Work, Status, and Self-Esteem: A Theory of Selective Self Investment

The book presents a theory explaining variations in the extent to which work affects self-esteem. The conventional wisdom is that work necessarily influences self-esteem, but the research evidence presented in the text indicates that this is not the case. There is, in fact, considerable variation in the extent of this relationship. A systematic theory relating attributes of the self and characteristics of status assignment systems to the self-investment process is presented.