Coping with Change in Health and Social Care

Unit 25- Self concept, Theories and Identity

Learning OutcomesLearning Outcomes• Understand the nature of self-concept and its links

with self esteem• Understand the potential impact on self-concept of major

life changes• Understand the role of the health and social care

professional in supporting transition and change

What are the most important things a person needs to thrive?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs• Abraham Maslow: 1908- 1970• Believed people are seeking to be the best they can be- spiritually,

physically, emotionally and intellectually- Self Actualisation• Theory of Hierarchy of Needs with Self Actualisation being the aim.

Once each level has been achieved a person moves onto the next.• “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must

write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self acutalisation”

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Case Study: Amina• What stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is Amina when

she first arrived in England?• Where is she now?• Which needs are being satisfied by entering education?• How would you ascertain if Amina is ready for education?

What would you ask?

Self Concept• Carl Rodgers: 1902- 1987• Starting belief that people are whole, healthy and good. • That the ability of the self to evolve and develop throughout life, enabling us to

make positive choices in our lives.• Strongly believed in the self actualising tendency- the desire to grow and

improve our abilities and to develop all our capabilities• Construct our own sense of self based on our constructed reality• Ideal self- the view of what we think “we should be”. If unrealistic or too

idealistic we feel distress as we are constantly “failing” to achieve our aim. This is incongruence (a mismatch) between ideal self and actual self

The Growth Promoting Climate• Ideal self- the view of what we think “we should be”. If

unrealistic or too idealistic we feel distress as we are constantly “failing” to achieve our aim. This is incongruence (a mismatch) between ideal self and actual self

• To improve the self, Rogers believed a person needs congruence (genuiness), unconditional positive regard and accurate empathetic understanding from those around them, to enable growth.

Self-concept• How we acquire our self-concept is a very complicated

process.

• However a simple way if understanding self-concept is to see ourselves as having four ‘selves’:

•Physical• Intellectual•Emotional•Social.

Self-concept• Physical Self

• Attractiveness• How healthy we are• How fit we are• Are we generally good at sports and physical exercise.

• Intellectual Self• How good we are at academic work, art, music etc.

Self-concept• Emotional Self

• Understanding our own feelings• Understanding others feelings• How you get on with people• How good you are at getting on

with and concentrating on work.• Social Self

• Relationships with member of your own families

• Relationships with friends and colleagues.

Self-conceptinvolves

How popular we are with other peopleHow good we are at

various work or sporting activities

How likely we are to be successful at coping with problems

How we compare with other people we know

How physically attractive we are

How fit and strong we are

How clever we are

Define self concept

• How does self concept develop?

Much of self concept is

formed around gender, age,

culture, personality

and role

So what is the difference between self-concept and self-

esteem?Self-concept (what we know about ourselves• I have brown hair• I am overweight• I am a student

Self-esteem (acceptance, approval and valuing oneself) • I hate my hair• I hate my body• I am not clever and feel I

will not do well at college

The looking glass self

• Charles Cooley 1864- 1929

• A person’s self grows through their social interactions with others. This informs them of how other perceive them to be.

Who are you ? Identity• Identity- who are you? • Depend on role? • Location? • Multi faceted?• Is it flexible? • Is it how you see yourself or how others see you?

Social Identity• Social identity- Belonging to a group gives a sense of social identity. Tajfel

(1979) believed that membership to groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) are an important source of pride and self-esteem. By associating with a particular group, we are able to discover more about ourselves. A groups behavioural norms will become our behavioural norms. An individual can belong to many groups

• Social Identity Theory: 3 stages- categorisation- social identification- social comparison.

• Categorisation- We categorise things to enable us to understand and recognise them, according to societal groups- black, white, bus driver, student

• Social identification- To be a member of a group we adopt the group identity and behave according to how we believe the group behaves. The emotional connection to the group will add to our identification with the group and self esteem will be entwined with the membership

Social Identity• Once we have categorised and identified we compare our

group to others. To maintain our self esteem we need to compare well to other groups.

• Can create an “us” and “them” mentality. • This can create groups prejudices and rivalries where

groups compete and hostility can surface.

Useful Phrases• Self Actualisation- Defined by Abraham Maslow. An innate tendency, of all human

beings, to become the best they can be in all aspects of personality, intellectual, social and emotional life

• Self concept- The way we view ourselves. In childhood this is based on what we are told, as we get older we include our own judgements on ourselves, behaviour, results.

• Self esteem- How we value ourselves. If we believe we are valued, we have high self esteem, feel loved and loveable. If we have low self esteem, we believe we are worthless and of no value to others- unloved and unloveable.

• Identity- Associated with occupational choice and social roles. Consistent sense of sameness