Friday, January 4, 2013

WELS Proves the Answer is "No!"
BBC News - Does confidence really breed success?

BBC News - Does confidence really breed success?:

Does confidence really breed success?

A composite image showing (clockwise):  A woman powdering her face, a woman applying red lipstick, a woman looking at her own reflection in a window, a man pulling his muscles and a man wearing sunglasses with his collar turned up. All images THINKSTOCK
Research suggests that more and more American university students think they are something special. High self-esteem is generally regarded as a good thing - but could too much of it actually make you less successful?
Graphic showing how the the percentage of American students rating themselves as "above average" has gone up. Measures shown: Drive to achieve, social self-confidence, intellectual self-confidence, leadership ability and writing ability

Self-esteem and confidence

Psychologists rarely use the word confidence. They have separate measures for:
  • self-esteem - the value people place on themselves
  • narcissism - definitions vary, but essentially a negative, destructive form of high self-esteem
  • self-efficacy - the ability to achieve personal goals

The Freshman Survey

Three female students
  • A nationally representative sample of first-year college and university students in the US
  • Conducted every year since 1966
  • Questions on a range of topics - including values, financial situation, and expectations of college
Not everyone with high self-esteem is a narcissist. Some positive views of the self may be harmless and in fact quite justified.
But one in four recent students responded to a questionnaire, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, in a way which leaned towards narcissistic views of the self.
Though some have argued that narcissism is an essential trait, Twenge and her colleagues see it as negative and destructive.

Find out more

Legions of self-help books have propagated the idea that we each have it within us to achieve great things - we just need to be more confident.
Over 15,000 journal articles have examined the links between high self-esteem and measurable outcomes in real life, such as educational achievement, job opportunities, popularity, health, happiness and adherence to laws and social codes.

All about me, me, me...

And a third variable can influence both self-esteem and the positive outcome.
"Coming from a good family might lead to both high self-esteem and personal success," says Baumeister.

Am I a narcissist?

Close-up of a woman wearing red lipstick
The Narcissistic Personality Inventory asks 40 questions, then ranks you on a narcissism scale
This doesn't mean that under-confident people will be more successful in school, in their careers or in sport.
So do young people think they are better than they are?
If they are, perhaps the appropriate response is not condemnation but pity.
The narcissists described by Twenge and Campbell are often outwardly charming and charismatic. They find it easy to start relationships and have more confidence socially and in job interviews. Yet their prognosis is not good.

How self-esteem become a movement

Werner Erhard
  • The Self-Esteem Movement is said to have its roots in the civil rights movement, which promoted group solidarity - but also the rights of individuals to be who they want
  • A series of seminars were held in the 1960s on achieving happiness and fulfilment by tapping inner potential - it was called The Human Potential Movement
  • First popular book on self-esteem published in 1969 - The Psychology of Self-Esteem by psychologist Nathaniel Branden
  • Werner Erhard (above) held sessions aimed at boosting self-esteem in US prisons in the 1970s - there were similar programmes in the 1980s to try to reduce teen pregnancy rates and crime
  • Interest is still high - there were more than 40,000 articles about self-esteem in newspapers and magazines between 2002 and 2007
"In the long-term, what tends to happen is that narcissistic people mess up their relationships, at home and at work," says Twenge.
Narcissists may say all the right things but their actions eventually reveal them to be self-serving.
As for the narcissists themselves, it often not until middle age that they notice their life has been marked by an unusual number of failed relationships.
But it's not something that is easy to fix - narcissists are notorious for dropping out of therapy.
"It's a personality trait," says Twenge. "It's by definition very difficult to change. It's rooted in genetics and early environment and culture and things that aren't all that malleable."
Things also don't look good for the many young people who - although not classed as narcissists - have a disproportionately positive self-view.
2006 study led by John Reynolds of Florida State University found that students are increasingly ambitious, but also increasingly unrealistic in their expectations, creating what he calls "ambition inflation".
"Since the 1960s and 1970s, when those expectations started to grow, there's been an increase in anxiety and depression," says Twenge.
"There's going to be a lot more people who don't reach their goals."

'via Blog this'


GJ - My response to a reader, whose name I just forgot -

When I joined WELS, all I heard was how superior their education was. They even imagined that was a great reason to join. There still is a constant stream of stories (from them alone) of how much better they are, how dumb and poorly educated the LCMS guys are.
One of the readers was a WELS teacher. She said the children of WELS leaders had to receive high grades, no matter how poorly they performed in class. She thought it was hilarious that I pointed out their mistakes with the Latin (sic), which only means - "thus" - not my typo. I learned over and over that this enraged the WELS pastors. One wrote, "I never want to see another sic again.
The seminary professors and DPs prove that being stupid is a career advantage, that pretending to be dull and forgetful is a good substitute for raw ignorance.
The systemic bullying and abuse in the WELS system is going to lead to more tragedies. I do not know how many murders, adulteries, and child attacks are needed to wake up the membership.
Some teachers are excellent, but they will be replaced with synodical dullards. The worse things get, the more they need an amen corner in every WELS institution.


Pastor emeritus Nathan Bickel has left a new comment on your post "WELS Proves the Answer is "No!"BBC News - Does con...":

Ichabod -

When I read the title of this blog article; my mind recalled a Shakespeare line:

"I do hate a proud man as I hate the engendering of toads."

Also, I thought of the German adage [translated into English]:

"Self-praise stinks."

Nathan M. Bickel