Bem's self -perception theory

Daryl Bem was a social psychologist who in mid -1960 took ideas already previously formulated to raise the self -perception theory. If you have not heard of it, today we will tell you everything you need to know about this theory that intended Explain how our previous attitudes or behaviors work as guides for our behaviors.

Continue reading to know the main ideas of Bem's self -perception theory and how it can be applied.

Content

• Self -perception, what is?
• Importance of self -perception
  • Selfconcept
  • Self-esteem
• Bem's self -perception theory, what do you intend to explain?
• Bem theory profits
• Train your self -perception to enjoy its advantages
  • Bibliographic references:

Self -perception, what is?

If we break down the word Self -perception, We will find that self- is a prefix that refers to the same, in this point, refers to oneself. While perception implies capturing, understanding something with the senses. Now, joining both parties, it is possible to understand self -perception as the perception of oneself, implying How do we capture what happens to us.

Self -perception, for human life is very important. Thanks to her, it is possible that an individual Understand your emotions, mood, sensations and feelings Given the circumstances that are going through in its day to day.

Importance of self -perception

The importance of self -perception is that it is essential for the development of personality and life in society. Through it, we produce a kind of analysis of what happens in our own person, in our mind, and (subjectively) we value what we feel. Thus it is also possible to consider how we are perceived by others from what happens to us and we do. It is because of that The concept of self -perception is very closely linked to those of self -concept and self -esteem.

Selfconcept

By self -concept, the image we create of ourselves is understood, that is, the set of ideas that we consider to define us. This concept is normally confused with that of self -perception, however, they do not imply the same.

Self -concept implies perceiving the characteristics that define the image of ourselves, while self -perception requires the understanding of mental states. The self -concept, we could say, is based on who we are; self -perception, in what we feel. However, one is very closely linked to the other.

Rosenberg self -concept test

Self-esteem

Self -esteem is a concept that frequently resonates in everyday speech. She refers to the value that each person assumes herself. That is, it implies a kind of judgment that someone makes about itself, but, taking as a reference to others. Self -esteem implies a comparison, where you can reach the conclusions of the style of: "Valgo less than him", "I deserve more than this", "I am insufficient for her". Self -esteem, whether high or low, can distort the image itself (distorting the self -concept we have of ourselves).

It is linked to the concept of self -perception since it has an impact directly on it. According to the state of our self -esteem, the way in which we perceive what happens to us will be modified, therefore, our self -perception will be modified.

Self -esteem test

Bem's self -perception theory, what do you intend to explain?

Now, let's go to our most important theme today: Bem's self -perception theory.

Daryl Bem was a social psychologist born in the United States. With his theory of self -perception, he tries.

The author explains that people, observing what they do, manage to infer what they like or not and what they think about it. It concludes that Our attitudes are products based on the behaviors that we have already had, In past behaviors in similar situations.

According to Bem, we study our own behavior, and thus we discover what leads us to act in a certain way. That self -perception in the future will be useful to us, since it will allow us select between attitudes that were functional in similar situations.

The theory establishes that, attitudes are the factor that explains past behavior and suggests that people develop attitudes based on their behaviors. Try to explain that attitudes develop from the observation of their own behavior, based on the self -perception of their behaviors. He argues that, What we do is based on our self-observation taking as reference what we did in similar past situations.

For Bem, self -perception allows behavior mold according to needs and circumstances based on previous learning.

Bem theory profits

Bem's theory presents great importance in daily life. From the author's ideas, the self -perception of our behaviors, how we feel about what we do, can be of great help when we run back into similar situations.

Self -perception theory implies attitude changes, so it can be useful for persuasion in marketing and advertising. Having as a premise that, if a person complies with a request, it is likely that he later complies with another more substantial related to the previous. The idea is that The previous commitment will be a reason to accept the biggest application. It is so because people observe their behaviors and infer that they must have, for example, preference to buy a product after being previously persuaded for the realization of another related activity.

In addition, training self -perception will sometimes allow us, escape negative impacts in our self -esteem. Through it, we can justify ourselves to behaviors that, we know, have harmed us. For example, if we have not had time to study for an exam for having spent too much time with friends or loved ones, without giving space to the study, we might think that we have enjoyed it and in the end the issue of the exam can be solved. This way We appease the negative effects that a failed result I could have about our self -esteem from the perception of our feelings.

Train your self -perception to enjoy its advantages

As you can see, training self -perception, according to Bem's theory, will give us tools to learn about ourselves.

Observation and reflection will make it possible for us to train our self -perception in order to use it conveniently. We hope this article has been useful to understand Bem's main ideas, the benefits and importance of self -perception.

Bibliographic references:

• Bem, d. J. (1972). Self-Perception Theory. In advances in experimental social psychology (vol. 6, pp. 1-62). Academic Press.
• Fazio, r. H. (1987). Self-Perception Theory: A Current Perspective. In Social Influence: The Ontario Symposium (Vol. 5, pp. 129-150).
• Snyder, m., & Ebbesen, and. B. (1972). Dissonance Awareness: A Test of Dissonance Theory versus Self-Perception Theory. Journal of Social Experimental Psychology, 8 (6), 502-517.