Behaviour Awareness Essay

Self concept is created by two main concepts, self image and self esteem. How you see yourself, your personality and how others see you are all part of a persons self concept. The more positive a person views themselves, the greater the chance of that individual reaching their full potential and being able to maintain a positive attitude. Self image being how you see yourself and your appearance. It does not have to necessarily reflect that of reality, someone suffering from anorexia for example who is visibly thin may, â€Å"have a self image in which the person believes they are fat. (1) The development within children and their self concept is quite significant. Young children will only possess a limited self concept of few descriptions which are usually physical. Older Children develops to a series of â€Å"factual categories†, these being things such as, hair colour, eye colour and height. In the adolescence period the self concept begins to expand further. Incorporating many likes and dislikes along with beliefs and may include details regarding others. Once self concept is in an adult stage it includes personalities and details of the quality of their life. If a person sees themselves as being a success it is likely that their self esteem will be high. With a positive self belief and a positive self image comes a positive self concept. According to Seligmon’s cycle of failure, if a child was attempting a certain activity and failed they could develop a negative concept of their abilities perhaps reinforced by others. With the negative builds a low self esteem leading the child not to try at the activity which in turn would lead to them failing once again. The cycle could also work in a positive way, If an individual performed an certain action and was rewarded for it they would repeat that action. For children to be able to develop need to have a role, a sense of worthiness. This could be as simple as tidying their bedroom or toys away. To have a positive self esteem children should also be praised and rewarded for good behaviour, and on the same principle have criticism and discipline for any bad actions. The case study of Emily illustrates aspects of her development and self concept, it is stated that, â€Å"she was an unsettled a baby and spent the first three months of her life crying. At this stage in a child’s development the baby would have little concern over self image or self esteem and is therefore crying for comfort, safety, love, in pain or just hungry. Due to the unhappiness of Emily it is unlikely that she was receiving the sufficient care or attention she needed. As Emily grows older her role is diminished even more, being blamed for the collapse of the family and the walking out of her father. The lack of belonging will damage Emily’s ability to find her identity, causing her a low self esteem. This only encouraged as she grows older, being neglected and left in her playpen. With the lack of interaction Emily is unable to make any form of attachments and develop any social skills. She is constantly being compared to her brothers in a unfair fashion yet again breaking down her self esteem and therefore her self concept. The sense of rejection from the family is renewed later on when the father collects her brothers to go and play football. With the reasoning, â€Å"she is a girl and girls do not play football! Not only presenting a sexist attitude, Emily is once again denied any form of acceptance. This denial of acceptance could influence her gender concept and develop the thought that she, and women in general are the weaker sex when compared to the male race. When Emily starts school, she does not mix with the other children. She instead isolates herself, a lack of confidence and social skills instantly signal a low self confidence and self image. This is most likely to be a result to her previous life experiences, she has not been encouraged to interact with others and therefore not know how to. As the case study explains in regard to Emily‘s social interactions, â€Å"Her brothers have little time for her† and that her mother, â€Å"was too depressed to care for her. † A lack of interactions may have given her a low self concept, the feeling that she was not worthy of positive attention. This lack of communication would have had a profound impact on Emily’s own attitude hence the lack of interacting with others once she begins school. If not improved Emily’s isolation could lead on to more serious problems such as depression in Adolescents and later life. Her perspective on socialising will impact her in a very negative way once she moves into her teenage years, it is during this period that relationships shift and close attachments are formed with friends. However, if she is unable to mix with others, unable to fit in the pressure could become too much. She could fall victim to bullies without the protection of friends or display what is often described as, â€Å"off the rails† behaviour. Drinking, smoking taking drugs and self harming to numb her disappointment with herself as she compares herself to others created a low self image and therefore low self concept. Teenage depression is a major issue often dismissed as â€Å"emotional teenage behaviour†, in actual fact it is said that, â€Å"one in seven children† develop depression with, â€Å"More than 70 percent† of these not being diagnosed and treated (2) An individuals self concept has both primary and secondary influences. Primary influences can be those of most significance to a person. Examples such as, friends and family who have a profound impact due to the closeness of the relationship. A person’s upbringing, how an individual is treated whilst growing up. The perspective on life and the morals of an individual all depend upon the atmosphere they have learned from. If a child for example had little attention or care from the parents, they may be badly behaved to get that attention even if it is in a negative form. Life experiences all depend on the depth of the example, if it was as simple as starting school it may not have such a dramatic impact when compared to a more serious situation like being moved due to a case of domestic violence. In the case of Emily her primary influences all possess negative elements, her family appear to disregard her displaying little love and affection towards her. The upbringing that she receives seems very â€Å"hands off†, her mother is suffering from a form of depression so therefore does not grant Emily much positive attention. Her brothers are fed lies from their mother who tells them that Emily, â€Å"is the reason why their father left. † and as for her absent father figure, he comes by and takes her brothers out leaving her behind. Secondary influences include, the influence of the media, certain situations such as arguments and role models. In regard to the case study of Emily, only negative influences are represented. With exception of the teacher who is the only one who appears to show any concern for her. From being a baby, Emily has had no close relationships. Her father left, and