Interventions to Boost Self-esteem, Social Competence, and Social Skills

Interventions to Boost Self-esteem, Social Competence, and Social Skills
photo by: juhansonin
By Linda Wilmshurst and Alan W. Brue
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

We will focus on how a person's self-concept changes over time and the importance of social competence in the formation of a healthy self-concept. Our self-concept is a complex system of beliefs about ourselves. We develop our self-concepts based on judgments or evaluations of how we are doing when we compare ourselves with others or our own ideal self. It is possible to have a good self-concept in one area (such as sports) and a poor self-concept in another area (such as mathematics).

The self-concept (also known as self-esteem, self-image, or self-worth) is formed from three major sources of information that we obtain from others: words, feelings, and behaviors. What I think about myself is often based on others' comments about me; what I feel about myself often comes from others' emotional reactions to me; and how I behave is often in response to others' reactions to me.

Another source of information that helps build or reduce self-concept is the set of internal standards used to judge one's performance. If these standards of ideal performance are too high, a person may feel that he or she does not measure up. Consequently, the person develops feelings that devalue a sense of worth, resulting in a low self-concept or self-image in that area. Children often learn these internal standards from watching how their parents, teachers, and peers judge their performance at school and at home.

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