The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks, evaluates, or perceives themselves. Being self-aware means having a self-concept. Baumeister (1999) provides the following definition of self-concept: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "The individual's belief about himself, including the attributes of the person and who and what the self is." Self-concept is an essential term for both social and humanistic psychology. Who are you? Are you tall? Brief? Do you have brown or blonde hair? Is academic competence vital to you? Do you only value knowledge and intelligence in a particular area, such as mathematics or history? Are you a fit and athletic person? Do you get along with your colleagues or co-workers? Are you shy or loud? Each of these questions reflects a particular self-schema that constitutes the framework of one's self-conception. The self-concept can be understood as guiding the energy and direction behind attitudes, emotions, and behaviors. Why do you dress like that? Why did you enroll in a university or apply for a particular job? An individual's self-concept permeates all aspects of his or her life. It is a fundamental motivational factor underlying attitudes, emotions and behaviors in the hope of achieving aspects of psychological well-being.''Self as a noun entered the English language It was around 1400 AD and was initially defined by negative connotations, such as selfishness. Negative information reflects historical context as seen in the following statement; “We will deny ourselves and follow our Lord Almighty.” This trend continued into the 16th century, when hyphenations for self-pity, such as self-pity, self-praise, and self-satisfaction, became popular. From the 17th century onwards, the person took on a more positive light with the development of terms such as self-interest, self-efficacy and self-determination. The importance and purpose behind the person also shifted in the direction described by Nathaniel Cоtton's later 18th century poetry excerpt; 'The world has nothing to give; from ourselves, our joys must flow. The term self-esteem comes from the previously mentioned derivatives of the self, for example, it incorporates aspects of self-interest, self-praise and self-efficacy. Expressively, self-concept can be understood as the conception of oneself as a distinct individual; mental representations of who one is and who one wishes to become in the context of one's environment Reeve, a researcher, states in 2009 that the self-concept develops from personal experiences, reflections on these experiences, and feedback from the social environment. Therefore, the process of developing and consolidating self-esteem involves a reciprocal or cyclical process. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The self-concept is the organ enclosed in a semantic hierarchy of personal schemas; domain-specific cognitive generalizations. Self-schemas may include evaluations in social (peers, significant others), academic (general or particular intelligence), emotional (specific emotions), or physical (skills, appearance) domains. Within the autonomic schema hierarchy, individuals can also have high or low levels of differentiation and integration.