ABSTRACT

A diverse array of classic and contemporary psychological theories converge on the notion that people have a strong and pervasive need for self-esteem. This need of self-esteem is used to explain various forms of behavior. People in general and psychologists in particular believe that possessing a good self-esteem is a great indicator of well-being and adaptation. For some people, self-esteem has even become the panacea of modern life. No matter what ails you today, self-esteem is the cure. In this article, our aim is to question the legitimacy of such a belief through a review of social psychology literature. Although there is some agreement about self-esteem's essential attributes, we could wonder whether the strategies people use to maintain and protect their self-esteem are only beneficial. To try to answer to this question, the main strategies to maintain and protect self-esteem of positive illusions in self-knowledge, psychological disengagement, social comparison biases and attribution biases are presented in a first time in order to examine, in a second time, their costs both for the individual and the society. The defended idea is that before to endorse the cultural value of high self-esteem it must be discussed.

KEYWORDS: attribution biases, positive illusions, psychological disengagement, self-esteem, social comparison biases