In common discourse, the term self often refers to a warm sense or a warm

feeling that something is "about me" or "about us." Reflecting on oneself is

both a common activity and a mental feat. It requires that there is an "I" that
can consider an object that is "me." The term self includes both the actor who
thinks ("I am thinking") and the object of thinking ("about me"). Moreover,
the actor both is able to think and is aware of doing so. As the philosopher
John Locke famously asserted, "I think, therefore I am." Awareness of having
thoughts matters.
Another way to denote these three aspects thinking, being aware of thinking,
and taking the self as an object for thinking) is to use the term reflexive
capacity. Rather than attempt to distinguish between the mental content (me)
and the aspects of the mental capacity of thinking (I), modern use of the term
self includes all these elements While theories converge on the notion that
reflexive capacity is critical to having a self, theories diverge in how memory
is considered in service of sustaining the self. On the one hand, the self can
be considered primarily a memory structure such that the me aspect of self
has existence outside of particular contexts and social structures. In contrast,
the self can be considered primarily a cognitive capacity such that what
constitutes the me aspect of self is created inside of and embedded within
moment-tomoment situations. From the latter perspective, what is stable is
not recalled content but rather the motivation to use the self to make
meaning; memory is used but the me self is not stable. While in some ways
helpful, the shorthand me can inadvertently limit focus of attention to one
way of conceiving the self-what cultural and clinical psychologists might call
an immersed individualistic sense of self. While less studied, people can
think of themselves in different ways. An individualistic perspective focuses
on how one is separate and different from others, but people can also
consider how they are similar and connected via relationships (sometimes
called a collectivistic perspective). An immersed perspective focuses on the
self up close and from inside the mind's eye, but people can also consider
themselves in other ways. They can consider how they might look from a
distance, how they might look from the outside, in the eyes of others. Each
perspective highlights and draws attention to some aspects of "me" and
makes other aspects less likely to come to mind. Cultural psychologists have
focused attention on between-society differences in the likelihood of focusing
on the "me" versus the "us" aspects of the self . For example, Americans are
described as more likely than East Asians to take a "me" perspective. In
contrast, social identity researchers demonstrate that whether one takes a
"me" or an "us" perspective is not fixed by culture but influenced by context.
More situated approaches demonstrate empirically that small shifts in
contexts influence whether anyone, American or East Asian, takes on "me" or
"us" perspectives (for reviews,

SELF CONCEPT Definition –

Psychologically, the whole set of attitudes opinions and cognitions that a person has of himself, is his self concept. Self
Concept is a multidimensional construct that refers to an individuals perception of ‗self‘ in relation to any number of
characteristics, such as academics (and non academics), gender roles and sexuality, racial identity and many others. The idea
of self concept is utilized in many disciplines including psychology, philosophy, sociology, nursing, biology and anthropology.
There is no consensus as to how to define ―Self concept using terms of specificity. At present the development of self
concept among the students is worrying. Most students have low self concept and they are passive in their achievements in
school. According to Gadeyne, E, Ghesquiere, P, & Onghene P. (2004) to develop the students positive self concept, parents
need to provide a harmonious household climate, full of happiness and have adequate necessities, while teachers in schools
also need to provide a conducive learning environment and be sensitive to the psychological needs of the students.
According to Azizi etal (2005), any man has a picture or perception of himself. This includes looks and appearance, physical
health, ability, weakness and his behaviour. Thus self concept is how one evaluates or judges himself that is either in a
positive or negative way. Self concept can be classified into two major types that are positive self concept and negative self
concept. The 119 positive self concept is about a circumstance or situation in which an individual is confident and sure of
him, has good interests, is objective and not too sensitive. A negative self concept is when an individual has too subjective
nature. The individual‘s perception or view of himself is known as his self concept. The part the environment in which he is
involved is known as his Phenomenal self and the rest of the environment of which he is aware or to which he responds is
called as his phenomenal environment or perceived environment. It can be represented diagrammatically as follows. The
self-concept is what the individual thinks of as his actual self. Its ‗one‘. The phenomenal or perceived self includes the
selfconcept and those aspects of the environment that an individual identifies with himself. For example my family,‘ ―my
school‖, ―my home‖ etc. Both the self-concept and phenomenal self are included within the phenomenal environment. For
example ―Personal field‖, ‗behavioral field‘, ―psychological field or ‗life space‘ of an individual To an individual, his
phenomenal field or private world is reality. so far as he is concerned. Thus he reacts to the world, which he perceives, not
the world as perceived by others. This is also conditioned by one‘s psychological needs & with his maturity. For example if
you tell a child to stay with another woman having more facilities instead of staying with his mother, he will not agree to
leave his mother. This is due to his need of love which he perceives in his mother. So also in case of maturity we cannot
change the attitude or develop a concept forcibly in the mind of a child if he does not have attained the maturity for that. A
number of research studies conducted in this field have brought out some very significant conclusions like:

