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Title: Hollow Kids: Recapturing the Soul of a Generation Lost to the Self-Esteem Myth by Ph.D. Laura L. Smith, Charles Elliott ISBN: 0-7615-1674-3 Publisher: Prima Lifestyles Pub. Date: 07 August, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (4 reviews)

Rating: 1
Summary: Rhetorical and Not Well Reasoned
Comment: What I found particularly disappointing is that although the authors claim to be presenting coherent and evidence-based arguments, I did not find this to be the case. Quite often the authors make considerable leaps of logic.

In addition to finding the book poorly reasoned, I found the tone to be highly rhetorical and condescending; not to the reader, mind you, but to the ambiguous "self-esteem movement." For instance, they label proponents of self-esteem as "traffickers" of self-esteem.

To give you a better picture of what I mean, I will quote a larger section and provide my commentary at the end of it.

[Begin Quote: pp. 33-34]

"[Nathaniel] Branden describes self-esteem as a fundamental human need....one can never have too much. Yet most of us recognize there is such a thing as conceit and arrogance....How, then, do self-esteem promoters rationalize this myth?...Branden [is committed] to the idea that self-esteem is an unqualified good. Branden has responded with a truly ingenious solution. In order to propose you never much too much self-esteem, Branden turns what most people call excessive self-esteem on its head. He has decided that a feeling of superiority over others, boastfulness, arrogance, and self-glorification all represent inadequate self-esteem "rather than, as some people imagine, too high self-esteem." If this seems illogical to you, it should. It is difficult to juxtapose boastfulness, arrogance, and self-glorification with Branden's description of low self-esteem, which includes lack of confidence, self-deprecation, and feelings of worthlessness....Logic aside, no research has supported this notion."

[End Quote]

First, in terms of tone, they preface their argument with the rhetorical and condescending language of how Branden (which the authors make clear is a major proponent of the self-esteem movement) "rationalize[s] the myth." That is, that self-esteem is an qualified good. Using a respectful tone, such disagreement could have been stated in more civil terms as Branden's "unsupported conclusion" or "inadequately reasoned argument."

Second, the authors don't explain the logic of Branden's argument, which is how self-aggrandizing behaviour functions to protect or defend against feelings of low self-esteem. This explanation is central to the defensive self-esteem hypothesis, but the authors fail to mention it.

Finally, contrary to the authors's claims, there is research demonstrating differences between narcissism (defensive self-esteem) and genuinely high self-esteem people. In other words, there is evidence that does support Branden's position. For a few references of this research:

Johnson, E. A., Vincent, N., & Ross, L. (1997) Self-deception versus self-esteem in buffering the negative effects of failure. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 385-405.

Lobel, T. E., & Teiber, A. (1994). Effects of self-esteem and need for approval on affective and cognitive reactions: Defensive and true self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 16, 315-321.

Smalley, R. L., & Stake, J. E. (1996). Evaluating sources of ego-threatening feedback: Self-esteem and Narcissism Effect. Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 483-495.

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In sum, I found many sections that were problematic in terms of tone (i.e., lack of respectful dialogue), poorly reasoned arguments (i.e., considerable leaps of logic and unsupported claims), and misrepresentation of their opponent's position.

As a recommendation, if you want to understand Branden's work, it is best to read him first-hand (for e.g., "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem") and arrive at your own conclusions.

Another recommendation, if self-esteem really does interest you, a helpful book that summarizes theories and research in self-esteem is Christopher Mruk's (1999) "Self-Esteem: Theory, Research, and Practice."

Rating: 5
Summary: What could be wrong with self esteem?
Comment: Just one more teen bashing book, I thought as I started to read Hollow Kids. It didn't take long before I realized something much more profound was in the offing. Drs. Smith and Elliott convincingly demonstrate that our culture has bought some seriously misguided myths about self-esteem-specifically that more self-esteem is always better and that raising self-esteem will cure most anything that ails youth today. They further show that raising self-esteem has become a cultural mantra that has worked its way into school curriculums, psychology journals, and thousands of self-help books. The authors then provide a logical analysis backed up by hundreds of studies demonstrating that overly high, inflated self-esteem poses far more dangers than you would imagine. It appears that, although for decades everyone assumed low self-esteem caused aggression, eating disorders, and substance abuse, quite the opposite appears to be the case. You really have to read the book and review the authors' evidence. You'll never think about self-esteem in the same way again! Finally, I was delighted by their surprisingly useful solutions and advice for overcoming the problems they critique. Most such books fail miserably in the area of solutions; this one doesn't.

Rating: 5
Summary: A great book!!
Comment: Hollow Kids opens with some very surprising statistics about self-esteem and how it has become infused in our culture and our collective psyches. The authors present these facts in a fast paced, hard hitting, yet entertaining way. I was amazed that with each new chapter, new information about a variety of topics was presented in the same interesting format. I would never have believed that overly high self-esteem could lead to problems such as violence, aggression, and even eating disorders. The authors' points are often rather counter-intuitive, but they back their assertions with compelling evidence and research in addition to their own clinical experiences. The chapters on education and parenting were fantastic. Hollow Kids goes further than most books critical of current cultural trends in that it provides surprisingly useful advice and solutions. Great book!