INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNICATION
Chapter 2: Exploring Self-Awareness and
Communication
HOW DO YOU KNOW
YOURSELF?
Who you are?
 PART 1

SELF-CONCEPT
WHAT IS THE SELF-CONCEPT?
 WHAT IS THE SELF-CONCEPT?

Self-concept: "The overall image or awareness we have about

ourselves. It includes all those perceptions of "I" and "me", together
with the feelings, beliefs, and values associated with them.
Your interior identity or subjective description of who you think you are

WHAT IS THE SELF-CONCEPT?

Self-concept provides a personal identity or sense of who you are

 SELF-CONCEPT COMPONENTS

ATTITUDES BELIEFS VALUES

Learned Ways in which you Enduring concepts
predispositions to structure your of good vs. bad or
respond to a understanding of right vs. wrong
person, object, or reality - what is true
idea in a favorable and what is false
or unfavorable way
ONE or MANY SELVES
"I'm just not myself this
morning."
 MATERIAL SELF
The element of the self reflected in all the
tangible things you own

ONE or MANY
SOCIAL SELF
Your concept of self as developed through

SELVES
your personal, social interactions with others

SPIRITUAL SELF
Your concept of self on your belief and your
sense of who you are in relationship to other
forces in the universe, includes value and
moral standards
DIVERSITY
HOW YOUR SELF-CONCEPT DEVELOPS
 SELF-IMAGE
"I see myself as..."

Combination of self-
perception/awareness through
many years
Shaped by significant others
Changed/revised continually
because of experiences
 IDEAL-SELF
"The self I would like to be..."

Derived from "should" and

"ought" we learned as children
Can cause social anxiety if it
differs from the way we believe
other see us
Should be revised if it seems
unattainable

Introverted or Extroverted
Introverted or Social Anxiety/ Shy
 MULTIPLE SELF
Self-complexity

Increases after different

experiences, interactions,
successes, failures, etc.
Is difficult to adjust with people
who has incoherent self-
concepts
Might develop mental disorders
in extreme cases
DEVELOPMENT OF
SELF-CONCEPT

COMMUNICATION WITH
OTHERS
ASSOCIATION WITH VARIOUS
GROUP
ASSUMED ROLES
SELF LABELS
PERCEIVING & UNDERSTANDING
 You are about to see a chart.
Look at the chart and tell me only the COLOR, not the WORD
What do you see in this?
 Color blind people will NOT perceive "red" the way others do

Those with normal vision may physically see "red" similarly but will interpret it
culturally
Duck or rabbit?
Young or Old?
2 men or an old couple?
"WE DON'T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE
WE SEE THINGS AS WE ARE."
 DEFINITION OF PERCEPTION

Perception: is the active process of selecting, organizing, and

interpreting people, objects, events, situations, and activities.
Perception is the process of becoming aware of objects and events
through the senses.
PERCEPTION PROCESS
THE PERCEPTION PROCESS

SELECTION

INTERPRETATION ORGANIZATION
 SELECTION
We select only certain things to
notice
What we select to perceive affects
how we organize and interpret the
situation
How we organize and interpret
situation affects our subsequent
selections
What we select to notice also
influenced by who we are and what is
going on in us (e.g. Looking for a job)
ORGANIZATION
ORGANIZATION
 INTERPRETATION
Subjective process of explaining
perceptions in a way that let us make
sense of them

Attribution and explanation of why things

happen and why people act as they do
GUIDELINE FOR IMPROVING SKILL IN PERCEIVING

Avoid mind reading

Check perceptions with others
Distinguish Facts from
inferences and Judgments
Monitor the Self-serving bias
 DISCUSSION
Case study: Bus Accident
Thank you!