Difference between self-esteem and self-concept

The relationship that you maintain with you throughout your life is one of the most significant. This link related to your own identity offers special meaning to commonly used terms: self-esteem and self-concept. However, although both terms are sometimes used as if they were synonymous, in reality, they have different nuances that we analyze in this article in Psychology-Online.

¿What is the difference between self-esteem and self-concept? We will tell you about it below, explaining what the specific meaning of each word is.

Index

1. What is self-concept?
2. What is self-esteem in psychology?
3. What is the difference between self-esteem and self-concept?
4. 5 tips to improve low self-esteem and self-concept

The term self-concept refers to the description that a person makes of himself through the use of adjectives and reflections that refer to their capacities, their virtues, their talent, their abilities, the traits of the way of being, the qualities own... That is, in the self-concept it is possible to encompass all those nuances that a person identifies as their own when

Definition of self-concept

The self-concept is fed by the own experiences that are part of the experience of a human being since, from them, he also knows himself better in the exercise of living. This means that although there are traits of the self-concept that remain over time because the person is the same in essence, this element can also vary from the dimension of the new experiences of each stage vital.

Self-concept is expressed through language

Both self-concept and self-esteem are linked to the type of relationship that a person has with himself, however, the point of view from which this view is made is different. Self-concept has one more component cognitive, while self-esteem is the subjective view felt on an emotional level. Self-concept shows the descriptive analysis that one person can share with another.

Obviously, although self-esteem and self-concept are not two synonymous terms, they are interconnected since they provide a more complete vision of the personal core.

From the affective and emotional point of view, self-esteem refers to the feeling of appreciation that a human being has towards himself. That is, it refers to how you feel about yourself since a happy bond of self-love is a solid basis for happiness.

Self-esteem in children

A moment in which the figure of the people of reference in the closest environment constitutes a solid value for the strengthening of this emotional well-being in the child. The foundations of self-esteem well, they begin to be forged in childhood.

Messages received from outsiders provide information to whoever receives this feedback. In the adult stage, the human being also receives recognition of himself through the opinions and evaluations of others. However, at that time, the adult also has a more formed self-concept and internal resources to avoid making wrong assessments of his own. Therefore, self-esteem refers to how what you observe about yourself makes you feel. Next, we will name the main differences between self-esteem and self-concept.

While self-concept is the image we have of ourselves, self-esteem is the subjective assessment of that image. According to the self-concept we have of ourselves, our self esteem will be higher or lower.

Relationship between self-esteem and self-concept

Self-concept, the way a person sees himself, influences how he feels when he extracts his own valuations from her. That is, how you think about yourself influences how you feel. The connection between thought and feeling it's constant.

When a person has a positive self-concept of himself, this fact is also manifested in the practice through your self-esteem and vital feelings such as joy, motivation, inner peace or delusion. On the contrary, if when a person analyzes her self-concept they do not feel comfortable with that description, these negative value judgments produce the opposite effect to the previous case.

Here are some ideas to improve your relationship with yourself through a strengthening self-esteem and self-concept as terms that strengthen the self-knowledge:

1. Write a gratitude journal. This feeling is one of the deepest on an existential level. And, in addition, you can not only reinforce gratitude in your relationships with other people, but also with yourself. To do this exercise to encourage positive thinkingFind a time of the week when you focus on this therapeutic writing technique.
2. Makes positive value judgments from those traits that you see in yourself as valuable and significant. Therefore, really value yourself. You can do this consciously in your conversations with others by highlighting some significant aspect.
3. Identify in what recent moments you have spoken negatively about yourself yourself and what alternate messages would you like to tell you now. You can write a message of affection addressed to yourself, a letter that represents the hug you want to give to that part of yourself that sometimes feels vulnerable as a perfectionist.
4. Correct the generalization. When your speech is conditioned by an absolute point of view that leaves no room for nuances, break with that dynamic through the richness of language. Be careful with those ideas that are formulated through always, never, all or nothing. You can also correct other people around you when you think they are victims of a generalization. That is, you can help them realize how these absolute statements are not objective.
5. Celebrate your achievements. It is not about exaggerating them from the ego, but neither is it about underestimating them from the insecurity. So embrace this attitude of humility and celebration as a present good. Live the happy events of life naturally and adopt a proactive attitude to generate new learning environments.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Difference between self-esteem and self-concept, we recommend that you enter our category of Cognitive psychology.