Self-Concept, Emotion, and Behavior: How We See Ourselves
This paper examines self-concept — how individuals perceive themselves — and traces its formation from early childhood through adulthood. Drawing on theorists including Carl Rogers and Donald Super, the paper explains how self-concept develops through life experiences and family influence, and how individuals may hold multiple, role-specific self-concepts. It then explores the relationship between self-concept, emotional responses, and self-esteem, showing how poor self-concept can lead to shame, anxiety, and lowered self-worth. Finally, the paper connects self-concept to observable behavior and self-presentation, arguing that consistency between one's beliefs and actions is essential for personal integrity and healthy development.
- Defining Self-Concept: Origins and definitions of self-concept from key theorists
- Self-Concept, Emotion, and Self-Esteem: How self-concept shapes emotions and self-esteem
- Self-Concept, Behavior, and Self-Presentation: Behavior as a mirror of self-concept and integrity
- Conclusion: Self-concept as foundation for personal growth
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What makes this paper effective
- It builds logically from definition to application, first establishing what self-concept is before connecting it to emotion, self-esteem, and behavior in sequence.
- Direct quotations from established theorists (Rogers, Super, Mecca) are integrated to support each claim rather than simply listed, giving the argument scholarly grounding.
- Concrete examples — such as how a person with good versus poor self-concept responds to negative feedback — translate abstract theory into accessible, relatable situations.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective synthesis of multiple sources around a central concept. Rather than summarizing each author separately, it weaves together Rogers, Lewis, London, Brown, and others to build a coherent, cumulative argument about how self-concept forms and functions. This integrative citation technique is particularly useful in introductory psychology and personal development writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a definition section that layers increasingly nuanced descriptions of self-concept from multiple sources. The second section introduces emotion and self-esteem as variables shaped by self-concept, culminating in Mecca's contrast between high and low self-esteem responses to shame. The third section extends the analysis to behavior and self-presentation, emphasizing the role of integrity. A brief conclusion ties all three elements together under the theme of personal growth and self-discovery.
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."
Lewis further added that the core of self-concept is formed early in childhood and is based on what family members communicate to 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 deprived of care and attention will develop a low perception of themselves.
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