There are a variety of ways to think about the self. Two of the most widely used terms are self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept generally refers to the totality of a complex, organized, and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that people hold about themselves, while self-esteem generally refers to how we feel about or how we value ourselves. There is a great deal of research which shows that the self-concept is, perhaps, the basis for all motivated behavior. It is the self-concept that gives rise to possible selves, and it is possible selves that create the motivation for behavior. Self-concept is related to self-esteem in that people who have good self-esteem have a clear self-concept. When people know themselves, they can maximize outcomes because they know what they can and cannot do. It would see, then, that one way to impact self-esteem is to obey the somewhat old cliché(陈词滥调) of “Know thyself.”

There are several different components of self-concept: physical, academic, social and transpersonal. The physical aspect of self-concept relates to that which is concrete: what we look like, our sex, height, weight, and what kind of clothes we wear. Our academic self-concept relates to how well we do in school or how well we learn. The social self-concept describes how we relate to other people and the transpersonal self-concept describes how we relate to other supernatural or unknown on an emotional or spiritual level.

Through self-reflection, people often come to view themselves in a new, more powerful way, and it is through this new, more powerful way of viewing the self that people can develop possible selves. We develop and maintain our self-concept by taking action and then reflecting on what we have done and what others tell us about what we have done. We reflect in comparison to our expectations and the expectations of others and to the characteristics and accomplishments of others. Self-concept, thus is developed by the individual through interaction with the environment and reflecting on that interaction. This dynamic aspect of self-concept is important because it indicates that it can be modified or changed.

48. It can be inferred from the text that __________.

A. the author believes most behavior is learned, not born with

B. the author doesn’t believe that one’s self-concept can change

C. self-concept and self-esteem are often mistaken for each other

D. the author has doubts about the idea that self-concept is the basis for behavior

49. The author’s attitude towards the ideas of “know thyself” is __________.

A. critical               B. positive                   C. neutral                     D. mixed

50. One can conclude from the text that by developing good self-esteem people can __________.

   A. improve their interactions immensely

B. begin improving their behavior

   C. begin to develop a clear self-concept

D. correct deficiencies(不足) in their character

51. Which of the following would be identified as transpersonal self-concept?

A. Our concept of how interested we are in and how well we study supernatural topics.

B. Our knowledge of our strange intuition(直觉) about people’s feelings.

C. Our understanding of how we relate to a god we believe in.

D. Our understanding of our relationship with other people.

52. The most appropriate title for the text would be __________.

A. The Characteristics of Self-Concept       

B. The Changeability of Self-Concept

C. Self-Concept and Self-Esteem           

D. New Research on Self-Concept