Objective
Who has high self‐esteem? Is it ambitious, competitive, outgoing people—agentic personalities? Or is it caring, honest, understanding people—communal personalities? The literature on agency‐communion and self‐esteem is sparse, indirect, and inconsistent. Based on William James's theorizing, we propose the “self‐centrality breeds self‐enhancement” principle. Accordingly, agency will be linked to self‐esteem, if agency is self‐central. Conversely, communion will be linked to self‐esteem, if communion is self‐central. But what determines the self‐centrality of agency and communion? The literature suggests that agency is self‐central in agentic cultures, as well as among nonreligious individuals, men, and younger adults. Communion is self‐central in communal cultures, as well as among religious individuals, women, and older adults.
Method
This study examined 187,957 people (47% female; mean age = 37.49 years, SD = 12.22) from 11 cultures. The large sample size afforded us the opportunity to test simultaneously the effect of all four moderators in a single two‐level model (participants nested in cultures).
Results
Results supported the unique moderating effect of culture, religiosity, age, and sex on the relation between agency‐communion and self‐esteem.
Conclusions
Agentic and communal people can both have high self‐esteem, depending on self‐centrality of agency and communion.