SELF-CONCEPT
The
concept, self-concept, has been used by psychologists to refer to a mental
construct known as the self. The self or self-concept is our view of who we are,
which is based upon the content of our memories about ourselves. The
self-concept is not a total perspective on ourselves but rather a view that
depends on information in our awareness. Some of the information about
ourselves consists of private knowledge and other views are based on feedback
from others in numerous social contexts throughout the time of our life. Thus,
self-concept is both a personal mental construct and a social construct.
Self-concept is both a personal and a social construct.
Self-concept
begins to develop before children have speech as evident from studies of
children responding to themselves in mirrors. They retain an image of
themselves. Our self-image is part of our self-concept.
As in the
SCOPES model where the first S represents the self, the self, or self-concept,
is a mental construct that organizes information about ourselves and draws on
information from the remaining four personal dimensions represented as COPE
(Cognitions, Observable behavior patterns, Physiology, Emotions) all within a
social context, the final S.
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| Self-concept, Sutton, G. W. 2023 |
SELF-IDENTITY
Self-identity
is like a role we enact as part of a social group. Self-identity is who we are
(self-concept) in a social context. Our roles include such common identity-creating experiences as student, worker, lover, parent, child, and so forth. The social context where we
live out these roles demands we act in certain ways. By way of these demands or expectations, social groups
shape our identity within the group and thereby influence our self-concept. Thus,
schools, religious and social organizations, businesses, political groups, friendship groups, couple dyads, and families influence our multiple identities. Note that some writers appear to use the terms self-concept and self-identity interchangeably. I take the view that self-identities are components of one's self-concept.
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| Self-identity, Sutton, G. W. 2023 |
Self-identities
exist in a network and vary in degree of saliency in response to a social
context. A psychologist providing psychotherapy may get word that their child has
been taken to a hospital. The startling event makes the parent role salient and temporarily sets
aside the career identity.
Most people
are religious or spiritual. For many, their spirituality is a highly important aspect
of who they are. Thus, we see people clarifying their religious or spiritual
identity on social media sites. They proclaim the beliefs and values of their religious group and sometimes challenge the beliefs and values of those who would discredit their faith. In the process, we learn the importance of their spiritual identity.
Race and
ethnic identities are also very important to functioning in many cultures. Skin
color, clothing, physical appearance, language and accent are some of the ways society identifies
people as part of a particular group labeled as a race or ethnicity. In some contexts, laws, policies, and finances are tied to being a member of an identified racial or ethnic group, which draws attention to those who are in one group and those who are not.
Gender
Identity is a recent topic with an expanding literature. The terminology has
changed rapidly as scientists and clinicians listened to people's experiences
about ways to understand gender identity and how people with different gender
identities interact with others, which includes sexual orientation.
Identity
theory considers how groups and people interact in a dynamic way shaping the
self and the group. An example of this interaction can be seen in the
interaction of political and religious identities influencing morality (e.g., see Sutton et al., 2019).
SELF-EFFICACY
Self-efficacy is the perception that a person can act in a
way to achieve a desired goal. In 1977, Albert Bandura of Stanford University
wrote an extensive article on the theory of self-efficacy. He proposed that our
perceptions of self-efficacy come from four sources: “performance
accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological
states (191).” Click
to read more on Self-Efficacy.
BOOKS BY ALBERT BANDURA ON SELF-EFFICACY & RELATED CONCEPTS
SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem
is the value people place on themselves. We learn our value in various social
contexts. We are better at somethings and not other things. Self-esteem appears to
influence performance in various life tasks. There are several measures of
self-esteem--see links below.
SELF-AWARENESS
Our
awareness of various dimensions of ourselves. The focus of our awareness varies
throughout a day. When focused on some activity, we ignore other aspects of our
functioning. For example, some of us can ignore pain when we are busily engaged in the pursuit of some goal.
Notes
Note that
psychological scientists have not been consistent in the way they use terms
like self and self-concept. This lack of consistency is why I recommend
thinking of the self and self-concept as equivalent. In addition, the terms
self and self-concept have been criticized for being vague or as philosophers say,
they are “fuzzy concepts.” Moreover, some clinicians see people as having
multiple self-concepts, which may be akin to experiences of people presenting as
if they have multiple personalities or, functioning in dissociative states.
Regardless of the disagreements, there is a large body of research about
self-concepts and related terms and some evidence indicates that aspects of our
self-concepts influence behavior.
To learn
more about self-concept and self-identity, see the review by Oyserman et al. (2012).
Also, see many of the books and articles by Roy F. Baumeister and his
colleagues.
References
Oyserman, D. & Elmore, K. & Smith,
G. (2012) Self, self-concept, and
identity. J. Tangney and M. Leary
(Eds). The Handbook of Self and Identity, 2nd
Edition, pp 69-104, New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Sutton, G. W., Kelly, H. L., &
Huver, M. (2019). Political identities, religious identity, and the pattern of
moral foundations among conservative Christians. Journal of Psychology and
Theology, 48, pp. 169-187. Online October 16, 2019. Issue published
September 1, 2020. ResearchGate
Link Academia
Link
Related Concept Posts
Self-concept,
Identity, and Politics
Related Scales
and Questionnaires
Personal
Self-Concept Questionnaire
Academic
Self-Efficacy Scale for Students
New
General Self-Efficacy Scale
Gender-Identity-Dysphoria
Questionnaire
Measuring
Religious Fundamentalism
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