The Self and Identity

What this unit covers

The Self and Identity looks at how people come to know who they are and how they present themselves to others. The resources here were made by GoConqr users, and they follow lecture and textbook topics: self-concept, self-awareness, self-esteem, social identity and person perception.

Many of the mind maps are built around named theories. Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins, 1987) sets out the ideal self, the actual self and the ought self. Another map gives an overview of the Nisbett and Wilson study on introspection, with its procedure and hypothesis. Self-Awareness separates social, personal, individual, relational and collective identity.

Where to start

Begin with a broad mind map such as Self-Awareness or the one titled Identity and Self concept. They give you the vocabulary: self-perception, self-face recognition, types of identity. Then move to single-theory maps such as Regulatory Focus Theory, Social Identity Theory and Self-Presentation and Impression Management.

1. Read one overview map to see the whole topic.
2. Open a theory map and note the researcher names and years.
3. Go through a flashcard deck such as Social Psychology Week Five, which lists terms like Looking-Glass Self and Impression Management.
4. Take a quiz to check what stuck.

Using quizzes and maps together

There is a small set of quizzes. One opens with William James's distinction between the part of the self that thinks and the part that is thought about. Others are tied to weekly lectures, self-esteem and body image, wellbeing and narrative identity. Take a quiz after a map, then go back to the map for every question you missed. That shows you which branches you know and which need another look.

The notes help when you want the argument in sentences. One short note compares self-perception theory by Bem with self-discrepancy theory by Higgins.

Where it sits

This unit belongs to the Social Psychology strand of the Psychology subject. Because the resources come from many contributors, titles and depth vary. Some are university lecture summaries, some are shorter school-level sets, and a few drift into related topics like human development.

Choose one map, try one quiz, and see which theory you want to look at next.