UNIT – 2

SELF

Self - Definition
 In psychology, the notion of the self refers to a person’s experience as a
single, unitary, autonomous being that is separate from others, experienced
with continuity through time and place. The experience of the self includes
consciousness of one’s physicality as well as one’s inner character and
emotional life.
 People experience their selves in two senses:

i. The first is as an active agent who acts on the world as well as being
influenced by that world. This type of self is usually referred to as the ‘I’,
and focuses on how people experience themselves as doers.

ii. The second is as an object of reflection and evaluation. In this type of

self, people turn their attention to their physical and psychological
attributes to contemplate the constellation of skills, traits, attitudes,
opinions, and feelings that they may have. This type of self is referred to
as the ‘me’, and focuses on how people observe themselves from the
outside looking in, much like people monitor and contemplate the
competence and character of other people.

History and Development of the Self

 Everyone has an experience of self. That self, however, can be quite
different from the one experienced by another person. For example,
historians suggest that people in medieval times experienced themselves
quite differently from the way people do today.

 Literature from that time suggests that people did not possess the rich
interior lives that people experience today but, rather, equated a person’s self
with his or her public actions.

 Not until the 16th century, according to the literature of the time, did people
conceive of an inner self whose thoughts and feelings might differ from the
way he or she acted. Over time, that inner self would become to be
 considered as the individual’s real self, which reflected who the person really
is.

 Today, people feel their selves are more accurately revealed by their interior
thoughts and feelings rather than by the actions they take (although people
often reverse this stance in their opinions of others, thinking others are
revealed more by their actions than by their feelings and beliefs they express
about those actions).

 People also differ in their experience of self as they age and develop. Indeed,
evidence indicates that people are not born with a sense of self, but that the
notion that one is a separate and autonomous being is one that the child must
develop. For example, suppose you placed a large orange mark on the
forehead of a toddler, and then put the toddler in front of a mirror, a
procedure known as a mark test. Children don’t begin to show any
recognition that it is their self that they are seeing in the mirror, reaching for
their own foreheads to touch the mark, until they are between 18 and 24
months old.

 The senses of self that children develop may also differ from the mature one
they will attain when they are older.

 In 1967, Morris Rosenberg asked 10-year-olds to describe themselves in 10

sentences. The children tended to describe themselves in physical terms. Not
until a few years later did children, at the edge of adolescence, began to
describe themselves in terms of their personality and character. However,
some psychologists believe that a psychological rather than a physical sense
of self develops much earlier than 10 years old. For example, ask young
children if someone would be a different person if that person’s body were
replaced by someone else’s, and children generally say no. However, if that
person’s personality were replaced by another individual’s personality,
children argue that that person’s self has now been changed.

 People in different cultures may also differ in the elements that make up
their sense of self. North Americans and Western Europeans tend to view
themselves as independent beings. Ask them to describe themselves, and
they tend to dwell on their individual skills and personality traits (e.g., as an
intelligent, moral, and hardworking individual). Individuals from the Far
East (e.g., Japan), however, tend to ascribe to a more interdependent view of
self, defining who they are in terms of their social relations and place in the
world. Ask them to describe themselves, and they tend to focus more than do
Americans on social roles that they fill in their everyday life (e.g., as mother,
or daughter, or as a manager in a local firm).
 Some mental illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s or bipolar affective disorder,
alter or disrupt people’s experience of the self. For example, people suffering
from autism appear to possess rather concrete, physical experiences of self.
They do not experience the self at a more abstract level. If they answer a
questionnaire about their personality traits, they later do not remember the
traits that they said they possessed. This is in sharp contrast to people not
suffering from autism, who show a strong memory bias toward recalling the
traits they said were self-descriptive. This difference can be explained if one
assumes that non-sufferers have a self-schema about themselves, that is, a
cognitive representation of their inner personality that aids their later
memory. Those with autism, it appears, do not have a self-schema that is as
richly developed.

