PSY 400 Week 2 Personal Reflection on the Self PaperPrepare a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you examine the concept of the self. Address the following items: Define the concept of the self in the social world.
Apply the self to your life, including self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.
Describe at least two social experiences that affected your personal development.Include at least two references in your paper.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.Personal Reflection on the Self Paper
PSY/400Concept of the self in the social world
Introduction
The concept of self is one of the key elements within psychology and involves the interaction of the individuals with the rest of society. It mainly focuses on the influence and relationship between different groups of people in the society. In this respect psychology is used to assess the uniqueness of the individual that sets them apart from other people. The concept of the self is usually related to self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Self-concept can be defined as how we view ourselves.
Concept of the self
In analyzing self-concept we analyze how we come to know ourselves and how we can define our personality. In this regard it is of important to note that self-concept plays a vital role in how we associate with other people in the society. In psychology, the concept of the self plays a vital role in the association with other members of society (Epstein, 1973). It can be said to be a feeling that one gets regarding his or herself in relation to other members of society. Generally the individual has awareness of him or herself and is able to carry out self-evaluation. In the development of the concept of self, there are usually two aspects involved namely; the existential self and the categorical self (Mcleod, 2008).
The existential self is considered to the most important part of self-concept and entails a sense of being different or distinct from other individuals in society (Mcleod, 2008). It also involves the constant feeling of awareness of the self. This has been shown to start at an early age in the child as he or she recognizes that they have an effect on their external environments. For example they are able to push things from one place to another and are able to get the attention of other people through crying or laughing.
The categorical self on the other hand involves the individual discovering that they are part of a wider society or environment and also exhibit characters that differentiate them from the rest (Mcleod, 2008). This also starts early in childhood with the child discovering a number of things about themselves such as skin color, their height in respect to other objects and people in their gender. In this case as the individual continues to grow, him or she identifies and is self-conscious on these aspects that distinguish him or her from the rest of society. Other factors that can be used to categorize the self include: skill and size (Mcleod, 2008).
Generally the self-concept has different components including self-image, self-worth and the ideal self. Self-image refers to how the individual views themselves (Mcleod, 2008). This can either be in regard to the expectations of society or personal feelings on the same. Self-image is usually influenced by a number of things including parental upbringing, the media and friends. Individuals will generally view themselves in terms of their physical description, and social roles in society (Oyserman, 2001). They may also view themselves in terms of their personality traits such as generosity, patients and other personal traits that the individuals perceive to possess. Another way individuals may view themselves is through abstract existential statements (Mcleod, 2008). These views may include spirituality or the feeling of being part of a bigger environment beyond the self. In most cases older people feel defined by the social roles they play while younger individuals usually describe themselves through personal traits.
When it comes to self-worth or esteem, the level or extent to which the individual values him or herself may either be positive or negative (Oyserman, 2001). The individual can either have a high or low self-esteem, in most cases high self-esteem is associated with self-acceptance and confidence. It is also associated with optimism and the individual is usually not so much concerned about what other people think.
On the other hand, low self-esteem shows that the individual lacks confidence and is usually always concerned with how other individuals think of him or her (Oyserman, 2001). This individual is more often than not, a pessimist and is always trying to act or look likes someone else (Mcleod, 2008). Self-esteem is influenced by the reaction of others, comparison, identification of personality and social roles. It is also largely influenced by the environment the individual grows up in and the parental upbringing.
When it comes to the ideal self, each individual has a number of goals or a number of things they would like to achieve or change about them to suit their expectations or those of the society. Achievement of these usually results in self-actualization. Where the self-image differs from the ideal self, then a state of incongruence exists (Mcleod, 2008). On the other hand, if the two are similar then there is congruence which is very important in order to achieve self-actualization.Application of self-concept
As an individual, the issue of self-concept has a number of applications. Firstly, I have a positive self-image and am aware of the differences between myself and other individuals in society. Am unique in the fact that I generally have small hands, curly hair and am of medium height. This clearly, distinguishes me from a number of people.
I generally place high value on myself and have a tendency to always perceive things positively. This has been instrumental in my life in dealing with challenges that I have been facing as I grew up. Self-esteem has been of importance in helping me cope with a number of expectations from society which is highly influenced by the media. My parents have also played a key role in ensuring that myself efficacy is well established. I generally always feel that I can handle any situation that comes along my way. This gives me optimism and enables me come up with solutions to problems am facing.Social experiences affecting my personal development
In the recent past I have had a number of social experiences in my association with my peers that has affected my personal development. An example of such an experience is that of bullying. I have over the years faced the challenge of bullying by other individuals. In my younger years, the bullying usually involved physical assault but has over the years evolved to emotional abuse through words in a bid to belittle me. This highly affects my personal development as it highly affects my self-esteem when individuals negatively comment on my appearance. I am however, learning to deal with it through counseling.
Another social experience involves my ability to write poetry. This gives me a platform where I can express myself to an audience and get appreciated for it. My involvement in poetry workshops has been instrumental in promoting myself image and boosting my self-esteem. It has also helped me in handling situations that affect my emotional well-being.Conclusion
In conclusion, self-concept is a key element in the life of every individual. It affects how the individual relates to other members of society. It also determines the ability of an individual to succeed in life. Self-concept starts at an early age and can easily be observed in young children who are as young as two years old. The individual generally experiences a number of changes as he or she grows up that directly affect their self-concept in terms of esteem, and self-efficacy.References
Epstein, S. (1973). The self-concept revisited: Or a theory of a theory. American psychologist, 28, 404-414.Mcleod, S. (2008). The Self Concept in Psychology. Retrieved 18 December 2011, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.htmlOyserman, D. (2001). Self-concept and identity. In A. Tesser & N. Schwarz, The Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology (pp. 499-517). Malden, MA: Blackwell.