Four Dimensions of Self
The following statements were made by four adolescents.
"I'm just an average, healthy American girl-I have many interests-I am smart, but I could do better in my schoolwork if I studied a little harder."
"My parents think I'm too slow even when I'm going as fast as I can. They think I'm too irresponsible-I guess they would like to trade me in for somebody like my cousin."
"Other people think I'm a stupid jerk-some think I'm bright and some think I'm dull-I'm fairly quiet and a little shy."
"I would like to be a person that can look back through the years and feel satisfied with everything I have done."
We no doubt a.!l get involved with three basic questions: "Who am I?" "Where am I going?" "What will it cost me to get there?" And we probably have difficulty in coming up with precise answers to these questions. Let us take a look at four dimensions of the self as viewed by adolescents. The college student may wish to extend the thinking here to apply to his or her own problems.
The Basic Self Concept
This is the concept proper which is the individual's perception of his or her abilities and status. It is the perception of the roles to be played in the outside world. This concept is influenced by one's physical self, personal appearance, dress, and grooming; by abilities and disposition, values, beliefs, and aspirations.
The rapid changes that take place during adolescence in height, weight, body build, facial appearance, and voice bring about changes in the adolescent's body image. Such matters as not having clothes like the other youngsters and not having a home where one can entertain friends without feeling embarrassed decrease one's conception of his or her own importance. They bring on feelings of social incompetence. They make more difficult the problem of appraising true ability and worth.
The self concept is enhanced when there is intellectual ability to meet problems. The slow reader, for example, may find difficulty in learning, thus causing negative self concepts to operate in learning situations. Even for the person with intellectual abilities and good learning habits, the self-Concept still has its ups and downs.
The Transitory Perception of Self
The adolescent's self-image may at one time be compulsive, compensatory, and unrealistic and at other times insightful and practical. One's self-perception at any given point in time may be determined by some "inner-directed" mood or by some "other-directed" influence. Many adolescents do not recognize the source of their self-perceptions or their transitory nature. They are optimistic or pessimistic, elated or depressed, satisfied or dissatisfied in an all-or-nothing way. They are sometimes able to switch rapidly from one extreme to the other. Since there is some tendency for the adolescent to focus more on problems than on accomplishments, the transitory perception of self is largely negative.
The Social Self
"To see yourself as others see you" mayor may not be valid. At one time, when in an optimistic mood, the adolescent perceives that other people see him in a good light. When depressed, he perceives that others depreciate him. When others think him stupid, or socially inept, there is a tendency for him to amplify his feelings of insecurity: "How could anyone like me?" More positive views on the part of others may enhance his perception of his social self somewhat, but they playa lesser role when he is down. "There are more ways to get feedback from a loused-up socia! situation than from doing things right." This perceptive college freshman may have something in this statement!
The Ideal Self
The concept of the ideal self, the kind of person the adolescent hopes to be, involves questions of standards and comparisons. It involves relating levels of aspiration to levels of ability. It also involves opportunities for self-realization.
When the ideal self is set at an unrealistic level, frustration is increased. When it is set below one's level of ability, motivation may become lacking. The adolescent's level of aspiration tends to go up with success and down with failure. This up-down movement is more exaggerated than that usually found in adults. The ideal self of the adult has evolved slowly through experience. Lacking such experience, the adolescent depends a great deal on identification with 'omeone else as the ideal-an older brother or sister, a parent, or a eacher. This ideal person may stimulate either emulation or resentment, sometimes both.
The concept of self is molded by reward and punishment, praise and blame, and by the feelings of accomplishment that come with solving a problem. During preadolescence, parents and peers both fluence the self concept. This situation changes gradually until the ung person's self-evaluation is determined by what age mates ink. Later, peer groups and other organizations provide a climate of
.fiuence. Finally the adolescent discovers that the self must be etermined individually. He or she has to learn the hard way that achieving identity is a long, difficult process. One learns that such entity comes through thinking, feeling, and decision making. It rives on social interaction. And in the end, the question "Who am " still remains.
