CH 03

Self in a Social
World
Maliha Khalid
Senior Lecturer, Psychology
Department Lahore Garrison
University
 Chapter 03
•1.C onceptOutline
of Self in Social Psychology

2.C omponents of Self: Why they are

essential and its relationship to other
personality constructs and processes

3.Self-esteem, Self-presentation, Self-

awareness, Self-efficacy, Self
conscious emotions: guilt, shame
 What Is 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
• Self-concept is how we perceive our behaviors, abilities,
and unique characteristics.
• For example, beliefs such as "I am a good friend" or
"I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-
concept.
• Baumeister (1999) provides the following self-concept
definition:
• "The individual's belief about himself or herself,
including the person's attributes and who and
 What Is Self-
• At its most basic,Concept?
self-concept is a collection of beliefs one
holds about himself/herself and the responses of others. It
embodies the answer to the question:

"Who am I?" If you want to find your self-concept, list things

that describe you as an individual.

 What are your traits?

 What do you like?

 How do you feel about yourself?

 What Is Self-
Concept?
Other examples of s elf-concept include:
• How you view your personality traits, such as whether you are
an extrovert
or introvert
• How you see your roles in life, such as whether you feel
that being a parent, sibling, friend, and partner are
important parts of your identity.
• The hobbies or passions that are important to your sense of
identity, such as being a sports enthusiast or belonging to a
certain political party.
• How you feel about your interactions with the world, such as
whether you feel that you are contributing to society.
 Importance of Self-
Concept?
• Our self-perception is important because
it affects our motivations, attitudes, and
behaviors.
• It also affects how we feel about the
person we think we are,
including whether we are competent or
have self-worth.
• Self-concept tends to be more easily influenced or is
more flexible when we're younger and still going
through self-discovery
and identity formation.
• As we age and learn who we are and what's important
 Two Aspects of Self-
• The self-concept is an important term for both social and
Concept
humanistic psychology. Lewis (1990) suggests that the
development of a concept of self has Two aspects:
(1) The Existential Self
• This is 'the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-concept;
the sense of being separate and distinct from others and
the awareness of the constancy of the self' (Bee, 1992).
• According to Lewis, awareness of the existential self begins
as young as two to three months old and arises due to
the relation the child has with the world.

• For example, The child smiles and someone smiles back,

or the child touches a mobile and sees it move.
 Self-
Concept
(2) The Categorical Self
• Just as other objects including people have properties
that can be experienced (big, small, red, white and so on) so
the child is becoming aware of himself or herself as an
object which can be experienced and which has
properties.
• The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender,
size or skill. Two of the first categories to be applied are Age
(“I am 3”) and Gender (“I am a girl”).
• In early childhood the categories children apply to
themselves are very concrete (e.g., hair color, height
and favorite things).
• Later, Self-description also begins to include reference
to internal psychological traits, comparative
Components of Self
according to Carl
Roger’s
 Rogers' Three Parts of
• Humanist psychologist Carl Rogers believed that self-concept
is made Self-Concept
up of three different parts:
• Ideal self: The 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: 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 self-
image.
• Self-esteem: How much you like, accept, and value
yourself all contribute to your self-concept. Self-esteem can
be affected by a number of factors—including how others
see you, how you compare yourself to others, and your
role in society.
 Incongruence and
Congruence
• Self-concept is not always aligned with reality. When it is
aligned, your
self-concept is congruent.
• If 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 incongruent.
• This incongruence can negatively affect self-esteem.
• Rogers believed that incongruence has its earliest roots in
childhood. When parents place conditions on their affection
for their children (only expressing love if children "earn it"
through certain behaviors and living up to the parents'
expectations).
Incongruence and
Congruence
 Class
Task

•Write Some Examples of

positive and negative Self
Concept
 10 Examples of Self-
Concept
Some examples of positive self-concepts include:
• A person sees herself as an intelligent person;
• A man perceives himself as an important member of his
community;
• A woman sees herself as an excellent spouse and friend;
• A person thinks of himself as a nurturing and caring
person;
• A person views herself as a hard-working and competent
employee.
On the flip side, these people could have negative self-
concepts like:
• A person sees herself as lazy and slow;
• A man perceives himself as a burden on his community;
 The Development Stages of
Self-Concept
• When a parent or significant other begins to take an
interest in the child’s development, the child is
influenced by the attention and love exhibited, which
influences his or her developing self-concept.
• Ǫuite possibly the most important period in a child’s life is
the first 2 years. If the child has received a strong
psychological foundation, he or she will likely possess a
healthy s elf-concept.
• Erik Erikson famed Harvard psychologist, believed that
each person must successfully conclude the conflict that
is inherent in each stage.
• How each individual deals with the conflicts can influence
greatly his or her self-concept.
• When we deal with crisis and conflict in a positive
manner, our resulting self-concept is often positive, but
the reverse is also true; if we deal with conflict
 How Self-Concept
Develops
The Stages of Developing Self-concept
• The infancy stage (0 to 12 – 18 months), is characterized by the
crisis of whether we learn to trust others.
• The toddler stage (18 months to 3 years), is concerned with
the crisis of whether the child feels he or she is able to
investigate his or her surroundings.
• The preschool stage (3 to 6 years) focuses on the crisis of
whether the child feels independent enough to do new things
and, likewise, whether he or she feels guilt at trying new things.
• The adolescence stage (6 to 12 years) is concerned with the
child becoming aware that he or she is different from others. More
specifically, the child thinks he or she is capable of doing things on
his or her own; the reverse is that the child thinks he or she lacks
the capability to attempt new things.
 How Self-Concept
• The teenage state (12 to 20 years ), following the
Develops
adolescence stage, is characterized by the individual seeking
to “know” who he or she is (Role in the world). A successful
conclusion leads to greater self-understanding, whereas failing
leads to a search for identity. In this stage, problems with
alcohol and drugs can appear.
• The young adulthood stage (20 to 35 years) — During this
stage, an individual feels that he or she is worthy of affection,
begins romantic encounters that usually lead to marriage and
parenthood. On the other hand, if a person feels that he or she
is unlovable, emotional isolation from others is the norm.
• The middle adult stage — During the middle adulthood stage
(35 to 65 years), the individual will likely lead a life that is full
of activity that he or she finds rewarding, if the individual has a
positive self-concept.
 Other Self-Concept
Theories Social Identity Theory
• Social psychologist Henri Tajfel developed social identity theory,
which states that Self-Concept is composed of two key parts:
• Personal Identity: The traits and other characteristics that
makes you unique
• Social Identity: Who you are based on your membership in
social groups, such as sports teams, religions, political
parties, or social class.
• This theory states that our social identity influences our self-
concept, thus affecting our emotions and behaviors.
• Example If we're playing sports, for instance, and our team
loses a game, we might feel sad for the team (emotion) or act
out against the winning team (behavior).
 Other Self-Concept
Theories Multiple Dimensions
• Psychologist Bruce A. Bracken 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
• C ompetence: 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 others
• In 1992, Bracken developed the Multidimensional Self-Concept
Scale, a comprehensive assessment that evaluates each of
Class
Activity

C an Self-C oncept Be
C hanged?