A COMPARATIVE OF BIBLICAL SELF-CONCEPT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-CONCEPT - Essay Example

A COMPARATIVE OF BIBLICAL SELF-CONCEPT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-CONCEPT Self-concept can be defined both psychologically and biblically. Psychologically, self-concept is the perception that one has in different forms that he/she has acquired while growing up. In this case, the components of self-concept are the self-image which is the personal identity emanating from his/her ego, self-esteem which depicts how a person depicts individual self and the ideal self what depicts what an individual portrays. Biblically, self-concepts involve the use of the law of God as it is written in the bible, as a mirror of character and Jesus Christ as the lead person upon who humans depict their conduct (Reinecke 262). Self-concept development is very important when an individual is growing up because it guides the behavior of the individual with relation to the choices he/she makes while growing up, the individuals expectations from other people and generally how the individual behaves. At child hood, teachers and parents shape self-concept of an individual. As the individual approaches adolescence, self-concept comes from interacting with various people who can be peers or role models and trying to develop a behavior that matches theirs (Reinecke 263). From a biblical point of view, the sense of self-concept emanates from living a Christian guided life. In this case, a person believes that he/she is not alone but with God, his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The bible depicts that when individuals represent themselves according to the nature of God, the likeness of god becomes the individual’s quintessence. In addition, biblical self-concept also comes from the Christian teacher. In this case, the Christian teacher must behave and act in a right way and be an example to the students. As depicted in the bible, Jesus in his teachings tells people that when they make the Kingdom of God their first priority, all other things shall be added unto them. According to this therefore, self-concept, which judges the behavior and conduct of an individual, are because of being obedient to the laws of God (Reinecke 266). There are clear differences between how a positive self-growth occurs psychologically and biblically. According to psychologists, a positive self-growth comes from changing social life insights and achieving a superior self-direction through self-openness, acceptance of others and self-recognition. In terms of changing the social life perception, an individual should view self-concept as a source of information upon which he/she gauges the self. The individual should also take criticisms as drivers to growth and not obstacles to development. Lastly, the individual should be willing to take positive steps that lead to growth. On the other hand, the bible states that positive self-growth comes from a person being answerable to his/her behavior, thinking positively, understanding the need for social relationship, hope, and love. In addition, a person should be authentic and act in a way that depicts the environment where the person comes from (Reinecke 268). In this context, a Christian way of life helps in the teaching of the positive ways that guide individual code of conduct and psychology depicts the acceptance of those teachings. Thus, a positive self-concept comes from the partnership between the biblical aspect of self and the psychological aspect of self and people should therefore embrace the two. Absence of one of the two could lead to some gaps in individual perception and this could negatively affect the individual’s self-concept (Reinecke 270). THE PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Lifespan developmental psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with the examination of static and dynamic changes in human behavior throughout the entire life. Development on the other hand refers to the changes that occur in a person’s life right from conception throughout the entire life. Development can be physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. Development mainly occurs in two forms that is integration, which is a move from acquired behavior to more developed behavior and differentiation, which is the ability to differentiate various things and phenomenon in life (Psychology 1). Lifespan development comprises of various phenomenon. The first one is the belief that development is an enduring process. This principle comprises of two aspects; development takes place throughout an individual’s life and development takes processes that may be absent during childbirth but later emerge during the person’s life. The second principle is that development takes more than a unit dimension and direction. This implies that the path taken by development cannot be defined because a healthy development is often obtained from various ways. The fact that development has gains and losses is also another principle of development. However, it is necessary for the aspect of gain and loss to occur in equal dimensions to as this would necessitate a balanced development. Development is also plastic, implying that variability brings about changes in an individual. Finally, development must not always come from a unique discipline and thus, development is multidisciplinary (Psychology 3). Various issues result from development. The first issue is the continuity and discontinuity. Many people consider development to be a continuous process involving accumulation of skills, knowledge, and behavior. Others believe that development is discontinuous because behavior changes qualitatively as time goes by. The nature of development in this case is dependent on how one examines development. Another issue associated with development is stability and change. In this case, the debate on whether development is stable or changes is dependent on the degree to which the experiences that one gain at the early stages constitute development in the later stages of life. The nature and nurture debate is also another issue surrounding development. In this case, psychologists have not reached an agreement on whether some aspects of development emanate from genetic inheritance or they emanate from the environment upon which a person lives. This is because of the fact that the genetic heritage judges the biological processes that determine the patterns of growth thereby leading to maturation (Psychology 5-12). DIAGNOSTIC PSYCHOLOGY In psychology, diagnosis comes about because of a person having a mental disorder that calls for a need of an abnormal psychology. Abnormal psychology can be defined as the psychology of mental disorders, their appearance, occurrence, maintenance, and their effects on the lives of people. Mental disorders are common among people with either study showing that a higher percentage of people have mental disorders that are diagnosable or severe (Davila, and Fincham 315). There are various causes of abnormal psychology. Some may be biological while others may be physical. The first biological cause of abnormal psychology is the biochemical imbalances that involve the lack of regulation of the multifaceted neurotransmitters in the brain. Another cause is the genetic predisposition where some individuals acquire conditions that a certain genetic material carries. The final biological cause of abnormal psychology is the hereditary factors where an offspring inherits a psychological disorder from a parent incase a parent some form of a psychological disorder. The physical causes of abnormal psychology include the parental child relationship; attachment and security of an individual. According to Freud, lack of a good relationship between a parent and his child could lead to an abnormality. This is because parents would not be in a position to regulate the aggressive impulses of children. On attachment and security, Bowbly stated that if a behavior of a parent makes a child feel insecure, the child is likely to develop some form of abnormality. Learned behaviors also cause mental illnesses. Behaviors are learnt mainly due to peer pressure. Some of the behaviors learnt could be abnormal and could lead to abnormal psychology. The final cause of psychology abnormality is the distorted thinking in which a person acts in response to the guts (Davila, and Fincham 317-320). Disorders on the other hand are caused by schizophrenia, which is caused by images of past fatal occurrences replaying in one’s mind. Depression also causes disorders. Depressions are as a result of one being exposed to stressing conditions that he/she does not know how to control. Anxiety is also a root cause of disorders. In most cases, anxiety leads to fear or obsession with some aspects of life. The effect of anxiety is normally self-isolation of the victim from other people. Eating habits are also known to cause disorders in which a person could overfeed or underfeed in response to stress and this is likely to cause nutritional disorders. Drug and substance abuse also stands as a major cause of a disorder as drugs makes the victims to behave in awkward ways (Davila, and Fincham 321-333). Works cited Davila, Joanne, and Frank Fincham. "Abnormal Psychology." 2009, 315-335. Print. Psychology . "The Principles of Developmental Psychology."Introduction to Child Development. 2003, 1-16. Print. Reinecke, Charlene. "169-93 Institute for Christian Teaching."Biblical and Psychological Study of Self Concept. 1993, 261-273. Print. Read More