Character development and self-esteem: Psychological foundations and educational implications

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Abstract

Character refers to the specifically moral dimension of the self. The formation of character involves a self-evaluation process in which individuals compare their description of themselves as they are (Real Self) with their descriptions of themselves as they would like to become (Ideal Self) and as they fear becoming (Dreaded Self). In a cross-sectional study of children and adolescents from the ages of 6 to 16, these self-descriptions were found to have a common structure and were related to age. About half of these descriptions have at least some moral content. Although the correlation between self-esteem and developmental level was not statistically significant, individuals at the higher levels were more likely to be self-critical about their moral behavior. Being self-critical in turn increased the likelihood of having a somewhat lower self-esteem.

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