Explain how cultural factors and gender contribute to the development of self-esteem

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Cultural forces profoundly affect self-esteem. An especially strong emphasis on social comparison in school may underlie the finding that despite their higher academic achievement, Chinese and Japanese children score lower than U.S. children in self-esteem—a difference that widens with age. Because Asian cultures value modesty and social harmony, Asian children rely less on social comparisons to promote their own self-esteem. Rather, they tend to be reserved about judging themselves positively but generous in their praise of others.
Gender-stereotyped expectations also affect self-esteem. By adolescence, girls feel less confident than boys about their physical appearance and athletic abilities. Academically, girls score higher in language arts self-esteem, whereas boys have higher math, science, and physical/athletic self-esteem—even when children of equal skill levels are compared. Although only a slight difference exists between boys and girls in overall self-esteem, a widely held assumption is that boys' overall sense of self-worth is much higher than girls'. Girls may think less well of themselves because they internalize this negative cultural message.