The Self-Concept in the Social World - Essay Example

The self-concept affiliation The self-concept The self-concept in the social world Among humanity, people are created with different personal characteristics that tend to determine their preferences and options in life. This differentiation influenced the creation of self-concept. Self-concept is the ability of a person to understand their position in regards to ability and wants. In an argument by Myers (2009) the concept is involuntary as all people have a particular preference when presented with option. The author further points out that we tend to understand our abilities internally thus respecting the self-concept theory (Myers, 2009). Self-concept is way a person realizes a set of beliefs that define them. The beliefs explain the elements of academic performance, sexuality, racial identity and gender roles. In general, the self concept seeks to answer the question, “who am I?” (Myers, 2009). In regards to the social world, self-concept bears great significance. A person’s social interaction is highly dependable on their self-concept. For instance, one may be required to choose the companionship of different social circles. This selection is based on one’s ability to fit in the group. This assumption may be proven by the consideration that people tend to fit into groups in which they feel comfortable in. this creates the existence of groups based on religion or a particular race. In an argument by Argyle (2008) self-selection of social preferences proves the existence of the self-concept. The author provides an example where a person with the quest to commit a crime finds solace with persons with the same ambition (Argyle, 2008). In addition, the similarity in these persons creates a group with individuals with similar social wants. The same assumption can justify the existence of racial affiliated groups as well as religious based groups. Herbert & Nagy (2009) also assert that the existence of social circles based on different wants and preferences proves the existence of personal selection. The argument is further justified by the assumption that it is involuntary to join these groups as one is influenced by their own personal selection. The social world is also dependent on the ability of a person to develop interpersonal characteristics such as self-esteem and self-confidence. Self-esteem refers to the ability of a person to realize how efficient in there are in their self-concept. For instance, it takes self-concept for one to realize they are exceptional runners but it takes self-esteem to cite that they are fast runners. However, self-esteem is different from self-concept in that it voluntary. One can build up self-esteem after it has never existed in them. Self-confidence on the other hand enables a person to take on a challenge since they believe in their have exceptional abilities to tackle the challenge. The role of this combination in the social world and self-concept is significant. The society relies on the development of people to create change. Change is only created by people who have a developing social-concept, boosted self-esteem and established self-confidence (Argyle, 2008). The author further cites that there is great relationship between self-concepts and society change (Argyle, 2008). One major aspect of social concept in the society is the ability of a person to place them in position they admire. This is aspect is influenced by (Huitt, 2011); The reaction to others Comparison to others Social roles Identification The reaction to other is based on the way in which people react during interactions. If a person is admired and flattered by another, they tend to develop a positive perception towards them. They fell wanted and develop comfort when in this interaction (Huitt, 2011). Moreover, when a person develops negative perception on other, the trend may be created by neglect and hatred towards them. Comparison to others is influenced by our perception on their social achievement. For instance, a person always feels challenged and jealous to person with greater success and wealth. This trend creates groups based on social class. Person from a similar social class have similarities mostly based on their hatred towards people with greater success and wealth (Huitt, 2011). Social roles define ones preference on their future roles. Roles such as doctors, pilot and sportsmanship carry much prestige and mostly preferred by majorities. Some social roles are never considered such as morgue attendants and prisoners since they are affiliated to stigmatization. The process of identification is developed by our ability to relate to a particular group of persons with a particular set of abilities (Huitt, 2011). A person is identified with the roles their affiliated to. The self-concept in my own life In my personal life, self-realization was preceded by my self-concept. I had to identify with my environment and select my priorities. This took much time as a person is exposed to numerous options in their environment. Herbert & Nagy (2009)point out that self-concept are activated after a person acquires knowledge on their life after birth. However, development enables one acquire an involuntary self-concept. Firstly, one relates to their family members positively. A person then develops the need to acquire social interactions. This is influenced by the ability of people to relate to their preferences. At a young age, a person selects companionship as preferred by their family members considering their relation to the family setting. However, as one develops they acquire an involuntary preference on wants they would prefer from people. For instance, one may only prefer relations to religious people or people from a particular religious group. However, their selection is based on a first time interaction to a particular group (Herbert & Nagy, 2009). Personally, my self-concept was never biased to create interaction with people from a particular group. My interaction preference was based on my reaction to others. I always felt comfortable interacting with persons who were polite and friendly towards me. This trait was developed while still young as I limited my interaction with rude and violent persons. Herbert & Nagy (2009) assert that this preference till one reaches maturity. The author further points out that self-concept during development justifies the type of preferences one embraces when the reach maturity. Moreover, my family setting provided me with perfect choices of my preferred personalities in people. However, I had to acquire self-esteem self-efficacy. Since my childhood my relation to failure was poor. Failure dented my self-esteem as I was afraid to take on similar challenges. With experience I realized the power of positive thinking and its effect on the self-esteem. In an argument by Argyle (2008) positive thinking and attitude are the main component to develop self-esteem. One should understand failure is part of one’s experiences and attempting in areas one failed before boosts the self-esteem. With the help of mature people around me, I acquired patience and positivity which was of significant help in boosting my self-esteem. In addition, the continued interaction with positive minded people eliminates the option to accept failure (Herbert & Nagy, 2009). Similar to other people in the society, one has to learn self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is one’s ability to have exceptional skills to tackle a particular problem. I acquired self-efficacy through social interactions with experience social circles. Moreover, my enrollment in school was a major factor in enhancing my self-efficacy. In an assertion by Argyle (2008) deficiency in knowledge can be addressed by simply creating helpful social interaction as well as exposure to educational institutions. Each level of development has a particular set of knowledge one should acquire to enhance their efficacy. Herbert & Nagy (2009) cite the Piaget theory which explains child development in regards to the depth of information they should exposed to at different development stages. A child should be provided with a particular set of knowledge at a specific age to enable them to understand. This ensures a smooth transition from one development age to another in regards to acquiring self-efficacy (Huitt, 2011). Social experiences that have impacted your own personal development One main experience was my enrollment in school. My time in school enable me develop self-esteem, self-confidence and self-efficacy. The school experience was different from the social interaction I was accustomed to. Everything has a plan and I was able to develop the ability to manage time. Socially, I was exposed to people from different social classes, age and race. I developed a trait to minimize bias when interacting with students from dissimilar social preferences. I developed the trait to treat anyone as equal prior to my infraction to them. The classroom setting developed my self-efficacy as I was exposed to information and knowledge I required later in life. In general, my experience in school was a platform to acquire knowledge I find significant to date. My exposure to the American culture was also a significant experience in my personal development. My realization that I had to play a role as an American citizen provided with much knowledge and information. For instance, I acquired patriotism which enabled me to value the privileges my country provided me. In addition, it was a uniting factor in the society as I developed with the perception that every person around me was related to me. This enabled me to create social interaction with ease and comfort. References Argyle, M. (2008). Social Encounters: Contributions to Social Interaction. Boston: Aldine Transaction. Herbert, W. & Nagy, G. (2009). Within-school social comparison: How students perceive the standing of their class predicts academic self-concept. Journal of Educational Psychology,101 (4): 853–866. Huitt, W. (2011).Self and self-views: Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta: Valdosta State University. Myers, D. (2009). Social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Read More