Self-concept: Autopoiesis as the Basis for a Conceptual Framework

This paper examines the proposition that self‐concept exists as a networked modular structure in which the modules, consisting of actual or current self‐concept and a number of possible selves, are held together as a dynamical system through an autopoietic process of self‐regulation. In this context, the whole lifeworld of an individual can be thought of as a field that is maintained and/or changed through engagement in various kinds of developmental tasks controlled through self‐regulation. A ‘morphology’ of self‐concept defined in this way involves a dimension ranging from the internal (the person) to the external (the environment) passing through some form of interface. As a system, like any other system, self‐concept is characterized by structure, pattern, and process elements. Self‐concept, therefore, can change and develop yet ‘stay the same’, thus providing the individual, in a reflective and reflexive way, with a personal sense of history, growth, continuity, and change.