 The development of the self-concept. The self-concept is developed primarily through our communication with others. Because humans are social, we develop an understanding of ourselves as a result of our relationships with others. A significant other is a person whose feedback is especially important to us. The significant others' opinions about us are crucial in our role of developing our understanding of ourselves and of how others view us. We develop our opinions about ourselves by observing the way that others respond to and communicate with us. For example, a child's parents are significant others. Their feedback helps the child understand who he or she is. As the child gets older, an older sibling's opinions may also be valued. Later on, an influential teacher or an athletic coach may become a significant other. In the teen years, perhaps certain members of the peer group become significant others. How dependent do you think the people in the photographs are on receiving valuable feedback from the significant others? In each case, the significant other plays a role in helping the individual develop an understanding of him or herself. I am a good girl. I do well at reading. I can't hit a curveball. I guess baseball is not for me. My conductor expects me to be a strong influence on the rest of the violin section. I think he likes my company. I must be the love of her life. The influence of significant others continues as we mature, but is not as strong as when we were children or adolescents. As we become more sure of ourselves, we are less influenced by the criticism or praise of our significant others. The influence will never completely go away, however. Even as adults, we use the opinions of significant others in forming our understanding of ourselves. My dad thinks this would be a good career move for me, and he finally treats me like a man. My boss gave me a good way to think about writing this proposal. I'm glad he has confidence in me in handling this important project. It really helps to talk to my pastor when life seems to be overwhelming me. I feel a lot more secure. Our culture plays an important role in how we determine what will influence us. We are influenced not only by significant others, but by outside forces such as the media. Consider our American culture's general stereotype of what is considered attractive. Much has been documented about the effect of the ideal female form on young women's view of their own attractiveness. View the following covers of several popular magazines. Think about the influence that these images have on readers as well as on casual observers. For example, a 12-year-old girl who does not read Cosmopolitan magazine, but every week at the grocery store checkout line sees the models that the magazine promotes. This form of media can play a role in shaping people's opinions about what they should look like, what they should be doing, and what their sex lives should be like. If such media images have no influence, what then must be people's already developed self-concept about sex, glamour, and relationships? If these images do play a role, how do they affect self-concept and how people communicate with each other? Our self-concept goes through constant evaluation and adjustment throughout our lives. This completes our learning activity on the development of the self-concept.