THE SELF AS COGNITIVE

CONSTRUCT
 Self is the sense of personal identity
and of who we are as individuals
(Jhanguani and Tarry 2014, 106)

 William James: Self have two aspects

- the “I” and the “me”. The “I” is the
thinking, acting, and feeling self
(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg). The
“me” is the physical characteristics as
well as psychological capabilities
that makes who you are
Carl Rogers (1959) theory of
personality also used the same terms,
the “I” as the one who acts and
decides while the “me” is what you
think or feel about yourself as an
object. (Gleitman, Gross, and
Reisberg 2011. 616)
Identity is composed of ones personal
characteristics, social roles and
responsibilities as well as affiliations that
defines who one is (Elmore, Oyserman, and
Smith 2012)

Self-concept is basically what comes to

your mind when you are asked about who
you are
Self, identity, and self concept are not fixed
in one time frame

Carl Rogers concept of self-schema

Self-schema – our own organized
system or collection of knowledge
about who we are
But schema is not limited to the
previous example. It may also include
your interests, your work, your course,
your age, your name, your physical
characteristics, etc.
Carl Rogers concept of self-schema
Current researches point to the
frontal lobe of the brain as the
specific area in the brain associated
with processes concerning the self
(Elmore, Olyserman, and Smith 2012)

Social interaction always has a part

to play in who we think we are
Theory of Symbolic interactionism. G.H.
Mead (1934)

He argued that the self is created

and developed through human
interaction
3 Reasons why self and identity are
social products

1.We do not create ourselves out of

nothing.

2.Whether we like to admit it or not, we

actually need others to affirm and
reinforce who we think we are.
3 Reasons why self and identity are
social products

3. What we think as important to us

may also have been influenced by
what is important in our social or
historical context
Social interaction and group affiliation

Vital factors in creating our self-

concept especially in the aspect of
providing us with our social identity or
our perception of who we are based
on our membership to certain groups.
Self-awareness – when we are aware
of our self-concepts
A.Private self – are your internal
standards and private thoughts and
feelings
B.Public self – are your public image
commonly geared towards having a
good presentation of yourself to
others
Self-awareness present us 3 other self

A.Actual self – is who you are at the

moment
B.Ideal self – is who you like to be
C.Ought self – is who we think we
should be
Self-esteem – Defined as our own positive or
negative perception or evaluation of ourselves

Affected by group identity and self-

awareness

Our social relationship affect our self

esteem is through social comparison
Self-esteem – Defined as our own positive or
negative perception or evaluation of ourselves

Social comparison theory – we learn

about ourselves, the appropriateness
of our behaviors, as well as our social
statuses by comparing aspects of
ourselves with other people
(Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014)
Self-esteem – Defined as our own positive or
negative perception or evaluation of ourselves

Downward social comparison – we

create a positive self-concept by
comparing ourselves with those who
are worse off than us
Upward social comparison –
comparing ourselves with those who
are better off than us
Social comparison also entails the “SELF-
EVALUATION MAINTENACE THEORY”

We can feel threatened when

someone out-performs us,
especially when that person is
close to us i.e., a friend or family
 “SELF-EVALUATION MAINTENACE THEORY”

If we are threatened, we usually react in 3 ways:

We distance ourselves from that person or

redefine our relationship with them
We may also reconsider the importance of
the aspect or skill in which you were
outperformed
We may also strengthen our resolve to
improve that certain aspect of ourselves
Narcissistic

Some people in attempting to

increase self-esteem becomes
narcissistic
Narcissistic – is a trait characterized
by overly high self-esteem, self-
admiration, and self-centeredness
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014)
Narcissistic

Sometimes, there is a thin line between

high self-esteem and narcissism
Lots of test and measurements for self-
esteem like Rosenberg scale
 Self-esteem and Personality

Studies have shown that self-esteem has

only correlation, not causality, to positive
outputs and outlook
High or healthy self-esteem may result to
an overall good personality but it is not,
and should not be, the only source of a
person’s healthy perspective of him/herself
Reference:
Understanding the self reference:
(Alata, Eden Joy Pastor, Caslib Jr.,
Bernardo Nicolas, Serafica, Janice
Patria Javier and Pawile, R.A.