Development of the self in society

Grade 9
Term One
2021

Life Orientation
Mrs. K. Moodley
 Week 3 : 1 March 2021 to 5 March 2021

1. Self-concept formation and self-motivation

What is self-concept formation?
 It is your own idea of who you are.
 You form your self-concept by putting together everything you know, think and
believe about yourself.
 Your self-concept is how valuable and worthwhile you consider yourself. (How
good you feel about yourself).
 Positive self-concept: Gives you confidence to try new things and to see failures
as opportunities to learn.
 A positive self-concept ensures that you are secure enough to make your own
decisions and manage your problems.
 A good self-concept is essential to build a solid foundation for success in your
life.

Exercise 1.1:

a. What is your self-concept? How do you see yourself? Write down ideas.

b. What are things that influence how you see yourself? Write down your ideas.

What is self-motivation?
 Motivation is the reason for doing something in a particular way
o E.g., Training hard in sports will result in you winning a medal or making
a team.
 External motivation: when the reason for your actions are ‘outside’ of you
o E.g., motivation to study hard for your exams so that you don’t
disappoint your parents.
 Types of external motivation:
o Fear: If you are motivated by fear, you do something because you are
scared of being punished.
o Reward: If you are motivated by reward, you do something because you
want the prize that comes with it.
 Self-motivation helps you feel good about yourself. It helps you build a positive
self-concept.

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 Exercise 1.2:

1a. What is the difference between self-motivation and external motivation?

b. Why is self-motivation preferable to external motivation?

2. What is the relationship between self-concept and self-motivation?

1. Five Factors that may influence your self-concept formation and

self-motivation.

Factors
1. Family  Your family are your parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts,
uncles and cousins.
 The influence of your family is the first and strongest on
your self-concept.
 How your family treats you, shows how much they value
you. This influences how you see yourself, your ideas of
what you could become and achieve.
 Family influences positive self-concept by:
o Spending time with you
o Listening to you
o Helping you achieve your goals
o Taking an interest in you and supporting your efforts
o Encouraging you to explore things that interest you
o Making you feel needed and appreciated.

2. Culture and  Culture is the commonly shared attitudes, values and actions

Religion of a group of people.

 You learn culture from your family. It is about how you and
your family behave, what you wear and eat, and what
language you speak.
 Culture is very closely linked to religion, which also
influence your attitudes, values and way of life.
 Feedback that you get from people whose opinions you
value in your culture and religion can influence your self-

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 concept.
o If you get praise from people you respect, you develop a
positive self-concept.
o It is much easier to value and believe in yourself when
you are supported within your culture and religion.
 It is important to note that studies have shown that practising
religion gives one a sense of purpose in life / a reason for
living.

3. Community  Environment = an area you live in.

and  Your neighbourhood is your environment and the people

who live there with you are your community.
Environment
 In your environment you will have a variety of relationships
with your community.
o You will interact with teachers,
o Sports coaches,
o Healthcare workers,
o People in shops,
o Neighbours,
o People in community organisations.

 If the adults in your community believe that you can achieve

your goals, you will trust in yourself too.

4. Friends and  Peers are your own age. As you become less dependent on

Peers your family, and start making your own decisions, your
peers tend to become more important.
 You may want to fit in and be accepted as on of your peers –
these relationships are important as they influence the way
you behave.
 Peer pressure: sometimes we choose to do something that we
wouldn’t ordinarily do because of the influence of our
friends.
 Two types of peer pressure:
o Negative: influencing you to take drugs but peer
pressure.
o Positive: encouraging you to work harder and study

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 for your exams because all your friends are
achieving academically.
 If you feel included and accepted by your friends, you will
probably have a good self-concept and self-motivation. Vice
versa.
.
5. The media  Media includes resources such as TV, newspapers,
magazines and the internet.
o these sources reach large amounts of people.

 Many of the images portrayed by the media tend to be

stereotypes of what is considered ‘attractive’.
o The ‘ideal/perfect’ girl or boy is created by using
technology that adjusts the way a person looks.
 As a teenager, your body is changing and developing. These
changes can make you feel self-conscious and insecure when
you compare yourself to what is portrayed in the media.
 It is important to remember that these images are modified,
and you should critically analyse what you are shown.
 In addition, everyone should know/accept that bodies come
in many different shapes and sizes, but all of them are
beautiful in their own way.

2. Positive self-talk
 All your relationships and experiences with the above-mentioned factors contribute to
your self-concept.
 Your self-concept reflects messages that you have received from these people in your life.
o Positive messages = healthy self-concept.
o Negative messages = unhealthy self-concept.
 It is important to remember that the most important person in the formation of your self-
concept is YOU!
 This means that your attitude about yourself can change a negative self-concept into a
positive one. The best way to do this = positive self-talk.

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 What is positive self-talk?

 Speaking to yourself respectfully and talking yourself ‘up’

 Focusing on the positive aspects of yourself (praise your achievements)
 Believe in yourself and that you can succeed
 Concentrating on your unique strengths and abilities (tell yourself that you are worth it,
you are valuable, and you can do it!)
 Treating yourself with kindness and encouragement
 Be forgiving of yourself when you make mistakes
 See any mistakes as an opportunity to learn.

You are a unique individual!

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