670-471: The affair, Barbara Branden informed Rand of it. In response, Rand morally condemned the Brandens and dissociated herself from them in an article for her journal, The Objectivist, which, without revealing the existence of her romantic involvement with Branden, accused him of "deliberate deception" and financial misdealings in their business partnership. Branden at this point moved to California with Patrecia;

7800-416: The aim to "poke up" opinion on the militia issue. Historian Jonathan Israel argues that by 1750 Scotland's major cities had created an intellectual infrastructure of mutually supporting institutions, such as universities, reading societies, libraries, periodicals, museums and masonic lodges. The Scottish network was "predominantly liberal Calvinist, Newtonian, and 'design' oriented in character which played

7930-689: The ancient bard Ossian, he published "translations" that were proclaimed as a Celtic equivalent of the Classical epics . Fingal , written in 1762, was speedily translated into many European languages, and its appreciation of natural beauty and treatment of the ancient legend has been credited more than any single work with bringing about the Romantic movement in European, and especially in German literature, through its influence on Johann Gottfried von Herder and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . Eventually it became clear that

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8060-480: The basic challenges of life and as worthy of happiness", and proposed that, while others (parents, teachers, friends) can nurture and support self-esteem in an individual, self-esteem also relies upon various internally generated practices. These consisted, in Branden's framework, of six "pillars" of self-esteem: In his book Taking Responsibility Branden defended voluntarism as a moral concept and libertarianism as

8190-400: The body and possessions and the spiritual self of descriptive representations and evaluative dispositions regarding the self. This view of self-esteem as the collection of an individual's attitudes toward itself remains today. In the mid-1960s, social psychologist Morris Rosenberg defined self-esteem as a feeling of self-worth and developed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), which became

8320-426: The broad essentials of Rand's philosophy, he eventually offered criticisms of aspects of her work, naming as problems a tendency to encourage emotional repression and moralizing, a failure to understand psychology beyond its cognitive aspects, and a failure to appreciate adequately the importance of kindness in human relationships . He also apologized in an interview to "every student of Objectivism" for "perpetuating

8450-513: The broader intellectual [Scottish] Enlightenment were inextricably entangled with the economic Improvement Movement and the colonial economy of the British slave trade." The Scottish dramatist Robert McLellan (1907-1985) wrote a number of full-length stage comedies which give a self-conscious representation of Edinburgh at the height of the Scottish enlightenment, most notably The Flouers o Edinburgh (1957). These plays include references to many of

8580-987: The child grows older. Students in elementary school who have high self-esteem tend to have authoritative parents who are caring, supportive adults who set clear standards for their child and allow them to voice their opinion in decision making. Although studies thus far have reported only a correlation of warm, supportive parenting styles (mainly authoritative and permissive) with children having high self-esteem, these parenting styles could easily be thought of as having some causal effect in self-esteem development. Childhood experiences that contribute to healthy self-esteem include being listened to, being spoken to respectfully, receiving appropriate attention and affection and having accomplishments recognized and mistakes or failures acknowledged and accepted. Experiences that contribute to low self-esteem include being harshly criticized, being physically, sexually or emotionally abused, being ignored, ridiculed or teased or being expected to be "perfect" all

8710-636: The child's self-esteem and influence the positive or negative feelings they have about themselves. As children go through adolescence, peer influence becomes much more important. Adolescents make appraisals of themselves based on their relationships with close friends. Successful relationships among friends are very important to the development of high self-esteem for children. Social acceptance brings about confidence and produces high self-esteem, whereas rejection from peers and loneliness brings about self-doubts and produces low self-esteem. Self-esteem tends to increase during adolescence and young adulthood, reaching

8840-470: The civil law courts, lawyers and jurists remained in Edinburgh. The headquarters and leadership of the Church of Scotland also remained, as did the universities and the medical establishment. The lawyers and the divines, together with the professors, intellectuals, medical men, scientists and architects formed a new middle class elite that dominated urban Scotland and facilitated the Scottish Enlightenment. At

8970-458: The client's self-esteem. In his therapy sessions with clients, he offered positive regard no matter what. Indeed, the concept of self-esteem is approached since then in humanistic psychology as an inalienable right for every person, summarized in the following sentence: Every human being, with no exception, for the mere fact to be it, is worthy of unconditional respect of everybody else; he deserves to esteem himself and to be esteemed. Self-esteem

