The Self-Concept

What is the self-concept?

• The self-concept includes two main components

  • Self-image is what you believe to be true about yourself

  • Self-evaluation is how you feel about those things

Chicago and Iowa schools

• Chicago

  • The self is:

    • Emergent: arising in the flow of interaction

    • Situated: who you are depends on where you are and who you’re with

    • Negotiated: you co-create it with others

    • Reciprocal: you shape others and they shape you

    • Focuses on meaning making, improvisation and meaning making

• Iowa

  • The self is:

    • made up of “role identities” (student, friend, partner, employee

    • roles are “internalized” and “hierarchically organized” (some matter more than others)

    • Your “identity salience” (how central a role is to your self-concept) influences how you behave

Role that identities, salience, and the structure of the self

• Chicago

  • Roles are fluid performances. You continually construct identity

• Iowa

  • Roles are like compartments. Which identity shows up depends on the setting and how important it is to your core identity

Self-Esteem, Authenticity, and Moral Worth

• Gecas wants us to think about why people evaluate themselves the way they do

  • Competence: Am I good at what I do?

  • Moral worth: Am I a good person?

  • Authenticity: Am I being true to myself?

• Self esteem comes from:

  • Efficacy

    • Capable and competent

  • Worth

    • good, decent, and valued

Identity loss and transition

• when a core part of your self-concept is either taken away or removed

• when we lose a role, we often lose part of ourselves, especially when that role is central (salient)

• Symbolic rupture