Self Concept

The Self-Paper The Self Paper Social psychology explains how the actual, imagined, or implied presence of human beings affect and influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals (Fiske,2010). Humans are social beings who develop an understanding of themselves as a result of our relationship with others. A person’s self-esteem is affected by a person’s emotion and behaviors. A persons self-concept and esteem are determined by the behaviors that other people around them are displaying (Butler& Gasson, 2005). Defining Concept of The Self

The four aspects that make the concept of self are: the body self, inner self, interpersonal self, and societal self. The body self is the physical aspect of a person. The body self is an idea that William James also calls the material self (Fiske, 2010). The inner self has to do with individual, private, intrapersonal, self-reflective identity. People’s own inner thoughts and feelings best represent their experiences of themselves. The interpersonal, social, or relational self depends on connections between people . The societal self represents social identities defined at the level of the collective or the culture (Gawronski, B. 004). One’s ethnicity, gender, age, and religion all contribute to identity. Identity is not defined by face-to-face interaction, the way roles are, but by one’s concept of oneself as a member of society. Development of a Self-Concept The self-concept is primarily developed through our interactions and communication with others. There are many methods for forming self-concept. One method focuses on how we imagine other people see us, the reflected appraisal process(Fiske,2010). In another method through a social comparison we consider how we compare to other people in our peer group.

Another method is the expectation confirmation, which results in people ignoring unexpected attributes and look for evidence that confirms our preexisting beliefs about others (Gawronski, B. 2004). Those who have the most effect on our self-concept are significant others. A significant other is a person whose opinion is especially important to us. The significant other’s opinions about us are a crucial role in developing our understanding of ourselves and how others view us (Butler& Gasson, 2005). We develop our opinions about ourselves by observing the way that others respond and communicate with us.

The influence of significant others continue as we age but it is not as strong as when we were children or adolescents. As we become older we become surer of ourselves therefore are less influenced by the criticism or praise of our significant others (Schlegel, Hicks, Arndt, & King, 2009). Self and Emotion Relationship In social psychology, psychologists measure how people feel about themselves. They are focusing on whether people feel good about themselves and feel that they deserve to be loved. Researchers focus on state self-esteem which deals in the short lived self-regard(Butler& Gasson, 2005).

A person’s emotions affect how they feel about themselves. Another area of self-research work on self-esteem illustrates different working definitions that focus on self and emotion: Social psychologists often measure whether people feel good about themselves most people do not focus on behaviors but instead on their inner thoughts and feelings (Fiske,2010). Effects on Self-Esteem Self-Esteem is how much a person values themselves and how important a person a person feels that they are. It deals with how a person sees themselves and how they feel about their achievements.

Abraham Maslow states that unless the essential core of the person is fundamentally accepted, loved and respected by others and by his self a person cannot gain happiness or have a healthy life ( Bechtoldt, De Dreu, Nijstad,& Zapf ,2010). Self-esteem allows people to face life with more confidence, benevolence and optimism, and thus easily reach their goals and self-actualize. Self and Behavior Relationship People who feel socially excluded also feel bad and engage in a number of socially destructive and self-destructive behaviors(Butler& Gasson, 2005).

If people in a group feel good about themselves and one another, then they want to cooperate and to relate, which can cement the group. People who feel terrible about themselves are not motivated to do even the most basic things, such as get out of bed in the morning, undertake challenges, or meet social obligations(Butler& Gasson, 2005). People who feel good about themselves feel optimistic enough to make the effort to be a useful and pleasant group member. Effects on Self-Esteem The way that people behave has an effect on their self-esteem.

Those people that feel negatively about themselves behave negatively which only adds to a circle of destruction. People that feel positive about themselves behave in an optimistic light and are willing to try new things and help others out (Butler& Gasson, 2005). Behaviors whether positive or negative have a profound effect on a person’s self-esteem. The self-perception theory noted that people learn about themselves from their own behavior. One isolated way that people acquire a self-concept is by watching what they do. He observes his own behavior and infers his own preferences( Bechtoldt, De Dreu, Nijstad,& Zapf ,2010).

Observing our own behavior certainly is one isolated way that people learn about themselves. Conclusion The underlying part of the way that people behave is dependent on how people think and feel during and after a social situation (Fiske,2010). Social psychology follows the idea that whatever the specific circumstances, we are social creatures even when we are alone (Fiske,2010). Social psychology is all about people influencing other people. A person’ self-concept and self-esteem are dependent on the behaviors that other people around them are displaying.

Studying social psychology can enrich our understanding of ourselves and of the world around us(Bechtoldt, De Dreu, Nijstad,& Zapf ,2010). References Bechtoldt, M. , De Dreu, C. , Nijstad, B. , & Zapf, D. (2010). Self-concept clarity and the management of social conflict. Journal Of Personality, 78(2), 539-574. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Butler, R. J. , & Gasson, S. L. (2005). Self Esteem/Self Concept Scales for Children and Adolescents: A Review. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 10(4), 190-201. doi:10. 1111/j. 1475-3588. 2005. 00368. x Fiske, S. T. 2010). Social beings: Core Motives in Social Psychology (2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Gawronski, B. (2004). Theory-based bias correction in dispositional inference: The fundamental attribution error is dead, long live the correspondence bias. European Review of Social Psychology, 15(6), 183-217. doi:10. 1080/10463280440000026 Schlegel, R. J. , Hicks, J. A. , Arndt, J. , & King, L. A. (2009). Thine own self: True self- concept accessibility and meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(2), 473-490. doi:10. 1037/a0014060