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EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY
STUDY SUMMARY
WORKING TITLE:
Self-esteem and life satisfaction among students of AB Psychology and BS Psychology
RESEARCHERS:
Pare, Ericka Lance L.
Rowley, Jemima Jean M.
Yosuico, Dasha Gabrielle M.
Simpao, Louis Joshua F.
Dimacuha, Queen Thea Kathleen A.
I.
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
Morganett (2005) defines self-esteem as “a form of self-acceptance, personal
appreciation and subjective respect of one’s own”. Common knowledge states that self-esteem
generally refers to our self-worth. Too little self-esteem can make people feel sad or feeling not
good enough. Self-esteem plays a important role in every student’s life: low self-esteem can
prevent one from achieving success, however, high self-esteem can help one succeed because
they would feel confident and assured in knowing what they are doing will benefit them greatly
in life. Self-esteem is to evaluate the difference between the image of self and the ideal self.
Comprehending the individual’s self-esteem level means looking at the discrepancy between the
individual’s current perception of the self and their ideal (Pişkin, 2004, as cited in Farhang & Raj,
2015). On the other hand, life satisfaction is how people show their emotions and feelings on how
they see or evaluate their lives.
The definition of life satisfaction is presented as “a cognitive evaluation of one's life as a
whole and or of specific life domains” (Huebner, Valois, Paxton, & Drane, 2005; Myers & Diener,
1995). It is a term that defines how an individual evaluates an overview of how he or she has lived
their life rather than feelings and emotions that have been experienced in the moment.
Neugarten et al. (1961) state that life satisfaction can operationally define “successful aging”.
A study conducted by Mahanty, Sushma & Mishra (2015) suggested that there is a
significantly positive relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction among university
students. This would mean that higher levels of self-esteem will dictate higher levels of life
satisfaction as well. In another study, a gender gap in self-esteem was found; males seemed to
have higher levels of self-esteem rather than females (Bleidorn et al., 2016). These findings can
also be supported by another study that concluded that boys scored higher in self-esteem and life
satisfaction than girls (Moksnes & Espnes, 2013). Given these evidences that self-esteem and life
satisfaction are positively correlated, and that males score higher in self-esteem and life
satisfaction than females, the researchers hypothesize that the research will yield similar results.
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Despite these findings, the causal relationships of the gender gap in self-esteem and life
satisfaction were not identified in the given studies.
Self-esteem and life satisfaction are important contributors to the healthy development
of an individual’s life. The researchers would like to get insights on how students perceive
themselves and their behavior rather than their cognitive skills, and whether these perceptions
can be based from an individual’s gender or status, or otherwise. The study aims to learn the
difference in the relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction between students of AB
Psychology and BS Psychology at AUF.
II.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND STUDY OBJECTIVES
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Is there a significant difference in self-esteem and life satisfaction scores between students
of AB Psychology and BS Psychology?
Academic status pertaining to either being enrolled in AB Psychology and BS Psychology
is also linked to the individual’s motivations and reasons for joining the programme. The AB
Psychology course is entirely composed of foreign-based students who have chosen to study
abroad for the primary purpose of finishing their undergraduate studies in preparation for the
medical school proper and eventual licensure exams for physicians. On the other hand, the BS
Psychology course primarily consists of locally-based students (with a small minority of half- or
pure-foreigners) who are studying in preparation for postgraduate studies and licensure exams
to become practicing psychometricians and psychologists.
Accordingly, different motivations, outlooks, and cultural adjustments in being a part of
the respective Psychology courses are hypothesized to have varying effects on the perceived selfesteem and life satisfaction of student individuals. Henceforth, the researchers aim to address the
following objectives:
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Analyze related literature and previous studies on the relationship between selfesteem and life satisfaction of college students
Investigate the differences in self-esteem and life satisfaction between AB
Psychology and BS Psychology students
Investigate the differences in self-esteem and life satisfaction between male and
female students
Examine the presence of a significant relationship between self-esteem and life
satisfaction of Psychology students
Provide insights and discussion on the resulting output
Provide additional knowledge and beneficial, useful research for future studies
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III.
