self-concept

Meaning: Self-concept is the organized collection of thoughts and beliefs about oneself, the answer to "Who am I?" It includes self-schemas (beliefs about particular traits, such as being athletic), personal identity (traits and abilities) and social identity (membership in groups such as a family, profession or nation). It develops largely through social interaction. In Cooley's looking-glass self, we imagine how others see us and adopt that view. Higgins' self-discrepancy theory separates the actual self, the ideal self (what we wish to be) and the ought self (what we feel we should be). Gaps between them are linked to negative emotion. Rogers' humanistic view stresses congruence between the real self and the ideal self.

On the MCAT: A passage describes someone whose peer feedback, new role or cultural setting changes how they describe themselves. You identify the concept, or predict how a discrepancy between actual and ideal self affects emotion. Adolescent identity formation and social identity also appear.

Common confusion: Self-concept is descriptive (what I believe I am). Self-esteem is evaluative (how much I value myself). Self-efficacy is the belief in my ability to succeed at a specific task. A person can believe "I am a weak swimmer" as part of self-concept and still have high self-esteem.