Paper question
Maccccc
L5self-in-community1.pptxUnit 5: The Anchored Self-in-Community: How does communication shape identity and self-esteem?
I. Please take out paper and complete the statement “I am . . .” ten times with ten different words or phrases.
a. Where did you get this impression?
b. If you made this list a year from now, would it be the same or different?
We define self-identity as “the person we think we are as expressed and regulated by actual or imagined interaction with others.” (p. 88, ed. 5)
How do we understand your list of 10 items in light of this definition?
II. Michael Hecht (1993) helps us under-stand our self:
A. Personal frame: the personal image we hold for ourselves which we think is distinct from others. (10 items; personality.)
B. Enactment frame: our communication of this frame either intentionally or not to others, and their responses to us. (e.g. fb)
C. Relationship frame: our sense of self we develop through various relationships, roles, their clarity and quality. (Rlp roles)
D. Communal frame: the identities we take on from established groups, such as ethnicity, culture, faith. (Group membership)
III. Hecht’s theory underscores that we are selves-in-community expressing and creating our selves through communication. How?
A. In big-picture ways, like theology. Christian faith teaches that we are created Imago Dei. What does this mean?
Ability to reason, & think about our thoughts
Free will; self-agency
Conscience (Romans 2)
Intended purpose, meaning in life (Eph. 2:10)
Complex emotions
Language users, and more …
B. Others communicate to us who we are (Mead); increasingly in social media.
C. We compare ourselves with others. (social comparison, including social media)
usually redemptively
sometimes in ugly ways, e.g., media & anorexia (consider Judy Sargent’s story) here Pts 1-4, 10 especially.
D. And we infer our identity from observing our own communication and behaviour. (Bem)
E.g. “I gave a pretty good speech; I must like giving speeches!”
Online identities
Today, social media allow us to enact our personal selves through daily broadcasts, strengthening online our FTF social capital, and soaking in mirrored feedback. Most share happy, positive aspects of life, while others share everything-–and sometimes Too Much Information.
Online we compare our profiles to others’, and respond to the feedback we get. The number of likes, comments, friends, or followers we get on social media can affect our self-image and self-esteem.
How often have you scrolled past someone else’s post and felt jealousy, envy, annoyance, or all of the above?
Virtual realities
Virtual worlds and role-playing games online allow us to create avatars for ourselves and interact with other people online. Your character can be as different or as similar to you in real life as you want them to be.
Consider Pete—a man consumed with his “Second Life” online. (Turkle, p. 159)
Talk about it:
How is online interaction different from having coffee with a friend, face to face? Consider DMs (direct messaging), commenting on photos, and other forms of texting.
What are the pros and cons to having an online avatar? Do you think it’s “better” to have one similar to your real-life self, or different?
Do you notice yourself posting a certain way to get others to see you in a different light?
How might your portrayal of yourself online affect your self-esteem?
(next topic…) Self-esteem is defined as…
If self-identity is how we picture ourselves, self-esteem is how we value ourselves.
Let’s take the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Please complete the answers privately.
https://openpsychometrics.org/
Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (popular study) spread of scores.
Self-esteem:
My generalized feelings about myself; the evaluations I make about myself regarding intelligence, social skills, and appearance.
How our esteem shows up in our communication (See Figure 5.1, p.103 ). People with high esteem tend to
Think well of themselves and express it.
Make statements that show an expectation of acceptance by others.
Be better at defending their ideas publicly
Be less easily persuaded from their original beliefs
Perform well while being watched.
Talk more in small groups
Find it easier to talk with strangers.
While these look like a wonderful list, consider additional insights. …
1. Too much self-esteem is a bad thing,
studies in bullying
studies on risky behaviour
studies in forgiveness
2. Questions:
is expression of high esteem “boasting”?
is not being easily persuaded, “obstinate”?
3. It may be better to develop self-control and self-discipline, not self-esteem. See study on “study harder!”
IV. Wisdom for healthy self-talk:
Admit that we aren’t perfect
Admit that we can’t please everyone
Avoid over-generalizing our faults
Focus on our strengths
Be humble
“True humility is neither thinking too much of oneself or too little of oneself; it is not thinking of oneself at all.”
Know your identity in Christ
Dr. Neil Anderson of Freedom in Christ Ministries proposes three realities for Christ followers:
We are accepted, welcomed, included with, redeemed in, completed in Christ.
We are secure, not condemned, confident, empowered, protected from the evil one.
We are significant, have purpose, have a calling, have a role, and may approach God freely
Which is the hardest to truly believe & embrace? Discuss.
Questions
1. The scriptures encourage us to be humble like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-8) and avoid pride (e.g. Proverbs 16:18). Is it okay for Christians to feel good about themselves—to have high self-esteem?
2. A scientific study found that evangelical Christians did not measure significantly higher or lower on a standard measure of self-esteem than the general population. Why might this be so? (Aycock & Noaker, 1985)
