The Self and Perception
Chapter 3: The Self and Perception
I. The Self in Human Communication
A. Self-concept— your image of who you are; how you perceive yourself: your feelings & thoughts about your strengths & weaknesses, your abilities & limitations.
1. Develops from 4 sources
a. The images that others have of you (those most significant to your life- if they think highly of you, you will see a positive self-image reflected in their behaviors; if they think little of you, you will see a more negative image)
i. Looking-glass self— the image of yourself that others reveal to you through the way they communicate with you
b. Comparisons between yourself & others (you gain a different perspective when you see yourself in comparison to your peers)
c. Your cultural experiences (these experiences provide benchmarks against which you can measure yourself; for example, your ability to achieve what your culture defines as success contributes to a positive self-concept) d. Self-interpretations & self-evaluations; your evaluation of your own thoughts & behaviors
i. Self-interpretations- your reconstruction of the incident & your understanding of it ii. Self-evaluations- the value-good or bad- that you place on the behavior
B. Self-awareness- your knowledge of who you are; of your traits, your strengths & limitations, your emotions & behaviors, & your individuality (basic to all communication)
1. Your 4 Selves (Johari Window); divided into four areas or “panes,” the Johari window shows different aspects or versions of the self (4 areas are not separate from one another, but interdependent; when one area gets larger, one or another becomes smaller)
a. Open self- represents all the information, behaviors, attitudes, & feelings about yourself that you know & that others also know (varies according to your personality & the people to whom you’re relating)
b. Blind self- represents knowledge about you that others have but you
I. The Self in Human Communication
A. Self-concept— your image of who you are; how you perceive yourself: your feelings & thoughts about your strengths & weaknesses, your abilities & limitations.
1. Develops from 4 sources
a. The images that others have of you (those most significant to your life- if they think highly of you, you will see a positive self-image reflected in their behaviors; if they think little of you, you will see a more negative image)
i. Looking-glass self— the image of yourself that others reveal to you through the way they communicate with you
b. Comparisons between yourself & others (you gain a different perspective when you see yourself in comparison to your peers)
c. Your cultural experiences (these experiences provide benchmarks against which you can measure yourself; for example, your ability to achieve what your culture defines as success contributes to a positive self-concept) d. Self-interpretations & self-evaluations; your evaluation of your own thoughts & behaviors
i. Self-interpretations- your reconstruction of the incident & your understanding of it ii. Self-evaluations- the value-good or bad- that you place on the behavior
B. Self-awareness- your knowledge of who you are; of your traits, your strengths & limitations, your emotions & behaviors, & your individuality (basic to all communication)
1. Your 4 Selves (Johari Window); divided into four areas or “panes,” the Johari window shows different aspects or versions of the self (4 areas are not separate from one another, but interdependent; when one area gets larger, one or another becomes smaller)
a. Open self- represents all the information, behaviors, attitudes, & feelings about yourself that you know & that others also know (varies according to your personality & the people to whom you’re relating)
b. Blind self- represents knowledge about you that others have but you