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A volume in International Advances in Self Research
Series Editors Rhonda G. Craven, University of Western Sydney; Herbert Marsh,
University of Western Sydney; and Dennis M. McInerney, Hong Kong Institute of Education
The concept of the Self has a long history that dates back from the ancient Greeks such as
Aristotle to more contemporary thinkers such as Wundt, James, Mead, Cooley, Freud, Rogers,
and Erikson (Tesser & Felson, 2000). Research on the Self relates to a range of phenomena
including self-esteem, self-concept, self-protection, self-verification, self-awareness, identity,
self-efficacy, self-determination etc. that could be sharply different or very similar. Despite this
long tradition of thinkers and the numerous studies conducted on the Self, this concept is still not very well defined. More precisely, it is
not a precise object of study, but rather a collection of loosely related subtopics (Baumesiter, 1998). Also, in the philosophical literature,
the legitimacy of the concept of "self" has been brought into question. Some authors have argued that the self is not a psychological
entity per se, but rather an illusion created by the complex interplay between cognitive and neurological subsystems (Zahavi, 2005).
Although no definitive consensus has been reached regarding the Self, we emphasis in this volume that the Self and its related
phenomena including self-concept, motivation, and identity are crucial for understanding consciousness and therefore important to
understand human behavior.
Self-concept, motivation and identity: Underpinning success with research and practice provides thus a unique insight into self-concept
and its relationship to motivation and identity from varied theoretical and empirical perspectives. This volume is intended to develop
both theoretical and methodological ideas and to present empirical evidence demonstrating the importance of theory and research to
effective practice.
