Salvador Marquez
Self-Concept
What I am going to talk to you about through this essay is Self-concept and how it is developed
and how many kinds and types of self-concepts there are. There are many kinds of self-concepts there
are positive, negative and there can also be a combination. There are three kinds of self concepts; there
are social experiences, social comparison and reflected appraisals. Self concept is the idea or mental
image one has of oneself and ones strengths and weaknesses. This is my essay talking about self concept
and how it is formed. It also has examples of self concepts and also another thing that I came across
which is called personal feedback. This essay contains different kinds of self concepts and what I have
learned of this subject.
What is self concept? Self concept is the way that you see yourself, there are many forms and
ways of self concept you can have a positive self concept or a negative self concept, and also a
combination. Many people can start developing their self concept from an early age, from your
childhood for example small children can feel ignored real easily or forgotten about, these kinds of
thoughts start forming a negative self concept. Persons with negative self concept are people that think
little of themselves and think that they are not important. Self-concept is developed primarily through
our communication with others, we are social and there for we develop an understanding of ourselves
as a result of our relationships with others. We make a image of ourselves by the way that a friend or
another person talks to us and communicates with us, that is called a feedback meaning that you will
see yourself as other people treat you, for example a parents feedback will help their child understand
who they are. As a child gets older he starts getting more feedback from different people even maybe
feedbacks from his/her older brother or sister. As we get older our self-concept matures, and the
influence of the feedback from others is not as strong as when we were kids. As we become surer of
Salvador Marquez
ourselves we are less harmed by the criticism or praise of others making our self-concept more
confident in ways, but there for the influence will never go away. Even as adults we use the opinions of
significant others in forming our understanding of ourselves. Here are some thoughts that an adult may
have, from their personal life and the people that are involved in it. “I have finally paid off my house,
now my family and my wife’s family, will finally starting seeing me as responsible man” ; “I am glad that
my boss let me in charge of the business, I see that he really does believe and me, I will try my best to
not let him down”. Those were some examples of a person’s thoughts and how those thoughts help
develop a good and positive self- concept about who he is and what role he plays. Your self-concept can
also be based on what gender you are; women in other countries might have a really bad self-concept of
themselves because of the way that they are treated they might think little of themselves. Self- concept
is just something that everyone has, and is what makes them who they are and how they are. There can
be other kinds of self concept also, like private self-concept for example: This is how I am or would
like to be to myself” is what is termed private self-concept. Private self-concept can be how
you believe that you act as a person such as friendly, creative, or adventurous. Marketers
realize that they can use these internal self-concepts to relate to their product
images. Starkest Tuna, which seems like a very simple product, positions itself as “Dedicated
to Living Well and Eating Well”. The image that Starkest Tuna creates taps into the private
self-concepts of those who feel that they are health conscious. People who see themselves as
health conscious individuals will by products that say they are healthy.
There is no argument, however, that consumers choose certain products to represent
who they are, whom they wish to be, how they feel about themselves, and how they want to
be seen by others. To varying degrees, we all want to socially acceptable. We use
advertisements as a guide to tell us what products will help us accomplish acceptance. In the
Salvador Marquez
end, it is up to us to determine how we will evaluate ourselves and the price we will pay for
social and self-acceptance.