Self concept, self identity, and social identity | Individuals and Society | MCAT | Khan Academy

Summary

This video script delves into the concept of self-identity, starting with defining self-concept as one's perception and evaluation of themselves. It distinguishes between the existential self, the basic sense of being distinct from others, and the categorical self, which involves recognizing oneself as an object with properties. The script further explores Carl Rogers' view of self-concept, comprising self-image, self-esteem, and ideal self. It introduces Social Identity Theory, highlighting personal and social identities, and the mental process of categorization, identification, and social comparison that shapes our self-perception and interactions with others.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Self-concept is how individuals perceive and evaluate themselves, according to psychologists.
• 👶 The development of self-concept starts with the existential self, which is the basic sense of being separate and distinct from others.
• 🔄 Existential self involves understanding that the self is constant and does not change over time.
• 👧 The categorical self comes after realizing the existential self, involving awareness of being an object with properties and categorizing oneself.
• 👦 Young children often categorize themselves by concrete attributes like age and gender.
• 🧑‍🎓 As individuals grow older, they begin to categorize themselves by more abstract traits like career or personal aspirations.
• 🌟 Carl Rogers identified three components of self-concept: self-image, self-esteem, and ideal self.
• 🤔 Social Identity theory divides identity into personal identity (unique traits) and social identity (groups one belongs to).
• 🏆 The mental process of social identity involves categorization, identification, and social comparison to maintain self-esteem.
• 🤝 Identification with a group can lead to emotional significance and a sense of belonging, which ties into self-esteem.
• 🆚 Social comparison is a critical aspect of maintaining self-esteem and can lead to prejudice when groups view each other as rivals.

Q & A

What is the definition of self-concept according to psychologists?

Self-concept, according to psychologists, refers to how someone thinks about, perceives, or evaluates themselves. It is a person's awareness and understanding of their own identity.

What are the two aspects of the development of self-concept?

The development of self-concept has two aspects: the existential self and the categorical self. The existential self is the most basic part, which is a sense of being separate and distinct from others, and understanding that the self is constant. The categorical self comes after realizing the existential self and involves categorizing oneself by properties such as age, gender, or other characteristics.

How do young children typically categorize themselves in terms of self-concept?

Young children often categorize themselves by concrete categories such as age or gender. They might say 'I'm three' or 'I'm a girl' as a way to understand and express their self-concept.

What is the significance of the existential self in the development of self-concept?

The existential self is significant as it is the most basic part of self-concept. It involves a sense of being separate and distinct from others and understanding that one's self remains constant over time and space.

How does the categorical self differ from the existential self?

The categorical self differs from the existential self in that it involves categorizing oneself based on properties and characteristics. It is a more complex and developed aspect of self-concept that emerges after the realization of the existential self.

Who is Carl Rogers and what is his contribution to the understanding of self-concept?

Carl Rogers is a psychologist known for his work in the humanistic branch of psychology. His contribution to the understanding of self-concept includes the idea that it has three components: self-image (the view we have of ourselves), self-esteem (how much value we place on ourselves), and the ideal self (what we wish to be).

What is the Social Identity theory and how does it relate to self-concept?

The Social Identity theory is a concept that defines self-concept in terms of two parts: personal identity (unique traits of an individual) and social identity (groups one belongs to). It helps to understand how individuals categorize themselves both personally and socially.

What are the three steps involved in the mental process of evaluating personal and social identities?

The three steps involved in the mental process of evaluating personal and social identities are categorization, identification, and social comparison. Categorization is the process of grouping ourselves and others into social categories. Identification is adopting the identity of the group we belong to. Social comparison is the act of comparing ourselves to others to maintain self-esteem.

How does the process of social comparison relate to the maintenance of self-esteem?

Social comparison is related to the maintenance of self-esteem because individuals compare themselves to others to evaluate their own worth. This comparison is often done in a way that is favorable to one's own group to maintain or enhance self-esteem.

