Unit 1: Understanding self, meaning of self, self concept ,self-awareness, self-
esteem, self-image, self acceptance
Self esteem
Self-esteem is the general opinion a person has about himself or herself. Having
high but realistic self-esteem is essential to good mental health.A person's
childhood experiences generally shape his or her self-esteem. Parents, teachers,
and childhood friends all have a powerful impact on how self-esteem develops.Self-
esteem is frequently discussed in the context of childhood development, but adults
also need to have and maintain healthy self-esteem.
Self-esteem reflects a person's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her
own worth. It is a judgment of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self. Self-
esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself, (for example, "I am competent", "I am
worthy"), as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame.
Smith and Mackie (2007) defined it by saying "The self-concept is what we think
about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in
how we feel about it."
Self-esteem is attractive as a social psychological construct because researchers
have conceptualized it as an influential predictor of certain outcomes, such as
academic achievement, happiness, satisfaction in marriage and relationships, and
criminal behaviour. Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for
example, "I believe I am a good writer and feel happy about that") or a global extent
(for example, "I believe I am a bad person, and feel bad about myself in general").
Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring personality characteristic
("trait" self-esteem), though normal, short-term variations ("state" self-esteem)
also exist. Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: self-worth,[7] self-
regard,[8] self-respect,[9][10] and self-integrity.
Self image
Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change,
that depicts not only details that are potentially available to objective investigation
by others (height, weight, hair color, etc.), but also items that have been learned
by that person about themself, either from personal experiences or by internalizing
,the judgments of others. A simple definition of a person's self-image is their answer
to the question "What do you believe people think about you?".
Self-image may consist of three types:
1. Self-image resulting from how the individual sees themself.
2. Self-image resulting from how others see the individual.
3. Self-image resulting from how the individual perceives others see them or
not.
These three types may or may not be an accurate representation of the person. All,
some or none of them may be true.
A more technical term for self-image that is commonly used by social and cognitive
psychologists is self-schema. Like any schema, self-schemas store information and
influence the way we think and remember. For example, research indicates that
information which refers to the self is preferentially encoded and recalled in
memory tests, a phenomenon known as "self-referential encoding".[1] Self-
schemas are also considered the traits people use to define themselves, they draw
information about the self into a coherent scheme.
The self-schema refers to a long lasting and stable set of memories that summarize
a person's beliefs, experiences and generalizations about the self, in specific
behavioral domains. A person may have a self-schema based on any aspect of
himself or herself as a person, including physical characteristics, personality traits
and interests, as long as they consider that aspect of their self important to their
own self-definition.
For example, someone will have an extroverted self-schema if they think of
themselves as extroverted and also believe that their extroversion is central to who
they are. Their self-schema for extroversion may include general self-
categorizations ("I am sociable."), beliefs about how they would act in certain
situations ("At a party I would talk to lots of people") and also memories of specific
past events ("On my first day at university I made lots of new friends").
, Self-acceptance can be defined as:
• the awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses,
• the realistic (yet subjective) appraisal of one's talents, capabilities, and
general worth, and,
• feelings of satisfaction with one's self despite deficiencies and regardless of
past behaviors and choices.[1][2][3]
According to Shepard (1979), self-acceptance is an individual's satisfaction or
happiness with oneself, and is thought to be necessary for good mental health. Self-
acceptance involves self-understanding, a realistic, albeit subjective, awareness of
one's strengths and weaknesses. It results in an individual's feeling about oneself,
that they are of "unique worth".
In clinical psychology and positive psychology, self-acceptance is considered the
prerequisite for change to occur. It can be achieved by stopping criticizing and
solving the defects of one's self, and then accepting them to be existing within one's
self. That is, tolerating oneself to be imperfect in some parts.
SELF DEVELOPMENT / Personal development covers activities that improve
awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and
facilitate employability, enhance the quality of life and contribute to the realization
of dreams and aspirations. Personal development takes place over the course of a
person's entire life.[1] Not limited to self-help, the concept involves formal and
informal activities for developing others in roles such as teacher, guide, counselor,
manager, life coach or mentor. When personal development takes place in the
context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and
assessment systems that support human development at the individual level in
organizations.
