 | Rosenberg operationalises global self-esteem as a stable attitude toward the self — the scale that still anchors survey research on self-worth. Morris Rosenberg (1965) · Princeton University Press · ISBN 9780691648496 |
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Key principles
- Global self-esteem — Overall approval of oneself — distinct from domain-specific confidence or momentary mood.
- Rosenberg scale — Ten-item self-report instrument — still standard baseline in survey and developmental research.
- Reflected appraisals — Esteem shaped by perceived views of significant others — especially salient in adolescence.
- Stability versus level — Trait stability predicts outcomes — a single bad week is not trait self-esteem.
- Social comparison field — Self-image forms inside reference groups — peer and family mirrors matter structurally.
- Contingent-worth seed — Performance and approval can anchor worth — Rosenberg opens the line Kernis later formalises.
Core science
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image (1965) launched the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale — one of the most cited measures in social psychology. Empirical construct monograph, not a therapeutic manual. Grounds trait and sociometer debates on Self-esteem when members confuse mood with stable worth.
Application
Reach for this volume when contingent versus stable esteem or self-report baselines need a named construct — Open Self-esteem on the Atlas shelf.