Hi there DJ2965,
Hope this gets to you in time.
Basically put, the self is defined in the context of Symbolic
Interactionism as a result of the combination of the "I" and "me".
The "I" is the active, "corporeal" body that is capable of action or
behaviors, while the "me" is the "inner" portion, or mind, soul, ego,
id, etc. The active "I" and the inner "me" combine to form the entire
"self".
This page from Iowa State University has a good outline of Symbolic
Interactionism:
http://chadwick.jlmc.iastate.edu/theory/si.html
Identity Theory is a study in itself, so here are only a smattering of
other self-concept ideas:
The concept of self is defined by the Dictionary of Sociology terms:
http://www.webref.org/sociology/s/self.htm
SELF - That aspect of the personality consisting of the individual's
conception of himself or herself. The way a person perceives himself
or herself is a result of his or her experiences with other people,
the way they act toward him or her. The self develops during the
process of socialization through social interaction.
The Sociology Dictionary defines the broad concept of self like this:
The sum of all of the social identifies presented by an individual and
validated by others in specific and differing social occasions. Self
and society are thus twin-born. One has no 'self' until one is
socialized to a particular social identity: until one presents that
identity, and until some other person defined as significant honours
and responds to that presentation. Thus, the concept of the mother
without the child or the professor without the student are nonsense
notions. This definition disagrees with the Anglo- Saxon concept of
self as a thing having its own, independent nature such that there is
a 'true' self to be discovered and used to mediate one's own
behaviour.
http://www.nene.ac.uk/ass/soc/nws/html/diction2.html#Diction 28
Elwell’s Glossary of Sociology defines it like this:
SELF (or SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS). The individual's awareness of being a
distinct social identity, a person separate from others. Human beings
are not born with self-consciousness, but acquire an awareness of self
as a result of early socialization.
http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/frank.elwell/prob3/glossary/socgloss.htm#S
Once again, I hope that this information reaches you in a decent time
frame. If you need any clarification or more information, please
don’t hesitate to use the “Request Clarification” button.
--Kutsavi
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