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Self‐concept: Autopoiesis as the Basis for a Conceptual Framework
Author(s) -
Smith John Devlin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.2168
Subject(s) - autopoiesis , lifeworld , reflexivity , process (computing) , proposition , context (archaeology) , field (mathematics) , epistemology , dimension (graph theory) , computer science , self , interface (matter) , cognitive science , psychology , sociology , social psychology , artificial intelligence , mathematics , philosophy , paleontology , social science , bubble , maximum bubble pressure method , parallel computing , pure mathematics , biology , operating system
This paper examines the proposition that self‐concept exists as a networked modular structure in which the modules, consisting of actual or current self‐concept and a number of possible selves, are held together as a dynamical system through an autopoietic process of self‐regulation. In this context, the whole lifeworld of an individual can be thought of as a field that is maintained and/or changed through engagement in various kinds of developmental tasks controlled through self‐regulation. A ‘morphology’ of self‐concept defined in this way involves a dimension ranging from the internal (the person) to the external (the environment) passing through some form of interface. As a system , like any other system, self‐concept is characterized by structure, pattern, and process elements. Self‐concept, therefore, can change and develop yet ‘stay the same’, thus providing the individual, in a reflective and reflexive way, with a personal sense of history, growth, continuity, and change. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.