I-concept: the problem of definition and structure

I-concept is a complex of self-representations about myself, a reflexive part of it. The fact that an individual is drawn is more or less stable and conscious of it. Often this term is used instead of the more neutral word "self-consciousness".

I-concept: the problem of definition

Difficulties with precise determination of this concept arise from the fact that what a person means by "I" is of an overly general nature. After all, depending on the context, any elementary word can be described differently, and even more so with abstract concepts such as "personality", etc. So, for example, Spirkin considers the "I" from the point of view of the element and carrier of self-consciousness . Mikhailov is interested in the origin of a person's ability to work. A whole group of psychologists consider the "I" at once in several aspects: as a self-conscious beginning, as the inner core of the individual, as a system of his ideas about himself. Burns connects him with self-esteem. He believes that the I-concept is not only what an individual is, but also what he thinks about himself, how he evaluates his activities, what he plans for the future. Self-consciousness of a person is directly related to how he performs his functions in society. For example, the professional i-concept of a teacher, then, how much he perceives himself as a teacher, determines his willingness to teach and generally work with children. Thus, it becomes clear that the definition of this concept can vary depending on the methods of its consideration, and also can have a variety of derivatives.

Structure of the i-concept

A person can perceive himself and evaluate through his body, his abilities, through relationships in society and other manifestations. In connection with this, the I-concept traditionally has three components.

1. The cognitive component. It is a set of people's beliefs about oneself. The hierarchy of properties that an individual ascribes to himself is unstable. They can change places, disappear and be replaced by new ones. All this depends on what expectations a person has about himself. Also, the cognitive component is represented in the consciousness of the individual in the form of occupied statuses and roles performed in society.

2. Evaluation component. This is the attitude of the individual to the characteristics that he possesses, their self-esteem. For example, if a person is strong, this does not mean that he likes this quality in himself. The formation of self-esteem is affected by:

1) The way in which ideas about oneself relate to the ideal "I".

2) The way they relate to the expectations of society.

3) The way an individual evaluates his activity after its identification with the activity of a person from the same group (religious, professional, etc.).

3. Behavioral component. It is a person's view of one's own actions. After all, no matter how he evaluates himself, no matter who he is, he can not ignore his behavior, what he does really, and what is only "attributed".

Measuring the image of "I"

I-concept and its components are studied by psychologists with the help of various techniques. One of the most popular was developed in 1989 by RS Panteleev. This MIS is a technique for investigating self-relationship. It consists of nine scales: self-confidence, inner honesty, self-guidance, self-worth, self-relationship, reflected from the outside, self-attachment, self-acceptance, self-blame and internal conflict.