 In addition, schizophrenia can damage a person’s experience of self. The

disordered thought associated with schizophrenia can lead people to lose the
experience of themselves as an individual with an unbroken history from the
past to the present. Schizophrenia can also lead a person to confuse where
his or her self ends and the outside world begins. This can be an important
aspect of hallucinations and delusions. People suffering from schizophrenia
may lose track of how much they themselves author their hallucinations,
instead thinking that the hallucinations come from the outside world.

Implications of the Self

 The self that people possess has profound implications for their thoughts,
emotional reactions, and behaviour. For example, the thoughts people have
often are crafted to maintain the sense of self that they possess. This is
especially true for thoughts about other people. The impressions that people
tend to have about themselves (their “me’s”), at least in North America and
Western Europe, tend to be rather positive ones with many strengths and
proficiencies.

 People tend to see other people who share some similarity as also imbued
with these same strengths and weaknesses, whereas people who are different
are more likely to be seen as having shortcomings and weaknesses. In this
way, people can bolster their self-impressions as lovable and capable people.

 A sense of self also influences the emotions people feel. People do not feel
merely bad or good, but experience an entire panoply of emotions. Some
 emotions arise because people view that they authored the actions that
produced them.

 When students study hard and do well on tests, they feel happy and proud. If
they wrong a friend, they do not feel unhappy; they feel guilty. If they are
worried about how their action looks to others, they feel shame, or perhaps
embarrassment.

 Many emotions involve self-consciousness, and the experience of all these

emotions requires a sense of self.

 Finally, people’s views of themselves can significantly affect their

behaviour. People often act in ways to maintain the view of self they
possess. For example, if you ask people whether they would give to charity,
they will likely say yes. If someone else approaches them a few days later
and asks them to donate, people are then more likely to donate (relative to a
group not asked), even though they do not connect the second request to the
original question. In a similar way, if you ask a person whether people
should save water during a drought, he or she typically responds that they
should and do. If you then point out what a long shower the person just had
(such as is done in studies of hypocrisy), the person is much more likely to
take shorter showers in the future. In short, the actions people take are
constrained by the views they have of themselves, especially if those views
are made salient to them.

 Self Awareness
 Self-awareness involves being aware of different aspects of the self-
including traits, behaviours, and feelings. Essentially, it is a psychological
state in which oneself becomes the focus of attention.

 Self-awareness is one of the first components of the self-concept to emerge.

While self-awareness is something that is central to who you are, it is not
something that you are acutely focused on at every moment of every day.
Instead, self-awareness becomes woven into the fabric of who you are and
emerges at different points depending on the situation and your personality.

 People are not born completely self-aware. Yet research has also found that
infants do have a rudimentary sense of self-awareness. Infants possess the
awareness that they are a separate being from others, which is evidenced by
 behaviours such as the rooting reflex in which an infant searches for a nipple
when something brushes against his or her face. Researchers have also found
that even new-borns are able to differentiate between self- and non-self-
touch.

When Does Self-Awareness Emerge?

 Studies have demonstrated that a more complex sense of the awareness of
the self begins to emerge at around one year of age and becomes much more
developed by approximately 18 months of age.

 Researchers Lewis and Brooks-Gunn performed studies looking at how self-

awareness develops. The researchers applied a red dot to an infant's nose and
then held the child up to a mirror. Children who recognized themselves in
the mirror would reach for their own noses rather than the reflection in the
mirror, which indicated that they had at least some level of self-awareness.

 Lewis and Brooks-Gunn found that almost no children under one year of age
would reach for their own nose rather than the reflection in the mirror. About
25 percent of the infants between 15 and 18 months reached for their own
noses while about 70 percent of those between 21 and 24 months did so.

