CONCEPT OF SELF

• Do you have difficulty finding something good about

yourself?
• Are you constantly comparing yourself to others?
• Do you constantly find fault in yourself?
• Do you have a difficult time looking in the mirror as you
don’t like what you see?
 Introduction

• The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to

how someone thinks about or perceives themselves.

• The self-concept is the accumulation of knowledge about

the self. The self-concept is composed of relatively
permanent self-assessments such as beliefs regarding
personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values,
goals, and roles.
Self-concept is a set of attitudes and beliefs about both the
physical self and the psychological self.

Self-concept is not static state, but developed and changes

over time

Self-concept includes the persons self-knowledge, self-

expectations, and self- evaluation

Self-concept guides our action, motivations, expectation, and

goals for the future.
 Contd….

• Beginning in infancy, children acquire and organize

information about themselves as a way to enable
them to understand the relation between the self and
their social world.
• The self-concept is not restricted to the present. It
includes past selves and future selves. Future selves
or "possible selves" represent individuals' ideas of
what they might become, what they would like to
become, and what they are afraid of becoming.
 Definition
• Self-concept is a multi-dimensional construct that refers
to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any
number of characteristics, such as academics, gender
roles and sexuality, racial identity, and many others.
• Bums (1980) defines it as, 'the set of attitudes a person
holds towards himself."
• Gross: 1992:607: “Me self-concept is basically each
person's own subjective -view or image of him- or herself
as a person. "
 contd…
• Self-concept is a relatively enduring set of attitudes
and beliefs about both the physical self and the
psychological self. It sis the totality of ideas that a
person holds about the self.
• Self-concept is not a static state but one that
develops and changes over time with life experiences
and relationships that influence beliefs about the self.
• It includes the person’s self-knowledge, self
expectations and self evaluation.
• Self concept guides our actions, motivations,
expectations and goals for future.
 Components of self-concept

1. Self-esteem 2. Body Image

Self-concept

4. Role 3. Personal
performance Identity
 Self-Esteem
• The term “Self-esteem” means to regard favorably,
with admiration or respect.
• Self-esteem can be defined as the degree to which
one has a positive evaluation of one’s self, based on
one’s perceptions of how one is viewed by others as
well as one’s views about self.
• Self esteem refers to the extent to which we like
accept or approve of ourselves or how much we value
ourselves. Self esteem always involves a degree of
evaluation and we may have either a positive or a
negative view of ourselves.
 Development of Self-esteem
• Two schools of thoughts of development of Self-
esteem:
1. First: self-esteem forms early in life, is based
primarily on relationships with early caregivers, and
is relatively fixed throughout life.
2. Second: self-esteem fluctuates whenever life
transitions, crises, or illnesses challenge the self-
concept or alter the person’s status or role. - (Arnold
& Boggs, 2006)
 Important facts

• Having a high self-esteem leads to a high level of

satisfaction with oneself.
• People who possess high self-esteem tend to be more
content, in control, confident, accountable, and capable.

• Lack of self-esteem can result in lack of confidence,

and inability to act in own interest, feeling of being
over-whelmed, having decreased activity or energy,
powerlessness, and reduced ability to function.
 Contd…..

Men’s Self- Esteem Women’s Self-Esteem

more likely to base their self- more likely to base their self-
esteem on their personal esteem on the adequacy of their
achievements in life. social support system.

Often greatly affected by having a Often affected by whether they are

sense of well-being, a positive content with their lives and have a
outlook on life, and an ability to feeling that they are needed.
perform activities of daily living.
 Theories of Development of Self-Esteem

1. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

2. Erik Erikson’s Eight stages of Man

 Maslow’s Hierarch of Needs (1954)
Maslow described self-esteem as a requirement for reaching
full personal development.

Maslow has suggested that the people have “hierarchy of

needs” of which physiological need form the foundation on
which safety and security, love and belongings and others
come respectively in the hierarchy. Unless the foundation
needs are met, higher level needs receive less attention.

Self-esteem develops after the need for belonging and being

loved by others is met. A positive relationship with others
leads to the development of a self-esteem.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.png
 Physiological needs

Physiological needs are biological requirements for human survival,

e.g., air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, and sleep.

Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this will be
the first thing that motivates our behavior. Once that level is
fulfilled, the next level up is what motivates us, and so on.
The human body cannot function optimally if physiological
needs are not satisfied. Maslow considered physiological
needs the most important as all the other needs become
secondary until these needs are met.
Once an individual’s physiological needs are satisfied, the
need for security and safety becomes salient.
 Safety needs

people want to experience order, predictability, and control in their

lives.

Safety needs can be fulfilled by the family and society (e.g.,

police, schools, business, and medical care).
For example, emotional security, financial security (e.g.,
employment, social welfare), law and order, freedom from
fear, social stability, property, health, and wellbeing (e.g.,
safety against accidents and injury).
After physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the
third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of
belongingness.
 Love and belongingness needs

Love and belongingness needs refers to a human emotional

need for interpersonal relationships, affiliating,
connectedness, and being part of a group.
Examples of belongingness needs include friendship,
intimacy, trust, acceptance, receiving and giving affection,
and love.
This need is especially strong in childhood and can override
the need for safety, as witnessed in children who cling to
abusive parents.
 Esteem Needs
Esteem needs are the fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy and include
self-worth, accomplishment, and respect.

