WHAT IS SELF?

The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by the following
characteristics: "separate, self-contained, independent, consistent, unitary, and private" (Stevens 1996).
By separate, it is meant that the self is distinct from other selves. The self is always unique and has its
own identity. One cannot be another person. Even twins are distinct from each other. Second, self is
also self-contained and independent because in itself it can exist. Its distinctness allows it to be self-
contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition. It does not require any other self for it to
exist. It is consistent because it has a personality that is enduring and therefore can be expected to
persist for quite some time. Its consistency allows it to be studied, described, and measured.
Consistency also means that a particular self's traits, characteristics, tendencies, and potentialities are
more or less the same. Self is unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run
through a certain person. It is like the chief command post in an individual where all processes,
emotions, and thoughts converge. Finally, the self is private. Each person sorts out information, feelings
and emotions, and thought processes within the self. This whole process is never accessible to anyone
but the self.

In the psychological studies of self the researchers have explored many aspects of self. They show that
self is multi-faceted. As you will find in the following description our ideas about self, its evaluation, its
presentation and its monitoring vary among the people and shape behaviour in important ways. In fact
the ideas held by the people about self-shape and organize our personal lives and allow participation in
group life.

Self is subject as well as object. The self as a subject includes the person’s experience of self as thinker,
feeler and actor. Thus, when I feel anger or think about the idea of freedom, it is “I” – the self as subject.
On the other hand, the self as object is the other person’s view of the self or “me”. In recent years
researchers have tried to understand the representations or mental models of self. The experience of
self is very common but complex phenomenon. Its structure and contents are shaped by the society and
culture in which people live. Based on the cultural context people divide the world into the categories of
“self” and “non self”. In the individualistic cultures people prefer independent self construal while
people in collectivist cultures prefer an interdependent mode of self construal. The independent self
construal considers self in terms of a bounded, separate and individual entity which is central to all the
activities of a person. In contrast, the interdependent self construal emphasizes on connectivity,
interdependence and sharing. In this case the boundaries between self and non self are over lapping. It
may, however, be noted that the two modes of self construal are broad trends and within a given
culture people may display both kinds of self construal in different degrees. Some researchers think that
the idea of self emerges and shaped in social interaction. In particular when a child is addressed by some
one s/he starts thinking about self. Thus, self originates in social experience. Gradually people
internalize a particular view of self which becomes a powerful source that influences behaviour. Some
part of our self is private to us and only we know about that. Another part is public which is known to
others. Also, there is a part of self which comes from our membership of a group. This kind of self is
called collective self or social identity.
COMPOSITION OF SELF

Self Esteem

It is the evaluative component of self-concept. It basically deals with internalized social judgments and
ideas about how worthwhile a personal quality is. Self-esteem is an important factor in one’s
psychological health. People who feel good about themselves or have high self-esteem are found to be
more active, motivated, persistent, and happy than the people with low self-esteem. It has been noted
that unhappiness, and despair are related to low self-esteem. Thus our affective evaluation of ourselves,
positive and negative both, have important consequences for the way we are going to conduct ourselves
in future. Research has shown that low self-esteem is related to depression, and self-doubt.

Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy refers to our belief about what we are capable of achieving. In other words it refers to
perceived competencies of a person. They determine how we interact with our environment and other
people. High self-efficacy children solve problems more quickly than those who had low self-efficacy
beliefs. According to Bandura self-efficacy beliefs have power of four major influences as given below:

(a) Cognitive: It refers to the effect on thought patterns. Self-efficacy influences evaluation of capability
and preparation to make an attempt.

(b) Motivational: It influences how long we will keep trying.

(c) Affective: It deals with stress, anxiety, and feeling of control.

(d) Selection: It includes choosing challenging activities.

Self-Presentation

This deals with the behavioural expression of self. We are often concerned with the images we present
to others. The growing importance of cosmetic and fashion industry clearly shows the degree to which
we are preoccupied with our physical appearance. We are often quite concerned with the impression
what we convey in public. The term self-presentation technically means the strategies people use to
shape what others think of them. If life is viewed as theater, we act out certain lines as they are taken
out from a script. Researchers have tried to study the process through which we attempt to shape what
others think about us. The process of self-presentation can take many forms. It can be conscious or
unconscious, accurate or misleading, and intended for real audience or for ourselves. In general two
main motives have been identified for self-presentation. They include strategic self-presentation and
self-verification. The strategic self-presentation is our effort to shape other’s impression to gain power,
influence or sympathy. Ingratiation and self-promotion often make us liked and respected by others. The
goal of self –verification help people to affirm their existing self-concept.

Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring means the extent to which external situation and the reactions of others help one to
regulate behaviour. Thus politicians, sales persons and artists are high self-monitoring persons. The
people who are low self-monitors regulate their behaviours on the basis of internal factors such as
beliefs, attitudes and interests. It has been found that high self-monitors pay attention to others and low
self-monitors pay attention to themselves. Also, the high self-monitors select a companion on the basis
of how well the others perform and low self-monitors choose a companion on the basis of liking. People
who are high on self-monitoring seem to have a repertoire of selves from which to draw. They are quite
sensitive to the concerns of strategic self-presentation.

Self-Consciousness

If we examine our daily life we find ourselves busy with many activities. During these activities we are
often away from ourselves. We think very little about ourselves. In other words we are not always self-
focused. However, certain events do compel us to turn to our own selves. Thus when we glance into a
mirror, talk to ourselves, stand before an audience or a camera or occupy an important position in a
group we become self-aware. When we become self-aware we start comparing our behaviour with
internal standards. Such a comparison reveals negative discrepancy. Under these conditions our self-
esteem decreases. In order to deal with this situation we may attempt to reduce self-discrepancy or
withdraw from the state of self-awareness. It has been found that some people have tendency to
introspect the inner thoughts and feelings (private self-consciousness) while others have tendency to be
aware of outer public image (public self-consciousness).

The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by the following
characteristics: “separate, self-contained, independent, consistent, unitary and private.”

SEPARATE- it is meant that the self is distinct from other selves. The self is always unique and has its
own identity.one cannot be another person. Even twins are distinct from each other

SELF-CONTAINED & INDEPENDENT - because in itself it can exist its distinctness allow it to be self-
contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition. It does not require any other self for it to
exist.

CONSISTENT - because it has a personality that is enduring and therefore can be expected to persist for
quite some time its consistency allows to be studied, described, and measured, consistency also means
that a particular self traits, characteristics, tendencies, and potentialities are more or less the same.

UNITARY - in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a certain person it is
like the chief command post in an individual where all processes, emotion, and thoughts converge.

PRIVATE - Each person sorts out information, feelings and emotions, and though processes within the
self. This whole process is never accessible to anyone but the self. This last characteristic of the self
being private suggest that the self is isolated from the external world.

From this perspective: the concern of this lesson is in understanding the vibrant relationship between
the self and the external reality. This reality is called social constructionist perspective - that argues for a
merged view of the person and their social context where the boundaries of one cannot easily be
separated from the boundaries of the other.

Social constructionists argue that self should not be seen as a static entity that says constant through
and through. Rather, the self has to be seen as something that is in unceasing flux, in a constant struggle
with external reality and is malleable in its dealings with society. As a man of different roles [as a father,
friend, teacher, husband] one can expect a person to change and adjust his behaviors, ways and even
language depending on his social; situation. We ourselves play different roles, act in various ways
depending on our circumstances. This is not only normal but it is also acceptable and expected. The self
is capable of morphing and fitting itself into any circumstances it finds itself in.

Define the following:

The Physical Self-

It is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed and
examined.

The Sexual Self-

As we come to understand the beauty of physical self, it is also proper to learn to understand the sexual
self. As psychoanalytical theory states that physical body is the core of human experience as form
of construction of self and personality. Freud maintained that nature of the conflicts among id, ego and
superego changes overtime as a person grows from child to adult. There are psychosexual stages that
focus: oral, anal, phallic and genital. Thus, these stages are directly related to different physical center
of pleasure. To fully appreciate sexual self, it is necessary to understand human reproductive
system, erogenous zone, and human sexual behaviour.

As we come to understand the beauty of physical self, it is also proper to learn to understand the sexual
self. As psychoanalytical theory states that physical body is the core of human experience as form
of construction of self and personality. Freud maintained that nature of the conflicts among id, ego and
superego changes overtime as a person grows from child to adult.

There are psychosexual stages that focus: oral, anal, phallic and genital. Thus, these stages are directly
related to different physical center of pleasure.

To fully appreciate sexual self, it is necessary to understand human reproductive system,

erogenous zone, and human sexual behaviour.

The Material / Economical Self-

The material self, according to William James primarily is about: our bodies; clothes; immediate family;
home.

The material self consists of things that belong to a person or entities that a person belongs to. Thus,
things like the body, family, clothes, money, and such make up the material self. For James, the core of
the material self was the body. Second to the body, James felt a person's clothes were important to the
material self. He believed a person's clothes were one way they expressed who they felt they were; or
clothes were a way to show status, thus contributing to forming and maintaining one's self-image.
Money and family are critical parts of the material self. James felt that if one lost a family member, a
part of who they are was lost also. Money figured in one's material self in a similar way. If once a person
had significant money then lost it, who they were as a person changed as well. “For the old critics of
luxury, the human self was something pure that existed apart from the material world. For champions of
the new outlook, possessions ceased to be something invasive and corrosive. On the contrary, material
things were an essential part of the human self.”