9100-514: The country that threatened to check enlightenment trends. McLellan's picture of these tensions in national terms is complex, even-handed and multi-faceted. Plus those who visited and corresponded with Scottish scholars: " Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture Vol. 48, 2019 pp. 161–186 10.1353/sec.2019.0011 Nathaniel Branden Nathaniel Branden (born Nathan Blumenthal ; April 9, 1930 – December 3, 2014)

9230-547: The course of its existence, ultimately offering courses in 80 cities and establishing an office in the Empire State Building . In 1968, Rand publicly broke with Branden and published an article denouncing him and accusing him of a variety of offenses, such as philosophic irrationality and unresolved psychological problems. In response, Branden sent out a letter to the NBI mailing list denying Rand's accusations and suggesting that

9360-616: The culture of the nation in several areas including architecture, art and music. Scotland produced some of the most significant architects of the period who were involved in the intellectual culture of the Enlightenment. Robert Adam (1728–92) was an interior designer as well as an architect, with his brothers developing the Adam style , He influenced the development of architecture in Britain, Western Europe, North America and in Russia. Adam's main rival

9490-635: The esteem in which Scottish achievements were held outside Scotland, but also because its ideas and attitudes were carried all over Great Britain and across the Western world as part of the Scottish diaspora , and by foreign students who studied in Scotland. Union with England in 1707 meant the end of the Scottish Parliament. The parliamentarians, politicians, aristocrats, and placemen moved to London. Scottish law remained entirely separate from English law, so

9620-450: The field. This led to new elements being introduced to the concept of self-esteem, including the reasons why people tend to feel less worthy and why people become discouraged or unable to meet challenges by themselves. In 1992, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama associated self-esteem with what Plato called thymos —the " spiritedness " part of the Platonic soul . From 1997,

9750-448: The figures historically associated with the movement and satirise various social tensions, particularly in the field of spoken language, between traditional society and anglicised Scots who presented themselves as exponents of so-called 'new manners'. Other later examples include Young Auchinleck (1962), a stage portrait of the young James Boswell , and The Hypocrite (1967) which draws attention to conservative religious reaction in

9880-508: The focus of the tobacco trade, re-exporting particularly to France. The merchants dealing in this lucrative business became the wealthy tobacco lords , who dominated the city for most of the eighteenth century. Banking also developed in this period. The Bank of Scotland , founded in 1695 was suspected of Jacobite sympathies, and so a rival Royal Bank of Scotland was founded in 1727. Local banks began to be established in burghs like Glasgow and Ayr. These made capital available for business, and

10010-422: The following characteristics: Individuals with low self-esteem tend to be critical of themselves. Some depend on the approval and praise of others when evaluating self-worth. Others may measure their likability in terms of successes: others will accept themselves if they succeed but will not if they fail. People with chronic low self esteem are at a higher risk for experiencing psychotic disorders; and this behavior

10140-458: The gentry and nobility. Although some estate holders improved the quality of life of their displaced workers, enclosures led to unemployment and forced migrations to the burghs or abroad. The major change in international trade was the rapid expansion of the Americas as a market. Glasgow particularly benefited from this new trade; initially supplying the colonies with manufactured goods, it emerged as

10270-446: The healthiest expression of self-esteem "is the one which manifests in the respect we deserve for others, more than renown, fame, and flattery". Modern theories of self-esteem explore the reasons humans are motivated to maintain a high regard for themselves. Sociometer theory maintains that self-esteem evolved to check one's level of status and acceptance in one's social group. According to Terror Management Theory , self-esteem serves

10400-420: The idea less amenable to rigorous measurement. In the mid-20th century, the rise of phenomenology and humanistic psychology led to a renewed interest in self-esteem as a treatment for psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Psychologists started to consider the relationship between psychotherapy and the personal satisfaction of people with high self-esteem as useful to

10530-668: The improvement of roads and trade. The humanist-inspired emphasis on education in Scotland culminated in the passing of the Education Act 1496 , which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools. The aims of a network of parish schools were taken up as part of the Protestant programme in the 16th century and a series of acts of the Privy Council and Parliament in 1616 , 1633 , 1646 and 1696 attempted to support its development and finance. By

10660-601: The individual and society as a whole. Among the fields that rapidly advanced were philosophy, political economy, engineering, architecture, medicine, geology, archaeology, botany and zoology, law, agriculture, chemistry and sociology. Among the Scottish thinkers and scientists of the period were Joseph Black , James Boswell , Robert Burns , William Cullen , Adam Ferguson , David Hume , Francis Hutcheson , James Hutton , Lord Monboddo , John Playfair , Thomas Reid , Adam Smith , and Dugald Stewart . The Scottish Enlightenment had effects far beyond Scotland, not only because of

