How self-esteem is related to social environment and the elastic-plastic processing of mindies was studied in students aged 13 to 16 years. A "mindy" is a unit process of the mind constructed through using a mental shape. Subjects were 12 students aged 13, 31 students aged 14, 31 aged 15, and 6 aged 16 at a secondary comprehensive school in Greater Helsinki (Finland). A questionnaire and a test were constructed for the variables. Bell-shaped curves were assumed to exist for the variables. Reliabilities and validities of the measures were assessed after item analysis, and they proved to be rather reasonable. The process analysis included the construction of the empirical images of the variables, which were analyzed by solving simultaneous differential equations. The results indicate that the obtained exponential functions are linearly related. These results warrant conclusions that the social environment constructs positive self-esteem, which promotes the development of complete elastic-plastic processing of mindies. Speed increases during the process and transfer from an unstable equilibrium to stable equilibrium occurs. Some possibilities to promote development are suggested. Age differences in the relationships among self-esteem, the social environment, and mindy processing are discussed. (Contains one figure, three tables, and seven references.) (SLD)