The self as a cognitive construct

- Every field of study at least in the social sciences, have their own research definition and
conceptualization of self and identity.

(Jhangiaini and Tarry 2014) – “SELF” is the sense of personal identity and of who we are as
individuals.

William James(1890)- was one of the earliest psychologist to study the self and conceptualized the self
as having two aspects.

(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisenberg 2011, Hogg and Vaughn 2010) – The “I” and “ME” , the “I” is the
thinking, acting, and feeling self.

The “ME” on the other hand is the physical characteristic ad well as psychological capabilities that makes
you 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.

(Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012) – self are Identity, identity is composed of personal
characteristics, social rules, and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that define who we are. Self
concept is what basically comes to your mind when asked about who you are.

Carl Rogers – captured this idea in his concept of self-schema, organized system or collection of
knowledge about who we are.

*Hobbies.

*Family.  SELF

*Religion

*Nationality

(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisenberg 2011 ; Jhangiaini and Tarry 2014) – As you grow and adapt to the
changes around you, they also change. But they are not passive receiver’s, they actively shape and affect
you see, think, and feel about things.

(Oyserman, Elmore and Smith 2012) – theories generally see the self and identity as mental constructs,
created and recreated in memory.

THREE REASONS WHY SELF AND IDENTY ARE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS:

1.) Society helped in creating the foundations of who we are.

2.) We need others.
3.) Influenced by our social or historical context.

(Jhaniani and Tarry 2014) – social interaction and group affiliation are vital factors in creating our self-
concept, especially in the aspect of providing us our social identity.
Corver and Scheier (1981) – presented two types of self.

1. Private self – Internal standards and private thoughts and feelings.

2. Public self – Public image commonly geared toward having good presentation of yourself to
others.

(Higgings 1997 in Hogg and Vaughn 2010) – presents us with three other self-schema.

1. Actual – who you are at the moment

2. Ideal – who you like to be
3. Ought self – who you think you should be