Psychological functioning greatly relies on the "consistency, or lack of consistency, between an individual's sensory and visceral experiences and the concept of self" (Raskin & Rogers, 1995, p. 141). As a foundation for identity, the self has been conceptualized as an independent, motivating force striving towards the enhancement of the person (Comer, 1995). The development of self comes about in early life from environment cues, personal perceptions and experiences (Phares & Trull, 1997). Once internalized, the self projects rational or irrational beliefs that are expressed as one's personality, influencing every day functioning (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). This internalization becomes the conscience, or controlling factor in the way that people perceive their performance, relationships, and world in general (Raskin & Rogers, 1995). Research suggests that psychological stability results within the context of positive regard towards oneself at a medium or average level. Support for this claim relies on findings that indicate extreme levels of self-esteem creates a maladaptive internal environment for an individual to reside (Kernis & Whistenhunt, 1998). This internal environment is the regulating force for perception of external forces, whether interpreting the motives or likeability of others or the feeling of acceptance one receives from his or her peers (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). These extreme levels of self in a sense control the motives and actions of the person, molding one into having certain personality flaws and imperfections, basically not functioning in a healthy manner.

The source of self-concept during the development of an individual comes from self-evaluation, peer-evaluation, and defensive egotism (Salmivalli & Kaukianinen, 1999). This process entails that use of social comparison as a means of judging one's success and global relationship (Wood & Giordano-Beech, 1999). This feeling that evolves into a person's self-worth depends on positive and negative experiences and the reactions that are dependent on individual differences (Greenier & Kernis, 1999).

When misinterpretation of a situation comes about, there are changes dependent on an individual's personality that may lead to mental instability and malfunction in daily activity (Bosson & Swann, 1999). These misinterpretations may be the result of an internalized low or high self-concept. Both high and low concepts of self have been associated with aggressive behavior, perhaps the result of self-enhancement by a threatened ego (Salmivalli & Kaukianinen, 1999).

Self-esteem has been shown to be a predictor of performance and acceptance or rejection of failure (Wood & Giordano-Beech, 1999). Most research has been done on low self-esteem, thriving on the notion that negative responses are the result of a low self-concept (Raskin & Rogers, 1995). This has been shown in school age children that are victims of being bullied. Although there are no significant findings that bullies are high or low on self-esteem, it seems that victims are very low on their self-concept (Salmivalli & Kaukiainen, 1999). When an individual feels unworthy of being, he or she allows degradation to take place on the self (Halonen & Santrock, 1997).

Research has indicated that there is a difference in gender for positive or negative self-concept. Females have been shown to have a lower self-esteem than males, in general being lower on defensive egotism (Salmivalli & Kaukiainen, 1999).

Acceptance of being at a loss for control or deserving negative consequences prevents the person with low self-concept to defend himself or work towards equality among peers and self-enhancement (Comer, 1995). This internal control of self becomes a permanent fixture of the personality until confronted and sorted out towards self-actualization, an event that may never occur (Raskin & Rogers, 1995).

High levels of self-concept are related to a maladaption to daily functioning and to certain irrational personality characteristics, such as narcissistic rage (Rhodewalt & Madrian, 1998). Individuals that are diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder have been noted as having "a grandiose sense of self-importance" (APA, 1994, p. 658). Due to the high level of self, it is a primary focus of the narcissistic personality to defend any stimulus that may interfere or reduce self-esteem. It is therefor, the maintaining of the self that keeps the narcissist functioning at a maladaptive level (Rhodewalt & Madrian, 1998).

No matter what extreme level is being maintained, it is the positive or negative feedback that one responds to that hinders that actualization of the self (Rudich & Vallacher, 1999). Several theories have investigated the perceptions and reactions to positive or negative feedback, whether external or internal, that are present with individuals of low and high self-concept.

Self-verification theory promotes that "people desire feedback that they perceive as accurate because such feedback reinforces the perception that the world is predictable and controllable. Conversely, feedback that does not match the self-views may be threatening on two levels. First, feedback that clashes with beliefs about the self may call one's self-knowledge into question, thus disrupting the epistemic need to know oneself. Secondly, disconfirming feedback may be a signal that others hold false expectations for themselves, which could threaten the pragmatic need for social interactions to flow smoothly" (Bosson & Swann, 1999, p. 1231).

This statement has been supported by research on the narcissist that states the unrealistic high self-concept is dependent on the person's mood and need to ward off any threats to the existing self-concept (Rhodewalt & Madrian, 1998). People with low self-esteem tend to be more accepting of the negative aspects of their life because it maintains and does not threaten their present theory of self (Kernis & Whistenhunt, 1998). Positive aspects that may occur in daily life are viewed as an accident or simply an event that the low self individual feels he is not worthy. Negatives are much more desired and accepted, in fact, felt worthy of the individual (Greenier & Kernis, 1999). On the opposite, people with high self-esteem are more defensive of negative stimuli, resulting at times in aggressive and/or manic behavior (Rhodewalt & Madrian, 1998).

