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TRY THIS:
• All you need to do is answer this question-
Who are you?
• If it helps, use a web diagram like this

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An exercise
• Look at your list
 Pick the 10 that are really important to your identity
 Try to order them from 1 to 10 with 1 being the most fundamental and 10 being the least
 Now listen

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Where does this self concepts come from?
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Is it something we just naturally do? Most primates can recognize self
Is there something different about knowing that you are a self and self concept
Self-recognition is a step in the process to selfconcept
ME!

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How do we get from self-recognition to self-concept?
• Try this: Ego Busters and Ego Boosters.
Self-concept develops through interaction with others

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Reflected Appraisal
• We “develop a selfconcept that matches the we believe others see us.”
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 Think of how a child is impacted by egoboosting or ego-busting messages as it grows.
Significant others are those whose statements have more impact than most

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Is external input the sole way to develop self-concept?
Social comparison: evaluating ourselves in terms of how we compare to others
• Two ways to do this
 Inferior/superior
 Same as/different from
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 These are reference groups
Even objective facts (height, weight, skin color) are impacted by the significance we attach to them
Final question: Is our selfconcept always someone else’s fault?