SELF-CONCEPT

MEANING
also called self-construction or self-perspective
Self is
- an organization or a perception that is
consistent and connected to other entity in one
self known as I or Me. (Rogers,1959)

MEANING




definition given to one self consciously to others by
using the word I or Me.
how we think about and evaluate ourselves
refer to how someone thinks about or perceives
themselves
the totality of one's thoughts and feelings
toward one's self
THEORIES
According to Rogers
one's self-concept influences how one
regards both oneself and one's
environment.
It includes:
social character or abilities

physical appearance and body image

thinking

can change because you see and understand
things differently depending on your feelings,
beliefs and attitude or tries to achieve what
we want
However, people may maintain a self-concept
that is at odds with their true feelings to win
the approval of others and "fit in," either
socially or professionally

developed through our interactions with
others
thoughts, beliefs and actions are affected by
how you feel about you, your self esteem and
confidence ; and It determines your
relationship with others
The environment plays a significant role . It
acts as a mirror that reflects back to you
images of yourself. The daily experiences help
to create our self esteem.
The strength and weaknesses that were
learned as children are internalized as
concepts and affect the way you act as an
adult today, according to your beliefs and how
you feel.

TYPES OF SELF-CONCEPT
Types of self-concept
Negative self-concept
Examples:
- Low self-esteem
- Passive
- anti-social
- Not adventurous
- moody, always depressed

Examples:
- Open minded
- Optimistic
- Socialable
-adaptable to changes in
environment

Positive self-concept
DEFENSE MECHANISM
Freud believed that defense mechanisms
helped shield the ego from the conflicts
created by the id, superego and reality.

TYPES OF
DEFENSE
MECHANISMS
Reaction
Formation
Repression
Regression
Denial
rationalization
Intellectualization
projection
sublimation
displacement
compensation
identification
fantasy
introjection
aggression
Denial

Description
Denial is simply refusing to acknowledge that
an event has occurred. The person affected
simply acts as if nothing has happened,
behaving in ways that others may see as
bizarre.

Example
A man hears that his wife has been killed, and yet
refuses to believe it, still setting the table for her
and keeping her clothes and other accoutrements
in the bedroom.
A person having an affair does not think about
pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.
People take credit for their successes and find
'good reason' for their failures, blaming the
situation, other people, etc.
Alcoholics vigorously deny that they have a
problem.


Rationalization

Description
When something happens that we find
difficult to accept, then we will make up a
logical reason why it has happened.
We rationalize to ourselves. We also find it
very important to rationalize to other people,
even those we do not know.

Example
A person evades paying taxes and then rationalizes
it by talking about how the government wastes
money
A man buys a expensive car and then tells people
his old car was very unreliable, very unsafe, etc.
A person fails to get good enough results to get
into a chosen university and then says that they
didn't want to go there anyway.
A parent punishes a child and says that it is for the
child's 'own good'.
I trip and fall over in the street. I tell a passer-by
that I have recently been ill.

Displacement

Description
Displacement is the shifting of actions from a
desired target to a substitute target when
there is some reason why the first target is not
permitted or not available.
Example
The boss gets angry and shouts at me. I go home
and shout at my wife. She then shouts at our son.
With nobody left to displace anger onto, he goes
and kicks the dog.
A man wins the lottery. He turns to the person
next to him and gives the person a big kiss.
I want to speak at a meeting but cannot get a
word in edgeways. Instead, I start scribbling
furiously.
A woman, rejected by her boyfriend, goes out
with another man 'on the rebound'.


Sublimation

Description
the transformation of unwanted impulses into
something less harmful. This can simply be a
distracting release or may be a constructive
and valuable piece of work.
channels psychic energy away from destructive
acts and into something that is socially
acceptable and/or creatively effective.


Example
I am angry. I go out and chop wood. I end up with
a useful pile of firewood. I am also fitter and
nobody is harmed.
A person who has an obsessive need for control
and order becomes a successful business
entrepreneur.
A person with strong sexual urges becomes an
artist.
A man who has extra-marital desires takes up
household repairs when his wife is out of town.
A surgeon turns aggressive energies and deep
desires to cut people into life-saving acts.

