Question

Give a detailed account of the development of an individual’s self-concept through the stages of life.

Answer 1

• On average, till the age of six months, the child is unaware of himself. As the child grows, he starts making distinctions between his own body and everything else.
• In normal children, face recognition with a mirror occurs at the average age of one and half years. They are capable of pretend play. They also start using personal pronouns, (I, me, mine).
• By the age of two, the child becomes aware of general expectations (what is good/ bad behaviour). They smile when people smile at them and frown when others get angry. They also develop a sense of self by comparing themselves with the standard role model (beginning of self-esteem).
• By the age of three, children start recognizing themselves and others as boys or girls.
• Between the age of three to twelve, the self-concept is defined mainly in terms of sex, age, family, and what the child believes he or she can or can’t do.
• When schooling starts at the age of five-six, a child begins to compare himself to others (beginning of social comparison). Also, the development of the private self-concept takes place during this stage.
• The final unfolding of self-concept during adolescence involves perspective taking, i.e. thinking and understanding other’s point of view. They might even enter into the stage of objective self-awareness.