10790-493: The intelligentsia of Scotland were not beholden to powerful aristocratic patrons and this led them to see science through the eyes of utility, improvement and reform. Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746) was appointed as chair of mathematics by the age of 19 at Marischal College, and was the leading British mathematician of his era. Mathematician and physicist Sir John Leslie (1766–1832) is chiefly noted for his experiments with heat and

10920-531: The late 17th century there was a largely complete network of parish schools in the Lowlands, but in the Highlands basic education was still lacking in many areas. One of the effects of this extensive network of schools was the growth of the "democratic myth", which in the 19th century created the widespread belief that many a "lad of pairts" had been able to rise up through the system to take high office, and that literacy

11050-441: The later school of Scottish Common Sense Realism , developing Utilitarianism and Consequentialist thinking. Also influenced by Shaftesbury was George Turnbull (1698–1748), who was regent at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and who published pioneering work in the fields of Christian ethics, art and education. David Hume (1711–76) whose Treatise on Human Nature (1738) and Essays, Moral and Political (1741) helped outline

11180-533: The make up of man and from which all subsequent arguments and systems of morality must be derived. It can be seen as an attempt to reconcile the new scientific developments of the Enlightenment with religious belief. Major literary figures originating in Scotland in this period included James Boswell (1740–95), whose An Account of Corsica (1768) and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785) drew on his extensive travels and whose Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

11310-580: The most widely used scale to measure self-esteem in the social sciences. In the early 20th century, the behaviorist movement shunned introspective study of mental processes, emotions, and feelings, replacing introspection with objective study through experiments on behaviors observed in relation with the environment. Behaviorism viewed the human being as an animal subject to reinforcements, and suggested making psychology an experimental science, similar to chemistry or biology. Consequently, clinical trials on self-esteem were overlooked, since behaviorists considered

11440-622: The movement spread beyond Scotland across the British Empire, and onto the Continent. The political ideas had an important impact on the Founding Fathers of the United States , which broke away from the empire in 1775. The philosophy of Common Sense Realism was especially influential in 19th century American thought and religion. In traditional historiography, the Scottish Enlightenment

11570-399: The movement was that low self-esteem was the root of problems for individuals, making it the root of societal problems and dysfunctions. A leading figure of the movement, psychologist Nathaniel Branden , stated: "[I] cannot think of a single psychological problem – from anxiety and depression, to fear of intimacy or of success, to spouse battery or child molestation – that is not traced back to

11700-452: The need for respect from others in the form of recognition, success, and admiration, and the need for self-respect in the form of self-love, self-confidence, skill, or aptitude. Respect from others was believed to be more fragile and easily lost than inner self-esteem. According to Maslow, without the fulfillment of the self-esteem need, individuals will be driven to seek it and unable to grow and obtain self-actualization. Maslow also states that

11830-482: The negative word, evil, or the positive word, kind. Experiences in a person's life are a major source of how self-esteem develops. In the early years of a child's life, parents have a significant influence on self-esteem and can be considered the main source of positive and negative experiences a child will have. Unconditional love from parents helps a child develop a stable sense of being cared for and respected. These feelings translate into later effects on self-esteem as

11960-430: The ones previously stated, can cause adolescents to doubt themselves. Social experiences are another important contributor to self-esteem. As children go through school, they begin to understand and recognize differences between themselves and their classmates. Using social comparisons, children assess whether they did better or worse than classmates in different activities. These comparisons play an important role in shaping

12090-532: The oratorical arts of humanism with a sophisticated theory on the relationship between cognition and the origins of language. It influenced many leading thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, including Adam Smith and Dugald Stewart. Blair was one of the figures who first drew attention to the Ossian cycle of James Macpherson to public attention. Macpherson (1736–96) was the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation. Claiming to have found poetry written by

12220-729: The origins of society and politics, including the Death of Lucretia (1768), an event thought to be critical to the birth of the Roman Republic . His classicism would be a major influence on French artist Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825). The growth of a musical culture in the capital was marked by the incorporation of the Musical Society of Edinburgh in 1728. Scottish composers known to be active in this period include: Alexander Munro (fl. c. 1732), James Foulis (1710–73) and Charles McLean (fl. c. 1737). Thomas Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie (1732–81)

