Defining the Concept of Self

Who am I? There are many of us walking around trying to figure out who we are and what we stand for. Self-reflection can be conveyed in many different ways, using many different adjectives to describe the person we are. There are some who will give an honest description of one’s self and then there is some who become delusional with the perception they want others to see. Most people on social sites create a profile which can be so far from whom they really are, it is usually a perception of who they want to be. This paper will define the self, the concept of the self, the functions of the self, the core motives of the self, and how the core motives of the self relates to survival.

The definition of the self can have a variety of descriptions depending on who is defining it. The self is an embodied human who have different attributes, characteristics, and interest which distinguished them from other people. The self will take ownership and possession of materialistic items to create an outlook to be viewed by others. The self is the study of the effective and cognitive method to identify one’s self. There are four basic levels to identify the self, they are body self, inner self, interpersonal self, and societal self (Fiske, 2010).
The body self, also can be referred to as the material self, is the most simplistic level of identifying the unique characteristics of a person. The body self takes on ownership of one’s belongings. The distinction between the self and not-self would include an expressive response to having something loss, damaged, or derogation. These are all characteristics of the self (Fiske, 2010).
The inner self is an experience that a person will go through, which can be described as an inner body experien...

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...oken, one will take a while to forgive but it will happen again naturally. For some reason, Americans have a tendency of trusting other quickly. In life we have to learn to trust others in order to build solid foundations.
These five core social behaviors help to build the individual into becoming a better person as whole. Each motive defines the self and enhances the overall quality built within each person. These core motives helps to balance the survival tactics needed to be successful and live a long fulfilling life. Building a solid and strong foundation creates a path for developing loving relationships, building and enhances one’s self-esteem and their self-worth, and having the opportunity to become part of a group or community.

Works Cited

Fiske, S. (2010). Social Beings: Core motives in social psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.