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Self Theory And Self Concept

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Self-Concept From the moment of birth, the need to communicate is evident. When babies come out of the womb they non-verbally communicate by crying, and the crying communicates that they are afraid and need comforting. Infants communicate in many non-verbal ways, such as pointing at something that the infant wants or by smiling because the infant got something he or she likes. From infancy to adulthood, communication develops into a mix of verbal and non-verbal forms. Communication is so important that employers consistently rank it as one of the top skills they are looking for in new hires. According to a study done by Millennial Branding, 98% of employers considered communication to be a necessity of the job (Schawbel). One of the main, if not the most important, influence on how society communicates is through an individual’s self-concept. Self-concept is an individual’s interpretation of who they are and is developed by what they know about themselves, and through feedback from others (DeVito 54). Self-concept affects our ability to communicate through social comparisons, cultural teachings, others’ image, and self-evaluations. Social Comparisons According to DeVito, social comparisons are a way in which an individual determines their value, and that value is determined through self-evaluations, where an individual ranks themselves to fellow acquaintances (55). For instance, in my ceramics class, I compare my skills on a potter’s wheel to the other students, and

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