The self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about, evaluates or

perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself.

Self-concept is the image that we have of ourselves. How exactly does this self-image form and change over
time? This image develops in a number of ways but is particularly influenced by our interactions with
important people in our lives.

Defining Self-Concept
Self-concept is generally thought of as our individual perceptions of our behavior, abilities, and unique
characteristics—a mental picture of who you are as a person.1 For example, beliefs such as "I am a good
friend" or "I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-concept.

Self-concept tends to be more malleable when people are younger and still going through the process of self-
discovery and identity formation. As people age, self-perceptions become much more detailed and organized
as people form a better idea of who they are and what is important to them.

HOW OTHERS THINK

People will talk. They always have. And they always will. No matter what you do or say, how
you behave, the way you walk or dress, how you act, or the decisions you make, will always
be scrutinized by others. It’s the nature of the masses. Like the herd of lions swooping in for
the kill, they prey on the weak, looking for those they can taunt and torment. And it gets to
us. We allow other people’s opinions to not only hurt us, but oftentimes, to define us.

But it doesn’t matter what other people think of you. It doesn’t matter what other people say
about you behind closed doors or even right in front of your face. Their opinions have no
basis in defining what you’re all about. They aren’t the truth. They have no purpose other
than to hurt or harm you. There is no rhyme or reason beyond making the other person feel
superior to you in some way or another.

But this isn’t something new. Other people have always had an opinion. From early on in
our lives, we form clicks. As children, we tend to gang up on others in an effort to not only
make that person feel bad, but to make ourselves feel better. Just because someone is
different from you, doesn’t make them inferior. No one is better than you no matter what.
No matter the color of their skin, their religion, their occupation, nor anything else for that
matter. No one.

Still, it’s hard to not get disheartened when others hurl intentionally-hurtful opinions at
you. It’s easy to think in your mind that those opinions don’t matter and don’t define you as
a human being, but it’s harder to put in practice. Considering that we’ve all been the target
of an ill-intentioned opinion at one point or another, most of us know just how this feels. It’s
hard to suppress your emotions when people are doing their best just to get you going.

Still, it’s important to take the high road. It’s important to turn the other cheek and look the
other way. Not only for your own sanity, but for the simple fact that you shouldn’t give
others the pleasure of insulting you. You shouldn’t allow their negativity to stir you into a
fury. It doesn’t matter what other people think. Not at all. As long as you’re doing the right
thing and you’re interested in creating value and contributing to the world, you shouldn’t
care what anyone else thinks or says.

SELF AWARNESS
Self-awareness involves being aware of different aspects of the self including traits, behaviors, and feelings.
Essentially, it is a psychological state in which oneself becomes the focus of attention.

Self-awareness is one of the first components of the self-concept to emerge. While self-awareness is something
that is central to who you are, it is not something that you are acutely focused on at every moment of every
day. Instead, self-awareness becomes woven into the fabric of who you are and emerges at different points
depending on the situation and your personality.

People are not born completely self-aware. Yet research has also found that infants do have a rudimentary
sense of self-awareness. Infants possess the awareness that they are a separate being from others, which is
evidenced by behaviors such as the rooting reflex in which an infant searches for a nipple when something
brushes against his or her face. Researchers have also found that even newborns are able to differentiate
between self- and non-self touch.1

When Does Self-Awareness Emerge?

Studies have demonstrated that a more complex sense of the awareness of the self begins to emerge at around
one year of age and becomes much more developed by approximately 18 months of age.

Researchers Lewis and Brooks-Gunn performed studies looking at how self-awareness develops. 2 The
researchers applied a red dot to an infant's nose and then held the child up to a mirror. Children who
recognized themselves in the mirror would reach for their own noses rather than the reflection in the mirror,
which indicated that they had at least some level of self-awareness.

Lewis and Brooks-Gunn found that almost no children under one year of age would reach for their own nose
rather than the reflection in the mirror. About 25 percent of the infants between 15 and 18 months reached for
their own noses while about 70 percent of those between 21 and 24 months did so.

It is important to note that the Lewis and Brooks-Gunn study only indicates an infant's visual self-awareness;
children might actually possess other forms of self-awareness even at this early point in life. For example,
researchers Lewis, Sullivan, Stanger, and Weiss suggested that expressing emotions involves self-awareness as
well as an ability to think about oneself in relation to other people.

How Does Self-Awareness Develop?

Researchers have proposed that an area of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex located in
the frontal lobe region plays an important role in developing self-awareness. Studies have also used brain
imaging to show that this region becomes activated in adults who are self-aware 3. The Lewis and Brooks-Gunn
experiment suggests that self-awareness begins to emerge in children around the age of 18 months, an age that
coincides with the rapid growth of spindle cells in the anterior cingulate cortex.
However, one study found that a patient retained self-awareness even with extensive damage to areas of the
brain including the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex.4 This suggests that these areas of the brain are not
required for most aspects of self-awareness and that awareness may instead arise from interactions distributed
among brain networks.