Self-Esteem Development
Developing self-esteem involves being able to successfully achieve social-emotional developments both in childhood and during teenage. According to Erikson, successful socialization requires that one solves all the eight crises experienced during development. In adolescents, attaining self-esteem involves achieving autonomy, which can renegotiate relationships with parents during the adolescence period.
The ability to renegotiate relationships is prompted by the natural changes that occur during puberty and the changes in their reasoning and thinking. They participate in decision-making processes and feel that they should now be treated as adults. They become responsible for the consequences of their actions and decisions (Basak & Ghosh, 2008).
The parent enhances an adolescent’s self-esteem development by promoting independence and self-determination in the adolescent. The parent helps the adolescent discover his or her interests and values. The adolescent develops a sense of oneself, and he or she can distinguish his or her own beliefs and attitude from that of the parents. The adolescent achieves self-governance (individuation) (Basak & Ghosh, 2008).
Identity Formation
Family characteristics help the adolescent develop identity. He or she explores options as the family provides emotional support. Self-esteem gives the adolescent the self-certainty to try different roles and options, and, as a result, becomes able to resolve the identity crisis. The adolescent becomes ready and willing to engage in risky behavior and to live with uncertainty. The adolescent develops a sense of self that is purposeful and is coherent. Self-esteem gives the adolescent the motivation and the ability to interact and socialize and gain more experience, which enables identity formation (Basak & Ghosh, 2008).
The Level of Changes in Self-Esteem
In the adolescent period, the level of reasoning and thinking changes significantly. The adolescent can socialize and search for more information to answer the questions that cause diffusion in his or her mind. Self-esteem makes them feel the need to be more responsible. They also gain self-confidence to involve in various tasks and to participate in decision making. These changes are influenced by the biological changes that occur at puberty. They feel that their physical developments reflect their maturity. They also acquire maturity in reasoning and behavior. Therefore, they want to be associated with adults and not children (Basak & Ghosh, 2008).
Factors Influencing Self-Esteem
Factors that influence self-esteem in adolescents include the changes that take place in their body images during puberty. They begin to compare themselves with those they see around them. This may, in turn, make them feel uncomfortable. Their self-esteem is also affected by the media as they try to compare themselves with the images they see in the media. The family may also affect an adolescent’s self-esteem, depending on how the family members treat him or her.
The social status of the family also influences the level of self-esteem in an adolescent. Comments from people who surround the adolescent, such as peers, also affect self-esteem in an adolescent. Self-esteem in the adolescent is also affected by the experiences encountered during childhood, and the adolescent inherited personality traits (Basak & Ghosh, 2008).
Consequences of Extreme Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem may cause avoidance as well as destructive behavior in the adolescent. The adolescent underrates his or her worth and always feel that they are likely to be rejected if they were to try interacting with others. Therefore, they avoid social interactions to escape the rejections from their peers. On the other hand, high self-esteem enables the adolescent develops a high level of self-confidence and a stronger mentality (Basak & Ghosh, 2008).
Developing High Self-Esteem
High self-esteem in adolescents involves helping them understand themselves. They should be enabled to understand their strengths and to value themselves the way they are regardless of weaknesses that they may have. They should be able to accept their physical appearance and socio-economic backgrounds. They should be helped to develop positive, optimistic attitudes.
Reference List
Basak, R. & Ghosh, A. (2008). Ego-identity status and its relationship with self-esteem in a group of late adolescents. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34(2), 337-344. Kolkata: Indian Statistical Institute.
Totalitarian Autocracies Theory: Fascism And Communism
Since ancient times the humanity has been searching for the most perfect form of the social organization. These forms are changing with the development of the society.
All the components of the political system, such as the political parties, the social agencies, the workers associations are significantly affected by the government. At the same time there is a mutual dependence, as the government is influenced by the socio-political environment. Depending on the different criteria there may be distinguished several kinds of the political regimes. These kinds are presented by the wide range of the political methods of power. The authoritarian regime may exist in different forms. But in any form of the totalitarianism the governmental power is not controlled by the people. The totalitarianism is the variety of the authoritarian regime.
Such a notion as the totalitarianism appeared at the end of the 20s of the XX century, when some political experts had been trying to distinguish the difference between the socialist state and the democratic one.
Usually, under the notion of totalitarianism it is understood such a political regime, which is based on the intention of the government to subdue the lifestyle of people to one supreme idea and to organize the political system of power for the realization of this idea.
The totalitarian regime is characterized by the existence of only one official ideology. In such a case the power and the people are viewed as the unified whole. The ideology of the regime is predetermined by the decision of its political leader and may change at his will.
The totalitarian regime presupposes the existence of only one dominant party, while all the others should be prohibited and destroyed. The dominant party is announced to be the driving force of the society, and all its decisions are viewed as the sacred laws.
Communism is the form of the totalitarianism, which possesses in a full manner all the peculiarities of this regime. The private property is eliminated and in such a case the basis of the individualism is destroyed.
The economic foundation of the soviet type communism was the administrative system built on the governmentalization of the means of production, on the directive planning and pricing, and on the liquidation of the basis of the market. In the USSR this system arose during the processes of the industrialization and the collectivization. The single-party political system was formed in the 20s and at the same time the copulation of the party and state apparatus took place.
The discussions and the considerations, all the elements of the party democracy became a thing of the past. The communist party was the only legal political organization. The Soviet, which formally was the main body of the proletarian dictatorship, was functioning under the control of the party. All important decisions had been made by the Political Bureau, and upon that they were adopted by the governmental decrees. The leading representatives of the party occupied the leading posts in the government. The communist party controlled all the spheres of the social life.
