What is self-concept?
Self-concept is how you understand and describe yourself. Explore how roles, values and beliefs can change without treating a job title as a complete account of a person.
How descriptions shape attention
Psychological research on self-schemas examines how beliefs about ourselves relate to processing information about the self. A familiar description can be useful, restrictive or both. Exploring another description does not require denying what an old role meant, and a short reflection cannot establish a psychological assessment.
Look beyond a single label
Self-concept includes how you describe your abilities, values, relationships and roles. Descriptions such as ‘I am useful only when I am working’ can be explored as a belief rather than accepted as a complete account of a person. This page is educational; it cannot assess your circumstances.
An optional exercise: write three descriptions of yourself that do not depend on a job title. For example, ‘I care about being dependable’, ‘I am learning to ask for help’ or ‘I enjoy making things’. These are possible starting points, not a test with correct answers.
Was this helpful?
Let us know so we can keep improving our research summaries.
Related research papers
- Self-schemata and processing information about the selfMarkus, H. (1977). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(2), 63–78.
Continue exploring related research
Further reading from the Knowledge Hub on the same themes.
- Psychology · 1 min readSocial Identity
Social identity concerns the groups that contribute to how we see ourselves. Explore what a change in team, service or community can mean, while recognising that experiences vary.
- Psychology · 1 min readRole Exit
Role exit describes leaving a role that has helped shape your identity. Explore a sociological model and its limits, with no assumption that every person follows fixed stages.
- Psychology · 1 min readBehaviour Change
Behaviour change can involve skills, opportunities, motivation, habits and identity. Consider a specific next action and what might help or hinder it.
- Foundations · 1 min readWhy Identity Matters
Identity can shape how people understand a change in role, relationships or direction. Explore why it may matter alongside practical needs, without assuming everyone has the same experience.
- Occupational Transition · 1 min readRetirement
Retirement can bring changes in routine, relationships and how you describe yourself. Explore what matters to you without assuming retirement causes an identity crisis.
Identity After the Uniform
Related research
Published records from the research programme behind this article.
- White Papers · 2 min readWhite Paper 0, From Transition to Service Provider Identity Adaptation
A conceptual position paper reframing the Identity After the Uniform research programme: transition is the trigger, but the phenomenon under study is identity adaptation after a trained, high-pressure service role.
- White Papers · 1 min readIdentity After the Uniform: What the Evidence Tells Me
A research commentary examining the evidence, its limitations and the next questions for the Identity After the Uniform programme.
- Foundations · 4 min readThe AURIS Connection Hub
A verified, worldwide directory of support organisations, events and opportunities, built into the AURIS Identity System because the research kept showing the same problem: the right support usually exists, it is just hard to find.
- Research · 6 min readState of the Evidence: What We Know, What We Don't, and Why This Research Is Needed
An audit of the AURIS Master Evidence Repository, conducted 30 August 2026, setting out plainly which evidence is solid, which is located but not yet fully verified, which has been downgraded, and which gaps remain open.
Gemma Gardner
Founder and Research Lead, AURIS Institute
Gemma Gardner leads the AURIS research programme on identity and occupational transition. Her work builds the evidence base behind the AURIS Identity System and the Identity System, drawing on interviews with service leavers, families and the organisations that support them.
- Lead author, Identity Performance Psychology white paper series
- Principal investigator, AURIS identity adaptation interview programme
- Author of AURIS submissions on identity in occupational transition
The free Foundation is where this becomes practical.
Reading explains the pattern. The first free course gives you something to practise.
Start free
Introduction to AURISUnderstand AURIS and the five pillars.
Or choose by situation
The five pathwaysFive situations AURIS is written for. A pathway is a suggested order, never a requirement.
Take this further in a course
Reading explains the pattern. A course gives you something to practise. Start with one free first lesson, about 12 minutes, no payment details, or choose the pathway closest to your situation.
Discussion
Read by a moderator before it appearsComments are for reflection and questions about the research. Please do not share anything about your health, another person, or your service record that you would not want read publicly.
No comments have been published on this article yet.
Join the discussion with a free AURIS account.
Sign in to commentExplore the sources or discuss the research
Everything published here comes from the AURIS research programme. The AURIS Identity System, the separate membership platform at aurisidentity.com, is where the same framework is taught as guided courses and daily practice.
Continue learning
More from Psychology.