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1. What is the difference between self-concept and self-esteem? How does each affect interpersonal communication?
Self-concept is the relatively stable set of perceptions you hold of yourself; it includes your emotional states, talents, likes, dislikes, values, roles, etc. It is the subjective descriptions you give yourself that reflect who you are.
Self-esteem differs from self-concept in that it refers to the evaluations you make about your self-concept. It is determined by how you feel about the qualities of your self-concept. For example, you may describe yourself as being short (description of self-concept), and this makes you feel unhappy with your height (self-esteem).
Both self-concept and self-esteem affect interpersonal communication in many ways. How we describe ourselves and how we feel about ourselves influences how we behave around others and what our expectations are of ourselves and others, which affects how we communicate with others. Because our self-concept and self-esteem are influenced by feedback from others, this also affects how we communicate with others. Social comparison, reflected appraisal, and language and culture are all factors that influence the development of our self-concept. When interacting with others, we often respond based on our expectations and perceptions that we have about others and ourselves.
5. How are lying, silence, hinting, and equivocation different? Are they morally different?
Lying differs from silence, hinting, and equivocation in its intentions. Lying usually involves more direct and purposeful decisions to deceive to withhold the truth due to embarrassment or to keep out of trouble. Silence, hinting, and equivocation involve more indirect decisions to extend the truth or to avoid directly discussing the issue at hand. These involve the goal of behaving more politely and often have similar intentions. Silence, hinting and equivocation are neutral ways to communicate generally and avoid specific conversations about how we truly might feel.
Discussing whether lying, silence, hinting, and equivocation are morally different is difficult. Benevolent lying, silence, hinting, and equivocation may have their advantages in avoiding overreactions or hurting another’s feelings, which makes them similar. Major deception is more easily tagged as morally wrong given its many negative implications.