PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

For a young person, it is almost a sin, or at least a danger, to be too preoccupied with himself; but for
ageing person, it is a duty and a necessity to devote serious attention to himself.
-Carl Jung

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
 This chapter outlines the Psychological theories that influence the way people understand the
self.
 Consistent with Carl Roger’s theory of the self, an important aspect of understanding the self is
“self-awareness”.
 How much an adolescent is aware of his/her own psychological make-up, what makes him
or her unique as a person, as well as his or her strengths and weaknesses.

CONCEPT OF THE SELF ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT PSYCHOLOGISTS

WILLIAM JAMES
“The Me-Self and I-Self
• Me-Self
 Refers to the self that knows who he or she is also called the Thinking Self.
 Reflects the soul of a person or the mind which is also called the Pure Ego.
• I-Self
 The empirical self which refers to the person’s personal experiences and is further divided
into subcategories:
1. The Material Self
1. attributed to an individual’s physical attributes and material possessions that
contributes to one’s self-image.
2. Social Self
2. refers to who a person is and how he or she acts in social situations.
3. Spiritual Self
3. refers to the most intimate and important part of the self that includes the person’s
purpose, core values, conscience, and moral behavior.
- James believes that the path to understanding the spiritual self requires introspection.
 CARL ROGER
The Real Self and Ideal Self
• Real Self
• consists of all the ideas, including the awareness of what one is and what one can do.
• Ideal Self
• the person’s conception of what one should be or what one aspires to be which
includes one’s goals and ambitions in life.
Neurotic Normal

Unhappy Fulfilled

and and
Real Self Ideal Self Real Self
happy individual Ideal Self
dissatisfied

individual

MULTIPLE VS. UNIFIED SELF AND TRUE VS. FALSE SELF

MULTIPLE VS. UNIFIED SELF
• Multiple self
• The construction of multiple selves varies across different interpersonal and
intrapersonal roles and relationships.

• Unified self
• Coping with different selves constitutes a formidable task among adolescents. These
challenges contribute heavily to the young person’s struggle for a unified self.
• The task of integrating one’s multiple selves naturally causes concern. Given the
enormous challenges of self-integration, it is important that adolescents are
supported in their effort to create a consistent, coherent, or unified theory of the self
(santrock, 2002)

TRUE VS. FALSE SELF

• True self
• Most likely, adolescents show their true self when they are with their family and
close friends.
 • False self
• The function of false self is to hide the true self.
• Researchers have found that adolescents’ perception of themselves can change
depending on the situation.
• For example, courting or dating situation

 In other words, adolescents display false self to impress others.

ALBERT BANDURA
THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND AGENTIC