Handbook Of Self-Concept: Developmental, Social, And Clinical Considerations (Wiley Series On Personality Processes)

Handbook of Self-Concept: Developmental, Social, and Clinical Considerations (Wiley Series on Personality Processes)

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Handbook of Self-Concept

"If we could see ourselves as others see us, we would vanish onthe spot." —E. M. Cioran

It is one of the most intimate of realities and the slipperiestof abstractions. For Sartre it was a double negative and for B. F.Skinner, a set of learned responses. Among exponents of artificialintelligence it is the Oz at the end of the rainbow, while forVoltaire it was an unavoidable pathology. And, ever since WilliamJames first identified consciousness of self as a discretepsychological phenomenon, more than a century ago, it has been thesource of intense speculation and debate among psychologists.

In the past twenty years alone, over 11,000 studies have beenconducted on various aspects of self-concept. Much progress hasbeen made, and a general consensus has been reached about many ofits aspects, yet, many fundamental questions remain unanswered,such as: What exactly do we mean when we say "self"? Isself-concept an aspect of a broader cognitive self-system, or is itbest defined in behavioral terms? How valuable is self-concept toclinical practice? What roles do age, race, gender, andsociocultural variables play in self-concept?

Bringing together contributions from leading researchers andclinicians from a broad range of psychological disciplines, thisbook provides answers to these and other important questionsconcerning self-concept. It explores all theoretical and appliedaspects of self-concept, offering a balanced synthesis of the vastbody of information on the subject that has accumulated since the1970s. Chapters address each of the six primary self-conceptdomains (competence, social, affect, academic, family, andphysical) with an emphasis on the clinical significance of each. Inthe chapter on clinical assessment, existing self-concept scalesare subjected to in-depth quantitative and qualitative review, andreaders are provided with standardized tables for organizing theprincipal characteristics reviewed and comparing individual testresults. In the concluding chapter, Dr. Bracken describes theclinical applications of a multidimensional, context-dependentmodel that facilitates the synthesis of information acrossinstruments (including more than 70 psychoeducational tests andscales provided in an appendix) and informants.

Providing practical answers to many of the most importantquestions about self-concept, Handbook of Self-Concept is essentialreading for personality psychologists as well as researchers andeducators in developmental, clinical, and social psychology.