Self Concept
Self-Concept, self esteem, self efficacy and self confidence are believed to have great influence on an individual’s way of life. Self-Concept, also known by self-image or self-perspective, refers to the way an individual views himself (Bong & Clark, 1999).
It can also refer to the way an individual knows or understands about himself. Self-Concept is actually not a reality but a mental conception of self. It stretches across various facets of oneself such as intellectual ability, physical appearance, social talents, accomplishments, emotional states and health. For example, personal conception of physical traits such as height constitutes self-concept.
For instance, when a person says that he is athletic, the trait of being athletic constitutes that person’s self-concept. In essence, self-concept distinguishes an individual from other individuals in his or her surroundings (Bong & Clark, 1999). Self-Concept starts to build at about six month of age and changes dynamically throughout one’s life.
Three qualities of self-concept are identified: it’s learned, dynamic and organized. One is not born with self-concept; it develops a few months after being born and changes continuously with ones interaction with the world. It is considered as a social construction that develops with perceived experiences especially with other individuals. As a learned mental construction of self, it is possible for a person to have a different perception of self as others perceive him.
It also implies that one can change his self-concept by viewing his situation or experiences differently (Bong & Clark, 1999). Self-Concept is said to be organized in that it tends to be stable and consistent; and therefore dictates an individual’s personality. Besides being learned and organized, self-concept changes throughout one’s life. A persons gains new perception of self and may shed earlier conception depending his experience.
A person’s self-concept influences his self confidence, self esteem and determines his present and future. It indeed affects quality of life and therefore determines level of happiness. Therefore, it’s appropriate to develop a good self-concept. Self-Concept develops from a person’s interaction with others and his environment.
Therefore, positive experience and interaction is likely to lead to a positive self-concept. In children, positive reinforcement and encouragement rather than rebuke and ridicule can help a child to develop positive self-concept and grow to be self-confident and with high self-esteem.
Self Efficacy
Self efficacy refers to a person’s perception of their ability to do something or achieve a particular goal. It is a belief on ones capability rather than having the actual capability. A person with high self-efficacy therefore believes that he is capable of doing or achieving a specific thing (Bong & Clark, 1999). On the other hand, a person with low self-efficacy has low confidence on his capability to do or achieve something.
Self-efficacy is mostly used with relation to an action or a goal. For example, a student may have high self-efficacy in doing well in science but have low self-efficacy on performing well in literature. Unlike efficacy, which refers to competence, self-efficacy refers to belief on competence. Therefore, an individual may have high self-efficacy on something but lack capability to achieve it.
Self-Efficacy has high influence on an individual’s chance of success in a particular endeavor. A person with high self-efficacy has high probability of succeeding in something than another person with low self-efficacy on the same. In his social cognitive theory, Bandura (1977) asserts that a person develops certain personality by observing others.
Relating social cognitive theory to self-efficacy, it can be construed that a person’s self-efficacy can be influenced by observing others. For example, son that has observed his father succeed in business can have high self-efficacy on succeeding in business. Bandura’s theory also implies that a person with high self-efficacy has high probability of attempting and succeeding in something.
Level of self-efficacy has a significant influence on behavior and the choices that one makes in life. In most cases, people take tasks that they believe they can do well and avoid those that they believe that they can fail (Bandura, 1997). Therefore, an individual is more likely to engage in tasks that they have high self-efficacy on.
Considering that self-efficacy is a belief, individuals with self-efficacy that is beyond their ability are likely to fail and be frustrated while individuals with self-efficacy below their ability are unlikely to progress. On the other hand, individuals with high self-efficacy are highly motivated and can put more effort and persist, therefore making it more likely for them to succeed.
Self Esteem
Self-Esteem refers to how a person makes an evaluation about his self worth. High self-esteem and low self esteem are used to refer to the way an individual considers himself relative to others. A person with high self-esteem has high regard of his self-worth. Such a person would consider himself as important and would portray it through his voice, posture and confidence. Unlike self concept, self esteem is emotional.
Therefore, a person with high self-esteem would have positive feeling such as feelings of being loved and being acceptable while a person with low self-esteem may bad feelings about themselves. Although self-efficacy may influence self-esteem, the two are not always correlated (Bong & Clark, 1999). For example, a person with low self-efficacy on mountain climbing may have high self-esteem while another with high self-efficacy on mountain climbing demonstrating low self-esteem.
High self-esteem is an important factor in life. An individual with high self-esteem would view his life positively and is likely to be happy. On the other hand, low self-esteem is associated with failure and psychological problems. High or low self-esteem however develop from an individual’s experience in life. For instance, the way a child is treated can affect its self-esteem later in life. Considering that self-esteem is largely developed during childhood, it is important for children to be brought in a friendly and accommodative environment.
References List
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Alexandria: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Worth Publishers.
Bong, M., & Clark, R. E. (1999). Comparison between self-concept and self-efficacy in academic motivation research. Educational Psychologist, 34(3), 139-153.