Finishing _Self-Traps: The Elusive Quest for Higher Self-Esteem_ (ISBN
0-7167-2898-2) by social psychologist William B. Swann, Jr. is a great
deal like being a Union foot soldier at Fort Sumner when the first shot of
the War between the States arrived. You know there is a bomb going off,
but you are not pleased at the prospect of being shelled.
Swann's book is surely a part of the opening salvo against the unbridled
pursuit for higher self-esteem movement. A movement that finally being
called in to question. Swann makes a compelling case that an pursuit of
self-esteem is but one component of t he complex picture of personality
and motivation.
The self-traps, as laid out by Swann, indicate that excessive, unwarranted
praise can actually work against individuals with positive and negative
world views lowering self-esteem in the process.
In his relating his findings, love and competence emerge as two components
in sustaining self-esteem. Swann questions our curious love affair with
romantic, courtly love noting that it may be destructive to our ability to
maintain long-term relationships.
Swann has severe criticism for the growth of individualism in American
culture. He indicates that individualism to be antithetical to
competence, where competence is the ability to add value to the social
structure.
For me, there were several moments of knowing self-recognition.
Generally, they were found in the examples and narratives used by Swann to
illustrate his points. Many of these points directly confront some of pop
psychology's sacred tenets by introducin g personal and social
responsibility into the chase after a higher self-esteem.
Truly, the one complaint is the lack graphics illustrate the underlying
logic in support of his arguments. Much of the material in chapters two
and three is counter-intuitive and a couple of 2x2 squares would have made
the richness of his difficult material more accessible to the less
knowledgeable reader.
Overall, the provocative and evocative material presented by Swann is
worth the effort by the reader. If _Self-Traps_ is the opening shot of a
war, I think consultants, teachers, and managers would do well to prepare
themselves for the coming threat of battle.
Great Optimism,
Dutch Driver
Dept. of Communication
McMurry University
Abilene, TX
Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
email to: ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu
--Dutch Driver <ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>