Among other things, personal development may include the following activities:
• improving self-awareness
• improving self-knowledge
• improving skills and/or learning new ones
• building or renewing identity/self-esteem
esteem, self-image, self acceptance
Self esteem
Self-esteem is the general opinion a person has about himself or herself. Having
high but realistic self-esteem is essential to good mental health.A person's
childhood experiences generally shape his or her self-esteem. Parents, teachers,
and childhood friends all have a powerful impact on how self-esteem develops.Self-
esteem is frequently discussed in the context of childhood development, but adults
also need to have and maintain healthy self-esteem.
Self-esteem reflects a person's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her
own worth. It is a judgment of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self. Self-
esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself, (for example, "I am competent", "I am
worthy"), as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame.
Smith and Mackie (2007) defined it by saying "The self-concept is what we think
about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in
how we feel about it."
Self-esteem is attractive as a social psychological construct because researchers
have conceptualized it as an influential predictor of certain outcomes, such as
academic achievement, happiness, satisfaction in marriage and relationships, and
criminal behaviour. Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for
example, "I believe I am a good writer and feel happy about that") or a global extent
(for example, "I believe I am a bad person, and feel bad about myself in general").
Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring personality characteristic
("trait" self-esteem), though normal, short-term variations ("state" self-esteem)
also exist. Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: self-worth,[7] self-
regard,[8] self-respect,[9][10] and self-integrity.
Self image
Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change,
that depicts not only details that are potentially available to objective investigation
by others (height, weight, hair color, etc.), but also items that have been learned
by that person about themself, either from personal experiences or by internalizing
,the judgments of others. A simple definition of a person's self-image is their answer
to the question "What do you believe people think about you?".
Self-image may consist of three types:
1. Self-image resulting from how the individual sees themself.
2. Self-image resulting from how others see the individual.
3. Self-image resulting from how the individual perceives others see them or
not.
These three types may or may not be an accurate representation of the person. All,
some or none of them may be true.
A more technical term for self-image that is commonly used by social and cognitive
psychologists is self-schema. Like any schema, self-schemas store information and
influence the way we think and remember. For example, research indicates that
information which refers to the self is preferentially encoded and recalled in
memory tests, a phenomenon known as "self-referential encoding".[1] Self-
schemas are also considered the traits people use to define themselves, they draw
information about the self into a coherent scheme.
The self-schema refers to a long lasting and stable set of memories that summarize
a person's beliefs, experiences and generalizations about the self, in specific
behavioral domains. A person may have a self-schema based on any aspect of
himself or herself as a person, including physical characteristics, personality traits
and interests, as long as they consider that aspect of their self important to their
own self-definition.
For example, someone will have an extroverted self-schema if they think of
themselves as extroverted and also believe that their extroversion is central to who
they are. Their self-schema for extroversion may include general self-
categorizations ("I am sociable."), beliefs about how they would act in certain
situations ("At a party I would talk to lots of people") and also memories of specific
past events ("On my first day at university I made lots of new friends").
, Self-acceptance can be defined as:
• the awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses,
• the realistic (yet subjective) appraisal of one's talents, capabilities, and
general worth, and,
• feelings of satisfaction with one's self despite deficiencies and regardless of
past behaviors and choices.[1][2][3]
According to Shepard (1979), self-acceptance is an individual's satisfaction or
happiness with oneself, and is thought to be necessary for good mental health. Self-
acceptance involves self-understanding, a realistic, albeit subjective, awareness of
one's strengths and weaknesses. It results in an individual's feeling about oneself,
that they are of "unique worth".
In clinical psychology and positive psychology, self-acceptance is considered the
prerequisite for change to occur. It can be achieved by stopping criticizing and
solving the defects of one's self, and then accepting them to be existing within one's
self. That is, tolerating oneself to be imperfect in some parts.
SELF DEVELOPMENT / Personal development covers activities that improve
awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and
facilitate employability, enhance the quality of life and contribute to the realization
of dreams and aspirations. Personal development takes place over the course of a
person's entire life.[1] Not limited to self-help, the concept involves formal and
informal activities for developing others in roles such as teacher, guide, counselor,
manager, life coach or mentor. When personal development takes place in the
context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and
assessment systems that support human development at the individual level in
organizations.
Among other things, personal development may include the following activities:
• improving self-awareness
• improving self-knowledge
• improving skills and/or learning new ones
• building or renewing identity/self-esteem