 It is important to note that the Lewis and Brooks-Gunn study only indicates
an infant's visual self-awareness; children might actually possess other forms
of self-awareness even at this early point in life. For example, researchers
Lewis, Sullivan, Stanger, and Weiss suggested that expressing
emotions involves self-awareness as well as an ability to think about oneself
in relation to other people.
How Does Self-Awareness Develop?
 Researchers have proposed that an area of the brain known as the anterior
cingulate cortex located in the frontal lobe region plays an important role in
developing self-awareness. Studies have also used brain imaging to show
that this region becomes activated in adults who are self-aware.
 The Lewis and Brooks-Gunn experiment suggests that self-awareness begins
to emerge in children around the age of 18 months, an age that coincides
with the rapid growth of spindle cells in the anterior cingulate cortex.

 However, one study found that a patient retained self-awareness even with

extensive damage to areas of the brain including the insula and the anterior
cingulate cortex. This suggests that these areas of the brain are not required
for most aspects of self-awareness and that awareness may instead arise from
interactions distributed among brain networks.
Levels of Self-Awareness
So how exactly do children become aware of themselves as separate beings?
Researchers suggest that children progress through a series of levels of self-
awareness between birth and approximately age 4 or 5. Self-awareness is
observed by how children respond to their own reflection in a mirror.

Level 1: Differentiation - At this point, children start to become aware that

what it reflected in a mirror is different from what they simply perceive in the
environment.
Level 2: Situation - This level of self-awareness is characterized by a growing
understanding that self-produced movements can be seen in the mirror's surface.
Children are also aware that it is their own movements they are observing.
Level 3: Identification - At this point, children recognize the image in the
mirror as themselves rather than someone else staring back at them.
Level 4: Permanence - Children can not only identify themselves reflected in a
mirror, they can also identify their own image in pictures and home movies.
Level 5: Self-consciousness or "meta" self-awareness - At this level, children
are not only aware of themselves from their own perspective, but also become
aware of how they are in the minds of others.
Types of Self-Awareness
Psychologists often break self-awareness down into two different types, either
public or private.

Public Self-Awareness
 This type emerges when people are aware of how they appear to others.
Public self-awareness often emerges in situations when people are at the
 centre of attention, such as when giving a presentation or talking to a group
of friends.

 This type of self-awareness often compels people to adhere to social norms.

When we are aware that we are being watched and evaluated, we often try to
behave in ways that are socially acceptable and desirable.

 Public self-awareness can also lead to evaluation anxiety in which people

become distressed, anxious, or worried about how they are perceived by
others.

Private Self-Awareness
 This type happens when people become aware of some aspects of
themselves, but only in a private way.

 For example, seeing your face in the mirror is a type of private self-
awareness. Feeling your stomach lurch when you realize you forgot to study
for an important test or feeling your heart flutter when you see someone you
are attracted to, are also examples of private self-awareness.

Self-Consciousness: A Heightened State of Self-Awareness

 Sometimes, people can become overly self-aware and veer into what is
known as self-consciousness.

 Have you ever felt like everyone was watching you, judging your actions,
and waiting to see what you will do next? This heightened state of self-
awareness can leave you feeling awkward and nervous in some instances.

 In a lot of cases, these feelings of self-consciousness are only temporary and

arise in situations when we are "in the spotlight." For some people, however,
excessive self-consciousness can reflect a chronic condition such as social
anxiety disorder.
 People who are privately self-conscious have a higher level of private self-
awareness, which can be both a good and bad thing. These people tend to be
more aware of their feelings and beliefs, and are therefore more likely to
stick to their personal values. However, they are also more likely to suffer
from negative health consequences such as increased stress and anxiety.

 People who are publicly self-conscious have a higher level of public self-
awareness. They tend to think more about how other people view them and
are often concerned that other people might be judging them based on their
looks or their actions. As a result, these individuals tend to stick to group
norms and try to avoid situations in which they might look bad or feel
embarrassed.

Self-Concept
 The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks
about, evaluates or perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a
concept of oneself.

 Baumeister (1999) provides the following self-concept definition: "The

individual's belief about himself or herself, including the person's attributes
and who and what the self is".
 The self-concept is an important term for both social and humanistic
psychology. Lewis (1990) suggests that development of a concept of self has
two aspects:

(1) The Existential Self

 This is 'the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-concept; the sense of
being separate and distinct from others and the awareness of the constancy of
the self' (Bee, 1992).

