Cooperation-competition and self-esteem: A Case of Cultural Relativism

Several empirical studies have demonstrated that among Black and White U.S. children high self-esteem is associated with competitiveness. To test the generality of that relationship, the correlation of self-esteem and cooperation-competition was assessed among two generations of Mexican-American children and an Anglo-American comparison group. Among second-generation Mexican-American children, who display a cultural norm of cooperativeness, high self-esteem was significantly correlated with cooperativeness; among Anglo-American children, who display a cultural norm of competitiveness, high self-esteem was associated with competitiveness; among third-generation Mexican-American children, who do not demonstrate clear cooperation-competition norms, no clear relationship between self-esteem and cooperation-competition was found. Results do not support the generality of a self-esteem cooperation-competition relationship; rather, they are consistent with the interpretation that self-esteem is partially a function of the extent to which children live up to their cultural norms.