Patronage of Mary Development School

Poblacion, Boljoon, Cebu

Tel. Nos. (032)482-9302- Website: www.pmds.ph - Email Address: pmdsmamamary@gmail.com

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

LESSON 4
The Nature of Self in the Adolescence Stage

Objectives:
1. Define personality;
2. Discuss the different types of self-concept;
3. Differentiate the differences of traits and characteristics of a person; and
4. Prepare activities and strategies to develop self-concept.

Adolescence is that time when you start dreaming about

big things in life, wanting to be successful or becoming
like the persons you admire from the educational,
business, social media, or entertainment world. This is
likewise the period in your life when drastic changes
(physical, intellectual, emotional, and social) happen. New
ways of thinking, more mature ideas, expanded
relationships, and encounters or opportunities that
challenge your talents, abilities, or potentials are common. Among the many questions that
confront you would be “Where to from here?” “Who can I be?” or “What if?” To be able to
answer these questions, you should know and understand yourself. This involves realizing
and accepting your strengths, weaknesses, characteristics, and abilities, all of which are tied
to your personality.

THE CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY

The easiest way to understand the concept of

personality is to look at it as a form of a mask that
an individual wears for others to see. Such concept is
rooted in the origin of the word “personality” itself,
which is the Latin word persona. This refers to the
masks worn by Roman actors in Greek dramas in
order to project their respective roles. But of course,
the scientific community, particularly the
psychologists, view or define personality as more
than just what man projects for others to see. Thus,
there is no single or universal definition of
personality.

Most are in agreement, however, that personality is pattern of relatively permanent

traits and characteristics that makes a person’s behavior consistent and distinct. Traits are
qualities that are inherently unique, common to some group, or shared by an entire species
but the pattern is different for each individual. Characteristics, on the other hand, are
unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as temperament, physique, and
intelligence. In addition, one’s personality is believed to appear as early as infancy and
continuously develops throughout childhood and adolescence based on behavioral and
emotional predispositions that were present at birth. These predispositions are known as a
person’s temperament.

NATURE OF SELF-CONCEPT

What is self-concept?

Another important aspect in knowing and understanding

yourself is having a clear awareness of your self-concept. Noted
social psychologist Roy Baumeister, known for his research and
work on the Self, defines self-concept as “as individual’s belief
about himself or herself, including his or her attributes and who

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and what the self is.” To put simply, self-concept is about how you see, view, or evaluate
yourself---an appraisal that must be done realistically. Generally, your self-concept is tied to
your real self or ideal self. Your real self is who you actually are, your abilities, strengths,
and weaknesses. It is the way you look, think, feel, or behave which sometimes you hide
because of the roles you play, how society or people around expect you to be, or mainly
just how you want to project yourself. Your ideal self, on the other hand, is what you
envision to be or who you wish to become. This is sometimes influenced by your parents’
expectations, the people you admire, or based on your idea of what a successful person
should be.

In the healthiest scenario, your ideal self should be aligned with your real self
because how you see yourself determines many of your activities and experiences in life. As
such, a healthy and positive self-concept tends to lead to healthy and positive experiences
that will be an important preparation toward adulthood and old age.

TYPES OF SELF-CONCEPT

Aside from the general category of the real and ideal self, there are specific types of
self-concept that emerge from infancy to the adolescent stage that aid in your holistic
development. These concepts of the self arm you with the knowledge and skills needed to
successfully interact with other people.

 The subject self or the existential self. It is

the first type of self-concept that is formed and
developed during the infancy stage. It is
considered as the most basic self-concept and it
involves the awareness that you are separate and
distinct individual when compared to others.
Common indicators would be statements like, “I
exist,” ”I am different from my parents,” and “I
am not like my friends.”
 The objective or the categorical self. Also
formed during the infancy stage, it is the
understanding that you are defined or you can
describe yourself in terms of different categories
like being a boy, having black hair, being tall, etc.
 The emotional self. Formed during the early childhood stage, this type of self-
concept focuses on emotional regulation where your ability to control and express
emotions and emotion-related behavior is acquired.
 The social self. This facet of the self-concept also emerges during early childhood.
It revolves around the increasing awareness that you are part of society and that you
have different roles to play depending on the situation. This explains why at times
you may have stepped up to a leadership role when you and some classmates were
tasked to do a certain project or activity, and why you behave and pay attention in
class because you know that the role you need to play in the said situation is that of
a student.
 The psychological self. This is your understanding that you have enduring
psychological characteristics. This realization begins during middle childhood and, at
this point, you now begin to describe yourself using psychological characteristics like
intelligent, friendly, etc. as compared to the characteristics you used when the
objective or categorical self was formed.
 The valued self. Otherwise known as the self-esteem, this refers to the type of self-
concept that focuses on how you value yourself as an individual.

PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT IN SOCIAL INTERACTION

Personality and self-concept are

essential components of who you are. They
matter greatly as they play a large influence
on how you think, feel, and behave. They are
key factors that determine how you deal and
interact with other people. A high school
student who is extrovert would have more
opportunities for social interaction and other activities compared to a high school student
who is introvert. These social interactions and other activities can open up opportunities for
further student engagement and can serve as a training ground for college and future
careers. Such incidents can also boost self-confidence and self-esteem particularly if the

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interactions are successful. Missing out on these opportunities, the introvert may be at a
disadvantage as this could affect his or her development.