SELF CONCEPT Definition – Psychologically, the whole set of attitudes opinions and cognitions that a person has of himself, is
his self concept. Self Concept is a multidimensional construct that refers to an individuals perception of ‗self‘ in relation to
any number of characteristics, such as academics (and non academics), gender roles and sexuality, racial identity and many
others. The idea of self concept is utilized in many disciplines including psychology, philosophy, sociology, nursing, biology
and anthropology. There is no consensus as to how to define ―Self concept using terms of specificity. At present the
development of self concept among the students is worrying. Most students have low self concept and they are passive in
their achievements in school. According to Gadeyne, E, Ghesquiere, P, & Onghene P. (2004) to develop the students positive
self concept, parents need to provide a harmonious household climate, full of happiness and have adequate necessities,
while teachers in schools also need to provide a conducive learning environment and be sensitive to the psychological needs
of the students. According to Azizi etal (2005), any man has a picture or perception of himself. This includes looks and
appearance, physical health, ability, weakness and his behaviour. Thus self concept is how one evaluates or judges himself
that is either in a positive or negative way. Self concept can be classified into two major types that are positive self concept
and negative self concept. The 119 positive self concept is about a circumstance or situation in which an individual is
confident and sure of him, has good interests, is objective and not too sensitive. A negative self concept is when an individual
has too subjective nature. The individual‘s perception or view of himself is known as his self concept. The part the
environment in which he is involved is known as his Phenomenal self and the rest of the environment of which he is aware or
to which he responds is called as his phenomenal environment or perceived environment. It can be represented
diagrammatically as follows. The self-concept is what the individual thinks of as his actual self. Its ‗one‘. The phenomenal or
perceived self includes the selfconcept and those aspects of the environment that an individual identifies with himself. For
example my family,‘ ―my school‖, ―my home‖ etc. Both the self-concept and phenomenal self are included within the
phenomenal environment. For example ―Personal field‖, ‗behavioral field‘, ―psychological field or ‗life space‘ of an
individual To an individual, his phenomenal field or private world is reality. so far as he is concerned. Thus he reacts to the
world, which he perceives, not the world as perceived by others. This is also conditioned by one‘s psychological needs & with
his maturity. For example if you tell a child to stay with another woman having more facilities instead of staying with his
mother, he will not agree to leave his mother. This is due to his need of love which he perceives in his mother. So also in case
of maturity we cannot change the attitude or develop a concept forcibly in the mind of a child if he does not have attained
the maturity for that. A number of research studies conducted in this field have brought out some very significant
conclusions like: ENVIRONMENT PHENOMENAL SELF SELF 120 Students of different streams like arts, science & professionals
have different self-concept. Praise & blame has its role in changing the self-concept. Various studies upon children of various
age groups clearly emphasize the importance of self-concept. Importance of Self Concept Self concept is important in
influencing one‘s goal. Persons with equally high levels of aspiration but quite different self concepts may set quite different
goals. For example – a person who considers himself intellectual and has succeeded in school may decide that he wants to
become a college professor or a noted scientist and he perhaps maintains these personal goals. At the same time another
person who considers himself intellectual may have experienced failures in school. But in keeping with his self-concept,
however, he still may aspire to attain intellectual goals like writing popular magazine articles or becoming an authority on
some topic for which formal schooling & certificate is not required. Therefore one‘s self concept plays an important role in
his behavior, even in childhood, and influences not only the goals he sets for himself but also the ways in which he goes
about achieving these goals. Conversely, one‘s achievement is an important factor in his self-concept. Many of the personal
goals, which we have discussed, are concerned with ways in which the individual can enhance or protect his self-concept. In
our culture, achievement is one of the most common ways of enhancing the self-concept, but persons also may strive to be
charitable, social, creative or highly religious. T. S. Eliot expressed the importance of the self-concept in human motivation,
