4.15 Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy

Self-Concept: Your Mental Self-Portrait

Self-concept is all the beliefs and knowledge you have about yourself — your traits, roles, and values. It develops through experiences, feedback from others, and social comparison. A clear, well-organized self-concept helps guide behavior, while confusion about identity can create stress, especially during adolescence when self-concept is actively being formed.

Self-Esteem: How You Feel About Yourself

Self-esteem is your overall evaluation of your own worth — feeling good or bad about who you are. It's shaped by successes, failures, and how others treat you. High self-esteem is linked to resilience and well-being, while chronically low self-esteem is associated with depression and anxiety. Social comparison (comparing ourselves to others) strongly influences self-esteem.

Self-Efficacy: Belief in Your Abilities

Self-efficacy, a concept from Albert Bandura, is the belief that you can successfully accomplish a specific task or reach a goal. Unlike self-esteem (overall self-worth), self-efficacy is task-specific — you might feel confident in math but not in sports. High self-efficacy increases effort, persistence, and resilience when facing obstacles, boosting actual performance.

Key terms

Self-Concept

The overall collection of beliefs and knowledge one has about oneself, including traits, roles, and values.

Self-Esteem

One's overall evaluation of their own worth or value; feeling good or bad about oneself.

Self-Efficacy

Belief in one's ability to succeed at a specific task or goal; concept introduced by Albert Bandura.

Social Comparison

Evaluating oneself by comparing one's abilities, traits, or achievements to those of others.

Self-efficacy vs. Self-esteem

Self-efficacy is task-specific confidence; self-esteem is a global sense of self-worth.

Try an AP-style question

What does she have?

1. High self-esteem only
2. High self-efficacy
3. Low self-concept
4. External locus of control