My Dad’s side is Haitian… so represent✌🏾

Naomi Osaka a rising superstar of tennis, who recently won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open earlier this month is a wonderful example of an individual with a sound self-concept.

Defining Self-concept

In any given situation, sub categories of an individuals self knowledge is used to define who they are (Markus & Ward, 1987). Knowledge about the self in terms of an individual’s grades will most likely surface when discussing academic achievement, whereas in Naomi’s case, her notions of herself as a competitor are at the center of her attention when in an important tennis match.

Naomi’s Interview at the 2018 Australian Open

There is always an interview in sport where an interviewer asks a question that lacks necessary insight in order to not be offensive. After winning her third round match against Ashley Barty, Naomi conducted an on court interview where she was asked: “You mover to New York when you were two years old, and have lived in the United states for a long time, but you’re ver proudly Japanese obviously, what would this victory mean for the people back home, for the both sets of fans that will be watching this for you?” Naomi makes no mistake that she is proud to be representing Japan, as she is born from a Japanese mother, but what the reporter has failed to recognize is her equal admiration for her father’s Haitian origin. Naomi accepts and understands that she is biracial and that both sides of her family can not be mentioned without the other.

What does this say about Naomi’s Self-concept?

Her knowledge about her parents’ native countries is applied to her concept of being biracial and belonging to multiple cultures than implied by the reporter’s question. Naomi’s, like all others’, self knowledge is categorized by self-schemas. One’s self-schemas are drawn from past experiences and serve as representations of oneself both generally and in specific situations (Greenwald, 1980; Markus, 1977; Markus & Wurf, 1987). From Naomi’s experience, in this particular situation, her feelings about herself as being born from a Japanese mother and Haitian father fuel her desire to express her association and true heritage.

References

Greenwald, A. G. (1980). The Totalitarian ego: Fabrication and revision of personal history. American Psychologist, 35, 603-618.

Markus, H. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 14, 63-78

Markus, H., & Wurf, E. (1987). The dynamic self-concept: A social psychological perspective. Annual Review in Psychology, 38, 299-377