Self concept

Self-concept

• is the image we have of ourselves.

• It is influenced by many forces, including our interaction with important people in our lives. It is how we perceive our behaviors, abilities, and unique characteristics.

• is a collection of beliefs one holds about oneself and the responses of others. It embodies the answer to the question: “Who am I?"

Carl Rogers

Who is the Humanist psychologist believed that self concept is made up of three different parts?

Ideal Self

is the person you want to be. This person has the attributes or qualities you are either working toward or want to possess. It's who you envision yourself to be if you were exactly as you wanted.

Self-image

• refers to how you see yourself at this moment in time. Attributes like physical characteristics, personality traits, and social roles all play a role in your (blank)

Self-esteem

• How much you like, accept, and value yourself all contribute to your self-concept. It can be affected by a number of factors-including how others see you, how you think you compare to others, and your role in society.

Incongruence

• there is a mismatch between how you see yourself (your self-image) and who you wish you were (your ideal self), your self-concept is (blank). It can negatively affect self esteem.

Congruence

• If your self-concept is aligned with reality, then your self-concept is said to be (blank)

• This helps to foster (blank); Children experience such love-also referred to as family love-feel no need to continually distort their memories in order to believe that other people will love and accept them as they are.

Henri Tajfel

Social Psychologist that developes social identity theory, which states that self-concept is composed of two key parts:

• Personal identity: The traits and other characteristics that make you unique

• Social identity: Who you are based on your membership in social groups, such as sports teams, religions, political parties, or social class

It states that our social identity influences our self-concept, thus affecting our emotions and behaviors.

Personal Identity

• The traits and other characteristics that make you unique

Social Identity

Who you are based on your membership in social groups, such as sports teams, religions, political parties, or social class

Bruce A. Bracken

One psychologist had a slightly different theory and believed that self-concept was multidimensional, consisting of six independent traits:

• Academic: Success or failure in school

• Affect: Awareness of emotional states

• Competence: Ability to meet basic needs

• Family: How well you work in your family unit

• Physical: How you feel about your looks, health, physical condition, and overall appearance

• Social: Ability to interact with other

Academic

Success or failure in school

Affect

Awareness of Emotional States

Competence

Ability to meet basic needs

Family

How well your work in your (blank) unit

Physical

How you feel about your looks, health, physical condition, and overall appearance

Social

Ability to interact with others

Self-concept is never finished

• Though one's self-identity is thought to be primarily formed in childhood, your experiences as an adult can also change how you feel about yourself. If your self-esteem increases later in life, for instance, it can improve your self-concept.

Self-concept affect communication

• can affect the method by which we communicate.

• It can also affect the way we communicate. If your social group communicates a certain way, you would likely choose to communicate that way as well. Studies on teens have connected high self-concept clarity with more open communication with parents.

Difference between self-concept and self-esteem

Self concept: Answers “Who am I?”

Self-esteem: Answers “How do I feel about who I am? “

Culture influences self-concept

• Different cultures have different beliefs. They have different ideas of how dependent or independent one should be, different religious beliefs, and differing views of socioeconomic development.

• All of these cultural norms influence self-concept by providing the structure of what is expected within that society and how one sees oneself in relation to others.