Description
Scitus Academics LLC Self and Social Change by Jay Jain
People have a basic need to maintain the integrity of the self, a global sense
of personal adequacy. Events that threaten self-integrity arouse stress and
self-protective defenses that can hamper performance and growth. However,
an intervention known as self-affirmation can curb these negative outcomes.
Self-affirmation interventions typically have people write about core
personal values. The self-concept is undergoing something of a renaissance
in contemporary social psychology. It has, of course, been a central concept
within symbolic interactionism since the seminal writings of Mead (1934),
Cooley (1902), and James (1890). However, even within this sociological
tradition there has been a revitalization of interest in the self-concept: with
developments in role theory, with the increasing focus on the concept of
identity, with the reemergence of interest in social structure and personality,
and with the reconceptualization of small group experimental situation. m).
Identity focuses on the meanings comprising the self as an object, gives
structure and content to self-concept, and anchors the self to social systems.
Self-esteem deals with the evaluative and emotional dimensions of the
self-concept. In experience these two aspects of the self-concept are closely
interrelated: Self-evaluation’s are typically based on substantive aspects of
self-concept, and identities typically have evaluative components. Within
social psychology these two dimensions involve largely separate literature.
Self and Social Change focuses the developments and trends in self-concept
theory and research within social psychology. It offers a thorough, informed
and critical guide to the field. It demonstrates how global economic and
employment structures, neo-liberal discourse, the role of emotion,
irrationality, and ambiguity are factors that impact upon the shape and
resilience of the self. Concern with the personal self and issues of personal
identity as an explanatory frame for understanding social behavior
dominates theoretical accounts and empirical work even when group
processes and intergroup relations are the object of investigation. A central
point of departure in the social identity approach is that the impact of social
groups on the way people see themselves and others around them cannot be
understood without taking into consideration the broader social context in
which they function. Further developments in the self-categorization tradition
have elaborated on more immediate social contextual factors that may
influence self-definitions and identity concerns. It will appeal to students and
practitioners in Cultural Studies, Sociology, Social Psychology, and
Communications.