12350-513: The parameters of philosophical Empiricism and Scepticism . He would be a major influence on later Enlightenment figures including Adam Smith , Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham . Hume's argument that there were no efficient causes hidden in nature was supported and developed by Thomas Brown (1778–1820), who was Dugald Stewart 's (1753–1828) successor at Edinburgh and who would be a major influence on later philosophers including John Stuart Mill . In contrast to Hume, Thomas Reid (1710–96),

12480-540: The poems were not direct translations from the Gaelic, but flowery adaptations made to suit the aesthetic expectations of his audience. Before Robert Burns (1759–96) the most important Scottish language poet was Robert Fergusson (1750–74), who also worked in English. His work often celebrated his native Edinburgh and Enlightenment conviviality, as in his best known poem "Auld Reekie" (1773). Burns, an Ayrshire poet and lyricist,

12610-407: The practice of constantly moving back and forth between the experiential and the conceptual." Sentence completion, a method that figured prominently in Branden's mode of therapy, is an example of this dual focus. In its most common variation, it consists of a therapist giving a client an incomplete sentence—a sentence stem—and having the client repeat the sentence stem over and over, each time adding

12740-611: The problem of low self-esteem". It was once thought that self-esteem was primarily a feature of Western individualistic societies , as it was not observed in collectivist cultures such as Japan. Concern about low self-esteem and its many presumed negative consequences led California assemblyman, John Vasconcellos to work to set up and fund the Task Force on Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility, in California, in 1986. Vasconcellos argued that this task force could combat many of

12870-489: The protestant Hanoverian monarchy. The eighteenth century saw divisions and dispute between hard-line traditional Calvinists, Enlightenment influenced Moderates, and increasingly popular Evangelicals. Moderate clergy, with their emphasis on reason, toleration, morality and polite manners, were ascendant in the universities. Some of the leading intellectual lights of the Scottish Enlightenment were Presbyterian ministers, such as William Robertson (1721–93), historian and principal of

13000-538: The sake of profit, which is necessary at some level for employing capital in domestic industry, and positively related to the value of produce. Economists have linked Smith's invisible-hand concept to his concern for the common man and woman through economic growth and development , enabling higher levels of consumption, which Smith describes as "the sole end and purpose of all production." Scottish Enlightenment thinkers developed what leading thinkers such as James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714–99) and Lord Kames called

13130-632: The self, with two levels of hierarchy: processes of knowing (called the "I-self") and the resulting knowledge about the self (the "Me-self"). The observation about the self and storage of those observations by the I-self creates three types of knowledge, which collectively account for the Me-self, according to James. These are the material self , social self , and spiritual self. The social self comes closest to self-esteem, comprising all characteristics recognized by others. The material self consists of representations of

13260-473: The standard textbook on rhetoric and style. Hugh Blair (1718–1800) was a minister of the Church of Scotland and held the Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres at the University of Edinburgh. He produced an edition of the works of Shakespeare and is best known for Sermons (1777–1801), a five-volume endorsement of practical Christian morality, and Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783). The former fused

13390-676: The starting point of modern economics. This study, which had an immediate impact on British economic policy , still frames discussions on globalisation and tariffs . The book identified land, labour, and capital as the three factors of production and the major contributors to a nation's wealth, as distinct from the Physiocratic idea that only agriculture was productive. Smith discussed potential benefits of specialisation by division of labour , including increased labour productivity and gains from trade , whether between town and country or across countries. His "theorem" that "the division of labor

13520-592: The state to practice psychology. (Graduates of unaccredited state-approved schools such as CGI are limited to associate membership in the American Psychological Association .) Ayn Rand Institute Other In 1950, after he had read The Fountainhead and exchanged letters and phone calls with Ayn Rand , Branden and his then-girlfriend Barbara Weidman visited Rand and her husband Frank O'Connor at their Los Angeles home. The four became close friends, with Branden and Rand in particular sharing

13650-530: The state's problems – from crime and teen pregnancy to school underachievement and pollution. He compared increasing self-esteem to giving out a vaccine for a disease: it could help protect people from being overwhelmed by life's challenges. The task force set up committees in many California counties and formed a committee of scholars to review the available literature on self-esteem. This committee found very small associations between low self-esteem and its assumed consequences, ultimately showing that low self-esteem

13780-534: The suggestion, and observed that "I cannot imagine the number of Deists among us bear almost any proportion at all to the rest. A few about Edinburgh in east Lothian & in the Merse by reading David Hume's books & by their conversation & connexions with him & his friends, to whom you may add a scatered Clergyman or two here & there in other parts of [the] Country who has happened to get his education among that set of people; are all you can reckon upon & it

