Do you know what self-concept is? What opinion do you have of yourself? Discover how self-concept differs from self-esteem and how important it is to have a positive self-concept.
He selfconcept, understood from psychology, it is about the image we have of ourselves. In this way, the self-concept answers questions such as: Who am I? What makes you ‘you’? Among other. So, what does self-concept consist of?
What is self-concept? Definition of self-concept
A definition of self-concept Within psychology it suggests that this element is what makes us perceive ourselves as our unique behavior, abilities and characteristics. In this way, when we refer to ourselves as ‘I am shy’ or ‘I am a good person’, we are pointing to our self-concept.
He selfconcept It develops more during youth and, above all, tends to be malleable when the person is going through a process of self-discovery or identity formation. As we age, people learn who we are and what is important to us. Therefore, we are more aware of our self-concept.
Types of self-concept according to Carl Rogers
According to Carl Rogers, one of the founders of the humanistic psychology a person’s self-concept is made up of three components.
Self-image:
The self image It is the way people see themselves. Therefore, self-image includes what we know about ourselves physically, about our personality, and about our social roles. In many cases, the image we have of ourselves does not always coincide with our reality. Some people tend to have an inflated perception of one or more of their characteristics. That is, self-image would be the way in which each person chooses how to describe himself/herself.
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is the value we give to ourselves. Therefore one of these types of self-concept, it depends on the way we evaluate ourselves. In some cases, people may have good self-esteem in some aspects and poor in others.
ideal self
He ideal self It is what we would like to become. There is often a big difference between the image we have of ourselves and this ideal self. When this happens it can very negatively affect our self-esteem. The more congruence between one’s self-image and the ideal self, the more self-actualization a person has. On the other hand, the incongruence between our self-image and the ideal self ends up implying a discrepancy between ourselves and our experiences, which ends up preventing self-realization.
Difference between self-concept and self-esteem
In many cases people confuse self-concept with self-esteem Self-concept differs mainly from self-esteem since it is the perception we have of ourselves.
On the other hand, self-esteem is one of the types of self-concept or components, since it is the assessment that we make of ourselves. Therefore, self-concept as definition It is knowing the tendencies, thoughts, habits, abilities and weaknesses that we have.
Self-concept characteristics
To understand better what is self-concept there are a series of characteristics that define it and that can help us get to know ourselves better from this aspect.
- About us?: At a broader level, when we refer to our self-concept we are pointing to the general idea we have about who we are, that is, our cognitive and affective judgments about ourselves.
- Multidimensional: The definition of self-concept explains that this is multidimensional, that is, that it incorporates a vision of ourselves in different aspects or areas.
- You learn: Despite the self-concept It is influenced by biological factors, it is learned since both the environment and social interaction play a very important role in its definition.
- It develops during youth: It is during childhood and early adulthood that people form your self-concept During later stages is when it is most difficult to change or update.
- It doesn’t always align with reality: In many cases the different types of self-concept that we have do not align with reality. When the self-concept is similar to our real self, it is ‘congruent’, however when it is not, it is called ‘incongruent’.
- Changes with time and context: Our selfconcept It varies over the years as well as from where we are. Therefore, it is very malleable depending on the environment and our experiences.
- influences our life: Have a positive or negative self-concept influences our daily lives. The reason for this is that if we have a negative self-concept or a positive self-concept, it can strengthen our security in the face of actions or create insecurities.
Other theories about self-concept
As with other branches of psychology, there are different perspectives about self-concept Among the most recognized theories we find the following.
The social psychologist Henri Tajfel proposes that in the self-concept There are two key parts:
- Personal identity: They are those traits and characteristics that make us unique.
- Social identity: It is the person we are based on belonging to various social groups, as well as religions, political parties or social classes.
Bruce A. Bracken’s Social Identity Theory
This psychologist explained that there are different types of self-concept because it is multidimensional. In this way, self-concept could be divided into six independent traits.
- Academic: according to success or failure in school
- Keen: the awareness we have of our emotional states
- Competence: the ability to satisfy our basic needs
- Family: how we relate to our family
- Physical: how you feel about your appearance
- Social: the ability we have to interact with others
How to describe yourself?
To learn to describe yourself and know more about your self-concept people can ask the following questions about themselves.
- What are your strengths?: In this activity you will explore what your strengths are and how to take advantage of them, something very important for defining your self-concept. Additionally, seeing what you excel at will help you form a positive self-concept
- What is your ideal self?: At this point you will be able to know what your ideal self is and thus you will have a perspective on how to improve your self-concept
- What are your negative qualities?: Knowing your weaknesses means learning what you can improve to stop having a bad selfconcept of yourself.
As we see the self-concept It is essential to enjoy a full life in every sense. In this way, the best method to have a positive self-concept is to work with a professional psychologist. The love you feel towards yourself depends on it.
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PsychologyFor. (2024). Self-concept: How to Describe Yourself?. https://psychologyfor.com/self-concept-how-to-describe-yourself/