What Does Self-perception Mean And How Does It Evolve?
The self-perception, or self-image, is in a person’s mind about his or her own self, that is, the perception of what he or she is. It refers to a person’s broad picture of himself, his physical qualities, abilities, self-worth, and goals.
Differences in self-perception and self-esteem
Self-perception means an individual’s opinion and image of his or her own self. It refers to a set of thoughts and beliefs that affect the image a person reflects to the people around them. Basically, the self-image describes a person’s uniqueness as an individual. Self-esteem, or self-esteem, instead means awareness of self-worth. It is the totality of the emotions that an individual adds to his or her self-image to form his or her personality. Self-perception is a subjective concept because it involves changing our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves.
Theory of self-perception
Self-perception is divided into personal and social identity. There are variables associated with personal identity that make an individual unique. These include, for example, personality traits and characteristics. The social environment, on the other hand, changes according to the context shared with others. These can be, for example, religion, community of residence, place of study and family life. The environment can also change over time with different life experiences.
An example of self-perception
Sometimes people create a distorted perception or image of themselves. For example, a person with anorexia has a distorted image of himself, because when he looks in the mirror, he sees himself as different from what others see him. Fortunately, there are also many positive examples.
People who value themselves set goals for themselves and strive towards them through a positive attitude and self-encouragement. They are also willing to influence their environment with the same positive attitude. Such a person is assertive and defends his own thoughts in all situations. His positive perception of the self brings him real, achievable benefits.
Development of self-perception
The self-perception is not only an egocentric view of the individual itself, nor is it a static thing, as it is also influenced by social factors. The following factors are important for the development of a positive self-perception:
- Meaningful and meaningful life.
- Developing and believing in your own skills.
- Interacting with the environment.
- Openness to new experiences and a desire to change, adapt and evolve.
- Optimism and a positive attitude.
- Setting short – and long – term goals.
- Productivity.
- Finding solutions to various problems.
5 characteristics of self-perception
- System. The person is able to simplify the situation by categorizing it effectively.
- Multi-performance. The ability to consider different functions at the same time and prioritize things so that they all get taken care of.
- Empirical experience. Experiences play an important role in the development of self-perception. It can take advantage of both general situations and individual experiences.
- Judgment. A person evaluates their own progress based on other perceptions or thoughts. They come from the environment or from different learning experiences.
- Differentiation. A person is able to take into account various variables by utilizing a concept or idea, but is also able to use his or her own judgment.
4 self-perception functions
The individual’s self-perception is thus formed by utilizing other people’s opinions of himself. This can benefit the individual in many ways:
- It helps a person understand other people and the environment.
- Helps meet a person’s basic needs that affect personality development.
- Modify a person’s behavior.
- Develops social competence.
