Self-esteem, the sujective evaluation made by people as to their general worthiness, has developed into a lively area of research within the psychology of personality and has even been perceived as a controversial goal within the area of educational theory. The first is not surprising, since back in 1890 William James defined Self Esteem = Success/Aspirations. The controversy seems, on casual observation, to be a faux issue with the claim that schools prefer enhancing self-esteem to imparting subject matter. Why should it come to an either/or dichotomy?

Stanley Coopersmith developed a series of self-esteem measures, and reported on the reliability and validity results in this book. Probably casual readers might find this heavy going; but this information is necessary to put the research on a scientific basis.

Coopersmith explores some of the chracteristics that distinguish children who are high in self-esteem from those who aren't. Typically, the children who are higher in self-esteem tend to prefer challenges, and are less daunted by the prospect of failure. (It's like, "I feel good about myself . . . . So I failed. So what? I still feel good about myself."

Particularly informative is Coopersmith's inquiry into the family dynamics that are correlated with higher or lower levels of self-esteem. Incidentally, the developmental psychology research has essentially supported these findings. Thoughtful readers might glean some fine ideas for dealing with the multiple tasks of parenting.

In sum, this is a very thoughtful early work that launched self-esteem research. It is recommended both for interested psychologists and lay people. It is easily understandable, and gives some good ideas on how to rear children.