1 Psychology and human development1.10 Social psychology
1.10.1.4 Self psychology
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Written by Resident Doctor Committee · Published
Parts of the self
William James separated the "I", the experiencing subject, from the "me", the self that can be described and evaluated.
Term | Question it answers | Nature |
|---|---|---|
Self-concept | Who am I? | Organised structure of self-knowledge |
Self-image | How do I see myself now? | Present-tense description of oneself |
Self-esteem | What am I worth? | Evaluation of one's worth, favourable to unfavourable |
Personal identity | Am I the same person over time? | Continuity and distinctiveness |
Self-esteem is the evaluative component of the self-concept, unlike self-image, the ideal self or self-efficacy.
Higgins separated the ideal self (hopes) from the ought self (duties), and falling short of each brings dejection and agitation respectively.
Development of the self
The bodily self, the infant's awareness of its own body as separate from the world, emerges first, in the first year, and self-identity, self-esteem and self-image depend on it.
Visual self-recognition emerges at around 18 months: in the mirror (rouge) test, the infant touches a mark placed unnoticed on its own face.
The mirror test measures visual recognition only, not the whole self-concept.
Sources of self-knowledge
Source | How it works |
|---|---|
Social comparison (Festinger) | Evaluating one's own abilities and opinions against others, especially similar others, when no objective standard exists |
Reflected appraisal (Cooley's looking-glass self) | Inferring oneself from how others treat one |
Self-perception (Bem) | Inferring one's attitudes from one's own behaviour when internal cues are weak |