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Self-esteem may or may not be adequate. Appropriateness is conformity to the requirements of the situation and the expectations of people. If people believe that a person can cope with the tasks, but he does not believe in himself, it is said about low self-esteem. If a person declares unrealistic plans, they talk about his overestimated self-esteem. The most important criterion for the adequacy of self-esteem is the feasibility of a person’s plans.
Adequacy of private and specific-situational self-assessment
Specific situational self-esteem can be fairly objectively assessed as adequate or, for example, underestimated: if experience shows that a person actually copes with tasks that he could not internally resolve for a long time, then his self-esteem is objectively low. As a rule, the adequacy of self-assessment is confirmed not only by practice (the results of which can be interpreted in different ways), but also by the opinion of authorities: experts in the field where a person declares his claims. The adequacy of a specific situational self-assessment is usually aligned with experience. See →
How to assess the adequacy of personal self-esteem?
Adequate personal self-esteem — corresponding to the real results and facts, the expectations of the reference group of people, not overestimated and not underestimated one’s capabilities, one’s limitations and one’s place among people (more broadly — one’s place in life). The self-esteem of an immature person usually depends on the assessments of others, who themselves are not always adequate. The more mature a person is, the more adequate his personal self-assessment is. And vice versa, the more adequate the self-assessment of the individual, the more it speaks of his maturity. See →
Inadequate self-esteem as a work task and as a psychotherapeutic problem
Inadequate self-esteem may need to be changed (for example, made more adequate), but this particular person can be treated both as a work task and as a personal, psychotherapeutic problem. He will solve the problem (he defined the context, concretized the goal, formed the points of the plan, started working), more often people experience the problem. And they turn to psychologists and psychotherapists.
Specific situational self-esteem is often posed as a work task, personal self-esteem is more often experienced as a personal, psychotherapeutic problem. See Translating a Problem into an Issue
Why do you need to understand, adequate self-esteem or not?
Determining the adequacy of self-assessment makes it possible to:
- give recommendations on raising or lowering ambitions and the level of claims,
- talk in general about the greater or lesser personal adequacy of a person.