Self-esteem, self-symbolizing, and academic recognition: behavioral evidence from curricula vitae

Weilong Bi, Ho Fai Chan and Benno Torgler ()
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Weilong Bi: Queensland University of Technology
Benno Torgler: Queensland University of Technology

Scientometrics, 2019, vol. 119, issue 1, No 23, 495-525

Abstract: Abstract To provide new evidence on the empirically challenging aspect of measuring self-esteem, we collect written CV content from over 500 influential economics scholars and use such self-presentation modes as absolute and relative font sizes and typographic emphasis of author name on the CV’s front page to derive proxies for self-symbolizing behavior. Our analysis of these factors provides empirical support for the symbolic self-completion proposition that goal accomplishment reduces the need to self-symbolize. In particular, we find that receiving an education from a top 20 ranked university reduces the need to self-symbolize even when the scholars work for a non-top 20 university after earning the doctorate. On the other hand, major academic awards or honors do not seem to affect self-symbolizing behavior, which is also negatively correlated with activities having an external (e.g., policy-focused) social impact. Scholars with a higher h-index are also less inclined to self-symbolize, while being ranked in the Coupé top 1000 has no impact. Hence, despite some evidence of non-linearity, academic maturity shows a tendency (albeit not a robust one) to reduce the need to self-symbolize.

Keywords: Self-esteem; Self-symbolization; Academia; Performance; Success; Recognition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-019-03037-8

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