SELF-CONCEPT IN PSYCHOLOGY
DR. KIRAN BABU N C
MEANING
ASPECTS
DEFINITIONS
KEY CONCEPTS
DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONCEPT
o
MEANING
• The self-concept is a general term for how
someone thinks about, evaluates, or
perceives and be aware of themselves.
• It’s formed through experiences,
interactions, and reflections, and plays a
pivotal role in influencing behavior,
emotions, and interpersonal relationships.
• A healthy self-concept promotes well-being,
while a negative one can lead to emotional
and social challenges.
DEFINITIONS
• 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
the self is.”
• According to carl rogers, “self-concept has
three components: self-image, self-esteem,
and the ideal self”.
ASPECTS
• The self-concept is an important term for
both social and 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).
ASPECTS
• The existential self is a concept within
developmental psychology, particularly in
the study of infant development.
• It refers to the basic and most fundamental
understanding that an individual exists as
a separate and distinct entity from others.
• This realization typically begins in infancy,
as early as a few months old, when a baby
recognizes its existence apart from the
external world.
ASPECTS
• The existential self is the foundation upon
which more complex aspects of self-
concept, like the categorical self
(understanding oneself in terms of
categorical memberships like gender,
skills, and age), are built.
ASPECTS
• According to lewis (1990), awareness of the
existential self begins as young as two to
three months old and arises in part due to
the child’s relationship with the world. For
example, the child smiles, and someone
smiles back, or the child touches a mobile
and sees it move.
ASPECTS
o (2) THE CATEGORICAL SELF
• Having realized that he or she exists as a
separate experiencing being, the child
becomes aware that he or she is also an
object in the world.
• Just as other objects, including people,
have properties that can be experienced
(big, small, red, smooth, and so on), so the
child is becoming aware of himself or
herself as an object which can be
experienced and which has properties.
D E V E LO P M E N T O F S E L F - CON C EPT
• Self-concept begins to develop in early childhood.
This process continues throughout life. However,
it is between early childhood and adolescence that
self-concept experiences the most growth.
• By age two, children begin to differentiate
themselves from others.
• By the ages of three and four, children
understand that they are separate and unique
selves.
• At this stage, a child's self-image is largely based
mostly on physical characteristics or concrete
details.
D E V E LO P M E N T O F S E L F - CON C EPT
• Yet, children increasingly pay attention to
their capabilities, and by about six years old,
children can communicate what they want
and need. They are also starting to define
themselves in terms of social groups.
D E V E LO P M E N T O F S E L F - CON C EPT
• Between the ages of seven and 11, children begin
to make social comparisons and consider how
they’re perceived by others. At this stage,
children’s descriptions of themselves become
more abstract.
• They begin to describe themselves in terms of
abilities and not just concrete details, and they
realize that their characteristics exist on a
continuum. For example, a child at this stage will
begin to see themselves as more athletic than
some and less athletic than others, rather than
simply athletic or not athletic.
D E V E LO P M E N T O F S E L F - CON C EPT
• Adolescence is a key period for self-concept. The
self-concept established during adolescence is
usually the basis for the self-concept for the
remainder of one’s life.
• During the adolescent years, people experiment
with different roles, personas, and selves. For
adolescents, self-concept is influenced by success
in areas they value and the responses of others
valued by them.
• Success and approval can contribute to greater
self-esteem and a stronger self-concept into
adulthood.
