Self-Concept and Identity
High-Yield Summary
- Self-concept = a person's full internal answer to 'who am I?', built from self-schemas (Hazel Markus — self-given labels carrying implied qualities). Identity = an individual component of self-concept (e.g., 'athlete,' 'sibling'); a person enacts different identities in different social settings.
- Gender identity: masculinity and femininity are two independent dimensions, not one continuum. Androgynous = high on both; undifferentiated = low on both. Gender schema theory (Sandra Bem): gender identity's components are culturally/socially transmitted.
- Ethnic identity (shared ancestry, cultural heritage, language) vs. nationality (political borders, shared history/media/symbols).
- Hierarchy of salience (Sheldon Stryker): situation dictates which identity is most important at a given moment, based on invested work, rewards/gratification, and tied self-esteem.
- Self-discrepancy theory (E. Tory Higgins): actual self (who you are now) vs. ideal self (who you want to be) vs. ought self (who others expect you to be). Closer alignment = higher self-esteem.
- Self-efficacy (Albert Bandura): belief in one's ability to succeed, task-specific, not global. Too high → overconfidence; collapse → learned helplessness (Martin Seligman) — a possible model for clinical depression.
- Locus of control (Julian Rotter): internal (you control your outcomes) vs. external (luck/outside forces control your outcomes).
Key Terms
- Self-schema
- A self-given label that carries an implied set of qualities (Hazel Markus).
- Androgyny
- High scores on both masculinity and femininity scales simultaneously.
- Hierarchy of salience
- Sheldon Stryker's concept: the situation determines which identity is most prominent/enacted at a given moment.
- Learned helplessness
- Martin Seligman's concept: losing all motivation to escape a negative situation after repeated uncontrollable failure; possible depression model.
- Locus of control
- Julian Rotter's concept: whether a person attributes outcomes to themselves (internal) or to luck/others (external).
The Three Selves (Self-Discrepancy Theory)
| Self | Definition |
|---|---|
| Actual self | Who you think you are right now |
| Ideal self | Who you want to be |
| Ought self | Who you think others expect you to be |
Self-Efficacy Spectrum
- 1Well-calibrated high self-efficacy: strong, accurate belief in ability to succeed → higher motivation to pursue the task.
- 2Overconfidence: self-efficacy too high relative to actual ability → taking on tasks not ready for → frustration, humiliation, injury.
- 3Learned helplessness: self-efficacy collapses beyond recovery after repeated uncontrollable failure → loss of motivation to try at all.
Common MCAT Trap
- Self-concept (the whole internal answer set) is not interchangeable with identity (one component of it).
- Masculinity and femininity are independent dimensions, not opposite ends of one scale — a classic outdated-model trap.
- Falling short of your own goals = actual-ideal discrepancy; disappointing family/others' expectations = actual-ought discrepancy.
- Attributing an outcome to your own effort = internal locus of control; attributing it to luck or others = external locus of control.
Quick Recall
A person scores high on both masculinity and femininity scales. What is this called?
A student feels they're disappointing their parents' expectations. Which discrepancy?
A person believes their success is due to luck, not their own effort. Internal or external locus of control?
What phenomenon did Seligman's shocked-dog experiments demonstrate?
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