The self: self-perception

Social psychology studies how an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by
others. In line with this, social psychologists study the relationship between the individual and
his or her environment. It is claimed that the individual is influenced by his or her social and
physical environment, just as the individual in turn influences the physical and social
environment. From the above, it can be understood that at the foundation of all human behaviour
(social influence, interaction, etc.) is the self. Because an understanding of the self is so
important, it has been studied for many years by psychologists and is still one of the most
researched topics in social psychology. Social psychologists conceptualise the self using the
basic principles of social psychology—that is, the relationship between individual persons and
the people around them (the person-situation interaction)—and the ABCs of social psychology—
the affective, behavioural, and cognitive components of the self.

Self-perception. This is the idea in terms of the thoughts and feelings an individual has about the
kind of person he or she is. This includes your mental or physical attributes that constitute the
self. People's self-perceptions are often very different from the way other people perceive them.

The cognitive aspects of the self-Self concept and self awareness

Some nonhuman animals, including chimpanzees, orangutans, and perhaps dolphins, have at
least a primitive sense of self (Boysen & Himes, 1999). We know this because of some
interesting experiments that have been done with animals. In one study (Gallup,
1970), researchers painted a red dot on the forehead of anesthetized chimpanzees and then placed
the animals in a cage with a mirror. When the chimps woke up and looked in the mirror, they
touched the dot on their faces, not the dot on the faces in the mirror. This action suggests that the
chimps understood that they were looking at themselves and not at other animals, and thus we
can assume that they are able to realize that they exist as individuals. Most other animals,
including dogs, cats, and monkeys, never realize that it is themselves they see in a mirror.
Infants who have similar red dots painted on their foreheads recognize themselves in a mirror in
the same way that chimps do, and they do this by about 18 months of age (Asendorpf,
Warkentin, & Baudonnière, 1996; Povinelli, Landau, & Perilloux, 1996).
The child’s knowledge about the self continues to develop as the child grows. By two years of
age, the infant becomes aware of his or her gender as a boy or a girl. At age four, the child’s self-

1
descriptions are likely to be based on physical features, such as hair color, and by about age six,
the child is able to understand basic emotions and the concepts of traits, being able to make
statements such as “I am a nice person” (Harter, 1998).
By the time children are in grade school, they have learned that they are unique individuals, and
they can think about and analyze their own behavior. They also begin to show awareness of the
social situation—they understand that other people are looking at and judging them the same
way that they are looking at and judging others (Doherty, 2009).
Self-concept: these are the thoughts that we hold about ourselves, including our beliefs about our
personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles, as well as the
knowledge that we exist as individuals. In other words it implies the thoughts and beliefs we
hold about our mental and physical attributes.
The components of self-concept
Self-concept has three major components:
1. Self-image: self-image refers to the way an individual sees themselves, both physically
and mentally. An individual’s self-image is developed over time and influenced by
personal experiences. This may include such things as intelligent, beautiful, ugly,
talented, selfish, and kind.
2. Self-esteem: self-esteem refers to a person’s feelings of self-worth or the value that they
place on themselves.
3. Ideal self: The ideal self is the person you would like to be or become. Your ideal self
consists of all the values, beliefs, talents, and everything else you find desirable about
yourself.

Self-awareness: This is the extent to which we are currently fixing our attention on our own self-
concept. This means that you are sensitive to the feelings, thoughts and beliefs about your
physical and mental attributes. In other words, it means assessing your own thoughts, feelings,
and beliefs about the kind of person you are.

Factors Affecting Self-Concept and Awareness:

Your self-concept includes many different aspects of your identity, including your physical
appearance, personality traits, values, talents, skills, roles, and relationships. Factors affecting

2
self-concept may include social influences, personality traits, life experiences, values, and
cognitive processes. These are all grouped into the following:
Social Factors: A person’s social environment plays a crucial role in shaping their self-concept.
Parenting styles and parental attitudes influence a child’s self-image and understanding of
personality traits, values, talents, skills, roles, and relationships during the early years of life. As
children mature, other influences, including peers and community members, begin to play a
larger role in shaping their self-concept, particularly as they begin to compare themselves to
other people.
Psychological Factors: Individual psychological factors such as cognitive processes, emotional
experiences, and personality traits also impact a person’s self-concept. For example, the Big 5
personality dimensions, such as neuroticism and conscientiousness, affect how people perceive
themselves and their life experiences. Cognitive factors like self-awareness and self-schema
impact how people sense, process, and interpret information relevant to the formation of their
self-concept.
Environmental factors such as school, work, family, friends, and community can impact how
people perceive themselves, their self-esteem, and their self-image. Parenting styles, interactions
with others, feedback from other people, and relationships can all influence how people see
themselves.
Socioeconomic factors affecting self-concept include access to resources, income, and housing.
People with more economic opportunities may also be exposed to more positive influences on
their self-worth.
Theories of Self-Concept
There are a number of different theories to explain self-concept. An important theory include the
following:
Rogers’ Self-Concept Theory
Carl Rogers, an influential humanist psychologist, suggested that self-concept is composed of
three key elements: self-esteem, self-image, and the ideal self.
 Self-esteem relates to how much you like and value yourself.
 Self-image refers to how you see yourself in reality.
 The ideal self involves your image of the person you want to be.

