TARGET ARTICLE: Toward a Conceptualization of Optimal Self-Esteem

“Some years ago, Ajzen and Fishbein (1977) made a similar point regarding the usefulness of attitudes as predictors of behaviors.”

“The HarmonJones et al. measure may arguably be a superior way to operationalize the construct of true, unwaveringly confident self-esteem (cf. Kernis, 2003) but it is not amenable to integration with the literature on the role of dispositional self-esteem and reactions to threat.”

“Goldman and Kernis (2002) and Kernis (2003) note that authenticity is a psychological construct which reflects the unobstructed operation of one’s true, or core, self in one’s daily enterprise.”

“Consistent with theoretical perspectives and research emphasizing self-congruency as critical for well-being across life domains (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Kernis, 2003), experienced authenticity in casual sex encounters was an independent predictor of well-being among those who engaged in it on a weekly…”

“Research has shown that when individuals base their self-concept on extrinsic evaluations (e.g. school performance, online popularity, and outward appearance), their self-esteem can become contingent on meeting these standards (Campbell, 1990; Kernis, 2003; Patrick et al., 2004).”

“(Kernis, 2003).”

“This causes followers to feel more committed to achieving the goals and objectives that have been set, given their degree of perceived authenticity (Kernis, 2003; Kernis & Goldman, 2005).”

“…stability and general well-being suggests that moderate high and stable (i.e., noncon-tingent) self-esteem is associated with optimal functioning, 33 and research in the addiction literature indicates that self-esteem stability may help to prevent healthy, everyday use from developing into…”

“Authentic leadership, psychological safety and work engagement Authentic leaders’ behaviour stems from their own values and such leaders are driven to display truthfulness and openness in relationships (Gardner et al., 2005; Kernis, 2003).”

“First, self-esteem determines the extent to which uncertainty poses a threat to one’s sense of self-coherence (Cremer & Sedikides, 2005; Kernis, 2003).”

“…multiple components of self-esteem have been emphasized, with the distinction between secure versus fragile self-esteem (i.e., the degree to which self-esteem is vulnerable to or affected by positive or negative external influences) being an important aspect of this heterogeneity (Kernis, 2003).”

“Such behaviour encourages trust within the leader–follower relationship, in which information is shared and true thoughts and feelings are expressed (Kernis, 2003).”

“The authors showed that trait mindfulness is related to work engagement via authentic functioning, the operation of one’s core or true self in one’s daily enterprise (Kernis, 2003, p. 13).”

“…indicates that high selfesteem that is stable, noncontingent, and congruent with positive implicit self-esteem is secure, whereas high self-esteem that is unstable, contingent, and discrepant from negative implicit self-esteem is fragile (e.g., Kernis, 2003; Kernis, Lakey, & Heppner, 2007).”

“It is standards-behavior congruency, then, that is thought to foster state STATE AUTHENTICITY 80 authenticity (Kernis, 2003; Sheldon, Gunz, & Schachtman, 2012; Schlegel & Hicks, 2011; Sheldon & Elliot, 1998; M. Wood et al., 2008).”

“Narcissism, for our purposes, is a normally distributed trait, and may be regarded as the continuous subclinical counterpart of the categorical personality disorder (Baumeister et al., 2003; Kernis, 2003; Campbell and Foster, 2007; Miller et al., 2014).”

“Third, it may be important for future research concerning the statussignaling model to consider the distinction between secure and fragile high self-esteem, given that high self-esteem is a heterogeneous construct (see Kernis, 2003, for a review).”

“Although some have challenged the notion that higher self-esteem is better (Kernis, 2003) and asserted that higher selfesteem is not always related to greater well-being (Ryan & Brown, 2003), there is considerable evidence linking low self-esteem to depression (Murrell, Meeks, & Walker, 1991; Orth,…”

“1In the literature, self-evaluation without the narcissistic component is also sometimes referred to as secure, optimal, genuine, or mature self-esteem (see e.g., Kernis, 2003).”

“It is based on the construct of authenticity, which is described by Kernis (2003) as being absolutely true to one’s own being in all daily interactions. The authentic leader displays behaviours of inspiring others, motivating followers, stimulating on an intellectual level and giving individualised attention to follow…”

“In the field of psychology, Kernis (2003) and Kernis and Goldman (2005) found higher levels of self-reported authenticity was related to higher student engagement in goal pursuits and determination.”

“Individuals with this profile are known to be more easily threatened and motivated to restore positive self-regard (Bosson et al., 2003; Jordan et al., 2003; Kernis, 2003).”

“4 Individuals with defensive self-esteem are, for example, more likely to prefer their in-group members, to possess higher levels of narcissism, 4 and to promote more defensive reactions to adverse feedback 9,10 than individuals with secure self-esteem.”

“Explicit self-esteem is often defined as conscious feelings of self-liking, self-worth, and acceptance (e.g., Brown, 1993; Kernis, 2003).”

“Instead, most of the previous articles on this topic were either conceptual, or used the existing measure on authenticity developed by Kernis (2003) .”

“These areas of research include contingencies of self-worth (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001), self-esteem stability (Kernis, 2003), and self-concept clarity (Campbell, 1990).”

“Thus, in contrast to Kernis (2003) and Deci and Ryan (1995), we think that it is more useful to identify people’s specific beliefs about what they need to be or do to have worth than it is to distinguish people with contingent self-esteem from those with noncontingent self-esteem.”

“Two items were modified from the Relationship Contingent Self-Esteem (RCSE) Scale (Knee et al., 2007) and one item was modified from the Contingent Self-Esteem Scale (Kernis, 2003).”