What role does the concept of self-concept play in understanding prejudice?

The concept of self-concept plays a critical role in understanding prejudice because it involves the categorization and identification with groups, which can lead to competition and rivalry between different groups. This competition is often driven by the need to maintain or enhance self-esteem.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding Self-Concept and Identity

The paragraph introduces the concept of self-identity and emphasizes the importance of defining key terms. Self-concept is explained as an individual's perception and evaluation of themselves, which is a fundamental aspect of self-awareness. The development of self-concept is bifurcated into the existential self and the categorical self. The existential self represents the basic sense of being separate and constant over time, which even infants as young as two or three months can recognize. The categorical self emerges as children grow and start categorizing themselves by age, gender, or other properties. As they mature, these categories become more complex, including psychological traits and aspirations. Carl Rogers' theory on self-concept is also mentioned, highlighting three components: self-image, self-esteem, and the ideal self.

05:00

👥 Social Identity Theory and Its Components

This paragraph delves into the Social Identity theory, which is composed of personal identity and social identity. Personal identity encompasses unique traits of an individual, while social identity involves group affiliations and community memberships. The theory posits a three-step mental process for self-evaluation and categorization: categorization, identification, and social comparison. Categorization is the unconscious act of sorting people into groups, which helps in understanding and identifying others. Identification is the adoption of a group identity, leading to behavioral conformity and emotional attachment. Social comparison is the act of evaluating oneself and one's group in relation to others, which is crucial for maintaining self-esteem. The paragraph concludes by linking this process to the understanding of prejudice and group rivalry.

Keywords

💡Self-concept

Self-concept refers to an individual's perception and evaluation of themselves, which is a fundamental aspect of understanding self-identity as discussed in the video. It encompasses how a person thinks about and perceives their own identity. In the script, self-concept is introduced as a precursor to the existential and categorical self, highlighting its importance in the development of a person's sense of self.

💡Existential self

The existential self is described as the most basic part of self-concept, representing a sense of being separate and distinct from others. It is the foundational aspect of self-awareness, where an individual recognizes their existence as a constant and separate entity. The video uses the example of a baby realizing it exists separately from others and over time, illustrating the development of the existential self.

💡Categorical self

Building upon the existential self, the categorical self is the aspect of self-concept where an individual recognizes their existence within categories or groups, assigning properties to themselves such as age, gender, or skills. The video explains that young children often categorize themselves by concrete identifiers like age or gender, which later evolve into more complex categorizations as they mature.

💡Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand one's own existence and emotions. It is closely tied to the development of self-concept, as being self-aware implies having a self-concept. The video script mentions that a child as young as two or three months can realize their separate existence, indicating the emergence of self-awareness.

💡Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers is a prominent figure in humanistic psychology, and his theories are relevant to the discussion of self-concept in the video. Rogers believed that self-concept has three components: self-image, self-esteem, and ideal self. The script references Rogers to emphasize the complexity of self-concept and how it influences an individual's perception of their value and aspirations.

💡Self-image

Self-image, as part of Rogers' theory, is the view an individual has of themselves. It is how they perceive their own characteristics and abilities. The video uses self-image to explain how people form a mental picture of who they are, which is a component of their self-concept.

💡Self-esteem

Self-esteem is the value or worth that an individual places on themselves, often associated with self-worth and self-love. In the video, self-esteem is depicted as a critical component of self-concept, influencing how individuals evaluate their own value and relate to others.

💡Ideal self

The ideal self represents the aspirations and goals an individual has for themselves, what they wish to become. The video script uses the concept of the ideal self to illustrate the part of self-concept that drives personal growth and development, as individuals strive to achieve their ideal image.

💡Social Identity Theory

Social Identity Theory is introduced in the video to explain how individuals categorize themselves both personally and socially. It consists of two parts: personal identity, which includes unique traits, and social identity, which encompasses group memberships. The theory is used to understand how people form their identities through their relationships with others and society.