THEORETICAL AND/OR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK (IF APPLICABLE)
Theoretical Framework
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The theory of the Hierarchy of Needs by Maslow will be used in the current study, given
its significance and relation of the concepts of esteem and self-actualization to the current study
variables of self-esteem and life satisfaction.
According to Maslow (1970), people are continuously motivated by one need or another.
His assumption on motivation is that once one need is satisfied, it is replaced by another need
and so on. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs concept proposes that there are five conative needs that
arranged or activated according to striving or motivational character. The order of the five
conative needs are as following (from lower level needs to higher level needs): physiological
needs, safety needs, love and belongingness needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.
Lower level needs (hunger and safety) are also known as basic needs, these must be satisfied
before we can activate higher level needs (esteem and self-actualization).
Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction
Maslow (1970) described esteem as having two levels—reputation and self-esteem.
Reputation is the perceived validation, recognition, and or appreciation an individual gets from
others, while self-esteem is an individual’s own feelings of worth and perceived confidence. Life
satisfaction can be seen as a comparable model to Maslow’s definition of “self-actualization”. In
the theory of the Hierarchy of Needs, Maslow (1970) described self-actualization as “the full
realization of one’s true potential”, and of one’s “true self”, and stated that individuals who are
“self-actualized” have satisfied all lower needs in life those being physiological needs, safety
needs, love and belongingness needs, and esteem needs. In similarity with self-actualization, life
satisfaction is the perceived satisfaction and contentment with life in general--that includes an
overview of an individual’s life.
The current study proposes that there is a relationship between self-esteem and life
satisfaction. In the pretense of Maslow’s theory, we can relate the concepts of self-esteem to
Maslow’s esteem needs, and life satisfaction to Maslow’s self-actualization needs. Maslow’s
theory suggests that esteem needs must be satisfied before the possibility of satisfying selfactualization needs can exist. In this context, we can hypothesize that self-esteem is a predictor
of life satisfaction in an individual.
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IV.
STUDY VARIABLES
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V.
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Life Satisfaction – measured variable. Diener (1984) conceptually defines life satisfaction
as “an overall assessment of feelings and attitudes about one’s life at a particular point in
time; ranging from negative to positive”, moreover citing it as one of the primary
indicators of subjective well-being (which includes positive affect and negative affect). In
this study, life satisfaction is given operational meaning as “the undergraduate student’s
contentment with their current way of life”.
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Status – control variable. Pertaining to the aims of the study, ‘Status’ is indicative of the
academic course which the undergraduate is currently enrolled in, distinguished as either
being enrolled in the courses of AB (Bachelor of Arts in) Psychology or BS (Bachelor of
Science in) Psychology.
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Gender – control variable. Conceptually, it refers to the socially-constructed roles of and
relationships between men and women (What is ‘gender’, n.d.). For the purposes of the
current study, ‘Gender’ refers to the student’s perception and status of that being either
predominantly male or female.
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Age – control variable. Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) defines it as a “particular time
of life at which a particular qualification, power, or capacity arises or rests”. In the
research study, ‘age’ refers to the number of years since birth of the participants.
HYPOTHESES
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VI.
Variables which are considered in the current study include the following:
● Self-Esteem – measured variable. Rosenberg (2015) conceptually defines self-esteem as
“an individual’s favorable or unfavorable attitude towards the self”. Operationally, selfesteem in the study is defined as “the student’s evaluation of their own worth”.
Based on both previous research as well as current observations, the authors of the study
have formulated the following hypotheses:
● There is a significant difference in the self-esteem and life satisfaction scores among AB
Psychology and BS Psychology students.
● There is a significant difference in the self-esteem and life satisfaction scores among male
and female Psychology students.