3
Rogers believed that when your self-image is aligned with your vision of your ideal self, then
you are in a state of congruence. Incongruence can occur if there is a big gap between how you
see yourself and who you want to be. Experiencing incongruence can negatively affect well-
being and lead to low self-esteem.

The affective component of self: self-esteem

Self esteem
Self-esteem refers to a person’s subjective overall feeling or sense of his or her value or worth. It
can be considered a sort of measure of how much a person “values, approves of, appreciates,
prizes, or likes him or herself” (Adler & Stewart, 2004). According to self-esteem expert Morris
Rosenberg in 1965, self-esteem is quite simply one’s attitude towards oneself. He described it as
a “favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the self.”.
Other terms often used interchangeably with self-esteem include self-worth, self-regard, and self-
respect.
The importance of self-esteem
 Self-esteem is important for self-motivation and achieving success in assigned roles or
tasks.
 Studies show that high, realistic self-esteem is important for maintaining good mental
health.
 It is also crucial for the development of a child. The experiences that a child faces during
their growing years are vital to shaping their self-esteem levels. Children need to be
treated with kindness, love, and respect early to develop positive self-esteem.
 Employees with a better sense of self-worth are found to focus better, requires less time
off, and get along better with their team members.

Factors That Affect Self-Esteem

There are many factors that can influence self-esteem. Your self-esteem may be impacted by:
Childhood experience: unrealistic expectations, setting excessively high expectations for a
child, or pushing them to achieve beyond their developmental capabilities can also harm their
self-esteem. On the other hand, realistic expectations based on the child’s developmental
capabilities lead to healthy self-esteem.

4
Health issues or disabilities: If you have health issues or disabilities that limit your ability to do
things that others can do, this may lead to a sense of low self-esteem. Facing discrimination from
others on this basis also affects one's sense of self-esteem.
Genetics: Researchers believe that the genetic basis for self-esteem could be rooted in the
hormone oxytocin, also called the love hormone. Certain variants of the OXTR gene that produce
the oxytocin receptor are associated with increased self-esteem.
Personality: Two of the Big Five personality traits, which are the affective components of
personality, have been reported to influence self-esteem. Extraversion is related to positive self-
esteem, and neuroticism is related to negative self-esteem.
Socioeconomic status: This involves education, income, overall financial security, occupation,
living conditions, resources, and opportunities afforded to people within society. Studies have
found that individuals with high socioeconomic status experience a higher sense of individual
worth or value.

Healthy self-esteem
There are some simple ways to tell if you have healthy self-esteem. You probably have healthy
self-esteem if you:
 Believe you are equal to or better than others.
 Feel confident.
 Be able to express your needs before others.
 See your overall strengths and weaknesses and accept them.
 Have a positive outlook on life.

Low Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem may manifest in a variety of ways. If you have low self-esteem,
 You may believe that others are better than you.
 You may struggle with confidence.
 You may find expressing your needs difficult before others.
 You may focus on your weaknesses.
 You may have a negative outlook on life and feel a lack of control.
 You may frequently experience intense fear of failure, self-doubt, and worry.
 You may have trouble accepting positive feedback.

5
Effects of Low Self-Esteem
It is okay to have low self-esteem from time to time. That’s a part of life. Prolonged periods of
low self-esteem can pose a problem and may lead to a variety of mental health disorders,
including anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. You may feel hopeless, experience a
decrease in productivity, and find it difficult to pursue your goals. Inability to maintain healthy
relationships. It may also lead to drug or alcohol abuse. Having low self-esteem can seriously
impact your quality of life and increase your risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Excessive Self-Esteem
Overly high or excessive self-esteem is often mislabeled as narcissism; however, there are some
distinc traits that differentiate these terms. Individuals with a narcissistic personality are
characterised by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness. Those with
excessive self-esteem:
 May believe they are more skilled or better than others.
 May grossly overestimate their skills and abilities.
 May be preoccupied with being perfect.
 May focus on always being right.
 May believe they cannot fail.
 May express grandiose ideas

Theory of self-esteem
Esteem needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory
Maslow's hierarchy places the desire for respect and admiration at the fourth level. The esteem
needs start to exert more of an influence on behaviour once the needs at the bottom three levels
have been met.
Gaining the respect and appreciation of others becomes more crucial at this point. In Maslow’s
thinking, esteem relates to the need to develop a sense of self-worth by knowing that others are
aware of one’s competence and value. Organisational involvement, job success, team activity,
and individual interests can all be factors that influence the fourth-level need for esteem. As
further explained by Maslow, only when esteem needs have been successfully met is the person
ready to strive for the highest level of need, self-actualization (realising their highest potential).