💡Categorization

Categorization is the mental process of grouping people or objects into categories. In the context of the video, categorization is the first step in the Social Identity Theory, where individuals sort themselves and others into groups based on various social categories, which helps them make sense of the social world around them.

💡Identification

Identification is the process of adopting the identity of a group one has categorized themselves as belonging to. The video explains that once individuals categorize themselves, they often start to identify with that group, adopting its norms and values, which can have emotional significance and impact their self-esteem.

💡Social comparison

Social comparison is the act of evaluating oneself in relation to others, which is a natural part of human behavior. The video script discusses how social comparison is used to maintain self-esteem, as individuals compare themselves and their groups to others, often in a competitive manner to achieve a favorable view.

Highlights

The concept of self-identity will be discussed in the upcoming videos.

Self-concept is defined by psychologists as how individuals think about, perceive, or evaluate themselves.

Self-awareness is having a self-concept.

Development of self-concept includes existential and categorical selves.

Existential self is the basic part of self-concept, involving a sense of being separate and distinct from others.

Existential self is constant throughout life, unlike temporary states like being tired.

Even infants as young as two or three months realize their separate existence from others.

Categorical self emerges as a baby realizes they are separate and distinct entities.

Young toddlers categorize themselves by age, gender, skills, or size.

As children grow, they start to categorize themselves by internal psychological traits like careers or aspirations.

Carl Rogers' humanistic psychology views self-concept as having three components: self-image, self-esteem, and ideal self.

Self-image is the view we have of ourselves.

Self-esteem is the value and love we place on ourselves.

The ideal self represents what we aspire to be.

Social Identity theory divides identity into personal identity and social identity.

Personal identity includes unique traits like personality, while social identity involves group memberships.

The mental process of evaluating personal and social identities involves categorization, identification, and social comparison.

Humans naturally categorize themselves and others without being aware of it.

Identification is adopting the identity of the group we belong to, which affects our self-esteem.

Social comparison is used to maintain self-esteem by comparing ourselves favorably to other groups.

Understanding this mental process is critical for grasping the development of social identity and prejudice.

Transcripts

Voiceover: Hi everyone, okay, so in the next set of videos

we're going to be talking about the concept of self identity.

But before we do that we need to start of by defining

some very important key terms and grasping the understanding behind these terms.

So the first is the idea of self-concept.

Now, I'm sure you've heard of this before, and I think

everyone has a loose interpretation of what it is, their own interpretation.

But let's talk about it in terms of what psychologists say.

So self-concept, according to psychologists, is a term used to

refer to how someone thinks about, perceives or even evaluates themselves.

So to be self-aware is to have a self-concept.

Now, the development of self-concept has two aspects,

and the first of these is the existential self.

And once we have existential self and idea of

that, we can eventually move on to the categorical self.

And I'll explain this relationship in a second.

So basically, the existential self is the most basic part of self-concept.

So it's a sense of being separate and distinct from others.

So these are two very important components of the existential self.

We are each separate and distinct entities or

objects from others, from other objects, from other people.

And an existential self is understanding and

having awareness that the self is constant.

So it doesn't change in life; it's pretty constant throughout life.

So if someone comes up to you and says, I'm tired.

That's not their self-concept, that's not a good definition

of who they are, because it's a temporary state.

They are not tired all the time.

So self-concept is consistent or constant.

And a child as young as two or three months, baby, even realizes this.

They realize that they exist separately from others,

and that they exist over time and space.

So this arises due to the part the relationship the child has with the world.

So you've always seen that when a baby smiles, someone else smiles back.

Or have you ever seen babies play with the mobiles hanging above their crib?

They have this relationship with other objects, and

they realize that they are separate from that.

Now moving on.

Once we realize that we have an

existential self, we can formulate a categorical self.

In a categorical self comes once this baby realizes that they are separate.

So it's becoming aware that even though we're separate and distinct

objects or entities or beings, we also exist in the world.