“Goldman and Kernis (2002) and Kernis (2003) have developed a multidimensional conceptualization of authenticity that includes awareness, unbiased processing, behavior, 1963 Workplace authenticity D ow nl oa de d by F G V A t 1 3: 23 2 2 M ay 2 01 8 (P T ) and relational orientation.”

“But SDT maintains that the resulting selfesteem is defensive and must be distinguished from true (Deci & Ryan, 1995) or stable (Kernis, 2003) self-esteem, which reflects a more authentic state of healthy self-functioning.”

“…(ISI)) [25] and ALE (balanced processing (BPR), internalized moral perspective (IMP), relational transparency (RTR), and self-awareness (SAW)) [26, 27], which in turn influences staff nurses’ intention to leave private hospitals and the moderating effect of perceived organizational support.”

“Thus, it is essential to understand the 20 impact of leader’s relational transparency – defined as leader’s behaviors focusing on “valuing 21 and achieving openness and truthfulness in one’s close relationships” (Kernis, 2003, p. 15).”

“Individuals with a high CSE score may base their self-worth on their physical attractiveness, social conditions, or job performance (31, 32).”

“As such, a labile self-concept may lead to inconsistent effort and avoidance of the challenges needed to build academic or social skills; longer-term development of skills and problem-solving strategies are thus likely to suffer (Deci & Ryan, 1995; Kernis, 2003).”

“It may furthermore prompt a contingent self-esteem (Kernis 2003) and feelings of inferiority and incompetence (Vansteenkiste et al. 2006).”

“Because authenticity fosters trust (Kernis, 2003), holding back feelings on the part of one partner has a detrimental impact on the other partner in terms of greater less perceived rapport with the person holding back (Butler et al., 2003), and relationship dissatisfaction and conflict (Impett et…”

“As we stated previously, authentic behaviour entails acting in accord with one’s values, preferences, and needs as opposed to attempting to please others (Ilies et al., 2005; Kernis, 2003), and relational authenticity ‘‘involves striving for achieving openness and truthfulness in their relationship with their follower…”

“Although there is clear and substantial conceptual overlap among current theories, there is limited data on how the proposed subtypes relate to one another (see Kernis, 2003b, for a discussion).”

“In addition, Kernis ( 2003 ) argued that not all high self-esteem is optimal and that the stability of self-esteem is the key to understanding the divergent findings for self-esteem.”

“relationships (Crocker, 2002; Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette, 2003; Kernis, 2003; Sanchez, Crocker, & Boike, 2005).”

“The NPI and the RSE were correlated (r = .59, p .001), and both were associated with higher self-ratings of grandiosity and lower self-ratings of worthlessness at the zero order level (see Table 1 upper part: Simple regressions).”

“Authentic leaders have been shown to display higher levels of self-esteem and psychological well-being, enhanced feelings of friendliness and elevated performance (Kernis 2003; Grandey et al. 2005).”

“Self-esteem can be defined as the view people have of themselves; whether they view themselves to be a good and valuable person or not (Kernis, 2003).”

“Self-awareness is related to the leaders’ behaviors that indicate their awareness of own strength and weaknesses (Kernis, 2003) and their values and beliefs (Avolio and Gardner, 2005).”

“differences in trait variability itself (e.g., Fleeson, 2004; Kernis, 2003; Roberts & Donahue,”

“Healthy selfacceptance entails seeing the self positively while also recognizing one’s faults and limitations (Ryff, 1989), what Kernis (2003) labels optimal self-esteem.”

“…members more, have higher levels of narcissism (Jordan, Spencer, & Zanna, 2003), and promote more defensive reactions to adverse feedback (e.g. Bosson, Brown, Zeigler-Hill, & Swann, 2003; Kernis, 2003) than people with secure high self-esteem (i.e. high implicit and high explicit self-esteem).”

“…authenticity include that it involves being aware of one’s internal states (e.g., thoughts and feelings), subjectively experiencing them as one’s own, and choosing to act in alignment with them (e.g., Harter, 2002; Kernis, 2003; Sheldon, Ryan, Rawsthorne, & Ilardi, 1997; cf. Fleeson & Wilt, 2010).”

“Over time, these fluctuations in self-esteem – together with rumination – could cascade into negative emotional experiences such as stress-, anxiety-, and depressive symptoms (Kernis, 2003; Wouters et al., 2013).”

“Through relational transparency leaders present their authentic self by sharing information and revealing their thoughts and emotions (Kernis, 2003).”

“, 2002), unstable (showing short-term fluctuations; Kernis, 2003; Kernis et al., 1989), contingent (dependent on specific qualities, such as physical attractiveness or outperforming others; Crocker & Wolfe, 2001; Deci & Ryan, 1995), or coupled with the sense that others harbor ill will toward them (Salmivalli, Ojanen,…”

“AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR Volume 38, pages 213–221 (2012)”

“For example, external evaluation of one’s wealth, attractiveness and fame is what drives a person (Kernis 2003).”

“Relational transparency refers to presenting one’s authentic self by openly sharing information and one’s true thoughts and feelings (Kernis, 2003).”

“It is defined as the deliberative evaluation of the self (e.g., Kernis, 2003) and can be assessed with direct measures (e.g., questionnaires).”

“Intrinsic goals include growth, relationship, and community, for example, community contribution, health, personal growth, or affiliation, while extrinsic goals include wealth, fame, and image [37], for example, interpersonal comparisons [41], approval [42], or external signs of self-worth [43].”

“As one example, humanistic motives appear to stabilize higher self-esteem (Kernis 2003).”