13910-542: The teachings of the "self-esteem movement", which he is sometimes credited with having spawned (he was sometimes referred to as "the father of the self-esteem movement"). While Branden began his practice of therapy as, primarily, a cognitivist, starting in the 1970s he rapidly shifted toward a decidedly technically eclectic stance, utilizing techniques from gestalt therapy , psychodrama , neo-Reichian breathwork, Ericksonian hypnosis , as well as original techniques such as his sentence completion method, which he favored. In

14040-428: The time. During school-aged years, academic achievement is a significant contributor to self-esteem development. Consistently achieving success or consistently failing will have a strong effect on students' individual self-esteem. However, students can also experience low self-esteem while in school. For example, they may not have academic achievements, or they live in a troubled environment outside of school. Issues like

14170-582: The two married in November 1969. In March 1977, Patrecia drowned accidentally, having fallen into a pool after presumably suffering a mild epileptic seizure. Branden subsequently married businesswoman (and later psychotherapist) Estelle Devers in December 1978. The two later divorced, though they remained friends. Branden subsequently married Leigh Horton. Branden retained a relationship—sometimes friendly, sometimes acrimonious—with his first wife, Barbara, who wrote

14300-447: The underlying reality may be just the opposite: the apparent self-confidence is indicative of their heightened fear of anti-feats and the fragility of their self-esteem. They may also try to blame others to protect their self-image from situations that would threaten it. They may employ defense mechanisms, including attempting to lose at games and other competitions in order to protect their self-image by publicly dissociating themselves from

14430-446: The union of 1707, England had about five times the population of Scotland and about 36 times as much wealth, but there were five Scottish universities ( St. Andrews , Glasgow , Edinburgh , and Aberdeen's King's College and Marischal College ) against two in England. Scotland experienced the beginnings of economic expansion that allowed it to close this gap. Contacts with England led to a conscious attempt to improve agriculture among

14560-465: The universities to become major centres of medical education and would put Scotland at the forefront of new thinking. By the end of the century, the University of Edinburgh's Medical School was arguably one of the leading centres of science in Europe, boasting such names as the anatomist Alexander Monro (secundus) , the chemists William Cullen and Joseph Black, and the natural historian John Walker . By

14690-426: The validity of implicit self-esteem as a construct is highly questionable, given not only its weak or nonexistent correlation with explicit self-esteem and informant ratings of self-esteem, but also the failure of multiple measures of implicit self-esteem to correlate with each other. Currently, there is little scientific evidence that self-esteem can be reliably or validly measured through implicit means. Narcissism

14820-421: The writings of the Scottish enlightenment thinker David Hume . Hume posits that it is important to value and think well of oneself because it serves a motivational function that enables people to explore their full potential. The identification of self-esteem as a distinct psychological construct has its origins in the work of philosopher and psychologist, William James . James identified multiple dimensions of

14950-689: Was William Chambers , another Scot, but born in Sweden. Chambers was appointed architectural tutor to the Prince of Wales, later George III , and in 1766, with Robert Adam, as Architect to the King. Artists included John Alexander and his younger contemporary William Mossman (1700–71). They painted many of the figures of early-Enlightenment Edinburgh. The leading Scottish artist of the late eighteenth century, Allan Ramsay, studied in Sweden, London and Italy before basing himself in Edinburgh, where he established himself as

15080-424: Was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem . A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand , Branden also played a prominent role in the 1960s in promoting Rand's philosophy , Objectivism . Rand and Branden split acrimoniously in 1968, after which Branden focused on developing his own psychological theories and modes of therapy. Nathaniel Branden

15210-547: Was a decline in the publication of collections of specifically Scottish collections of tunes, in favour of their incorporation into British collections. While the Scottish Enlightenment is traditionally considered to have concluded toward the end of the 18th century, disproportionately large Scottish contributions to British science and letters continued for another 50 years or more, thanks to such figures as Thomas Carlyle , James Watt , William Murdoch , James Clerk Maxwell , Lord Kelvin and Sir Walter Scott . The influence of

15340-586: Was able to embrace economics and science, offering a high quality liberal education to the sons of the nobility and gentry. All saw the establishment or re-establishment of chairs of mathematics. Observatories were built at St. Andrews and at King's and Marischal colleges in Aberdeen. Robert Sibbald (1641–1722) was appointed as the first Professor of Medicine at Edinburgh, and he co-founded the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1681. These developments helped