 The child realizes that they exist as a separate entity from others and that
they continue to exist over time and space.
 According to Lewis awareness of the existential self begins as young as two
to three months old and arises in part due to the relation the child has with
the world. For example, the child smiles and someone smiles back, or the
child touches a mobile and sees it move.
(2) The Categorical Self
 Having realized that he or she exists as a separate experiencing being, the
child next becomes aware that he or she is also an object in the world.
 Just as other objects including people have properties that can be
experienced (big, small, red, smooth and so on) so the child is becoming
aware of him or herself as an object which can be experienced and which has
properties.
 The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, size or skill. Two
of the first categories to be applied are age (“I am 3”) and gender (“I am a
girl”).
 In early childhood, the categories children apply to themselves are very
concrete (e.g., hair colour, height and favourite things). Later, self-
description also begins to include reference to internal psychological traits,
comparative evaluations and to how others see them.
 Carl Rogers (1959) believes that the self-concept has three different
components:
i. The view you have of yourself (self-image)
ii. How much value you place on yourself (self-esteem or self-worth)
iii. What you wish you were really like (ideal-self)

Theories of Self-Concept
 Like many topics within psychology, a number of theorists have proposed
different ways of thinking about self-concept. According to a theory known
as social identity theory, self-concept is composed of two key parts:
personal identity and social identity.

 Personal identity includes the traits and other characteristics that make each
person unique. Social identity refers to how we identify with a collective,
such as a community, religion, or political movement.

 Psychologist Dr. Bruce A. Bracken suggested in 1992 that there are six
specific domains related to self-concept:

 Social: the ability to interact with others

 Competence: the ability to meet basic needs
 Affect: the awareness of emotional states
  Physical: feelings about looks, health, physical condition, and overall
appearance
 Academic: success or failure in school
 Family: how well one functions within the family unit

Humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers believed that there were three different

parts of self-concept:

 Self-image, or how you see yourself. Each individual's self-image is a

mixture of different attributes including our physical
characteristics, personality traits, and social roles. Self-image doesn't
necessarily coincide with reality. Some people might have an inflated
self-image of themselves, while others may perceive or exaggerate the
flaws and weaknesses that others don't see.

 Self-esteem, or how much you value yourself. A number of factors can

impact self-esteem, including how we compare ourselves to others and
how others respond to us. When people respond positively to our
behaviour, we are more likely to develop positive self-esteem. When we
compare ourselves to others and find ourselves lacking, it can have a
negative impact on our self-esteem.

 Ideal self, or how you wish you could be. In many cases, the way we see
ourselves and how we would like to see ourselves do not quite match up.4

Congruence and Incongruence

 As mentioned earlier, our self-concepts are not always perfectly aligned with
reality. Some students might believe that they are great at academics, but
their school transcripts might tell a different story.

 According to Carl Rogers, the degree to which a person's self-concept

matches up to reality is known as congruence.

 While we all tend to distort reality to a certain degree, congruence occurs

when self-concept is fairly well aligned with reality. Incongruence happens
when reality does not match up to our self-concept.
 Rogers believed that incongruence has its earliest roots in childhood. When
parents place conditions on their affection for their children (only expressing
love if children "earn it" through certain behaviours and living up to the
parents' expectations), children begin to distort the memories of experiences
that leave them feeling unworthy of their parents' love.

 Unconditional love, on the other hand, helps to foster congruence. Children

who experience such love feel no need to continually distort their memories
in order to believe that other people will love and accept them as they are.

