The Self Concept Is Our Mental Image Of Our Self Essay

Feldman’s description of development conforms to Hawkins’ (n.d.) design of the different systems symbolized by his concentric circles regarding the development of a person’s personality. According to Hart (1999), Wilson (2001), and Backus and Chapian (2000) to change the way one thinks it is necessary to effect change in one’s live because thoughts influence how events and other people are perceived. Everyone has different influences in their lives, from families to beliefs to economic situations; therefore, each person is a distinct and unique individual.

The psychologists believe that individual’s behaviour is linked with the inner thoughts and self-image. The idea is that due to free will people change often. It is humans’ responsibility on how their well-being and lives carry on. This is because we are capable of striving to achieve the best, self-actualisation desire.

People whose self-concept high incongruence makes their experience contradict with their self-perception. Relatively incongruent self-concept leads to recurrent anxiety. There for from this anxiety they display defensive behaviour in order to relate their experience with their self-concept so that it will seem quite accurate, i.e. they protect their self-concept by displaying defensive behaviour of ignoring, denying and twisting reality (Wieten, 2014).

In this task I will compare two theories of self-esteem which contribute to our understanding of self-concept. The theories which I will be focused on are Bowlby’s and Harter’s.

An individual’s opinion of who and what they helps them form and develop their own individuality. It is established through the individual’s behaviour and attitude. It relates to how they view themselves and is associated with their own self-image, body image and self-esteem. Murphy (as cited by Gross, 2001) stated the self is part of the individual which is understood and know to by the individual them self. A person’s physical appearance is the first thing that is seen when they are in contact with others. If the individual feels positive and confident within themselves then this will influence the development of a strong and healthy life. This can also influence how they experience life allowing them to develop in a positive, healthy way and enabling them to build up strong relationships with others. Self concept can be based upon one’s own expectations and goals which they hold

Under the guidance of a counsellor who reflects upon Carl Rogers Person centred style of therapy I would be able to examine the accuracy of my perception of self and

When we communicate we influence how others view us and we create an impression, when we receive opinions from others especially our significant other it influences how we feel about ourselves and helps create our self-concept. The reaction of others, your comparison with others, the social roles you play, and the groups of people you identify with all contribute to the development of your self-concept. According to Bevan and Sole part of the way you construct your self-concept is by choosing to accept or reject what other people tell you about yourself. Your self-concept is influenced by the people you surround yourself with and by what they tell you, to keep a positive self-concept it is helpful to surround yourself with someone who is positive and who speaks highly of you. You both must lift each other up and help each other to feel great about yourselves. “To grow and learn about yourself, you must be open-minded about other people 's opinions,” (Bevan and Sole 2014). Your opinions of each other mean a great deal to how you both feel about your selves and how you perceive yourselves. Your self-concept is how you feel about yourself but if you are told everyday of your life that you are ugly you will eventually think that you are a bit ugly, but if you are told you are beautiful you will think you are beautiful. Don’t ever put each other down even if it is unintentionally, always think before you speak! You can criticize or tell one another your thoughts and opinions

The development of congruence is reliant on unconditional positive regard. Carl Rogers believed a person must be in a state of congruence to actually achieve self-actualization. A state of congruence exists when a patient’s actual experience and ideal self and are very similar. All people experience a certain amount of incongruence, and rarely experience a full state of

“whole” view of themselves (Butman, Jones, 2011, 141). On the contrary, individuals who do not

My view of human nature borrows from person-centered therapy in that people are trustworthy, can solve their own problems and have potential for growth (Corey, 2013a). It also borrows from the Rogerian view of human nature that is similar to Adler’s beliefs that a person is responsible for oneself and capable of growth, wellness and moving from a discouraged state to an encouraged state (Corey, 2013a). I also believe that people think and feel the way they do because of their experiences. This includes past experiences in as much as the experiences influences the present and need to be looked at to reveal truths for the individual. I

The first approach to self-schema development we will evaluate is Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT) (Higgins, 1987). In this theory self-schemas develop to drive the actual self (who somebody is now) towards the ideal self (who somebody wants to be) and the ought self (who somebody should be according to others). Reflected appraisals build a network of the actual self, and this knowledge is used to move towards the ideal and ought selves. Discrepancies between actual and ideal result in dejection, and discrepancies between actual and ought result in agitation (Higgins, Bond, Klein, &

In fact, this theory proposes that, “to live is to feel inferior” (Mosak 1995). However, when the individual begins to act inferior rather than feel inferior, the individual is engaging in “discouragement” or the inferiority complex (Mosak 1995). “To oversimplify, the inferiority feeling is universal and ‘normal’; the inferiority complex reflects the discouragement of a limited segment of our society and is usually ‘abnormal’” (Mosak 1995). This theory views the healthy and “ideal” individual as one who engages in life experiences with confidence and optimism. “There is a sense of belonging and contributing, the ‘courage to be imperfect,’ and the serene knowledge that one can be acceptable to others, although imperfect” (Mosak 1995).

Carl Rogers believed that each of us have the basic motive to fulfill our potential, growing and developing like all other living organisms. Just like plants must have the proper environment to flourish, and produce fruit, people can only grow to their fullest potential in the appropriate environment. Rogers saw that destructive behavior was derived from poor self-concept or incongruence between self and experience (Murdock, 2013). Further, Rogers believed that in order for a person to grow to their maximized potential, they must reach a state of congruence. Murdock described congruence as a perception of the self being consistent with the experience and without distortion

Carl Rogers view the self-concept as a collection of beliefs about one’s nature, unique qualities, and typical behaviour. Rogers believed that people are aware of their self-concepts. Our self-concept is our mental image of our self. It is a collection of our self-perceptions. For example, a self-concept might include such beliefs as the case example suggests, Dan expresses “I’m such a failure!” or “I just can’t cope with this!” Rogers used the term incongruence to introduce the disparity between one’s self-concept and one’s actual experience. On the contrary, congruence is an adequate match between the self-concept and reality. Our self-concept is not completely constant with our actual experiences. Forthrightly, our self-concept may be imprecise. Most people are likely to misinterpret their experience to a certain degree in order to develop a positive self-concept. For example, you believe that you are brave enough to do a skydive but when the actual time arrives you intend to surrender. Rodgers advocated that a great deal of incongruence can weaken an individual’s psychological well-being. On the other hand, if a person’s self-concept is fairly