Self-concept: what is it and how is it formed?

We define the idea of "self-concept" and explain how we construct this image of ourselves.

In psychology we work with ideas and concepts that can often cause confusion.

The self-conceptfor example, is one of the most commonly used theoretical constructs, but this does not mean that everyone understands what we are talking about when we use this term. Its meaning is not as intuitive as that of the word self-esteem and, in turn, it is not always easy to understand what we are talking about if we ignore some assumptions from which current psychology works.

So... what exactly is self-concept? Throughout this article we will see what the characteristics of this psychological phenomenon are, what implications it has for mental health, and why it is important to dedicate resources to keeping it in good shape.

Self-concept: a quick definition

Self-concept is the image we have created of ourselves. Not just a visual image, of course; rather, it is the set of ideas that we believe define us, both consciously and unconsciously. This includes a practically infinite number of concepts that could be included in this "image" about ourselves, since each idea can harbor within it many others, creating systems of categories that are inside each other.

Thus, it could be a component of our self-concept our idea of what shyness is, but also a rough idea about our intelligence. There are a multitude of elements that can be a constituent part of this self-image, and the self-concept serves to encompass them under a label.

Thus, if we assume that a person's mind is composed of a network of concepts that partially overlap each other (for example, "rose bush" overlaps a little with "plant" and with "red", if we imagine flowers of that color), the self-concept is the point at which different ideas and beliefs overlap at the same point, making the concept of "I" emerge from this combination, something that is present in animals with the capacity to create and interpret abstract concepts.

In short, the self-concept is the set of characteristics (aesthetic, physical, affective, etc.) that serve to define the image of the "I".

Some keys to understand what self-concept is

These are some explanations to qualify the meaning of the term self-concept; some of its main characteristics.

1. It is relatively stable

It makes sense to speak of the existence of the self-concept precisely because it is possible to find some patterns and defining characteristics of each person that tend to be always there.. If the self-concept varied totally every second, it would not exist.

That is why many psychologists devote part of their efforts to discovering what defines people's self-concept. This can be used to treat problems in clinical psychology, but also, for example, to establish population or consumer profiles.

On the other hand, self-concept can evolve over time, but not abruptly, and always following rather gradual and smooth trends. It can also change through psychotherapy, in which tools such as cognitive restructuring help to modify beliefs about oneself.

2. Self-concept can change

Although it tends to remain relatively unchanged over time, self-concept is far from static.. It is constantly changing, just as our experiences and the course of our thoughts are constantly changing. However, the fact that the self-concept does not always remain the same does not mean that it can contain any idea about ourselves.

It is clear that something that we considered totally foreign to our way of being or behaving may, after a while, become part of the set of things that we consider to define us. However, this does not change the fact that, at the beginning, this idea or quality was not part of our self-concept, and that only with the passing of time it has been able to be included in it.

We find numerous examples of this variability of self-concept in adolescents. Adolescence is a stage in which the ways of understanding reality, feeling and relating to others change abruptly. And these "shocks" occur, of course, also in the way these young people see themselves. It is quite normal to see how adolescents totally deny an aesthetic and a system of values that, soon after, will be integrated into their self-concept..

3. The self-concept has blurred boundaries

The self-concept is a theoretical construct with which psychologists work, not something that can be isolated in a laboratory.. This means that, where the self-concept is embodied, there are also other elements: an emotional and evaluative tinge to oneself, the influences of associated ideas, the influence of culture on one's self-concept, etc.

Thus, the difference between self-concept and self-esteem, or between self-concept and other concepts (i.e., those that refer not to oneself but to others or to the rest of the world) is essentially a boundary established by psychologists and serves to better understand the functioning of mental processes.

4. The distance between ideas is relative

This is something that follows from the previous point. Normally, people do not understand that all those ideas that are encompassed within our self-concept define us equally, in the same way that there are ideas that define us in the same way, in the same way that there are ideas that define us in the same way.In the same way that there are certain elements that lie on the borderline between what defines us and what does not. That is why everything we talk about when we talk about self-concept is relative. We always evaluate to what extent we are defined by something by comparing it with another element.

For example, we may not be a big fan of a brand of sportswear, but when we think of other types of clothing that we perceive as totally foreign to us (for example, a folk costume from remote islands), we consider that brand to be quite close to the set of ideas that populate our self-concept.

5. There is a difference between self-concept and self-esteem

Although the two ideas are similar, self-concept is not the same, self-concept is not the same as self-esteem.. The former serves only to describe ourselves, while self-esteem is the concept that refers to the way we value ourselves. In other words, self-concept refers to the cognitive aspect of the way we see ourselves, while self-esteem has its raison d'être in the emotional and evaluative component from which we judge ourselves. Both theoretical constructs, however, refer to something subjective and private.

In addition, the term "self-concept" is often used, taking for granted that it includes both self-concept and self-esteem. However, for the avoidance of doubt, it is advisable to use these terms separately, However, for the avoidance of doubt, it is advisable to use these terms separately..

6. It is related to self-consciousness

A self-concept exists because we are aware that we exist as an entity differentiated from the rest. That is why, at the moment we begin to perceive the presence of things that are alien to us, a form of self-concept is already being born, however rudimentary it may be.. It is a dialectic in which one concept gives rise to the existence of the other.

7. It is sensitive to the environment

The term self-concept can lead us to the error that this is a mental phenomenon that appears without further ado in people, and whose only relationship with the environment is from the inside out: it affects how we behave and act by modifying the environment, but it is not affected from the outside. This is a mistake.

Self-concept is a dynamic process, caused by a mixture of interactions between genes and environment. Therefore, it is not isolated within individuals, but evolves as a result of our experiences and habits. This is why the self-concept is closely linked to our social life, and it is through language, a phenomenon that arises from collectivity, that we are able to arrive at an idea of "I".

What is it good for?

The self-concept allows us to make inferences about everything that has to do with how we behave and how others perceive us. and the way in which others behave with respect to us. If, for example, we believe that we are not good at soccer and we assume that our peers value that negatively, we will tend to believe that in that social circle the possibilities of having a good status are reduced, and perhaps we will choose to meet new people.

Another behavior-based perspective

The term self-concept can make us think that it is just another piece of the brain, an element that makes us emit certain types of behaviors and not others. However, there is a paradigm in psychology that denies this type of definition of self-concept.

For behaviorism, self-concept is not an internal phenomenon of the human mind, but a behavior, a way of performing certain actionsMore specifically, it is a way of making verbal evaluations of how we tend to behave in relation to our surroundings.

Thus, we must not lose sight of the fact that self-concept always exists in relation to the material world in which we live, and not in isolation in our body.