Self-Concept and Self-Schema - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: SELF-CONCEPT AND SELF-SCHEMA Self-Concept and Self-Schema Self-Concept and Self-Schema As d in the textbook “Social psychologists are interested in who we are. Our sense of self is affected by what we know about the self and by the people around us. The self is a powerful force. The self affects how we feel, what we think we can do, and what we in fact do” (Feenstra, 2011, pg. 32), it is clear that cultural, social and environmental factors play a big role in the individual developmental process of Self-Concept and Self-Schema.

It is first vital to understand the meaning of these concepts.Self-Concept and Self-Schema are multi-dimensional concepts that are used to refer to a person’s view of “self” relative to other several aspects that include academics, physical appearances, racial uniqueness, nonacademic, male and female roles, sexuality and many others. It is possible to think of Self-Concept and Self-Schema as Self-Concept clarity as they share some similarity in definition whereby the latter is defined as the degree by which ones personal knowledge is concisely and assertively outlined, internally dependable and momentarily stable.

It is also related with self-awareness but differs in some aspects. Self-awareness simply takes its literally meaning that is ones awareness of them. Self-Concept and Self-Schema has a more profound meaning than self-esteem whereby self-esteem is the assertive component of self-concept.According to research done regarding developmental perspective of Self-Concept and Self-Schema, shows that it varies according to gender. Self-concept between genders starts to establish itself in an individual in the early stages of life due to gender segregation that is initiated by the grown-ups and also by the unconscious behavior of children.

According to research it has been proven that from an early stage in life children segregate themselves in terms of gender whereby boys tend to cling to their male counterparts while playing and doing other everyday activities while girls also tend to play and be in company of other girls. Boys are more interested in forming of groups whereby they share common interests while girls are more interested in individualized interactions with their friends. When girls interact with each other’s they tend to be more patient with each other as compared to boys whereby if they have agreed to meet and one of them is late they tend to wait for each other when they are talking and conversing with each other they are more likely to give each other a chance to talk.

Girls are also more likely to give credit to others contribution and also share an opinion with others. Boys on the other hand who are mostly interested in formations of groups which they mostly share common interest are more likely to indulge in activities that lead to threats, boasting , abusing each other, signifying the vitality of supremacy and chain of command within the male pack.Our sense of self has a determines how we think about others and how we interact with individuals and groups of people in that the way we perceive ourselves whether positively or negatively will prompt us to wonder how other people would perceive.

People who have a negative self-image of themselves will tend not to want to interact with people as much as those who have a positive self-image this is due to the fact that they do not want people to notice that aspect that they think other people would perceive negative. However those who have a positive self-image will tend to be open and very welcoming to people as they would want other people to witness what they perceive to give them the positive self-image.ReferencesByrne, B. M. (1984).

The general/academic self-concept nomological network: A review of construct validation research. Review of Educational Research, 54, 427-456.