6
Measuring Self-Esteem with the Rosenberg Scale
The most common scale of self-esteem is Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (also called the RSE
and sometimes the SES). This scale was developed by Rosenberg and presented in his 1965 book
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image.
It contains 10 items rated on a scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree). Some of the
items are reverse-scored, and the total score can be calculated by summing up the total points for
an overall measure of self-esteem.

The 10 items are:

1. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.

2. At times I think I am no good at all.
3. I feel that I have a number of good qualities.
4. I am able to do things as well as most other people.
5. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
6. I certainly feel useless at times.
7. I feel that I’m a person of worth.
8. I wish I could have more respect for myself.
9. All in all, I am inclined to think that I am a failure.
10. I take a positive attitude toward myself.

As you likely figured out already, items 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are reverse-scored, while the other items
are scored normally. This creates a single score of between 10 and 40 points, with lower scores
indicating higher self-esteem. Put another way, higher scores indicate a strong sense of low self-
esteem.
The scale is considered highly consistent and reliable, and scores correlate highly with other
measures of self-esteem and negatively with measures of depression and anxiety. It has been
used by thousands of researchers throughout the years and is still in use today, making it one of
the most-cited scales ever developed

The Social Aspect of Self: The Role of the Social Situation

Although we learn about ourselves in part by examining our own behaviours, our self-concept

and self-esteem are also determined through our interactions with others.

The looking-glass self theory

The looking-glass self theory states that part of our thoughts and feelings about the kind of

person we are or about our physical and mental attributes come from our perception of how

others see us (Cooley, 1902). You might feel that you have a great sense of humour, for example,

because others have told you, and they often laugh (apparently sincerely) at your jokes.

7
The looking-glass self reflects how others’ views of us feed into the way we see ourselves.

Social comparison

Self-concept and self-esteem are also heavily influenced by the process of social comparison.

Social comparison occurs when we learn about our abilities and skills, about the appropriateness

and validity of our opinions, and about our relative social status by comparing our own attitudes,

beliefs, and behaviours with those of others.

There are two kinds of social comparison: upward social comparison and downward social

comparison.

Upward Social Comparison

Upward comparison takes place when we compare ourselves with those who we believe are

better than or superior to us. These comparisons often focus on the desire to improve ourselves,

our current status, or our level of ability. We might compare ourselves to someone better off and

look for ways that we can achieve similar results.

Downward social comparison

Downward social comparisons are when we compare ourselves to others who are worse off than

us. Such comparisons are often centred on making ourselves feel better about our abilities or

traits. We might not be great at something, but at least we are better off than someone else.

Social Identity Theory: Our Sense of Self Is Influenced by the Groups We Belong To

Another social influence on our self-esteem is through our group memberships. For example, we

can gain self-esteem by perceiving ourselves as members of important and valued groups that

make us feel good about ourselves. Social identity theory asserts that we draw part of our sense

of identity and self-esteem from the social groups that we belong to (Hogg, 2003; Oakes,

Haslam, & Turner, 1994; Tajfel, 1981).

8
Normally, group memberships result in positive feelings, which occur because we perceive our

own groups and thus ourselves in a positive light. If you are a Manchester United F.C. fan, or if

you are a Nigerian, or if you are a psychologist, for example, then your membership in the group

becomes part of who you are, and the membership often makes you feel good about yourself.

Self-Presentation: Our Sense of Self Is Influenced by the Audiences We Have

Self-presentation is any behaviour or action you take as an individual with the intention of

influencing other people to see you as you want to be seen. Anytime we're trying to get people to

think of us a certain way, it's an act of self-presentation. However, the self-image we try to

convey varies across people and situations. Generally speaking, we work to present ourselves as

favourably as possible.

Self-presentation can be used strategically to elevate not only our own esteem but also the

esteem we have in the eyes of others.

Because it is so important to be seen as competent and productive members of society, people

naturally attempt to present themselves to others in a positive light. We attempt to convince

others that we are good and worthy people by appearing attractive, strong, intelligent, and

likeable and by saying positive things to others (Jones & Pittman, 1982; Schlenker, 2003).