ABSTRACT
A direct consequence of behaviorist domination over psychology was that the early conceptual work of James and his contemporaries languished, and topics such as self-esteem remained on the fringes of the discipline. Global self-esteem or dispositional self-esteem are interchangeable terms that have been utilized by scholars to reference overall, affectively laden, evaluations of the self. Although the monolithic global trait-based view has been very influential, the infiltration of a cognitive approach into social psychology has provided an alternative view. For individuals who possess largely positive self-views, the processes of self-verification and self-enhancement produce similar outcomes, such that individuals will prefer positive evaluations. As well as impacting evaluations and internal affective experiences, self-esteem also appears to have a profound influence on how an individual orients him/herself to the external world. The basic idea is that individuals develop self-esteem by meeting the standards of their cultural worldview which provides them with a sense that their lives have meaning and value.
