What can evolutionary science bring to bear on the questions of what self-esteem is and what functions it performs?
The dictionary defines “self-esteem” as “pride in oneself” and “esteem” as “favorable regard, respect.” A psychological dictionary defines self-esteem as “a state of being on good terms with one’s conscience.” Some psychologists say we have multiple self-esteems, plural, rather than one global self-esteem, singular. What can evolutionary science bring to bear on the questions of what self-esteem is and what functions it performs? Are there sex-differences in self-esteem? Cultural differences? Hill & Buss (attached) have argued that from an evolutionary perspective, self-esteem is a cognitive map of one’s ability to solve specific adaptive problems. In our next Examined Lives we will explore the evolutionary psychology of self-esteem.