for this her mother and brothers both set the blame onto her. The upbringing she has received is simply that of neglect and disappointment. With all this rejection Emily must have an extremely low self esteem and sees herself as a failure. She has many life experiences, being blamed for them has affected her confidence and may be partly responsible for her self isolation. As for role models, Emily must be in envy of her brothers and the praise they receive so she may see them as her ideal self. The situation that Emily must be in is awful, she is aware that her family feel as though she is to blame and punish her for the break up of the family however, Emily has little concept on why others are treating her this way and so believes it must be her actual self developing her low self concept. As humans we all make comparisons. Comparing looks, styles, personalities ect. Children are less intrigued by style and dress size, instead many tend to focus on possessions. A friend having a certain new toy however, parents sometimes curse they children after they question the appearance of someone with a visible disability. It is just the curious nature of a child as they develop. Michael Argyle stated that self concept was made up of four factors, one of these being the comparisons we make. One website states, â€Å"If the people we compare ourselves with (our reference group) appear to be more successful, happier, richer, better looking than ourselves we tend to develop a negative self image BUT if they are less successful than us our image will be positive. † (1) This statement is relatable to most individuals as based on others we create our self image, am I as pretty as them? Am I more successful? These are questions that many ask daily and based on their personal answers the self image may change as a result. Comparisons can be negative but at the same time positive. By comparing yourself to someone in a negative way will only damage your self confidence and therefore, self concept. Emily is regularly compared to her brothers by her mother and also by her father in the form of neglect. This resulting in comparing herself to her brothers, her possible â€Å"ideal self†. It is because of this that any comparisons she makes will be negative towards herself. Once she begins attending school, it would be expected that she also makes comparisons between her parents and everybody else’s. Presumably enhancing the lack of love she receives from her mother and distant father. Many people have role models, someone they can look up and aspire to. They may also compare themselves to this person, their ideal self. As a child heroes tend to be a fictional character rather than an actual person although some may favour their parents or close family. By having a superhero as a role model, children want to act in the same way as them. Claiming that sense of power and authority they appear to possess. The mind of a child should be full of imagination and the ability to make believe. With this the self esteem and self image of a child can be fulfilled. As people grow older and develop more the hero’s they once looked up to seem outdated and childish. Role models at this stage tend to develop into real inspiration people. Someone who’s actions have had an impact and influenced an individual. . A persons self concept can have a very dramatic effect upon relationships. Some of the negative effects of having a bad self concept may include, lack of confidence, little interaction, isolating yourself, a low self esteem and a low self confidence. All of these reactions having a deep impact on the way we form and present friendships and relationships. If someone has a low self concept for one reason or another, they could become distant and withdrawn. This affecting others who are close to the person. If this was to occur with children they would not have the knowledge to understand that there might be a problem and dismiss it and maybe find new friends, rejecting the withdrawn one. As people grow older and become wiser it would become more apparent that there was a problem. Hopefully in this situation any friends would address to problem and support their friend. Depending on past experiences it may be difficult for some people to make or maintain friendships or relationships. A lack of trust or social skills would make it hard for an individual to express themselves and be themselves. In the case of Emily when she starts school, she makes no effort to make friends or socialise. From past experience she has had no real friends to be able to base future friendships on. The only actual relationships ships she has encountered are those of her mother and brother, which is filled with hatred and guilt. Bearing this in mind, in future Emily will always be conscious that she might cause the relationship to fail, and therefore never just be herself. On the other hand, due to her experience of abuse, neglect and negative attention it is possible that these qualities are those of what she will encounter in future relationships as to her this may be viewed as the norm. Michael Argyle was a theorist. He said that self concept is developed and affected by four main things. These being, the comparisons we make, our reactions to others, the roles that we play and the identification with role models. Comparisons we make: we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, this occurs most during the adolescence stage when individuals are attempting to find who they are and look at others for inspiration. Comparing almost everything in either a negative or positive way. The reactions towards others: how people interact, confidence or lack of social skills. If a person is happy and has a high self concept it would be more likely they would interact more. The roles that we play: does a person have any value or a role in life? It is important for an individual to have a role in life, to make them feel worthy like they have a purpose. Our identification with role models: means someone that an individual can aspire to and follow giving them some reason in life, an ideal self. Erik Erickson was a German theorist who set about a theory which suggests humans experience eight stages. At each of these we are faced with a crisis, a life experience. They are presented as opposites for example, trust Vs mistrust. It is said that we learn both positive and negative parts from each stage, which we never fully resolve. Instead take them and live by them in the next stage. For a healthy development throughout life the positive experiences must outweigh the negatives. His theory can be viewed as a lifelong description of ego. Either loosing or gaining the strength of ego as a result of each stages developmental experiences. All of this creating and shaping a persons personality, who they are. The development of his theory being influenced by both biology and genetics. The sequencing of events due to genetics and when each stage occurs as a result of biology. The theory which consists of both social and mental development, was also influenced by interactions with the environment.