Correlation between Self-Esteem and Memory Research Proposal

Correlation between Self-Esteem and Memory - Research Proposal Example The study employed standardized measures constituting a Rosenberg Self-Esteem questionnaire given to participants to be completed in class; followed by a series of fifteen words read aloud to them and to be written down on a sheet of paper shortly afterward to test their memory. This experiment used a within-subject design where the researcher tested the participants independently and analyzed their results in SPSS, running a Pearson Correlation Test to find any correlation. Several specific studies have highlighted many cases that demonstrate how memories affect self-esteem both positively and negatively. Psychologists have long been studying "Self-esteem" as an independent concept in cognitive-behavioral therapy, mistaking it as something characteristic of maladjustment in one's social environment. It was until only recently that Social Scientists like Rubenstein (1999) defined self-esteem as the "belief" that one is capable of making competent and appropriate decisions about his life. (p. 76) This belief, Rubenstein explains, is based on how we evaluate our actions where such evaluation is, in turn, driven by concepts such as memory and self-concept. Healthy self-esteem is achieved when people are able to validate their actions positively. (p. 76) Constituting one of the four components of self-concept, Carpenito-Moyet (2007) state that self-esteem has many types and kinds depending on several factors that are driven by experiences and memory (p. 563). Psychologists have discovered that self-esteem fluctuates as life events range from positive to negative incidents, where negative life events predict lower self-esteem (e.g., Lakey, Tardiff, & Drew, 1994). Sternberg and Mio, discussing autobiographical memory; which is the memory of an individual's history, state that experiences in the life of an individual are constructive, wherein one does not recall exactly what happened but one's own construction or reconstruction of what happened. (p. 237) Which brings us to the concept of what one "believes" to be true about himself. These investigations about autobiographical memory show that memories affect self-esteem especially when the individual has a distorted recall. There are several studies highlighting many cases that demonstrate how memories affect self-esteem both positively and negatively. One such study is that of Uttl, Ohta and Siegenthaler's (2006) introduction and study of the so-called "self-defining memories". Their study showed that, in the case of mother-daughter bonding, daughters that were narrated more positive birth narratives showed higher self-esteem and those, with more frequently told and descriptive stories were closer to their mothers than those who weren't told any positive birth narratives. Uttl, Ohta and Siegenthaler found support from a similar research on SDMs conducted by Cohen and Conway. Their studies led them to the finding that these memories have links to personality styles. For instance, there was the case that reported the way students at the end of their third year of college have described and evaluated a significant life experience from the preceding 3 years and how these correlated with their personality,