● There is a significant relationship between the self-esteem and life-satisfaction of a
Psychology student.
RESEARCH DESIGN
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A cross-sectional survey technique, wherein data from a large group in just one point in time
is collected, will be used for the study.
The study follows a quantitative approach. It is a correlational design which aims to
investigate the differences in relationships between self-esteem and life satisfaction of AB
Psychology and BS Psychology students of Angeles University Foundation.
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VII.
PARTICIPANTS
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VIII.
SAMPLING PROCEDURES
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IX.
The participants that we have selected for this research will be the students in the department
of Psychology (BS and AB) of Angeles University Foundation.
The researchers are going to select 120 students to participate for this research.
The proposed sampling method will be random in nature. The technique to be used will be a
hybrid form of stratified random sampling and simple random sampling across the different
sections of AB Psychology and BS Psychology students of the selected university.
The potential sampling frame would be the names of all AUF undergraduate students
currently enrolled in the Department of Psychology for the present academic year. The
researchers will attempt to acquire the sampling frame via submitting a letter of request to
the College of Arts and Sciences which the aforementioned department belongs to.
As the participating samples are students, the authors will identify them via a provided list
and surveys, wherein individuals will be selected randomly but within the criteria of being a
Psychology student at AUF.
The proposed minimum sample size will be no less than 100 participants but no more than
120 participants from the entire Psychology Department.
MEASURES AND/OR MEANS OF COLLECTING DATA
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Since the study design is non-experimental, the researchers will be primarily observing,
gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data which will be collected via survey questionnaires.
The proposed content of the questionnaires will be a combination of the Rosenberg SelfEsteem Scale (SES) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS). Other items that will appear in
the surveys are questions asking about the student’s academic course, biological sex, and age
(as defined within ranges).
● Self-esteem will be measured with Rosenberg’s (1965) 10-item Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)
where higher scores indicate higher self-esteem. The response scale for each item ranges
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). However, items 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are
‘reverse scored’, meaning that these are valued inversely from 1 (strongly agree) to 4
(strongly disagree). Scores for both internal consistency and convergent validity of this
scale remain high across different cultural contexts (Schmitt & Alikk, 2005, as cited in
Swami, 2011), with test-retest correlations from 0.82 to 0.88 for a 2-week interval and an
internal consistency score of 0.77 (Rosenberg, 1965).
● Life satisfaction will be measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS, 1984) by
Diener et al., which is a 5-item scale answered with a 7-point Likert scale. The response
scale for each item ranges from 7 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree). Strong internal
reliability, moderate temporal stability, and construct validity scores were reported for
this measure. The scale’s test-retest reliability was found at 0.83 for a 2-week interval
while its construct validity with self-esteem scored a correlation of 0.68 (Alfonso and
Allison, 1992, as cited in Pavot and Diener, 1993; Friedman, 1992, as cited in Pavot and
Diener, 1993).
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X.
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES
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XI.
The researchers will be primarily distributing the questionnaires to student participants at the
university’s campuses which are across one another.
Possible difficulties in data collection include retrieving questionnaires which were answered
dishonestly or incompletely, or not receiving back the distributed questionnaires at all.
Moreover, other factors which do not primarily affect the study itself but may affect data
collection include inclement weather or other force majeure phenomena which the
researchers have to adjust to. Otherwise, data collection will mainly take place in a safe,
moderated school environment during appropriate hours.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
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There is minimal risk or ethical harm in undergoing the procedures of the study as it is focused
on gathering self-reported data from participating individuals. There is a very minute
probability, but only greater than pure chance, of causing discomfort or anxiety to persons
who may be uncomfortable with responding to queries related to their views in life.
Participants are to be given a written form that allows them to provide their informed consent
(IC) to join the study and to choose whether they will allow their data to be used or otherwise.
Said written agreement will also be accompanied by a comprehensive verbal explanation
from the authors about the nature and purpose of the study.
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XII.
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Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin. 95: 542- 575.
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