• Maslow classified esteem needs into two categories: (i) esteem for
oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the
desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).
• Esteem presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued
by others. People often engage in a profession or hobby to gain
recognition. These activities give the person a sense of contribution
or value.
• Low self-esteem or an inferiority complex may result from
imbalances during this level in the hierarchy.
• Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most
important for children and adolescents and precedes real self-esteem
or dignity.
 Self-actualization needs

Self-actualization needs are the highest level in Maslow’s

hierarchy, and refer to the realization of a person’s potential,
self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth, and peak
experiences.
This level of need refers to what a person’s full potential is
and the realization of that potential.
 Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man (1950)
• Described the development of self-esteem in eight
stages, ranging from infancy through old age.
• A/C Erikson, in infancy the child develops trust through
the concern of caregivers.
• 1-3 yrs the child develops autonomy by learning control
of the body. After that through initiative and industry,
the child develops broader control over the environment.
By 12 yrs, child developed the ability to derive self-
esteem from internal locus control (self).
• During Adolescent they develop identity.
 Psychosocial Stages: A Summary Chart
Age Conflict Important Events Outcome
Infancy (birth to 18 months) Trust vs. Mistrust Feeding Hope

Early Childhood (2 to 3 Autonomy vs. Shame and Toilet Training Will

years) Doubt

Preschool (3 to 5 years) Initiative vs. Guilt Exploration Purpose

School Age (6 to 11 years) Industry vs. Inferiority School Confidence

Adolescence (12 to 18 years) Identity vs. Role Confusion Social Relationships Fidelity

Young Adulthood (19 to 40 Intimacy vs. Isolation Relationships Love

years)

Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 Generativity vs. Stagnation Work and Parenthood Care
years)

Maturity (65 to death) Ego Integrity vs. Despair Reflection on Life Wisdom
 Coopersmith’s 4 components of self-esteem

• Coopersmith in 1981 identified four important

components in the development of positive self-
esteem. They are:
a. Acceptance/worthiness
b. Power/Control
c. Moral worth/Virtue
d. Competence/Mastery
 Acceptance/Worthiness

• It relates to the perception, attention and

affection of others.

• It is the amount of concern and care that a

person receives from significant others.
 Power/Control

• It is the ability to influence and control others.

• This make child’s first appearance in toddlerhood
and continues to develop in school-age.
• Toddler learns the concept of power/control by
exploring their environment and manipulating
objects within the environment.
 Moral worth/Virtue
• It is the adherence to moral and ethical standards.

• The values and morals of significant others are internalized by the

preschool-age and the school-age child.

• In early childhood the child adopts behaviors through

identification with the same-sex parent and a desire to please that
parent.

• As they are learning to adopt the behaviors of their same-sex

parent, they learn both good or bad moral.
 Competence/Mastery

• It refers to successful performance or achievement.

• It is marked by high levels of performance, with the

level and the tasks varying depending on developmental
stage. When abilities are sufficient to complete a task,
competence/mastery is present.

• The development of initiative and industry leads to

feeling of competence.
 2. Personal Identity
• Personal identity is the organizing principle of the
personality that accounts for the unity, continuity,
consistency and uniqueness of a person. (Carpenito, 2005)
• The composition of personal identity are emotional
images, cognitive images and perceptual images.
• Emotional images are those feelings about oneself that
one experiences as being consistent with the self and that
feel familiar and normal.
• Cognitive images involves intelligence, past experiences,
educational experiences and the process of thinking.
• Perceptual images are derived from the external sensory
data and are translated into mental pictures of reality.
 3. Role Performance
It refers to a person’s fulfillment of the roles &
current responsibilities in that person’s life, and it
includes the actions, thoughts, and feelings.
A role is a homogenous set of behaviors, attitudes,
beliefs, principles and values that are normally
defined and expected in a given social position in a
group. Role is defined in terms of relationship to
others & prescribed by age, sex or position in the
family and society. The ability to fulfill prescribed
role behaviors can affect the self-concept.
 4. Body Image
• Body image is the perception of one’s own body.
• It is the physical dimension of self-concept, or how
one perceives and evaluates one’s appearance and
function. It is closely related to personal identity,
role performance and self-esteem.
• People can perceive their bodies as fat or thin, ugly
or beautiful, etc.
• Body images changes with the conditions like
physical growth, illness, aging, accidents and
social/cultural influences.
Factors Affecting Self-Concept
Factors
across the
life span

Psychological Self Physiological

Factors Concept Factors

Cultural
and life
style
Factors
 Factors Across the Life Span

• Infants to Preschoolers
• School-Age Children
• Adolescents
• Young Adults
• Middle Adults
• Older Adults
 Physiological Factors

• Fatigue
• Trauma
• Chronic illness
• Surgery
• Disability
• Obesity
 Psychological Factors

• Depression
• Stress
• Loss
• Abusive relationships
 Cultural and Lifestyle Factors

• Culture
• Socioeconomic status
• Living conditions
 Characteristics of people with high self-esteem versus low
self-esteem
people with HIGH self-esteem people with LOW self-esteem

1 Accept responsibility 1 Blame others for their lack of sense of

well-being
2 Expect to be valued and accepted 2 Expect people to be critical of them
by others and avoid their company
3 Have positive perception of their 3 Have negative perceptions of their
skills skills
4 Perform equally well when being 4 Perform less well when being
observed as when not watched observed

5 Accept criticism 5 Are defensive and passive in person

to criticism