Overview of Assignment: Characteristics of Self-Concept

Your self-concept reflects how you describe yourself and how others describe you. There are three major characteristics of self-concept. First, self-concept can change over time from past to current to future. The way that you described yourself in previous years is your past self-concept. The self-concept that you identify with now is your current self-concept. The way that you would like to describe yourself in the future is your possible self-concept. Second, you have different self-concepts for different aspects or domains in your life. These domains include the way you look (appearance), your success or failure (performance), and your involvement with others (social interaction). Finally, self-concepts may be either positive or negative and they may be expressed differently in different cultures.
The characteristics of your self-concept can influence your motivation.
Positive possible self-concepts are more likely to motivate you to action than negative possible self-concepts.
Positive and negative self-concepts are likely to be different in Western cultures versus non-Western cultures. A positive self-concept in Western culture is often related to a feeling of independence. In contrast, a positive self-concept in non-Western cultures is often associated with the ability to be interdependent or fit in with the community. Consider the example of the positive possible self-concept of becoming more muscular. In a Western country or culture, you may be motivated to become muscular in order to help you win an athletic competition or to improve your personal attractiveness. In a non-Western country or culture, you may be motivated to become muscular in order to be more physically capable of contributing to the community. In the article “Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation,” Hazel Rose Markus and Shinobu Kitayama use the term self-construals rather than self-concepts. They provide more detail about positive views of the self in Western and non-Western cultures.
To prepare for this assignment:
*Do Research on Self-Concept.
*Review the article “Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation bottom of page.
*Choose one domain: appearance, performance, or social interaction.
*With the domain you chose in mind, think about your past self-concept, your current self-concept, and your possible self-concept.
*For each self-concept, consider whether it is positive or negative.
*Consider whether your possible self-concepts motivate you to take action and, if so, what actions you might take.
*Think about the difference between positive and negative self-concepts in Western and non-Western cultures.
The assignment Questions below (1 page): No Plagiarism, APA style format and must be cited.

(1)Briefly describe your past self-concept, your current self-concept, and your possible self-concept in the domain that you selected (appearance, performance, or social interaction). Be sure to note the domain?
(2)For each self-concept (past, current, and possible), identify whether it is positive or negative and in what way?
(3)Explain whether each self-concept is likely to motivate you to take action and what action you might take if your answer is yes?
(4)Finally, briefly describe a country or culture other than your own and explain how self-concept (past, current, or possible) might play out in the country or culture you selected. Is it similar to or different from how it would play out in your own culture?