023 Who Do You Think You Are:

How do we see ourselves, do we know the adjectives we use to describe ourselves or do they change with our mood?  Self-concept matters.  We discuss three aspects of self-concept, how the way we see ourselves is influenced and some ways to determine yours if it’s been a while since you’ve thought about who you are.  

Quotes:

“Each of us, whether we realize it or not, has a self-image.  We see ourselves in some way - smart, slow, kindly, well-intentioned, lazy, misunderstood, meticulous or shrewd; we can pick adjectives that describe ourselves.  This is the “I” behind the face in the mirror, the “I” that thinks, dreams, talks, feels and believes, the “I” that no one knows fully.”

“Photographers often slip a reddish filter over the lens when snapping pictures of clouds on black and white film.  The filter prevents some of the light rays from reaching the film so the final picture shows much darker skies and more sharply whitened clouds.  The self-concept is like a filter that screen out what we do not want to hear and see, passes through what we do want to see and hear.  In the reverse direction, it gives an idiosyncratic flavor to our behavior.  Don’t we usually pick our name out of a jumble of words on a page?  Or hear our name announced at an airport amidst all the other announcements we fail to hear?  This is called selective listening, and it is a function of our self-concept.  Thus how we see ourselves determines generally what we react to, what we perceive, and in broad terms how we behave in general.”

Paul Brouwer, The Magazine November 1964

“There is nothing worse than the clear image of a blurry concept.” Ansel Adams.

“The best way to change yourself is to know yourself.  So dive in deep through the swamp and clear waters and say hello to the person you’ve been hiding all along.” ~Wattney 

Resources:

Carl Rogers:  Three aspects of self concept:

 Michael Argyle 4 factors that influence self-esteem: 

https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html

Bruce Bracken - Six Domains of Self-concept:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865

Tests and Assessments: 

https://positivepsychology.com/self-concept-questionnaires-activities/