What is self-concept? We can define the self-concept as the feature set (physical, intellectual, emotional, social, etc.) that make up the image that a subject has of himself. This concept of self does not remain static throughout life, but is developed and built thanks to the intervention of cognitive factors and social interaction throughout development. It is necessary to understand the progress in the concept of self within the framework of the progress of the capacities and abilities to relate to and recognize others.
The self-concept has as one of its premises the awareness that oneself is a being differentiated from others and the environment, that is, self-awareness. In Psychology-Online we are going to discover the definition of self-concept in adolescence and childhood so that, thus, you know better what it consists of.
What is self-concept
We begin this article on the definition of self-concept in adolescence and childhood making it clear what precisely the “self-concept” or the concept of oneself consists of.
Definition of self-concept
We describe self-concept as the opinion and assessment that a person has about themselves. Self-concept is a very broad construct that encompasses a multitude of terms such as self-esteem, . and that is based on both physical and psychological characteristics in order to be adequately trained.
How is the self-concept formed?
For most current self-concept scholars, the baby does not have a feeling of undifferentiated total, nor is their world as disorganized as it was believed. However, his experience of himself as an independent person is, until the end of the second semester of life, very rudimentary, fragile and dependent on the physical and social environment.
During the first months of life, the baby is immersed in a wealth of sensations and experiences that occur in contact with the outside world, with everyday phenomena and interactions with close people. The baby must form a general representation, organizing these experiences from events that are perceived as isolated. Furthermore, she is learning to integrate the systems with which she comes equipped, those that allow her to perceive the world and others, with those that allow her to act. For example, learns to cry when he wants attention.
From this learning and integration, related to interaction and the increase in cognitive abilities, their ability to control the environment will emerge, which, in turn, supposes an element of recognition of oneself as an independent being.
A baby’s self-concept
This primitive sense of self is what Lewis and Brooks-Gunn have called existential self, in clear allusion to James’ concept. By ten months, babies already have a full experience of differentiation from their caregivers and their environment.
Bandura points out that during these months the baby refines what we could call his capacity for self-management and that it is nothing more than the acquisition and sophistication of skills to be able to control events in your environment (pointing to an object you want, crying when you don’t like something, smiling when you get something, etc.).
During the first eighteen months, Social interaction is an essential source of information and helps to become aware of oneself and the existence of others. Social activities of great importance occur in games, such as peek-a-boo, in which children learn regularities and relationship patterns that are based on, and at the same time help, an experience of the Self and the Other.
In addition, imitation as a form of relationship and knowledge is one of the influential elements in the emergence of the Self, since it involves putting into play not only control over oneself, but also a recognition of the other as a model.
The ability to recognize oneself: self-awareness
Self-awareness not only involves the sense of oneself as a being independent of the environment and others, but also has a fundamental role as the basis of emotions. Regarding the emotional world of the baby, during the first four months, it is basically made up of sensations of pleasure or displeasure that when they begin to be consistent with stimulation from the environment (caresses, games, etc.) also contribute to organizing the baby’s world.
In this way, self-awareness represents a great achievement within the cognitive world on which, throughout the first years, the appearance and development of emotions such as pride or shame and others that imply a recognition of decision-making will be based. perspective such as empathy or behaviors tending to deceive. Self-awareness has one of its best expressions in emergence of the sense of self as an object of knowledge and that can be seen in the acquisition of the capacity for self-recognition.
In order to continue with the definition of self-concept in adolescence and childhood, it is important that we understand how the capacity for self-recognition appears. The emergence of a sense of self as an independent and distinct being of others, has a clear reflection in the ability to recognize oneself, that is, in the capacity for self-recognition.
Definition of self-concept according to authors
Now that we know what self-concept is, it is important to do an analysis of the concept of self-concept (excuse the redundancy) according to the passing of the years.
The classic research on self-recognition carried out by Lewis and Brooks-Gunn were carried out by painting lipstick on babies of different ages and without them realizing it. They were then placed in front of a mirror to see if they showed signs of self-recognition. It was considered as such when the child put his hand on the mark. Another strategy to study self-recognition has been carried out using photographs and videos in which children appeared and the aim was to find out if they were capable of recognizing themselves in them (Bigelow and Johnson). These studies have shown that self-recognition occurs quite early in development, although there appears to be a gap between the findings of different research.
Various studies show how around five months of age some babies are able to recognize themselves and differentiate parts of their body from those of other children when they are placed in front of a mirror. It seems that this ability appears more clearly around 15 months. months. However, this capacity will continue to be refined and strengthened so that, towards 24 months, we can talk about self-recognition in a strict sense. On the other hand, research carried out with videos and photographs seems to provide information that this self-recognition would appear a few months later, without the reasons for this phenomenon having been explained.
In 1990, Lewis et al. Within the framework of their research aimed at discovering the emergence of self-recognition using the mirror, and with children between 15 and 24 months, they praised and verbally reinforced the children who had recognized themselves in it. When this occurred, the children reacted by smiling, lowering their heads and looking askance or covering their faces, which is a clear sign of feelings of shame in the face of the praise and the researcher. Likewise, children who showed no signs of self-recognition did not respond to this flattery.
Another sign of self-recognition and self-awareness is clearly exhibited around two yearswhen children show other behaviors that imply differentiation from others, such as use of personal and possessive pronouns (I, my, mine) and the reactions of sadness or struggle for some possession that, far from being interpreted as a negative act, can be interpreted as a form of exercise in the acquisition and development of the Self.
The evolution of self-concept in preschool age
From the first years the acquisition of symbolic thinking and language plays a very important role in the settlement and development of the Self. Language allows the child to think and express the specificity of herself as a being in a way she has never done before, for example, through the use of names, pronouns, or the expression of wishes or feelings.
How does a preschooler see himself? From the age of two, children provide a lot of information about their vision of themselves, since they regularly use expressions referring to themselves such as “I don’t cry when they poke me” or “I’m older now.” These expressions, together with the massive use of possessive pronouns, indicate clearly a conscience on the part of the child of his specificity compared to others. If a child is asked what he or she is like around the age of two or three, his/her answers are usually along the lines of “I am a boy” or “I have green pants”, that is, around physical characteristics, possessions or preferences.
These responses show that the young child bases his knowledge of himself on categories, on very specific aspects and on observable and singular features (Fisher) typical of preoperative thinking. It should be noted that children’s self-descriptions are always formed around positive characteristics and aspects.
If you want to know more about how language is acquired, we recommend reading the following article about.
The use of language as a sign of self-concept
Throughout the preschool years, children show considerable progress in using an increasingly greater number and range of categories when describing themselves. These new features include the psychological, emotional and behavioral. Likewise, thanks to , the boy or girl is able to coordinate categories that previously appeared scattered, for example, they can be described as good at playing cards, with the computer, etc.
Another characteristic of self-knowledge throughout this stage is that children they start using opposites, as happy or sad, to identify yourself or others. These categories, however, are understood by children of these ages as exhaustive, in the sense that either one is good or one is bad, that is, the subjects represent themselves and others as possessing a single quality. , and they cannot understand, for example, that someone can be nice to certain people and use a different pattern of behavior with others.
The child’s thinking At the beginning of preschool age it prevents them from establishing distinctions and relationships between psychological or aptitude traits and the results of their actions, thus, they believe that everything can be achieved through will or desire. This childhood trait and its progressive modification has one of its interesting aspects in the quality of the relationships that children establish with others, for example, adults.
Self-concept in children from 2 years old
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