Self-Worth Definition

How Self-Worth Dictates the Selection of Kin within an Individual

Self-worth is not only a state of being but it acts as a factor that influences decision-making within an individual. The feeling of self-worth can affect the actions taken by an individual when faced with situations that may threaten morale. In turn, some studies suggest that when moral identity takes a hit, moral behavior is utilized as a way to possess the self-worth that was lost (Sachdeva, Iliev, Medin, 2009). Meaning, when an individual is encountered with a threat to their self-worth, that individual may act in a positive manner to recover. One way to measure self-worth is to have participants make a decision on how willing they are to lend a hand to a stranger or a family member after their self-worth is either attacked or given importance.

There are different ways in which a person may feel as though they are lacking self-esteem or in other cases gaining some self-worth. Participants placed in a situation that is negative, where their morale is significantly lowered and encounter feeling low, will for the most part perform in a way, which allows for redemption or withdrawal of present guilt to feel better (Sachdeva et al’s, 2009). As Davidson & Barber (1995) stated, failure is a usual threat on the ability of an individual to perform on a given task after they have failed. There is a certain pressure to relieve guilt when morale is threatened. According to Sachdeva et al., 2009, the way participants react after either being positively reinforced or negatively reinforced has to do with a term called, moral cleansing. In moral cleansing, the individual will assume actions in accordance to how their self-worth has been manipulated.

In Sachdeva et al’s (20...

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...moral cleansing is done the more likely the individual will feel great about themselves and have a huge increase in their self-worth and at the same time allowing them to think the behaviors they have committed are acceptable (Harkrider et al., 2013). The overuse of self-cleansing can be detrimental to one’s morale.

As stated by (Kogut & Beyth-Marom, 2008), those who make decisions are not widely biased when helping another individual but they are more influenced by what they perceive the other individuals intentions are. When studying self-worth and willingness to help this must be taken into account otherwise the conclusion may be flawed. We hypothesize that both participants in the high and low self-worth conditions would be willing to help, but those in the low self-worth condition would be more likely to help a stranger rather than those with high self-worth.