Social psychology deals with the way the environment influences the construction of human interaction with the rest of the peoples in the society (Stephen, 2016). The community and cultural practices play a key role in the development of people’s character, an indication of different minds. Due to its important role, the field has attracted the attention of many scholars, trying to investigate how language determines the social being. Private self-consciousness enables people to control behavior from other people’s opinions since they can access self-knowledge which propels them towards their true desires (Stephen, 2016).
Further, it is the internal intelligence which portrays ones’ emotions and mood which cannot fall in public. The private self-consciousness involves internal secrete affairs where one meditate and convert goals, feelings and values either through dream analysis or one-self walking. According to Stephen (2016), people in private self- consciousness do not mind what others think about them and they don’t have time for others’ opinions. This may result badly in their behavior as most of them are anti-social and they never give up in any conflict.
On the other hand, public self-consciousness is a personality trait of the self as viewed by society (Stephen, 2016). It can lead to self-monitoring as one would like to satisfy the public at the expense of personal identity. These people are rich in social lives because they are motivated by societal matters. They like evaluating themselves many times to maintain their image in the public leading to impression and self-enhancement strategies. Stephen (2016) states that people in high public self-consciousness like socializing with others seeking opinions which makes the foundation for decision making. Because of the high affinity for social acceptance, one may engage in bad behaviors like high consumption of alcohol. The primary factor causing alcohol drinking among the youths is peer pressure which has killed the dream of many people.
For example, my life in high school was full of challenges because I was unable to make decisions independently without my colleagues’ suggestion. The main reason was that we use to move to a group which was more than a family. One day after the exam, we decided to move outside the school compound as a way of relaxing. One of my friends knew the place and convinced the rest of the members to follow him. I didn’t have any clue on what was going on and I felt ashamed to ask. So I followed the majority since being inquisitive proved high levels of ignorance in that situation. It was not only my first time stepping inside a club but also drinking alcohol. The senior members asked their preferences and to defend my superior status, I was forced to place an order too.
The taste of the content was not welcoming but I had to force myself to take it. After finishing the first bottle, I felt uneasy. The rest were stories since I found myself in the hospital the following day. According to the report from the doctor, was that I consumed an excess amount of alcohol .. Fortunately, there was no organ severely affected but only some corrosions in the mouth and some stomach upsets. However, my colleagues were comfortable and claiming that I drunk a very small amount and I should behave maturely. The consequences of the act were; the health hazards, punishment in the school plus the hospital bill. My advice never is that you should not follow a mass but instead have your own principles and mind your own business.
Basing on the above example, public self-consciousness is demonstrated strongly. For instance, following the mass to unknown place while trying to please the public. In addition, abusing the alcohol to proof togetherness at the expense of a person’s health. Also, one tries to express and look attractive to the rest of the members. In fact, there is detachment from focusing on personal values due to emotions or negative feelings. In most cases, one directs his attention to the external environment seeking their attention. In the example above, the group’s expectation plays a greater role which forced one of the members to practice unfamiliar behaviors. Thus, high public self-consciousness people are bankrupt on the personal relationship since they work hard to satisfy society.
Reference
- Stephen Franzoi (2016) Social Psychology (7th, Seventh Editon )