Introduction
Self-concept, by its very own logic, is the understanding of a person
about him/herself. This understanding is influenced by certain
dimensions that are both coming from the internal and external elements
of the environment. Urie Bronfenbrenner in his ‘bio-ecological
systems model’ proposed that these factors could be categorized into
certain systems ranging from the ones that have direct influence to the
elements that have indirect relations on the person growing up, such
that the understanding of the self is a continuous process of
development regardless of its flows and progression- ‘continuity and
discontinuity. Bronfenbrenner labeled the systems as amicrosystem , comprising the immediate influences of the child’s
spectrum i.e. family, school, friends, etc.; mesosystem , acting
as the interrelationships among the components of the child’s
microsystem; exosystem , the indirect environments like mass
media; macrosystem , social ideologies and values of cultures and
sub-cultures; and chronosystem , or the time and historic
influences (Elliot & Davis, 2020).
Because of these complexities, varied theorists and theories have
established concepts that set up torches to understand the matter
resulting in great variations of claims that are piling up. Among these
theories, the top of the list placed the psychosocial development theory
of Erik Erikson that had become one of the cornerstones in the study of
personality development. To wit, in his work on “Childhood and
Society” which won a Pulitzer award, the Eriksonian psychosocial
development theory highlighted the influence of one’s environment,
particularly on how earlier experiences gradually build upon the next
and result in one’s personality. Delicately, it delved into how
personality was formed and believed that the earlier stages served as a
foundation for the later stages (Feist, Feist & Roberts, 2018).
This study had evolved from personal insights gained from rigorous study
and lectures of the Eriksonian theory for seven years in the university
in which it has been noticed that it always ignite interest among the
students as it dealt primarily on how their personalities have become
and are becoming beginning from infancy to the present stage they are
in, and as it tackles the relationships they have had with the
significant persons in their lives- their parents, guardians and/or
carers.
Given that self-understanding predisposes its ultimate relevance to all
persons, this study involved 10 informed individuals through
naturalistic observations and individualistic interviews in which
questions were patterned from that of Erikson’s theory. Such that
throughout the papers Erikson’s theory acts as a pedestal of exploring
and capturing the meanings of the data collected on the matter of the
informants’ self-concept.