The Spiritual Self

The most intimate self, the spiritual self. It is the most intimate because it is more satisfying for the
person that they have the ability to argue and discriminate one’s moral sensibility, conscience and
indomitable will.

William James’ take on spiritual self which is included to the other empirical selves is defined as
the inner most workings of the persons mind, the behaviour, beliefs and even morals that involves
every aspect of the human as a person. Considering the will of the person, how they distinguish
between right and wrong and also one’s intellect are some of the manifestation of the spiritual self of a
person. According to James (1890) people will find more satisfaction in having been able to show
of the spiritual self like their intelligence, to have their wishes be done, and to act upon their
conscience than to count or show their possession, because he said that the spiritual self “is
the most enduring and intimate part of the self”.

The most intimate self, the spiritual self. It is the most intimate because it is more satisfying for the
person that they have the ability to argue and discriminate one’s moral sensibility, conscience and
indomitable will

The Political Self

Collective action, shared vision, means of sustainable future and the link to generation has been crucial
in the construction of identity and sense of belonging in the democratic standpoint. On the other
hand, in the socio psychological perspective, citizenship or being a Filipino serves as a cognitive
and motivational basis for ones beliefs and behaviour. Thus, enhancing the practice of citizenship and
democracy is crucial to the awareness and understanding of self and community.

The Digital Self

Our digital self is gestalt, in that it exists across whatever mediums, web sites, and services you use.
These bits are pieces together to form a whole picture of what it means to be you, or some aspect of
you. This may be carefully curated, or it may be an emergent property of who you are.

Give an overview of the following:

Philosophical self- is the self-viewed from various philosophical perspectives.

According to Socrates, the true task of a philosopher is to know one's self.

We are supposed to know who we are and the virtues we are supposed to attain in order to preserve
souls after life.

Plato said that there are three components of the soul: The rational soul, spirited soul, and appetitive
soul.

St. Augustine stressed that a man is of bifurcated nature. There is an aspect of man that dwell in the
world that is imperfect and continuously yearns to be divine while the other is capable of reaching
immortality.

Sociological self

Sociological theories of the self-attempt to explain how social processes such as socialization influence
the development of the self. One of the most important sociological approaches to the self was
developed by American sociologist George Herbert Mead. Mead conceptualizes the mind as the
individual importation of the social process. Mead presented the self and the mind in terms of a social
process. As gestures are taken in by the individual organism, the individual organism also takes in the
collective attitudes of others, in the form of gestures, and reacts accordingly with other organized
attitudes.

This process is characterized by Mead as the "I" and the "me." The "me" is the social self and the "T" is
the response to the "me." In other words, the "I" is the response of an individual to the attitudes of
others, while the "me" is the organized set of attitudes of others which an individual assumes. The "me"
is the accumulated understanding of the generalized other," i.e. how one thinks one's group perceives
oneself. The "I" is the individual's impulses. The "T" is self as subject; the "me" is self as object. The "I" is
the knower, the "me" is the known. The mind, or stream of thought, is the self-reflective movements of
the interaction between the “I” and the "me." These dynamics go beyond selfhood in a narrow sense,
and for in the basis of a theory of human cognition. For Mead the thinking process is the internalized
dialogue between the "I" and the "me.

Understood as a combination of the "I" and the "me," Mead's sell proves to be noticeably entwined
within a sociological existence. For Mead, existence in a community comes before individual
consciousness. First one must participate in the different social positions within society and only
subsequently can one use that experience to take the perspective of others and become self-conscious.

Anthropological self
Knowing the self requires understanding our society and its culture, and how it provokes us to make
decisions which are culturally influenced and socially constructed. These concepts are embedded in the
culture of our people – the impact of which permeates in the very soul of the social self.

Self is clearly linked to his or her culture. We can never understand people apart from it since it is the
very personality of society (Rousseau, 2014). Our social personality is the reflection of culture itself.

Psychological self

Psychology has various ways of understanding a person and the therapist way of helping people
understand themselves. Self by definition is a reference by an individual to the same individual person.
Having its own or single character as a person, referring to the person as same individual. The
psychology of studying self is about either the cognitive and affective representation of one’s identity
or the subject of experience. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology forms the
distinction between the self as I, the person knower, and the self as Me, the person that is known.