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influence of income of janitors on their self-esteem (i.e. self-respect), and their identities in
society as a whole. Before proceeding to the methods of this study, understanding must be
acquired on these concepts and their theoretical connections.
Identity, based on the work of Erik Erikson, can be divided into multiple categories. The
first, involving ego-identity, is defined as a deep personality structure, which performs the
supervisory, control and evaluation functions in order to preserve the self-identity, continuity and
integrity of an individual under the conditions of systemic changes of the personality structure
and social situation of its development within normative crises (Soldatova & Shlyapnikova,
2013). The second is personal identity, or the personal idiosyncrasies that distinguish one
person from another, which is determined by a successful establishment of ego-identity. The
third, and last, is the social or cultural identity, which is the collection of social roles that a
person might play (Erikson Stages of Development Learning Theories, n.d.).
In the relevance of history concerning the social role of a janitor, the perception is
usually negative. Even if the world is currently appreciating cross cultural exchanges and a
relaxation of stereotypes due to globalization and a reliance of objective information, certain
jobs or roles will never completely lose the social stigma acquired over millennia. Examples will
include the shudras or untouchables in India, who are associated with impurity and shunned
due to their jobs involving cleaning or waste removal (Kutsenkov, 1986). Parallels were
experienced in Japan in the form of the burakumin or eta who had virtually similar roles with
shudras, as defined by Encyclopedia Britannica. In the feudal society of Europe, cleaning duty
was given only to those on the lowest rung of the social ladder: peasants or criminals (Bloch,
1961). Thus, one can see that removal of waste and dirt was an unwanted task usually
assigned to the marginalized sectors of society.
Returning to the concept of identity, Erikson described its formation as a life-long task of
ultimately finding a meaningful sense of self, which concurs with Marcias discernment of a
need for commitment to an ideal or belief, and relevant to this case, an occupation. Erikson
theorizes this as Psychosocial Development; a process of stages with inherent conflicts which
are aimed to be surpassed in order to bring about mastery or ego strength/quality, thus bringing
about personal growth (Cherry, n.d.). However, negative feelings and doubts (i.e. negative
stigma around certain roles) often hinder ego quality, and therefore the complete development
of identity. Affected persons will experience latent consequences such as a lack of a clearly
defined sense of purpose and structure in their daily lives. They will also miss participation in
goals and purposes beyond themselves, and recognition by a significant reference group for
personal status and accomplishments (Basak & Gosh, 2008). This is where the next concept,
self-esteem, comes in, to either aid or further degrade the feelings of ego strength and the
development of a healthy identity.
Technically, self-esteem is both a goal and a means in the area of identity development
because people with low self-esteem, those struggling with personality problems and social
scorn, wish for high self-esteem or a meaningful sense of self, which is utilized to further goals
and aspirations. As stated by DeMarree and Rios (2014):
measure ones active and latent abilities. Ones locus control on wages positively influences
psychological capital, which means higher self-esteem (Drago, 2011).
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.
Bloch, M. L. (1961). Feudal society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Campbell, J.D. (1990). Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 59, 538549. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.538.
Cherry, K. (n.d.). Understanding Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. About.com
Psychology. Retrieved August 11, 2014, from
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial.htm
Demarree, K. G., & Rios, K. (2014). Understanding the relationship between self-esteem
and self-clarity: The role of desired self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 50, 202-209.
Drago, F. (2011). Self-esteem and earnings. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(3), 480488.
Eriksons Stages of Development | Learning Theories. (n.d.). Learning Theories. Retrieved
August 13, 2014, from http://www.learning-theories.com/eriksons-stages-ofdevelopment.html
Goldsmith, A. H., Veum, J. R., & William, D. (1996). The impact of labor force history on selfesteem and its component parts, anxiety, alienation and depression.Journal of Economic
Psychology, 17(2), 183-220.
Kutsenkov, A. A. (1986). The Origin of Caste and the Caste System: Comments on a book
by Morton Klass, Caste: The Emergence of the South Asian Social System. Russian Social
Science Review,27(3), 55-77.
McClure, A. C., Tanski, S. E., Kingsbury, J., Gerrard, M., & Sargent, J. D. (2010).
Characteristics Associated With Low Self-Esteem Among US Adolescents.Academic
Pediatrics, 10(4), 238-244.e2.
Soldatova, E., & Shlyapnikova, I. (2013). Ego-identity in the Structure of Personality
Maturity. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 86, 283-288.