Scientific American: Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth

Self-esteem has been an obsession of the West for decades and many decisions regarding education, social policy, and interpersonal advice have focused on raising people's self-esteem. But it is becoming increasingly obvious that a many of our beliefs regarding self-esteem are just not supported by the research. The authors of the Scientific American magazine in the article, Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth describe the findings of their examination of the research literature on self-esteem and conclude that 'Boosting people's sense of self-worth ... [is] of little value in fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior'. Read the full article here.