The Concept of Self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Concept of Self - Essay Example Since the first day of life children begin to intensively acquire information about their selves trying to understand the system of relationships between them and the environment. This accumulated knowledge or, as Rogers terms it, ‘field of experience’ includes all experiences available at the given moment, both conscious and unconscious. During the process of development, one portion of this field separates and becomes the persons ‘self’. This separated self develops through interactions with environmental and involves awareness of being and functioning and can be defined as-concept is "the organized set of characteristics that the individual perceives as peculiar to himself/herself" (Ryckman, 1993, p.106). Theoretically, an individual may develop optimally and avoid the influence of negative experiences. The needs for positive regard from others and positive self-regard would match persons evaluation and there would be congruence between self and experience, with full psychological adjustment as a result (Rogers, 1959). This ideal human condition is embodied in the fully functioning person who is open to experience able to live existentially, expresses feelings freely, acts independently, is creative and lives a richer life. By contrast, the maladjusted person is the polar opposite of the fully functioning individual. The maladjusted individual is defensive, maintains rather than enhances his life, lives according to a preconceived plan, feels manipulated rather than free, and is conforming rather than creative. The fully functioning person, on the contrary, is completely defense-free, open to experience, creative and able to live "the good life". Empirical support for the fully functioning person is somewhat mixed (Rogers, 1959). The person possessing positive self-concept treats the reality differently from the person