Factors that can influence an individuals self-concept are education, media, appearance, culture, abuse, relationships, gender, income and age.

Education: Education can influence an individual’s self-concept by having supportive teaching staff who continues to encourage a student to keep up the good work. Also, another factor that can influence an individual’s self-concept is the lack of employment due to having a poor education. Education can impact on a person’s self-esteem if they cannot get into employment and the person will get a negative self-image and low self-esteem.

Media: Media can influence an individual’s self-concept through provision of educational sources such as, promoting enrolment on academic courses and information on current situation happening in our society. A further reason that can influence an individual’s self-concept is displaying of images of models or celebrities being underweight. For example, pictures of Victoria Beckham and Nicole Richie.

Appearance: Appearance can affect an individual’s self-concept both constructively and harmfully. For example, appearance constructive influence will be pictures displayed by sports encouraging individual’s to keep up a healthy lifestyle. Further to point, appearance can have a negative influence on a person’s life through advertising photos of underweight models and this can influence young women to try to seem very thin.

Culture: Culture is a belief that you have or self values. This can influence our self concept if we do not endorse other individual’s culture. Cultural diversity can have a positive influence if we embrace the differences of others, but if differences are used to discriminate against others, its harmful. Example req. Also, this can be the way you were brought up by your parents or a guardian.

Abuse: There are different types of abuse; they are physical, emotional, neglect and sexual. These or any type of abuse can be detrimental to a person, however, abuse can influence a person if they have been neglected and they will develop a low self esteem. In addition, a person has been neglected may feel socially excluded and may suffer from mental health conditions.

Relationships: Relationship can influence an individual’s self concept if you do not have a supportive family, peers. This will may lead the individual to have a negative self concept with socialisation. Furthermore, having high expectations can also have a negative self concept of an individual, additionally if the person has been compared to other peer groups or siblings can have a negative influence.

Gender: Gender is characterised by being a man or woman. This categorisation can influence a person’s self-concept of stereotyping job roles for both genders. For example, men should play football and women should stay at home and cook the meals also take care of the children. Finally, I believe that these factors may influence an individual’s self-concept everyone should be treated equally regardless of their gender.

Income: Income can influence individual self concept if they do not have enough income they may be despair that they cannot afford to live a normal life. For example, with insufficient low income a person cannot maintain their lifestyle factors, such as paying their rent, afford heating facilities within their home plus have a balance diet.

Age: It can be said that self-concept can fluctuate throughout different life stages, for example…. Also, age can influence a person’s self concept during childhood and adolescent development. Through comprehending his ideal self receiving peer pressure.

Self concept is the way an individual visualise themselves. For example, self concept can be very influential in the way we see ourselves; by receiving critical comments by peers or family members, which can cause low self esteem. Self concept is made up of factors such as self image, ideal self and self esteem.

There are a number of forces that shape your self-concept and, therefore, impact its health and vitality over time.

Some of these forces come from internal sources, while other forces come from external sources.

Internal sources include what you think about yourself and/or others, what you pay attention to, how you interpret the events and circumstances of your life, and how you reframe both failure and success.

External sources include the environment you spend most of your time in, your interactions with others, and how other people tend to label you.

The most important thing to note here is the impact that other people have on your self-concept.

Through rejection, judgment, ridicule, and criticism, other people often influence how you feel about yourself, the labels you give yourself, and fundamentally what you believe about yourself, about your own abilities, and the world around you.

In many ways, your self-worth is tied to the people in your life. Therefore, if you’re struggling with an unhealthy self-concept, then it could very well be a direct result of the interactions you have with other people.

The bad news is that all of these internal and external sources have a profound impact on your self-concept. The good news is that starting today, you can begin taking affirmative and proactive action to improve your self-concept and optimize how you live your life.