Tödtling, Marija.
(2013).
Personality and basic psychological needs satisfaction as predictors of self-esteem.
Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology.
[mentor Butković, Ana].
Abstract
The aim of this study was to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between personality traits, basic psychological needs satisfaction and self-esteem, primarily by comparing the two approaches that explain self-esteem differently. Personality approach posits that personality dimensions (primarily extraversion and neuroticism) predispose an individual to experience positive and negative affect, which will be reflected in higher or lower self-esteem. Self-determination theory within the motivational approach framework assumes that the satisfaction of psychological needs is essential for healthy self-esteem and optimal functioning of an individual. The study was conducted on a sample of students at the University of Zagreb (N = 197) aged from 22 to 25 years. All the participants completed three instruments: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, BFI personality questionnaire and Basic Psychological Needs Scale. In line with previous research, positive bivariate correlations of personality traits extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to self-esteem were obtainted, while the trait of neuroticism was negatively associated with self-esteem. Also, in accordance with the basic assumptions of the self-determination theory, the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs was positively correlated to self-esteem. However, only extraversion, agreeableness and satisfaction of needs for autonomy and competence were significant predictors of self-esteem. Comparing the two approaches using hierarchical regression analysis, it was found that satisfied psychological needs independently explain more variance in self-esteem than personality traits. However, the combination of personality traits and satisfied psychological needs proved to be more predictive than any particular set of predictors because both sets of variables made its unique contribution to explaining the variance in self-esteem.
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