Psychology & Sociology
Self-schemas are labels individuals assign to themselves based on a specific aspect of their identity (e.g., pertaining to personality, appearance, or interests). All of an individual's self-schemas combined form their self-concept, which is the overall way one views or defines themselves. Self-concept begins to develop in infancy with the formation of the existential self, the understanding that one is an individual who is distinct and separate from other beings.
The categorical self involves how one relates to others and is based on the awareness that even though everyone is unique, people can be categorized based on how they relate to groups. The development of the categorical self leads to the creation of hierarchies of salience, which refers to how an individual ranks their identities in a given setting. Other factors influencing self-concept and self-evaluation include self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, learned helplessness, reference groups, and the looking-glass self. These aspects help shape an individual's understanding of their identity and how they view and evaluate themselves.
Lesson Outline
<ul> <li>Introduction: Identity and self-concept</li> <li>Self-schemas <ul> <li>Labels one assigns themself based on specific aspects of their identity</li> </ul> </li> <li>Self-concept <ul> <li>Overall way in which one views or defines themself</li> <li>Includes aspects of one's personality, body image, interests, roles, self-worth, etc.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Development of self-concept <ul> <li>Existential self: Understanding that one is an individual and distinct from other beings</li> <li>Categorical self: Awareness of how one relates to others based on categories or traits</li> </ul> </li> <li>Hierarchy of salience <ul> <li>Ranking of identities by importance</li> <li>Can change based on situation</li> </ul> </li> <li>Self-esteem and self-evaluation <ul> <li>Self-esteem: One's overall opinion of themselves and sense of self-worth</li> <li>Self-efficacy: Belief in one's ability to successfully perform tasks</li> <li>Locus of control: Confidence in one's ability to affect the outcome of situations <ul> <li>Internal: Belief in one's strong ability to affect outcomes</li> <li>External: Belief that actions don't make a difference</li> </ul> </li> <li>Learned helplessness: Phenomenon where one stops trying after repeated failures</li> <li>Comparison to others <ul> <li>Reference group: Group used for comparison</li> <li>Looking-glass self: Perception of how others view them</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul>
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FAQs
A self-schema is a label one assigns to themself based on a specific aspect on their identity, such as being a member of a particular student group or sport. Self-schemas influence how people perceive and react to events related to those roles. Self-concept refers to the overall perception of oneself, which combines one's self-schemas and includes beliefs, opinions, and attitudes. It is the sum of all self-knowledge, encompassing various aspects of identity.
Self-esteem is the evaluative component of the self-concept, which represents how much we like, accept, and appreciate ourselves. High self-esteem contributes to a positive self-concept and a strong sense of identity, while low self-esteem can lead to negative self-concepts and a weak sense of identity. Self-efficacy refers to our belief in our ability to perform tasks and achieve goals in specific situations. A higher sense of self-efficacy leads to more confidence in our role-related identities, promoting a stronger sense of self and overall identity.
The looking-glass self is a psychological concept that posits that our self-concept is shaped by our perception of how others view us. It consists of three primary components: how we think others perceive us, how we believe they evaluate those perceptions, and how we feel about their evaluations. The looking-glass self proposes that our self-concepts are based not only on our intrinsic beliefs and perceptions but also on the feedback we receive from others and how we interpret that feedback.
The categorical self refers to the process of categorizing ourselves within existing social and cultural categories, such as age, race, profession, and gender. These categories help us understand our place within our social environment and inform our identity development. The existential self, on the other hand, is the awareness of being a separate and unique individual with distinct thoughts, experiences, and emotions. Existential self-awareness is the foundation of self-concept, and when combined with categorical self-knowledge, it forms a comprehensive understanding of one's identity.
The hierarchy of salience is a concept in which the different components of our identity are ranked in terms of importance and prominence. This ranking might change depending on the situation or context in which we find ourselves. Some aspects of our identities become more or less prominent based on the social context cues and can influence our behavior accordingly. Understanding the hierarchy of salience helps us recognize the fluidity and complexity of identity and its influence on our actions, decisions, and self-concept.
