PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

The topic outlines the psychological theories that influence the way people understand the self.
Understanding of the self is highest when the different parts of the self become integrative.
According to Carl Rogers, an important aspect of understanding the self is self-awareness-how
much an adolescent is aware of his or her own psychological make-up, what makes him or her
unique as a person, as well as his or her strengths and weaknesses.

Theorists and / Elaboration of Psychological Theories

or Self-Concepts
1.William James The two categories of self: I-Self and Me-Self
The I-Self refers to the self that knows who she or he is which called the
The Me-Self and thinking self. It reflects the soul of a person or the mind which is called
the I-Self the pure ego.
Me-Self is the empirical self which is refers to the person’s personal
experiences and is further divided into sub-categories: the material self
(physical attributes and material possessions that contributes to one’s
self-image), social self (who a person and how he or she acts in social
situation, varied and contingent to the context or situation), and spiritual
self (includes the person’s purpose, core values, conscience, and moral
behavior). The theorist believes that the path to understanding the
spiritual self requires introspection.

2.Carl Rogers He defines the self as a flexible and changing perception of personal
identity. It is the center of experience. The self develops from
Real and Ideal interactions with significant people and awareness of one’s own
Self characteristics and level of functioning. He further said that human
beings are always striving for self-fulfillment or self-actualization. When
the needs of the self are denied, severe anxiety may arise. Central to
achieving self-actualization is the development of self-concept.

Two components of self-concept: the real self (awareness of what one is

and what one can do) and ideal self (what one should be or what one
aspires to be such as ambitions and goals in life).

Ideal self Real self Ideal self Real self

Normal Neurotic

The close the ideal self to the real self, the more fulfilled and happy the
individual becomes. Otherwise, the person becomes unhappy and
dissatisfied.

Multiple Versus The construction of the multiple selves varies across different
Unified Self interpersonal and intrapersonal roles and relationships. The task of
integrating one’s multiple selves causes concern. Given the enormous
challenges of self-integration, it is important that adolescents are
supported in their effort in their efforts to create a consistent, coherent,
or unified theory of the self.

The function of the false self is to hide and protect the true self. For
True Self Versus instance, adolescents are more likely to show their true self during dating
False Self situations and are likely to show their true self when they are with their
family and close friends. In other words, adolescents display a false self
to impress others. Adolescents develop different selves in various
relational contexts.

Albert Bandura Agency embodies the endowments, belief system, self-regulatory

capabilities, and distributed structures and functions through which
The Self as personal influence is exercised, rather than reside as a discrete entity.
Proactive and The core features of agency enable people to play a part in their self-
Agentic development, adaptation, and self-renewal.

Features of human agency: intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness,

and self-reflectiveness.

Intentionality-refers to acts done intentionally. Intentions center on

plans of action with the anticipation of possible outcomes.

Forethought-enables the person to anticipate the likely consequences of

prospective actions. Through the exercise of forethought, people are
guided in their actions in the anticipation of future events.

Self-reactiveness-gives the persons the ability to reflect upon and the

adequacy of his or her thoughts and actions. People are not only agents
of action but also self-examiners of their own functioning. Efficacy beliefs
are the foundation of human agency. Self-efficacy refers to the
individual’s beliefs that he or she is capable to perform a task which
influences whether he or she will think pessimistically or optimistically
and in ways that are self-enhancing or self-hindering. Efficacy beliefs also
play a central role in self-regulation which is the ability of an individual to
control his or he behavior without having to rely on others for help.

Carl Jung Archetypes are the universal models after which role s are patterned.
They represent the hidden potentialities of the psyche, or total
The Self as the personality.
Central
Archetype Jung suggests that the psyche continues to develop throughout life, but
the starts to show a definite form and content during adolescence.
According to him, archetypes reside in the personal unconscious
(forgotten experiences) that is common to all human beings, known as
the collective unconscious.

Four major archetypes: persona, shadow, animus/anima, and self.

Persona – social roles that individuals present to others
Shadow – the repressed thoughts that are socially unacceptable
Anima – the feminine side of the male psyche
Animus – the masculine side of the female psyche
Self – the central archetype that unites all the parts of the psyche. The
ego is the individual’s conscious perception of the self.

Sigmund Freud The dynamic forces within the self are many and in inevitable conflict. He
argues that the mind is composed of three structures through which
Construction of personality is formed: the id, ego, and superego.
Self and
Personality The id is the pleasure-seeking side, impulsive, child-like, and demands
 instant gratification.

The ego refers to the I and operates on reality principle and controls the
id. The ego can conform with existing societal consideration.

