Building Blocks of “Me”: Origins, Manifestations, and Pursuit of Self-Esteem in Children Across Cultures

Abstract

Imagine a young child standing in front of a mirror, eyes wide with curiosity, as they begin to recognize themselves. This moment marks the emergence of self-consciousness, which typically develops from around the second year of life (Amsterdam, 1972; Anderson, 1984). From that moment, children begin to discover themselves, encountering a question that has intrigued philosophers for centuries: “Who am I?”. As children grow, they form increasingly abstract representations of themselves. They begin to perceive themselves through the eyes of others, refer to themselves by their name, and form an overall sense of worth known as self-esteem (Brummelman & Thomaes, 2017; Harter, 2012; Rochat, 2009). Self-esteem provides a sense of meaning and value, shaping beliefs, emotions, behaviors, and ultimately significant life outcomes (Brown, 2010; Ford & Collins, 2010; Orth et al., 2012). Thus, it is crucial to understand self-esteem development, especially in its formative years. As children start to develop an overall sense of worth, pronounced individual differences emerge. Some children develop high self-esteem; they feel good about themselves and view themselves as worthy and deserving. In contrast, others struggle with low self-esteem; they feel disappointed in themselves and question their worth and deservingness. What factors may constitute and shape individual differences in children’s self-esteem? The self can be understood as both a cognitive and a social construct (Harter, 2008). From a cognitive-developmental perspective, the self develops over time as cognitive processes undergo normative developmental changes (Case, 1992; Fischer, 1980; Harter, 2012). From a social-developmental perspective, social contexts are considered central to self-development. Symbolic interactionists (Cooley, 1902; Mead, 1934) and attachment theorists (Bowlby, 1969) propose that children internalize their socialization experiences with significant others to form their self-representations and evaluations (Fogel et al., 2002; Rochat, 2009; Tice & Wallace, 2003). This dissertation integrates both cognitive and social-developmental perspectives to provide a comprehensive understanding of the origins, manifestations, and pursuit of self-esteem in childhood.