The Multiplicity of Self-Concept

Essay Instructions:

Recognizing the Multiplicity of Your Self-Concept “Cultural identities are central, dynamic, and multi-faceted components of our understanding of self and others. Once formed, they provide an essential framework for organizing and interpreting our interactions with others. In addition, each aspect of our identity serves as a marker of who we are and, when acknowledged by others, affects how we are defined culturally” (Orbe & Harris). For this paper, you are going to analyze and describe each of your “selves” – material self, social self, and spiritual self. In order to truly begin to understand how and why we communicate the way we do with others, we must first acknowledge the multiplicity of our identity through an understanding of how our self-concept develops. Part I: Introduction should include the following: - Definition of interpersonal communication, intrapersonal communication, self, and self-concept as discussed in your text - Foreshadow of the body of your essay (thesis) Part II: ANALYZING the development of your self-concept First, define material self, social self, and spiritual self. After defining these terms, explicitly describe how EACH of your “selves” functions in the context of the following: - Interaction with individuals (including a discussion of how the looking glass self functions to develop your self-concept) - Association with groups (at least two groups must be discussed; including a discussion of how attitudes, beliefs, and values function within those groups – thus affecting your self-concept) - Roles you assume (at least two roles must be discussed; i.e., ‘wife,' ‘husband,' ‘romantic partner,' ‘mother,' ‘father,' ‘student,' ‘brother,' ‘sister,' ‘professional,' ‘friend,' etc.) - Self-labels (including a discussion of your self-reflectiveness) - Your personality (including a discussion of those forces that shape your personality) Part III: Conclusion should include your response to the following: - How does understanding the development of your self-concept help you to understand the ways in which you communicate with others? - How does analyzing your self-concept improve your understanding of the multiple nature of your identity? - How does understanding the development of self-concept function to improve your understanding of interpersonal communication? This paper must be: Coherent and Complete Grammatically sound No less than 5 FULL pages in length (excluding title page) 12-point font Times New Roman Double-spaced Must include title page Stapled * See your syllabus for additional paper requirements These are the extra instructions from syllabus: The papers must be double-spaced, typed, stapled, Times New Roman, 12-point font. Each paper must have a title page and page numbers on each page. Because of the questionable validity and nature of the message board website “Wikipedia,” it may NOT be used as a reference for your essays. I know that you dont know me and will not be able to write as if its my inter feelings, so it is okay for to write from your personal experience

Essay Sample Content Preview:

The Multiplicity of Self-Concept
Name:
Institution:
Introduction
The cultural identities are dynamic, central and versatile elements of our perceptive of personality and others. On forming, they provide essential framework that organizes and interprets people’s interactions with others. It is worth noting that every aspect of a personality’s identity acts as a marker of who they are and if acknowledged by other people it affects their definition culturally (Bammer, 1994).
In order to understand the cultural multiplicity of self-concept, we need to understand the definitions of various terms such as interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication, though defined in numerous ways by the communication scholars, would refer to as the process through which individuals exchange information, meaning and feelings (Gackenbach, 2007). This could take place through verbal or non-verbal messages and can take place at anytime anywhere through words, facial-expressions, sound, postures, and gestures. The other term is the intrapersonal communication. This would refer to as the situation where communication takes place within the same individual (Gackenbach, 2007). The sender of a message receives the same message. For example, when we dream, speak aloud to ourselves, and through gestures that are not to one person in particular but one self
. The intrapersonal communication involves the intellect, physical and emotional sensations of an individual. Self is another important term that we need to define. It refers to as the person’s essential being distinguishing them from the other people. It is the person. Additionally, self-concept would refer to as the mental image of an individual as they see themselves. It is a term used to refer to the way people perceive themselves. It means that one is aware of themselves through our evaluation and thinking (Gackenbach, 2007). Therefore, herein is the analysis of the development of self-concept in the context of interacting with individuals, association with groups, roles you assume, self-labels and your personality.
In order for a person to understand why and how they communicate with other people, they need to acknowledge their identity multiplicity by understanding how the self-concept develops. It would take the entire life of an individual to understand who they are. The developmental process requires the analysis of thoughts, values, feelings, experiences and attitudes (Zuidgeest, 2001). A person’s self-concept would refer to as the way they feel or think about themselves. This encompasses their self-esteem and image. Therefore, the thought s and feelings of who we are influences how people relate with the society. In order to understand our personality, it is important to analyze our thoughts and feelings about material, social, and spiritual self. The material self would refer to as the material part of the individual. This starts with the body as the inner most material self. The clothes are next from the body. People identify with the clothes they wear.
The other element of material self is the family followed by the home. The other term that is significant in understanding the developmental process of the self-concept is the social self. Social self is a personality relating to other people or the world. It would refer to the recognition accorded to an individual his or her mates. Therefore, social self is the image of an individual as perceived by the society. This is to say that a person can have as many social selves as there are many people recognizing him or her. The spiritual self is another element of a personality. It would refer to the innermost of an individual. It identifies them in terms of spirituality, moral sensibility as well as the conscience (Zuidgeest, 2001). Therefore, in order for an individual to understand who they are and how they relate with the society, they need to understand their self-concept. The above-mentioned elements of self are important to every individual’s life and the developmental process of the self. Each one plays a major role in various contexts. For example, material self would have a different function from the spiritual self in relating with others or even in the roles, they play in the society. The following therefore, is the discussion on how the various selves function towards the development process of the self-concept n relation to relating with other individuals, groups, personality, self-labels and the roles assumed.
To start with is the interaction with individuals. This would refer to as the relationship with other people in the society. One of the selves that may have great influence on how people re...

Updated on January 26, 2024

Get the Whole Paper!

Not exactly what you need?

Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:

Order