Professor Jennifer Crocker on social motivation and the pursuit of self-esteem. Episode 8.

As social beings the way we interact with others is hugely important to us. Professor Crocker has developed a unique expertise in social psychology and through her research, now spanning over decades, she has contributed with important insight into the costs and benefits of being more focused on ourselves or including others in our intentions. In this episode we learn about the psychology of giving and receiving and how both can have either a positive or negative impact depending on how it is approached. We also learn that there is more to self-esteem than just aiming to have lots of it. The way we pursue self-esteem has actually shown to be the most important part for our health and happiness.