The adolescent self-concept in social context
pp. 71-90
in: Daniel K. Lapsley, F. C. Power (eds), Self, ego, and identity, Berlin, Springer, 1988Abstract
Adolescents come to know and define themselves largely through social interaction. In part, the adolescent's self-concept may be a product of the incorporation of others' communications. If family relatives, for instance, all proclaim the daughter to be a spitting image of the mother, the daughter may come to think of herself in those terms. Even self-attributions that are not first suggested by others derive their meaning within a social medium. The adolescent who thinks of the self as 'shy" is perhaps implicitly comparing the self to friends or peers who are more outgoing socially. Not only is 'shy" in this sense social-relational, its selection as a component of the self-conception may reflect a feature that differentiates the self from others (McGuire & Padawer-Singer, 1976).