Self-image (how you see yourself)

 This does not necessarily have to reflect reality. Indeed a person with
anorexia who is thin may have a self-image in which the person believes
they are fat. A person's self-image is affected by many factors, such as
parental influences, friends, the media etc.
 Kuhn (1960) investigated the self-image by using The Twenty Statements
Test.
 He asked people to answer the question 'Who am I?' in 20 different ways. He
found that the responses could be divided into two major groups. These
were social roles (external or objective aspects of oneself such as son,
teacher, friend,) and personality traits (internal or affective aspects of
oneself such as gregarious, impatient, humorous,).
 The list of answers to the question “Who Am I?” probably include examples
of each of the following four types of responses:
1) Physical Description: I’m tall, have blue eyes...etc.
2) Social Roles: We are all social beings whose behaviour is shaped to some
extent by the roles we play. Such roles as student, housewife, or member of the
football team not only help others to recognize us but also help us to know what
is expected of us in various situations.
3) Personal Traits: These are the third dimension of our self-descriptions. “I’m
impulsive...I’m generous...I tend to worry a lot”...etc.
4) Existential Statements (abstract ones): These can range from "I’m a child of
the universe" to "I’m a human being" to "I’m a spiritual being"...etc.
Typically young people describe themselves more in terms of personal traits,
whereas older people feel defined to a greater extent by their social roles.

Self Esteem
We all know that self-esteem sometimes referred to as self-worth or self-
respect, can be an important part of success. Too little self-esteem can leave
people feeling defeated or depressed. It can also lead people to make bad
choices, fall into destructive relationships, or fail to live up to their full
potential. A grandiose sense of self-esteem, as exhibited in narcissistic
personality disorder, can certainly be off-putting to others and can even damage
personal relationships.

Self-esteem levels at the extreme high and low ends of the spectrum can be
harmful, so ideally, it's best to strike a balance somewhere in the middle. A
realistic yet positive view of yourself is generally considered the ideal. But what
exactly is self-esteem? Where does it come from and what influence does it
really have on our lives?

What Is Self-Esteem?
In psychology, the term self-esteem is used to describe a person's overall sense
of self-worth or personal value. In other words, how much you appreciate and
like yourself.

 Self-esteem is often seen as a personality trait, which means that it tends

to be stable and enduring.
 Self-esteem can involve a variety of beliefs about yourself, such as the
appraisal of your own appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours.

Why Self-Esteem Is Important

Self-esteem can play a significant role in your motivation and success

throughout your life. Low self-esteem may hold you back from succeeding at
school or work because you don't believe yourself to be capable of success.

By contrast, having a healthy self-esteem can help you achieve because you
navigate life with a positive, assertive attitude and believe you can accomplish
your goals.

Self-Esteem Theories
Many theorists have written on the dynamics involved in self-esteem. The need
for self-esteem plays an important role in psychologist Abraham
Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which depicts self-esteem as one of the basic
human motivations. Maslow suggested that people need both esteem from other
people as well as inner self-respect. Both of these needs must be fulfilled in
order for an individual to grow as a person and achieve self-actualization.
It is important to note that self-esteem is a concept distinct from self-efficacy,
which involves how well you believe you'll handle future actions, performance,
or abilities.
Factors That Influence Self-Esteem
As you might imagine, there are different factors that can influence self-esteem.
Genetic factors that help shape overall personality can play a role, but it is often
our experiences that form the basis for overall self-esteem. Those who
consistently receive overly critical or negative assessments from caregivers,
family members, and friends, for example, will likely experience problems with
low self-esteem.

Additionally, your inner thinking, age, any potential illnesses, disabilities, or

physical limitations, and your job can affect your self-esteem. 

Signs of Healthy Self-Esteem

You probably have a good sense of who you are if you exhibit the following
signs: 

 Confidence
 Ability to say no
 Positive outlook
 Ability to see overall strengths and weaknesses and accept them
 Negative experiences don't impact overall perspective
 Ability to express your needs

Signs of Low Self-Esteem

You may need to work on how you perceive yourself if you exhibit any of these
signs of poor self-esteem: 

 Negative outlook
 Lack of confidence
 Inability to express your needs
 Focus on your weaknesses
 Excessive feelings of shame, depression, or anxiety
 Belief that others are better than you
 Trouble accepting positive feedback
 Intense fear of failure