The spiritual basis of the totalitarian society in the USSR was the official ideology the principles of which were simple and clear. They were penetrated into the consciousness of the people by means of slogans, songs, poems and citations of the political leaders. The slightest deviations from the Soviet principles were inadmissible. The ideological purity of the citizens was secured by means of the repressions.
Stalins personality cult was one of the major elements of the totalitarianism. This cult was the vertex of the pyramid of the communism (Malia, 1994).
In the 30s the repressions against dissentients reached the peak. They were the weapon by means of which the totalitarian society struggled against the real and the supposed opposition, inspired fear and submission. The terror had also the economic effect. Millions of prisoners worked on the soviet industrial projects, contributing the economic power of the country (Courtois, 1994).
One of the most extreme form of the totalitarianism is the fascism, which is characterized by the nationalist ideology and by the belief in the supremacy of one nation over others. Fascism is based on the necessity of the strong and ruthless power, which is achieved by the overall supremacy of the dominant power and the cult of the leader (Lyons, 1995).
The fascism is the ultra-right political movement that has appeared in the atmosphere of the revolutionary processes in the countries of the Western Europe after the World War I. Established for the first time in Italy in 1922, by the end of 30s the fascist regimes had been set in Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the whole row of other European countries.
As a rule the fascism is based on the nationalistic and racial ideology. The purpose of fascist state is announced to be the security of the national entity, the solutions of the geopolitical and social problems, the protection of the purity of the race (Communism vs. Fascism, 2015).
The main idea of the fascist theory is that people are not equal, their duties and rights depend upon the race they belong to. One nation is considered to be the basic, supreme and leading race in the world community and in such a way it deserves the better living conditions. Other nations may exist only as the flawed races and should be destroyed sooner or later.
Usually the fascist regimes appear upon the certain historical circumstances, when the impoverishment of the people or the social disorders of the society take place.
The militarization, the search of the foreign enemy, the inclination for the unleashing of wars, and as a result the military expansion are the peculiarities of the fascism that distinguish it from the other forms of the totalitarianism.
The fascist regime is characterized by the fusion of the government machine with the monopolies, by the military-bureaucratic centralism and by the cult of the leader.
The government of the fascist regime widens its functions in incredible manner and imposes control over all the aspects of the social and personal life. The constitutional rights of the citizens are either negated or completely abolished. The fascist right is the right of the individuals inequality in accordance with the criterion of the ethnic background.
The general disadvantage of the undemocratic totalitarian regimes is that they are not under the control of the people. It means that the character of the relationships between the people and these regimes depends upon the will of one person.
In ancient times the possible outrage of the rulers was diminished by the religious traditions and the monarchs education and breeding. Nowadays the impact of these factors is rather slight. That is why only the democratic form of rule is able to protect citizens from the governmental despotism.
Reference List
Communism vs. Fascism. (2015). Web.
Courtois, S. (1999). The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Web.
Lyons, M. (1995). What is Fascism? Some General Ideological Features. Web.
Malia, M. (1994). The Soviet Tragedy: A History of Socialism in Russia, 1917-1991. New York: Free Press. Web.
“Line” Word, Its Connotations And Denotations
The denotations and connotations of the word can coincide or be absolutely different for different people. The same person would name different connotations of the same word while being in a good or bad mood. English is a polysemantic language, which means that the same word can have more than one denotative meaning. In this respect, the word “line” can be referred to as a mark on a surface made with a pen or pencil.
However, any mark made on a surface with some object can be referred to as a “line” because different figures drawn on the sand can be regarded as those consisting of multiple lines. Another denotative meaning of the word “line” is the equator when referring to the process of traveling and identifying the geographical position of the object, person, or location. Besides, this can be the notion defining the border or boundary or some other identification of a country, state, or another location with certain boundaries or those limited in the surface.
Direction or limitation can be defined with the word “line” while referring to certain directions in space when we talk about denotative meaning, whereas limitations or routine can be created in a person’s mind as those referring to the word “line” that enables us to draw lines. Moreover, people standing one by one in a queue are also referred to as a line. In addition, the word “line” can concern the communication process by means of a telephone when a “line” means the connection.
Any limitation in some vessel referring to the level to which it is full can be distinguished with the help of the word “line.” The connotative meaning may be somewhat similar to the denotative meaning of the words though it can be absolutely different. In this respect, the connotative meaning of the word “line” should include everything that comes to your head while hearing the word “line,” reading it in a print text, or using it in a phrase or a word combination.
So, the first image that comes to my mind is the imaginative line that appears due to the movement of a point through this connotation coincides with one of the denotative meaning of the word “line.” Then, I think about a line in the text when a few lines make a paragraph. In this case, the text can be written or typed. This connotation brings me to the next meaning concerning the word “line,” which is very similar to the latest one and concerns the line in a song.
Another example of the connotation of the word “line” is related to the class of math when we studied different geometrical figures, and the first one was the point, whereas the next was the line. Moving forward, I think about the dispute that took place after classes when two boys were arguing about the length of the line. The latest thing that happened to me and can come across while recollecting the connotations of the word “line” is the huge queue that appeared when a fashionable store organized a great sale of their items for the half-price.
Thus, positive and negative connotations are meanings of the word associated with a certain image, bias, or situation. The word can be the same though its connotations are different due to people’s worldviews, experience, education, background, age, and other factors that can influence the number of connotations and their positivity.