Projection

Description
When a person has uncomfortable thoughts or
feelings, they may project these onto other
people, assigning the thoughts or feelings that
they need to repress to a convenient alternative
target.
Projection may also happen to obliterate
attributes of other people with which we are
uncomfortable. We assume that they are like us,
and in doing so we allow ourselves to ignore
those attributes they have with which we are
uncomfortable.


Complementary projection is assuming that
others do, think and feel in the same way as
you.
Complimentary projection is assuming that
others can do things as well as you.

Example
I do not like another person. But I have a value
that says I should like everyone. So I project
onto them that they do not like me. This
allows me to avoid them and also to handle
my own feelings of dislike.
An unfaithful husband suspects his wife of
infidelity.
A woman who is attracted to a fellow worker
accuses the person of sexual advances.



Intellectualization


Description
where the person avoids uncomfortable
emotions by focusing on facts and logic
Jargon is often used as a device of
intellectualization. By using complex
terminology, the focus becomes on the words
and finer definitions rather than the human
effects.

Example
A person told they have cancer asks for details
on the probability of survival and the success
rates of various drugs. The doctor may join in,
using 'carcinoma' instead of 'cancer' and
'terminal' instead of 'fatal'.
A person who is in heavily debt builds a
complex spreadsheet of how long it would
take to repay using different payment options
and interest rates.

Regression

Description
Regression involves taking the position of a
child in some problematic situation, rather
than acting in a more adult way.
Regressive behavior can be simple and
harmless, such as a person who is sucking a
pen or may be more dysfunctional, such as
crying or using petulant arguments..

Example
A wife refuses to drive a car even though it causes
the family much disorganization. A result of her
refusal is that her husband has to take her
everywhere.
A person who suffers a mental breakdown
assumes a fetal position, rocking and crying.
A child suddenly starts to wet the bed after years
of not doing so (this is a typical response to the
arrival of a new sibling).
A college student carefully takes their teddy-bear
with them (and goes to sleep cuddling it).


Reaction Formation

Description
Reaction Formation occurs when a person
feels an urge to do or say something and then
actually does or says something that is
effectively the opposite of what they really
want.
It also appears as a defense against a feared
social punishment.


Example
A person who is angry with a colleague
actually ends up being particularly courteous
and friendly towards them.
A man who is gay has a number of
conspicuous heterosexual affairs and openly
criticizes gays.
A father, who has a child he does not want to
be responsible, spoils his child with money.



Repression

Description
Repression involves placing uncomfortable
thoughts in relatively inaccessible areas of the
subconscious mind. Thus when things occur
that we are unable to cope with now, we push
them away, either planning to deal with them
at another time or hoping that they will fade
away on their own accord.

Example:
a young man at work finds that he is letting
thoughts about a date that evening interfere
with his duties; he decides not to think about
plans for the evening until he leaves work.
a student goes on vacation worried that she
may be failing; she decides not to spoil her
holiday by thinking of school.
a woman makes an embarrassing faux pas at a
party; she makes an effort to forget all about
it.

Introjection
Identifying with some idea or object so deeply
that it becomes a part of that person.
Example:
a person who picks up traits from their friends
- (someone exclaims "Ridiculous!" all the time
and their friends start saying it too)
Identification
A process by which an individual
unconsciously endeavors to pattern himself
after another.
the child adopts the characteristics of the
same-sex parent and begins to associate
themselves with and copy the behavior of
significant others.
So, a young male child will begin to take on
characteristics of the father (act more like his
father than his mother in the sense of being a
male) and will develop a superego that has
similarities to the moral values and guidelines
by which the parents live their lives (e.g., if the
parents are honest people, the child may
come to realize that honesty is important and
that lying is wrong)
Fantasy
Tendency to retreat into fantasy in order to
resolve inner and outer conflicts.
fantasy is a situation imagined by an
individual or group that has no basis
in reality but expresses certain desires or aims
on the part of its creator.
Fantasies sometimes involve situations which
are impossible (such as the existence of magic
powers) or highly unlikely; or they may be
more realistic.
more basic meaning of fantasy is something
which is not real, or cannot be real.
Example:
- the poor fantasized to be rich
- a student fantasized to become popular
Compensation
Encountering failure or frustration in some
sphere of activity, one overemphasizes
another. The term is also applied to the process
of over-correcting for a handicap or limitation.
Examples:
-a physically unattractive adolescent becomes an
expert dancer.
-a youth with residual muscle damage from
poliomyelitis becomes an athlete.
Aggression
An action to express the frustration
aggressively.
May harm, destroy & use aggressive physical
action
Example:
- a teenager beats his friends for a
misunderstanding
- a kids crying loudly because his mother does
not buy his favourite toy
FACTORS INFLUENCING
DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONCEPT
EXPERIENCE
PSYCHOLOGICAL
FACTORS
SOCIAL
PERSUASIONS
MODELLING
EXPERIENCE
"Mastery experience" is the most important factor
deciding a person's self-efficacy. Simply put, success
raises self-efficacy, failure lowers it.