We exist with other objects and beings and

entities, in that, each of these objects has properties.

So, at this point, the baby's growing.

And it's becoming aware that he or she is an object with properties.

So usually, young toddlers categorize themselves by age or by gender; sometimes

even by some skills they have or even by their size, how big or small they are.

Now the two of the first categories that

young children categorize themselves is by age and gender.

You always hear little kids saying, I'm three, or I'm five, or I'm a girl.

So in early childhood, these categories that

children apply themselves to are very concrete.

But eventually as they grow older, as we grow older, we start to categorize

ourselves by including some more internal psychological traits.

So we start to compare ourselves.

We start to make evaluations with other people.

We start to categorize ourselves maybe by our careers or

by the type of person that we want to be.

So these are more developed categories.

Now, you probably remember talking about Carl Rogers.

And I'll just refresh your memory, but he's important in the

humanistic branch of psychology.

So Carl Rogers believed that

the self-concept had three different components.

And the first of these is self-image.

So we've all heard of this word before.

Self-image is the view we have of ourselves.

So there we are.

It's what we believe we are.

The second part of his components is self-esteem.

So we can use this word along with self-worth.

How much value do we place on ourselves, and

I'm going to put a little heart here to

kind of represent that, so how much love do

we give ourselves, how much do we love ourselves?

How much value do we place on ourselves?

And the third is the ideal self.

So it's what we wish to be.

What we aspire to be.

I'm gonna give it a little star to represent our

ideal self.

Okay, so developing this idea of self-concept a little further,

we can use a theory called the Social Identity theory.

So the Social Identity theory has two parts.

It is, it defines it, it defines a theory in terms of two parts.

And those two parts is the

personal identity, which is pretty self-explanatory, so

this is the things that are unique to each person, like personality traits.

And the other is our social identity, so these

include the groups you belong to in our community.

So in order to understand the social, Social Identity theory, and how

we categorize ourselves personally and socially,

there's a mental process involved in this.

So this process involves three steps, and these are the steps we use when

we're evaluating ourselves and others in the

relationship between person personal and social identities.

So first, all humans categorize themselves.

We all categorize our, ourselves without even knowing it.

We actually do this entire amount of mental process I'm gonna talk about

without really knowing we do it, just, I guess, part of human nature.

So we categorize ourselves in order to understand objects and identify them.

So we categorized people into groups.

Ones to which we belong and ones that are different from us.

So we use social categories like race, so black,

white, Australian, Chinese, Christian, student, accountant, whatever it may be.

We categorize ourselves and people through these categories.

And if we can assign people to a category, that tells us things about that person.

It, it kind of puts a definition to them.

A prejudgment without fully knowing the person, we

have some sort of categor, categorical term for them.

Now, the second step, once we categorize, is, identification.

Now, let me jump back a little bit and just

say that not all people belong to just one category.

We can belong to many different categories.

Okay, so the second step is identification.

So this is when we adopt the identity of

the group we have categorized ourselves as to belonging.

So if we've categorized our yourselves as students, the chances

are we're gonna eventually adopt the identity of a student.

We're gonna start acting like a student and behaving like a student.

So this role starts to feel like a norm.

We're starting to conform to the norm of the group, the category we belong to.

And there's an emotional significance to identification,

because our self-esteem, which we talked about

up here, starts to become bound with

this group identification and sense of belonging.

And the final step is social comparison.

We're always comparing ourselves to others, all

the time, subconsciously, consciously whatever it is.

So once we categorize and identify, we're going

to eventually start comparing ourselves with other groups.

We're comparing other groups with other groups.

And the reason we do this is to maintain our self-esteem.

We want to compare ourselves to other groups in a favorable way.

And this whole idea is actually very critical in understanding prejudice.

Because once two groups identify themselves as separate and rivals,

then we start to compete in order to maintain self-esteem.

So we're gonna look at self-esteem at another point.

But just understand that this plays a very important role in

this mental process that we formulate in developing a social identity.