Another aspect of my research process when working on a new project usually involves reading some psychological interpretation of the theme (if there are any). I come from quite a psychological background in education and also in family, so this interest in the subject is quite deeply rooted in me. For this project I looked into self concept theory- which is the overall idea that we have about ourselves, both our cognitive and affective judgements about ourselves. This is multi dimensional and includes social, religious, spiritual, physical and emotional aspects.
Our ideas of the self are developed through childhood and are updated in early adulthood- but our ideas aren’t always in line with reality- leads to disillusionment with the self.
Carl Rogers wrote that self concept influences and acts as a framework for our personalities which are driven by our desire for self actualisation (reaching our full potential). It combines our evaluations of ourselves; our comparisons between our actual selves and our ideal selves; and actions required to move closer to our ideal selves. Self concept clarity is when we are clear with who we are as beings and who we want to become; and self concept differentiation is when we play the game and wear different masks- unsure of who we really are.
So… SCT relates to self development, self acceptance, and self transformation.
Caitlin Noble 