Self-concept

Self-concept or self identity refers to the global understanding a sentient

being has of him or herself. It presupposes but can be distinguished from
self-consciousness, which is simply an awareness of one's self. It is also more
general than self-esteem, which is the purely evaluative element of the self-
concept.[1]

The self-concept is composed of relatively permanent self-assessments, such

as personality attributes, knowledge of one's skills and abilities, one's
occupation and hobbies, and awareness of one's physical attributes. For
example, the statement, "I am lazy" is a self-assessment that contributes to
the self-concept. In contrast, the statement "I am tired" would not normally
be considered part of someone's self-concept, since being tired is a
temporary state. Nevertheless, a person's self-concept may change with
time, possibly going through turbulent periods of identity crisis and
reassessment.

The self-concept is not restricted to the present. It includes past selves and
future selves. Future selves or "possible selves" represent individuals' ideas
of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they
are afraid of becoming. They correspond to hopes, fears, standards, goals,
and threats. Possible selves may function as incentives for future behavior
and they also provide an evaluative and interpretive context for the current
view of self.

Self & Self-Concept

In stating that the goal for Gestalt therapy work is self support, we put the
unblocking of a positive sense of self at the heart of the maturation process. In an
earlier paper (Korb, 1984) I described one of the reasons for the slowness of the
maturation process: the necessary change of the "core" self concept from the (to
some extent) negative and shameful (Yontef, 1993) sense of self that is learned in
childhood and reinforced by personal experiences throughout life. The mature
"core" self is basically acceptable; the sense of personal identity is positive.

Negative beliefs about the self are built up in early years of life (perhaps
before age 6) as a reaction to the input from significant others. Often this
self-concept, or sense of personal identity, is a response to the lack of
validation or the negativity and criticism (as experienced by the child) that
are addressed to him/her. Although there may be praise also, these
criticisms are built into a set of beliefs about the self that is based on the
perceived truth of the criticisms. The person will behave then in a way that
reinforces the negative concept. If I have been convinced that I am stupid, I
will behave in stupid ways—although in fact I may be quite intelligent. If I
believe that I will never amount to anything, I will sabotage any way in which
I might be successful.

However, in keeping with the Gestalt belief in the wholeness of each

person, in the possibilities that are present in the "core" self, there is also an
inner knowing of the truth, a knowing that I am not stupid or that I can be
whatever is in me to be, that it is wonderfully unavoidable being one's self
and making one's own decisions—that I am important and want to do
important work. This knowing is the foundation for interacting appropriately
with the natural and personal environmental field.

Self-esteem
In psychology, self-esteem reflects a person's overall evaluation or
appraisal of her or his own worth.

Self-esteem encompasses beliefs (for example, "I am

competent/incompetent") and emotions (for example, triumph/despair,
pride/shame). Behavior may reflect self-esteem (for example,
assertiveness/timorousness, confidence/caution).

Psychologists usually regard self-esteem as an enduring personality

characteristic (trait self-esteem), though normal, short-term variations (state
self-esteem) occur.

Self-esteem can apply specifically to a particular dimension (for example, "I

believe I am a good writer, and feel proud of that in particular") or have
global extent (for example, "I believe I am a good person, and feel proud of
myself in general").

Synonyms or near-synonyms of self-esteem include: self-worth[1], self-

regard[2], self-respect[3], [4], self-love (which can express overtones of self-
promotion)[5], self-integrity. Self-esteem is distinct from self-confidence and
self-efficacy, which involve beliefs about ability and future performance.

Self monitoring
Self-monitoring t is a contribution to the psychology of personality,
proposed by Mark Snyder in 1974. The theory refers to the process through
which people regulate their own behavior in order to "look good" so that they
will be perceived by others in a favorable manner. It distinguishes between
high self-monitors, who monitor their behaviour to fit different situations, and
low self-monitors, who are more cross-situationally consistent. Snyder
designed a questionnaire to assess self-monitoring called the Self-Monitoring
Scale, based on the assumption that high self-monitoring could be defined as
consisting of:
1. High concern with the social appropriateness of one's actions;

2. Use of social comparison information;

3. Ability to monitor one's behaviour to fit different situations;

4. Ability to do this in specific situations;

5. Trait variability

On his original version of the Self-Monitoring Scale, he found that Stanford

University students scored significantly higher than psychiatric inpatients,
but significantly lower than people in the acting profession. The theory is of
interest in that it makes an original contribution to the debate on traits
versus situationism. It effectively says that trait consistency can be found in
low self-monitors, whereas a situationist framework is more appropriate for
high self-monitors. Subsequent research using the self-monitoring scale, in
which it has been analysed using factor analysis, has questioned whether the
scale really - as Snyder believed - measures a homogeneous concept.