describing people as ―absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.‖ It has also been shown that among
welfare clients, the length of time a person has been on welfare is inversely associated with his level of self-esteem. So self-
concept also helps in achieving self-esteem. Self Esteem In the chapter motivation you have learnt the Maslow‘s theory. In
this theory you have also read the motivational hierarchy where the motivational needs are leveled from physiological needs
to self-actualization, the desire to utilize the personal capacities. Self-esteem is the level above love and belonging & below
self actualization. When love and belongingness needs are 121 satisfied, self esteem motives become important. This motive
involves the desire for: Respect Confidence and Admiration At the esteem level, presumably the desire for affectionate
relationships has been fulfilled and then achievement, superiority and prestige motives become important which also fulfilled
in the highest-level ―Self-actualization‖ is desiring to utilize one‘s personal capacities. You have already known that this
hierarchy can be used to motivate an individual to learn. But in this chapter you become aware that it also helps in the
development of personality. When one‘s self-esteem motives fulfilled, automatically his personality changes. Self-esteem is
also a characteristic of normal or welladjusted person. The well-adjusted person has some appreciation of his own self worth
and feels accepted by those around him. He is comfortable with other people and is able to react spontaneously in social
situations. At the same time, he does not always feel obligated to subjugate his opinions to those of the groups. Selfesteem
therefore is important for mental health. To show the position of self-esteem you can also show the diagram of Maslow‘s
motivational hierarchy. 122 Relation between Self-concept and Self-esteem The single most important aspect of an
individual‘s subjective world is the view he has of himself, often referred to as his self-image or self-concept. The self-concept
is what the person thinks he is, regardless of his actual nature or his appearance to others. Self-esteem means self-respect,
self-confidence, feeling of strength & adequacy. Self-esteem includes the perceived self as well as ideal self. It gives worth to
other‘s thinking towards him. Self-concept is essential for self-esteem. But self-esteem is a universal desire. For example
whatever may be your nature, good or bad you always want you should be loved & respected by others. If you are good you
will be loved & respected by other. If not, you may not. But you want to be respected by others. So when there is mis-match
between one‘s perceived self and ideal self, it can be very disturbing. Our self-concept develops on the basis of information
about the way we are and the way others see us. So self-concept is a broad term. It includes in it two distinct sets of
meaning. One set has to do with people‘s attitudes about themselves, their picture of the way they look and act, the impact
they believe they have on others and their perceived traits, abilities and weaknesses. This collection constitutes what is
known as the self-concept, or self image, ―attitudes, feelings, perceptions & evaluation of self as an object. The second set
of meanings relates to the executive functions-processes by which the individual manages, copes, thinks, remembers,
perceives and plans. Sometimes we may change our perception of our experiences in self serving ways, because we need
self-esteem. self-esteem.
The Self and identity are closely related concepts (Tap & Sordes-Ader, 2012). The
Self refers to an organized configuration of perceptions of who one is. Self-concept
is defined as an “overall vision (as an integrated, coherent, and stable individuality)
transcending the experiential and event content of self-awareness” (Lipiansky, 2008,
p. 38). It is important to distinguish between identity and self-concept; identity
consists of representations and feelings and cannot be reduced to a purely cognitive
system. “Self-concept” focuses on the cognitive dimension of the Self (Tap &
Sordes-Ader, 2012). The question of skills that one possesses, which are relevant to
career choices, is part of the study of self-concept.
There is furthermore a consensus among researchers to consider that the Self is
composed of several facets related to different areas of each individual’s life. Thus,
among these facets called “self-specific concepts,” we find the following: the
academic self-concept, the professional self-concept, self-concept in social
relationships, or self-concept in sport. An individual could possess self-concepts with
different levels of specificity and these could be organized hierarchically from the
most specific to the most generic (Brunot, 2007). The accumulation and progressive
prioritization of various self-specific concepts, followed by the organization and
integration of these diverse self-images, results in a complete, but complex self-
representation