Initially differentiating ideas of self-concept, personality, and self-esteem, this paper discusses the development of the self from infancy through adolescence. The discussion of infancy focuses on learning about bodily self and related disruptions and describes the emergence of the social and independent self. The discussion of toddlers and…

Beginning with the principle that self-concept and self-esteem are learned, this paper describes the adolescent self and its social concomitants. The depiction of adolescence emphasizes adolescents' ability to think abstractly and their knowledge of the mind's ability to process, direct, and manipulate experience. In contrast with the…