Self-Concept the Concept of One\'s

Self-Concept

The concept of one's self refers to how an individual perceives himself as a person and how he uses this perception to look at and interact with his environment.

Craighead and Nemeroff (2001) shared that Rogers (1951) defined it as:

"an organized configuration of perceptions of the self which are admissible to awareness. It is composed of such elements as the perceptions of one's characteristics and abilities; the percepts and concepts of self in relation to others and the environment; the value qualifiers which are perceived as associated with experiences and objects; and goals and ideas which are perceived as having positive or negative valence."

More simply, Milliken (1998) described self-concept as a mental image of 'me.' Lewis (2000) also stated that it is composed of parts like "who the person is, what he stands for, what he does, what he values, what he believes [in] and so on."

He also added that the core of self-concept is formed early in childhood and is based on what family members tell about a young individual. Those who show and give messages of love and affection to a child will build in him a good self-concept. Conversely, children who are neglected and spared care and attention will have low perception of him.

London (1999) shared that the development of one's self-concept happens over time from life experiences.

As a child grows up, he is carrying with him his self-concept from family influence then it evolves to a more defined and more complex perception that depends on the events in his life. Brown (2002) shared that Super (1963) asserted that

"people have multiple self-concepts, not just one self-concept, thus distinguishing between a self-concept and a self-concept system. Within their multidimensional self-concept system, or self-structure, individuals have conceptions of self in each life role they enact. These distinct self-concepts, which are activated in different roles, remain stable in particular types of situations and relationships…"

However, understanding one's self-concept varies among individuals as some may be more aware of himself while others may have lesser idea. Milliken (1998) also shared that "one's self-concept may be realistic or unrealistic" which may depend on how one was oriented to and exposed on self-conceptualization.

One's Self and Emotion and how it Affects His Self-Esteem

To define between self-concept and self-esteem, while the former is how one sees self, the latter, on the other hand is how one values self. With the previous definitions of self-concept and above differentiation of self-esteem from it, it can be said then, that self-esteem is an integration of one's understanding, acceptance and characterization of self despite and in the midst of life interactions and experiences.

On the other hand, the 4th edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defined Emotions as "a mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiologic changes."

One's emotions, therefore, is an unconscious response to a life experience which is manifested by feelings and is greatly affected by self-concept. For example, if one received a negative feedback, he will either respond positively to it by gaining self-insight or negatively by closing up against the event and/or the sender of the feedback. If he has good self-concept, he will see the feedback as a chance to weigh things, improve self and deepen his self-understanding. However, if he has otherwise, he may not accept the feedback, feel bad about it and possibly even refuse to recognize the experience and/or the person/s involved in it. This denial to address the event may ultimately cause social and individual stagnation.

The interplay of self-concept and emotions affect one's self-esteem. Poor self-concept results to a low aspiration in achieving things which when confronted may lead to emotions like anxiety, humiliation or self-deprecation. These feelings, if not addressed, will consequently lower self-esteem and undesirably lessen one's outlook of self and life. As Mecca (1989) explained:

"For persons with high self-esteem, shame is painful but not overwhelming. Such persons have sufficient experiences of pride in their lives that they can usually manage the shame they experience. [But] Persons with low self-esteem appear to lack sufficient experiences of pride to be able to manage shame; for them, shame is a calamity, to be avoided at all costs. When it cannot be avoided, its effects are often disruptive or even catastrophic."

One's Self and Behavior and how it Affects His Self-Presentation