Defining self-Esteem as a relationship between competence and worthiness: How a two-Factor approach integrates the cognitive and affective dimensions of self-Esteem

Abstract

Although the importance of operational defi nitions is obvious while researching new areas of work, taking time to defi ne terms, especially key ones, is also important for mature fi elds. The study of self-esteem, for instance, is one of the oldest themes in psychology and it is characterized by work based on at least three different defi nitions of selfesteem. Each one of them has given rise to a school of thought with its own body of supportive research and fi ndings. Such situations often generate confusion in a fi eld, especially when it comes to establishing consensus or integrating material. Thus, this article fi rst presents the two-factor approach to self-esteem in order to demonstrate how defi ning it as a relationship between competence and worthiness helps to resolve issues that other leading defi nitions do not, especially the common practice of defi ning self-esteem simply as a feeling of "worth." Second, an attempt is made to show how a two-factor approach also better integrates work on the cognitive and affective of dimensions of self-esteem.