When confronted with an issue or stimuli that is contrary to the belief system of the self, one often compensates for the imbalance, such as trying to improve performance when failure is possible. Instead of going at odds with negative feedback, indirect compensation allows one to focus on more favorable attributes of the self. This is an adaptive way of dealing with threats to the self (Wood & Giordano-Beech, 1999). Individuals that are not able to compensate for self imbalances become a victim to the deficiency, expressed in some type of psychopathology (Comer, 1995). Depression has been linked to low self-concept, as a negative feeling toward the self is a characteristic of this deficiency (Kernis & Whistenhunt, 1998). The developments of psychopathologies are the result of not being able to adapt to daily events (Halonen & Santrock, 1997). In the case of self, it may be the misinterpretation of global threats that assist in the maladaptive perceptions (Raskin & Rogers, 1995).

Threats to the self are categorized as positive or negative life events that do not correspond to the current belief system of the individual (Greenier & Kernis, 1999). In an effort to study self-esteem in the context of overt behavior, Arndt and Greenburg (1999) set up an experiment testing degree of self-esteem on response to an external threat. The task involved attacking a cultural threat that would oppose the United States of America. This was based on past research that suggests most citizens of the United States are defensive to enemy threats. Participants were given either positive, negative, or neutral feedback on a personality characteristic, then put in a position to defend their country. It was found that the individuals that received the negative feedback were less likely to argue for their country, reinforcing the acceptance of failure when self-concept is undermined. Positive feedback encouraged the defense of the nation, showing that a boost of self-esteem will result in confidence and defensive egotism. This may also suggest how individuals can be controlled or coerced into acting a certain way through the manipulation of self. This may be observed through the use of pep talks, military training, or cult groups. This may also give some validity to the increased use of self-help books that encourage simple positive thinking.

Self-concept may be a force that can very well work for a person, but is a fierce enemy waiting in the midst, as when it encourages irrational perceptions. The self plays an important role in everyday decision-making (Bosson & Swann, 1999). In a study done by Heuer and Blumenthal (1999), it was observed that the fairness in social interactions was perceived differently depending on self-esteem. Apparently, high self-esteem individuals viewed the concept of fairness in judgement more readily than individuals with low self-concept. This was in context of respect for treatment. This is a surprising find, due to past research that indicates individuals with low self-concept are more apt to accept the consequences for what they are. Perhaps it is this acceptance that makes them unable to judge fairness accurately. It may also reinforce the notion that they do not feel they are in control of their low self-esteem behavior - a victim of themselves. If low self-esteem individuals judge everyday relations are low on fairness of treatment, they may actually have an unconscious expression of not deserving what it seems they accept.

Unconscious motives may come into play in the study done by Boney, Gibbons, and Gerrard (1999). Their research examined the way people perceive potentially health hazardous behavior depending on self-esteem. The basis contends on the notion that potential health problems are a threat to one's self regard. In essence that health-risk behavior, such as smoking, presents an incongruity to self-enhancement. It was found that individuals with high self-esteem were more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as unprotected sex. People with high self-esteem were more likely to have unassailable attitudes about the health threat. This is very similar to the grandiose and irrational beliefs that come with Narcissism, perhaps suggesting that high self-esteem is not always the healthy choice.

One confounding variable that was not discussed in the Boney, Gibbons, and Gerrard (1999) research was the potential assumption that people with high self-esteem may have more interpersonal relations that may lead to sexual intercourse than those with low self-concept. Research that examines the relationships and self-esteem have shown that people with low self esteem have high social anxiety and are very shy. The same research suggests that these individuals desire belonging, but are kept from becoming social because of low self-image (Rudich & Vallacher, 1999). It has also been found that people with low self concept are less likely to feel secure in a relationship, contrary to the high level of attachment felt by people with high self-image (Brennan & Bosson, 1998). This is a finding that remains independent of the individual to whom one is attached.

Image is everything to the self-concept. As could be expected, people with low self-esteem report feeling unattractive, anxious about their appearance, and subordinate in sex appeal (Garcia, 1998). This low self-concept keeps the person from becoming secure in a relationship or feeling worthy of companionship (Brennan & Bosson, 1998). Often, romantic partners form dyads that express a similar level of self-concept. In essence, negatives attract negatives and positives attract positives. This does not mean that people want to become involved with highly positive individuals, it is just a matter of maintaining the balance of control for the self-concept (Rudich & Vallacher, 1999).

Overall, the concept of self lends itself to be a controlling factor in the existence of the person. It could be a limiting factor or a motivating factor. The relationship of self-esteem to one's locus of control can be shown through interpersonal relationship patterns, perception of worldview threats and the reactions promoted, as well as the degree to which one needs to change or compensate for imbalances within. Research has indicated that there is a medium balance for self-concept (Watson, 1998). Extremes yield undesirable consequences that allow the self to control a person to the point of maladaption.

Further research may be necessary in the area of a self-concept threshold. Since the concept of self touches on all aspects of existence, it would be feasible to control for extremities if possible. As a rough method, individuals could be tested across age groups to see if there is a trend on degrees of self-concept. With the idea of forming a developmental model, assuming standardization is possible, tests could be administered in the school system to determine if extreme self-concepts are forming. Once recognized, it would be possible to treat the maladaption on a preventative level through psychotherapeutic means, mostly cognitive in structure. Overall, recognizing a threshold for extreme self-concepts may prevent the development of a depressive or narcissistic personality.

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