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2. Relevance Connection The self may be understood as being ‘a composite of personality, characteristics, attitudes, values and beliefs and habits that make us unique’. It is also social which means that ‘grows out of contact with others and functions...

2. Relevance Connection The self may be understood as being ‘a composite of personality, characteristics, attitudes, values and beliefs and habits that make us unique’. It is also social which means that ‘grows out of contact with others and functions primarily to guide our communication’ (Stewart 1990, p. 115) 3. Intrapersonal Communication Intrapersonal communication is communication with oneself. Think of it as the voice inside your head. Like any other skill, we can take intentional steps to improve our intrapersonal communication, which helps us become our best selves. It is often understood as an exchange of messages in which the sender and the receiver are the same person. Some theorists use a wider definition that goes beyond message-based accounts and focuses on the role of meaning and making sense of things. Intrapersonal communication can happen alone or in social situations. It may be prompted internally or occur as a response to changes in the environment. Some people don’t pay too much attention to their inner voice, while others listen carefully and often talk through situations in their heads as they process information. Some have a more positive, optimistic monologue, while others struggle with negative thoughts, like perfectionism and self-blame. It’s common and perfectly normal to experience both sides of that coin – it’s how we handle the negative thoughts that make the difference. In this instance, it’s no different than  communicating with others. 4. Identity Identity can be explained as ever-changing and dynamic. This means that the identity one forms at any given time will inevitably change as one age. Identity much like the ‘self’ is influenced by local and social connections with the people you surround yourself with. Initially, this takes the form of the family unit and later, identity is influenced by social circles (Steinberg 2015, p. 143). 5. The 'self 'in different forms Physical self Emotional self Intellectual self Moral self 6. Identity in groups Identity does not exist in isolation. An identity is formed from birth straight through adulthood. This happens primarily through observing parents and then later on friends in larger social settings. A social identity is later developed and this means that  people within the same group will see things the same way as members of the group (Steinberg 2015, p. 146). 7. Identity in context Personal Identity By nature, humans are wired to categorise. They tend to categorise all information. From an early age we learn to identify simple categories and later to categorise in more complex sets. Social identity theory focuses on the way people see themselves as members of a group/category through comparison with other groups. Identity theory suggests that role expectations are fulfilled and roles are thus negotiated and coordinated between those parties involved in the encounter. We may in fact have many identities. Some examples are vocational identity — crucial to one’s vocational development and technology identity — explaining how well students are able to use the tools provided in the learning environment (Steinberg 2015, p. 145). 8. Self-Concept This is everything that people think and feel about themselves. This includes the outer appearance, physical and mental capabilities, attitudes, opinions, beliefs as well as strengths and weaknesses — the whole self. This mental image of ‘who we are’ is communicated to others through our behaviour in a given situation (Verderber 1990; Steinberg 2015, pp. 146 - 147). 8.1. Developing a Self-Concept Self-concept is shaped by our relationships with others. The way we perceive ourselves depends largely on how we believe others see us. The link we have to others is through communication. From birth, it is clear how people see us through their verbal and nonverbal communication. Interactions with parents and siblings, peers and teachers, employers and colleagues allow us to internalise their views about us so that they form part of how we see ourselves (Steinberg 2015, p. 147). When constantly receiving positive feedback from others regarding physical appearance or personal achievement, a more positive view of yourself and thus a positive self-concept and confidence in communicating with others will result. In contrast, when feeling negative about yourself and the views other people have of you, the more negative your self-concept will be (Steinberg 2015, p. 147). 9. Theories of the Self-Concept 9.1. Looking-glass self  The theory about the development of self-concept based on the feedback received from others. The premise of this theory is that we evaluate ourselves based on how ‘we think’ others perceive and evaluate us (Bakare & Ntshwe 2010, p. 46). Watch the video in the link below to get further understanding on the looking-glass self-theory: khanacademymedicine. 2015. Charles Cooley- Looking glass self | Individuals and Society | MCAT | Khan Academy. Video [Online]. Available at: https://youtu.be/bU0BQUa11ek [Accessed: 6 October 2022] 9.2. Social Comparison Suggests that when forming a self-concept, we measure ourselves against others in order to determine how we are doing. These comparisons happen in two ways. Firstly, they are used to determine how similar/different we are to people. Secondly, we use them to determine how superior/inferior we are to others (Steinberg 2015, p. 148).  Watch the video in the link below to get further understanding on the social comparison theory: Productivity Guy. 2020. What is Social Comparison Theory | Explained in 2 min. Video [Online]. Available at: https://youtu.be/OgrduDyAl38 [Accessed: 6 October 2022] 9.3. Self-fulfilling Prophecies Occur when our expectations of an event help create the very conditions that allow the event to happen. What we believe about ourselves often comes true because we expect it to come true. E.g. believing you will fail a science exam. Poor study habits and low marks will reinforce negative feelings (low expectations) (Steinberg 2015, p. 149). 10. Self-concept and intrapersonal communication People often come to understand who they are by internalising positive and negative messages. This process involves taking in information and ‘shifting’ it around to various parts of the brain to make sense of it, and then either acting on it or storing it for future use. There are five main elements in intrapersonal processing, all of which overlap to some extent namely: Decoding Integration Memory Schemata, or perceptual sets Encoding