The superego is the “conscience” and “moral judge” of one’s conduct.

Violation of rules leads to feelings of guilt. It strives for perfection rather
than pleasure. It appears that the id is the devil within the self, the
superego is the angel, and the ego is the person in the middle. The id,
ego, and superego are often in conflict with each other. Freud used the
term “ego strength” to refer to the ego’s ability to resolve the conflict
between the three structures. If this constant state is unresolved,
personality problems may arise.

Psychosexual stages of development: oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage,

latency stage, and genital stage.

Each stage is associated with conflicts that the individual must resolve so
that he or she can successfully move on to the next stage. Freud also
believes that each stage has needs and that the dissatisfaction of needs
may result in fixation which could have lasting negative effects on one’s
personality.

Oral stage – (from birth to age 1) babies derive pleasure from oral
activities like sucking and biting. Overindulgence of oral needs may lead
to oral incorporative personality disorder such as overeating, smoking,
and alcoholism while dissatisfaction may lead to oral aggressive
personality disorder such as sarcasm and tactlessness.

Anal stage – (2nd year in life) derives pleasure from the elimination of
body wastes. Through toilet training, the child learns the basic rules of
society. Anal fixation can lead to anal retentive personality disorder such
as having obsession with cleanliness or anal expulsion personality
disorder such as clumsiness.

Phallic stage – (from 3rd to 6th year in life) derives pleasure from
examining, touching, fondling, or displaying their genitals. The behaviors
are likely motivated by curiosity about the differences between the
anatomy of man and woman. Sex curiosity will remain high during the
elementary years and children will tend to ask questions regarding
anatomical structures, sex and how babies are made. During this stage,
parents and teachers need to properly educate children about sexuality.
Fixations at this stage may lead to abnormal sex behaviors in later life.

Latency stage – (from 7th to 12th year in life) sexual energy is repressed
for children become occupied with school

Genital stage – (from adolescence to adulthood) pleasure is again

derived from genital area and individual seek to satisfy their sexual drives
from sexual relationships. Sexual problems may result as a consequence
of inappropriate sex behaviors.

Erik Erickson This is Erickson’s view of the development of self-identity. To achieve an

 individual identity, one must create a vision of the self that is authentic
Development of which is anchored on th meaning of his or her goals for the future sense
Self-identity of having hold one’s destiny in an effort to reach goals that are
personally meaningful. For him, the ego is the positivie force that
contributes to identity formation and lays the foundation for certain
strengths and virtues in life such as hope, will, purpose, competences,
fidelity, love, care, and wisdom.

Eight psychological stages of developments:

1. Trust versus mistrust-(1st year in life) the child will develop trust if she
or he is properly cared for. Otherwise, mistrust is likely to develop.
2. Autunomy versus shame and doubt - (1st three years) children begun
to assert their independence and if parents allow them to explore, they
will become more confident and secure in hteir own abilities. If children
are overly protected, they may become overly dependent on their
parents and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their own abilities. Erikson
believes that this stage has important implications in the development of
independence and identity during adolescence.
3. Initiative versus guilt - (from 3 to 5 years in life) develop a sense of
responsibility among children which leads to the development of
initiative. A child who is made to feel irresponsible might develop feelign
of guilt.
4. Industry versus inferiority (around elementary school years) children
face the task of developing knowledge and skills usually taught in
schools. When children are encouraged in their efforts, they will develop
a sense of industry. However, children who receive little or no
encouragement from parents and teachers will doubt their own abilities
and are likely to develop inferiority.
5. Identity formation versus identity confusion - (adolescence)
adolescents face the task of finding out who they are, what they are, and
what they want in life. They are confronted with many roles and
responsibilities. If parents provide proper support, adolescents will
develop positive identity. If they are not adequately supported, they will
feel insecure and identity confusion will likely develop.
6. Intimacy versus isolation (early adulthood) people develop intimate
relationships with others. Those who are successful in this stage will
liekly fomr reltionships taht are stable and successful. Inability to develop
intimate relationships during will lead to mistrust and isolation.
7. Generativity versus stagnation stage takes place during middle
adulthood. Generatiity invoves a person’s desire to contribute to the
world by teaching, leaing, and guiding the next generation and doing
activities that will benefit the community. Those who fail to atain this
gnerativity will feel worthless.
8. Integrity versus despair - ( old age) individual reflect on the improtant
events of their lives. If they are satisfied an proud of their
acomplishments, they will have a sense of integrity. Otherwise, they will
feel that their lives have been wasted and will experience regrets and
despair.