Self Concept

Self-concept is the beliefs , attitudes and opinions that a person has for his or her own existence . Self-concept is learned it is brought about and influenced by experiences and interpersonal interactions . It is also a fairly stable aspect of one 's self and which contributes to the consistency and stability of one 's personality . At the same time , self-concept is dynamic in the sense that it is constantly adapting to the varied experiences and perceptions that the individual has of him or her self (Leary Tangney , 2003

Since self-concept is learned , it is

natural that it be affected , shaped and formed by one 's experiences , traumatic or not (Thomas Gadbois 2007 . For example , a child who is constantly reprimanded and labeled as a problem child would come to internalize those messages and begin to believe that he or she is really a bad person and that he or she is worthless . The child would then form a self-concept that is reflective of being a problem child and hence engage in behaviors that fulfill the label of problem child

On the other hand , a person with a healthy self-concept who has met near-fatal injury in which he or she has lost the ability to walk or stand would naturally feel depressed , angry and hurt about his or her situation . The injury may change his or her self-concept from being positive to negative . But since self-concept is relatively stable and dynamic as it attempts to...