Rosenberg Self-Esteem Test

The Rosenberg self-esteem test is probably the most commonly used and best known measuring tool for self-esteem. It was designed in 1965 by Morris Rosenberg and is still being used today.

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Morris Rosenberg was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland from 1975 until his death in 1992. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 1953 and also had positions at Cornell University and the National Institute of Mental Health before accepting the position at the University of Maryland. He is known all over the world for his work on self-esteem and self-concept. He has written and edited many books and articles. His books include Society and the Adolescent’s Self- Image (1965), Conceiving the Self (1979), Social Psychology of the Self-Concept (1982), and The Unread Mind: Unraveling the Mystery of Madness (1992)

By far his most well-known work is the Rosenberg self-esteem test, which is a simple test of 10 questions, each with four possible answers from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. Please, click here for the test.

Rosenberg was one of the earliest major contributors to the history of self-esteem. Earlier contributors include William James, who was one of the first pioneers to see a connection between self-esteem and success.

Rosenberg’s research led him to believe that self-esteem was an attitude we have about ourselves, either positive or negative. His work examined how social structure influences self-esteem. He concluded that your opinion of yourself is influenced by family, society, culture and your relationships.

Much of Rosenberg’s work was done with adolescents. One of the works he is most famous for is the book Society and the Adolescent’s Self-Image. His research techniques included large-scale surveys to explore the factors which influence self-esteem. He was able to identify some of the factors that affect adolescent self-esteem, such as social class, religion, ethnic background and family structure. He concluded that parenting methods and tactics used by teachers were two of the most important factors influencing children and adolescents and their level of self-esteem.

The Rosenberg self-esteem test was followed shortly thereafter by the work of Stanley Coopersmith. Coopersmith is the author of the book The Antecedents to Self-Esteem. Coopersmith concluded that children with high self-esteem often had parents who were loving and attentive, but set limits. Coopersmith concluded that this type of parenting often led to children who grew into successful and productive adults.

Rosenberg and Coopersmith are considered probably the most influential researchers in the field of self-esteem. Rosenberg’s work got the attention of policy makers in the field of educational reform who wanted to solve social problems and improve academic performance. Coopersmith followed up with his conclusions of a strong link between parenting style and self-esteem.

The Rosenberg self-esteem test has been translated into more than 50 languages. Its validity has been proven among many different sample groups of people. Other efforts to measure self-esteem are usually compared to Rosenberg’s scale. It has been used for both men and women and both adolescents and adults. It is a tool for self-analysis that has truly withstood the test of time.

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Peacefully return home from the Rosenberg self-esteem test