Self esteem seems to be, like many other psychological concepts, like a hydra, Magnus Lindwall is writing in his book about self-esteem. It is hard to get to know and if you succeed to cut a head off (answer a question) another two turn up.
But that is how it is with research, I think. Research give birth to new questions in a higher speed than it answers them... and in that way, we'll go forward.
That is, however, not the way self-esteem is treated in everyday life. Our popular culture sees self esteem as something obvious and simple, easy to understand and is able to change, Lindwall writes, and he describes that the difference is between the researcher's view upon self esteem and the public's view on the same thing is big. Everyone seems to know what self esteem is, but only a few can describe what they actually mean by saying: "I have had a bad self esteem all my life" or "my self-confidence is good, but my self-esteem is not". The concept is like air to us, you take it for granted and is content to use it the way others do without really understand what we actually are saying.
In a way I can agree with Lindwall. Definition between researcher and public seem to differ, otherwise Lindwall would not have written this book. But from another perspective, humans do this, both with words and behaviours.
We are born into a culture, where brain starts right away to pick up what is passable in our herd. We learn the language, we learn what to think and do in different situations, we learn knowledges and abilities in school and in leisure time. We are not questioning what word means. We are not born scientific. That is an ability we have to learn in higher studies.
I think most people for sure know what they are saying. People seem to have a thought when they talk. But it is not for sure, science and public speak the same language. Who is most right?
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