"Children cannot be fooled by empty praise and
condescending encouragement. They may have to
accept artificial bolstering of their self-esteem in lieu of
something better, but what I call their accruing ego
identity gains real strength only from wholehearted
and consistent recognition of real accomplishment,
that is, achievement that has meaning in their culture."
(Erik Erikson)

MODELLING
If they can do it, I can do it as well.

This is a process of comparison
between oneself and someone else. When
people see someone succeeding at something,
their self-efficacy will increase; and where they
see people failing, their self-efficacy will
decrease. This process is more effectual when a
person sees him- or herself as similar to his or her
own model. If a peer who is perceived as having
similar ability succeeds, this will usually increase
an observer's self-efficacy.
SOCIAL PERSUASIONS
Social persuasions relate to
encouragements/discouragements. These can
have a strong influence most people
remember times where something said to
them significantly altered their confidence.
While positive persuasions increase self-
efficacy, negative persuasions decrease it. It is
generally easier to decrease someone's self-
efficacy than it is to increase it.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
In unusual, stressful situations, people commonly exhibit signs of
distress; shakes, aches and pains, fatigue, fear, nausea, etc. A
person's perceptions of these responses can markedly alter a
person's self-efficacy. If a person gets 'butterflies in the stomach'
before public speaking, those with low self-efficacy may take this as
a sign of their own inability, thus decreasing their self-efficacy
further, while those with high self-efficacy are likely to interpret
such physiological signs as normal and unrelated to his or her
actual ability. Thus, it is the person's belief in the implications of
their physiological response that alters their self-efficacy, rather
than the sheer power of the response.







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-efficacy
1. Teachers should organize activities which is
suitable with the students interest and
abilities. This will ensure the students to be
successful and eventually develop and
increase their positive self-concept.
2. Teachers must stressed about the enrichment
of good moral values in moral education as
well as in religious education. This will
prevent the other students from humiliating
their friends.
3. Encouraging the students to participate in
motivational camp or national service to
nurture them to be brave, active and
encourageous.
4. Praise the students to show the recognition
to their ability to submit the task well.
5. Make sure the students obtained balance
diet and have enough rest. A healthy student
will be able to participate in any social
activities needed to help them build the
positive self-concept.
6. Help the students to sweep away the attitude
of embarrassed to ask question. The bravery
to put forward questions will increase their
knowledge. The more knowledgeable the
students, the more confident they will be and
hence, increase their self-concept.
7. Help the students to socialize and
communicate. Both skills will help them to
interact with peers and teachers.
8. Prepare the students with the skills like
making decision, time management, effective
studies and overcome the stress. All these
skills will help the students to handle any
problems or difficulties which can hand down
their self-concept.
9. Create group of peer counselor to help the
students who are weak and having a lot of
problems.
To sum up:

Teachers are responsible in helping children
develop a positive self-concept.
Teachers must give the opportunity to the
children to explore their talent.
Teachers must be sensitive to pupils ability
and interest.
QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Asmah is a Form 3 student. She is a quiet and
timid girl. She does not has her own self-
confidence.

Explain how would you help Asmah to
increase her own self-concept.
Answer
The end,
thank you