DEVELOPING A HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT

How does one develop a healthy self-concept? Zorka Hereford, author of 9 Essential
Life Skills – A Guide for Personal Development and Self-Realization, says that developing a
healthy self-concept needs careful planning and a concentrated effort. One must work to
possess the skills needed to face life’s challenges. Hereford gives us four elements that
constitute a positive self-concept. Assess yourself to know if you need to develop any or all
of these elements.

1. Knowing yourself, determining and understanding your strengths, weaknesses,

talents, and potentials.
2. Being honest with yourself and being true to who you are and what you value.
3. Taking responsibility for your actions and choices.
4. Loving and accepting yourself as you are, knowing that you can improve and develop
any aspect of yourself that you choose.

Review / Enhancement Activity

Terms to Remember
 Persona- a Greek word that pertains to a mask that Roman actors wear.
 Personality- a pattern of relatively permanent traits and characteristics that makes a
person’s behavior consistent and unique.
 Traits- qualities that are unique, common to some group, or shared by an entire
species but the pattern is different for each individual. Patience, unfaithfulness,
jealousy, and alertness are examples of traits.
 Characteristics- unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as
temperament, physique, and intelligence.
 Temperament- inborn predispositions, said to be the foundation of personality,
examples of which are a person’s activity level, persistence, mood, etc.
 Self-concept- an individual’s belief about himself or herself, including his or her
attributes and who and what the self is.
 There are six types of self-concept. These are the subject self, objective self,
emotional self, social self, psychological self and valued self.
 Personality and Self-Concept are closely interacting. They are essential components
of who you are.
 To develop self-concept you must know yourself, be honest to yourself, be
responsible of your actions and love yourself.

References

Santos, Ricardo Rubio (2016). Personal Development, Manila: Rex Bookstore.

Perez, Aida Maria Hernandez (2016). Personal Development, Quezon City: Vibal Publishing

Cayubit, Ryan Francis and Avelina L. Mandin (2017). Actualizing the Adolescent: Values
Approach to Personality Development. Makati City Don Bosco Press.

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 Patronage of Mary Development School
Poblacion, Boljoon, Cebu
Tel. Nos. (032)482-9302- Website: www.pmds.ph - Email Address: pmdsmamamary@gmail.com

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Learning Task 4

Name ______________________________________________ Grade Level __________

Email Address ___________________________ Date _____________ Time ___________

A. Multiple Choice. Click / Check the letter that corresponds to your answer.

1. What are the elements that you need to assess against yourself in order to develop a
healthy self-concept?
1. Know Yourself
2. Be honest to yourself
3. Take responsibility
4. Love and accept yourself as you are
A. 1 and 2 B. 1, 2 and 3 C. 1, 2, 3 and 4 D. 1, 2 and 4

2. The word personality is taken from the Greek word “persona”. What does the word
“persona” refer to?
A. the Greek philosophers
B. the Roman soldiers
C. the helmet worn by the Roman soldiers
D. masks of actors in Greek dramas

3. What stage in human life when drastic changes happen like physical, emotional, social
and intellectual milestones?
A. adolescence
B. childhood
C. late childhood
D. adulthood

4. What concept that refers to the pattern of relatively permanent traits and characteristics
that makes a person’s behavior consistent and distinct?
A. traits
B. characteristics
C. personality
D. temperament

5. Donna loves to collect stamps and old coins in which a unique hobby of her age in this
generation. She has few friends on social media who are fond of the same hobby. What
concept of personality is described above which refer to the unique quality shared by
individuals in a group?
A. traits
B. characteristics
C. personality
D. temperament

6. The person’s attributes such as physique and intelligence continuously develop in his/her
childhood to adolescence stage. What concept of personality is described above?
A. traits
B. characteristics
C. personality
D. temperament

7. Alfred believes that he has the capacity to excel in his class. He exerted effort, manage
his time well between his academics and personal life. What aspect of self is described
above?
A. self-confidence
B. self-concept
C. self-awareness
D. self-esteem

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8. Christine has the tendency to focus on her emotion. Because of this, Christine grow up to
be a person who possess the ability to control and express emotions and emotion-related
behavior. What type of self-concept is mastered by Christine?
A. value self
B. social self
C. emotional self
D. psychological self

9. How will a positive and healthy self-concept affect the person’s quality of life?
A. self-concept will create a wealthy and comfortable life ahead
B. person’s quality of life is dependent upon the profitability of the businesses
C. financial security will insure high quality of life
D. healthy and positive experiences are important preparations to adulthood
and old age

10. Brian has a high self-esteem as evidenced by his way of dealing with people of different
personalities and the manner he manages his emotions and that of others. He does not
want to be affected by mean comments and drama of his friends. What type of self-concept
is highlighted in the situation of Brian?
A. value self
B. social self
C. emotional self
D. psychological self

B. Essay. Answer the following.

1. What is personality?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

2. Discuss in your own words the types of self-concept.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the differences between traits and characteristics of a person? Give examples.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

4. How can you develop your self-concept?

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________