15470-474: Was born Nathan Blumenthal in Brampton, Ontario to Dinah (née Copp) and Joseph Blumenthal, who were Jewish immigrants from Russia. He grew up alongside three sisters, Florence, Elayne, and Reva. A gifted student, he became impatient with his studies during his first year of high school and skipped school often in favor of the library. After getting failing grades as a result, he convinced his mother to send him to

15600-511: Was concluded that higher education institutions and employers should emphasize the importance of undergraduates' self-esteem development. Implicit self-esteem refers to a person's disposition to evaluate themselves positively or negatively in a spontaneous, automatic, or unconscious manner. It contrasts with explicit self-esteem , which entails more conscious and reflective self-evaluation. Both explicit self-esteem and implicit self-esteem are theoretically subtypes of self-esteem proper. However,

15730-588: Was developed into a scientific theory by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. One of the central pillars of the Scottish Enlightenment was scientific and medical knowledge. Many of the key thinkers were trained as physicians or had studied science and medicine at university or on their own at some point in their career. Likewise, there was a notable presence of university medically-trained professionals, especially physicians, apothecaries, surgeons and even ministers, who lived in provincial settings. Unlike England or other European countries like France or Austria,

15860-464: Was established, taking on the task force's mission. Vasconcellos and Jack Canfield were members of its advisory board in 2003, and members of its masters' coalition included Anthony Robbins , Bernie Siegel , and Gloria Steinem . Many early theories suggested that self-esteem is a basic human need or motivation . American psychologist, Abraham Maslow included self-esteem in his hierarchy of human needs . He described two different forms of "esteem":

15990-473: Was first published in three volumes between 1768 and 1771, with 2,659 pages and 160 engravings, and quickly became a standard reference work in the English-speaking world. The fourth edition (1810) ran to 16,000 pages in 20 volumes. The Encyclopaedia continued to be published in Edinburgh until 1898, when it was sold to an American publisher. The Scottish Enlightenment had numerous dimensions, influencing

16120-505: Was long identified with abolitionism due to the writings of some of its members and the rarity of enslaved people in Scotland. However, academic John Stewart argues that due to the fact that many members of the Scottish Enlightenment were involved in supporting slavery and scientific racism (a consequence, he argues, of Scotland's disproportionate involvement in the Atlantic slave trade ), "the development of eighteenth-century chemistry and

16250-406: Was much more widespread in Scotland than in neighbouring states, particularly England. Historians are now divided over whether the ability of boys who pursued this route to social advancement was any different than that in other comparable nations, because the education in some parish schools was basic and short, and attendance was not compulsory. Regardless of what the literacy rate actually was, it

16380-533: Was not the root of all societal problems and not as important as the committee had originally thought. However, the authors of the paper that summarized the review of the literature still believed that self-esteem is an independent variable that affects major social problems. The task force disbanded in 1995, and the National Council for Self-Esteem and later the National Association for Self-Esteem (NASE)

16510-490: Was one of the most important British composers of his era, and the first Scot known to have produced a symphony . In the mid-eighteenth century, a group of Scottish composers began to respond to Allan Ramsey's call to "own and refine" their own musical tradition, creating what James Johnson has characterised as the "Scots drawing room style", taking primarily Lowland Scottish tunes and adding simple figured basslines and other features from Italian music that made them acceptable to

16640-441: Was the first person to artificially create ice. Other major figures in science included William Cullen (1710–90), physician and chemist, James Anderson (1739–1808), agronomist. Joseph Black (1728–99), physicist and chemist, discovered carbon dioxide (fixed air) and latent heat , and developed what many consider to be the first chemical formulae. James Hutton (1726–97) was the first modern geologist , with his Theory of

16770-682: Was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Scottish Lowlands and five universities. The Enlightenment culture was based on close readings of new books, and intense discussions which took place daily at such intellectual gathering places in Edinburgh as The Select Society and, later, The Poker Club , as well as within Scotland's ancient universities ( St Andrews , Glasgow , Edinburgh , King's College, and Marischal College ). Sharing

16900-498: Was unwise, and troubled from the beginning. In the context of these troubles, and Rand's reported frustrations in her own marriage, Branden and Rand—who had a passionate philosophic bond—developed amorous feelings for each other and began a love affair in 1954. The affair lasted until the publication of Atlas Shrugged in 1957, after which, according to Branden, Rand became depressed, and the affair, practically speaking, ended. Branden reported that in this period Rand began seeking

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