Self Concept Paper

Self Concept Paper

Introduction

People think about themselves. This observation is hardly surprising, but it reflects something quite unique and extraordinary about human beings. With the exception of chimpanzees and orangutans, humans are the only animals for which self-awareness has been documented scientifically. Humans are unique in other ways, of course, and there is reason to think that these defining features of human nature are linked to, if not made possible by, the capacity to reflect on one's own behavior, psychological processes, and existence (Burger and Guadagno, 2003). Self-reflection is more than a fleeting mental state (as it likely is for other primates); rather, it promotes an internalized representation or concept of one's competencies, values, personality traits, social worth, and other personal attributes. This paper discusses my self-concept in a concise and comprehensive way.

Discussion

I personally think that having a self-concept is a uniquely human trait. The capacity to form a self-concept presumably evolved because it promoted survival and reproduction among early humans. Because people have a self-concept, they can consider themselves in alternative times and circumstances.

Thus, I think that one adaptive function of the self-concept lies in helping people plan for the future. Goals, particularly ideals and obligations, are indeed central to people's self-concepts. When a person's current self differs from his or her desired self, this motivates the person to take action to move closer to the desired self. Another adaptive function of the self-concept is to facilitate social behavior. In the light of my example I will say that when people view themselves similarly as their interaction partners, this helps people predict how others will behave toward them. A shared cultural background may lead people to construe their self-concepts in a similar manner (Burger and Guadagno, 2003). For instance, people living in Western cultures like the United States or France tend to regard themselves as more independent from others. By contrast, people living in Eastern cultures such as Japan or India tend to think of themselves as more mutually dependent. When people have similar self-concepts, they may understand each other better.

When people learn about themselves, certain kinds of information are especially valuable to them. It seems intuitively plausible that people should be interested in obtaining accurate information about themselves. The desire for accurate information about the self has been called the self-assessment motive. As it turns out, self-assessment is not the only motive surrounding the self-concept. Three additional motives ...