Regarding Self-Regard

The highs and lows of self-esteem

Joanne Wood is a professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo. See full bio

July 15, 2009

Sorry, Oprah? Responses to Positive Self-Statement Research

    "Sorry Oprah: Self-help books seldom helpful: Study"
    "Self-help makes you feel worse"
    "The powerlessness of positive thinking"

These are some of the media headlines inspired by my research on positive self-statements, which I described in my last posting. Read More

March 20, 2009

Should we re-think positive thinking?

Everyone knows that to be successful and happy, we should say favorable things to ourselves, such as "I can do it!" and "I'm a good person." But are positive self-statements actually beneficial?

Personality Basics

Questions of personality have vexed mankind from the dawn of personhood: can people change? How do others perceive me? What is the difference between normal and pathological behavior? One's personality is so pervasive and all-important that it presents a clinical paradox of sorts: it is hard to assess our own personality, impossible to overlook that of others.

Go to the Personality Basics page for more on Personality including:

Current Issue

Everyday Creativity

How to start living creatively and reap the benefits.

Regarding Self-Regard

Sorry, Oprah? Responses to Positive Self-Statement Research

Should we re-think positive thinking?

Subscribe to Regarding Self-Regard

Personality Basics

Find a Therapist

Current Issue