Rohan, a Class 12 student in Pune, meets the school counsellor before choosing his college course. The counsellor asks him to talk about himself. Rohan says that, on the whole, he is happy with the kind of person he is. He calls himself a brave player who never backs away on the football field, but feels he is weak in studies. Among his subjects, he says he reads English novels quickly and with ease, yet he feels lost when he has to solve mathematics problems. The counsellor writes down each of these views as Rohan speaks.
Rohan's view that he reads with ease but feels lost in mathematics shows his self-concept at which level?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → At an even more specific level
Option (1) At a very general level — Incorrect. At the general level, self-concept is one overall view of oneself, either positive or negative. Rohan's being happy with himself on the whole fits here.
Option (2) At a more specific level — Incorrect. This level compares broad areas, such as athletic bravery against academic talents. Rohan's footballer-versus-studies view sits here, but his reading-versus-mathematics view is narrower.
Option (3) At an even more specific level — Correct. Self-concept is the way we perceive ourselves and the ideas we hold about our competencies. At the even more specific level, a person may view reading ability positively and mathematical skills negatively, as Rohan does.
Option (4) At the level of overall self-esteem — Incorrect. Self-esteem is a value judgement about one's own worth. Overall self-esteem combines separate self-evaluations into one general image, while Rohan's view here covers two narrow skills.
NCERT (2026-27): “COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS OF SELF … |