PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

The development of self-understanding in adolescence involves a

number of theories about the self, identity, and personality. Theories about the self give way for the identification of
which characteristics are relevant and the understanding of how these characteristics are related to each other. They
foster discourse on the different conceptualizations of identity based on different sociocultural context.

WILLIAM JAMES’ CONCEPT OF SELF: THE ME-SELF AND THE I-SELF

William James suggests that the self is divided into two categories: the I-Self and the Me-Self.
 The I-Self refers to the self that knows who he or she is which is also called the thinking self.
 The Me-Self is the empirical self which refers to the person’s personal experiences and is further divided into
subcategories: the material self, social self, and spiritual self.

1. The material self is attributed to an individual’s physical attributes and material possessions that contribute
to one’s self-image.
2. The social self refers to who a person is and how he or she acts in social situations.
James believes that people have different social selves depending on the context of a social institution.
3. For example: A student may act differently in school and at home with his or her family.
4. The spiritual self refers to the most intimate and important part of the self that includes the person’s
purpose, core values, conscience, and moral behaviour.

CARL ROGERS’ SELF THEORY: REAL AND IDEAL SELF

Another aspect of self-understanding that is important in adolescent years focuses on self-concept.This refers to the
image of oneself. Psychologist Carl Rogers defines self as a flexible and changing perception of personal identity.The
self is the center of experiences. (Rathus, 2017) He also suggests that the self develops from interactions with
significant people and awareness of one’s own characteristics and level of functioning.Rogers suggest two
component of self-concept: the real self and the ideal self.
 The real self consists of all the ideas, including the awareness of what one can do.
 The ideal self is the person’s conception of what one should be or what one aspires to be which includes
one’s goals and ambitions in life.
In Rogers’ view, the closer the ideal self to the real self, the more fulfilled and happy the individual becomes. When
the ideal self is far from the real self, the person becomes unhappy and dissatisfied.

MULTIPLE VERSUS UNIFIED SELF, TRUE VERSUS FALSE SELF

Self-understanding in adolescents also includes conceptualizing the self as multiple or unified and true or false. The
construction of multiple selves varies across different interpersonal and intrapersonal roles and relationships. Coping
with different selves constitutes a formidable task among adolescents. These challenges contribute heavily to the
young person’s struggle for unified self. 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.

Winnicott has found that the self is composed of the true and the false self.
 The function of false self is to hide and protect the true self. Researchers have found that adolescents’
perceptions of themselves can change depending on the situation.
 For instance, adolescents are more likely to show their false self during dating 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.

THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND AGENTIC

Albert Bandura (2001) suggests that humans, through their agency perceived as proactive agents of experiences.
Agency embodies the endowments, belief system, self-regulatory capabilities, and distributed structures and
functions through which personal influence is exercised. The core features of agency enable people to play a part in
their self-development, adaptation, and self-renewal. The main features of human agency are intentionally,
forethought, self-reactiveness, and self-reflectiveness.
Intentionally 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 involves making choices and choosing appropriate courses of action as well as motivating
and regulating them. Self-reflectiveness gives the person 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.
 Self-efficacy refers to the individual’s belief 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.

SIGMUND FREUD'S CONSTRUCTION OF SELF AND PERSONALITY

Sigmund Freud argues that mind is composed of three structures through which personality is formed: id, ego, and
superego.
 Id refers to the component of the personality characterized by its need to satisfy basic urges and desires. Id is
the pleasure-seeking side, impulsive, child-like, and demand instant gratification.
 Ego refers to the I and operates on the reality principle and controls the id.
 Superego refers to the “conscience” and “moral judge” of one’s conduct.

THE WESTERN AND EASTERN CONCEPTS OF SELF

“One of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of others. It forces you to
pay attention to those details of life which differentiate them from you.”
– Edward T. Hall

The western and eastern concepts of self

This chapter outlines the Western and Eastern concepts of self and how they differ and agree on certain
perspectives. The Western conceptualization of the self is divided into three periods of historical development while
Eastern concepts of the self are presented based on the four great systems of Eastern thought: Hinduism, Buddhism,
Confucianism and Taoism.

WESTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

Geertz (van Meijl, 2008) defines the Western concept of self as “a bounded, unique, more or less integrated
motivational and cognitive universe, a dynamic center of awareness, emotion, judgment, and action organized into
a distinctive whole…”

 WESTERN SELF AS ANALYTIC

 The Western way of thinking is analytic-deductive with emphasis on the causal links (part-to-whole
relationships).
 The whole is understood when differentiated into parts. One must categorize and make distinctions
to pursue cause.

 WESTERN SELF AS Monotheistic

 The belief in one Supreme Being coexisting with the universe condenses the supernatural and human
capabilities into bipolarity of both qualities of existence and categories of identity or experience.

 WESTERN SELF AS Individualistic

  Western individualism exhibits the coexistence of favorable and unfavorable conditions inherent in
personal freedom.

 WESTERN SELF AS Individualistic

 Although the right to individual freedom provides opportunities for self-fulfillment, it also increases
the likelihood of experiencing alienation and frustration.
 WESTERN SELF AS Materialistic and rationalistic
 The Western way of thinking is focused on material “things” and favors a rational-empirical approach
over magical and superstitious explanations of immaterial “things”.
 David Ho (1995) describes the Western self as an individualistic self that is deeply aware of itself , its
uniqueness, sense of direction, purpose, and volition.
 The self is located at the center within the individual through which the world is perceived.
 The self also seen as “an entity distinct from other selves and all other entities.”
 This implies that the self belongs to the individual and to no other. As a consequence of this
complete ownership of self, it becomes a sovereign subject possessing a sense of personal control. If
all things are well, the self achieves coherence and stability over time.
 In an individualist perspective, the western self is the measure of all things, that is, the source of all
reflections.
 Frank Johnson (1985) traces the earliest historical roots of the Western concept of the self to works
on philosophy.
 Psychology provided answers to philosophical questions about the concepts of soul and mind.
 Experimental psychology came into prominence during the mid-nineteenth century and put forth
the concept of self within the social-interactionist framework.

EASTERN CONCEPT OF SELF

In the East, philosophy and religion are twisted together. The major Eastern religious such as Hinduism, Buddhism,
Confucianism, and Taoism are the common representatives of Eastern thought.
These Eastern intellectual traditions differ greatly in features and approaches to various issues about selfhood. For
this reason, Eastern thought is described as pluralistic.

Although these four systems of Eastern thought differ in their approaches about the concept of self, they share the
same goal – to teach how to become a perfect person.
The self in four great systems of eastern thought:
1. HINDUISM
2. BUDDHISM
3. CONFUCIANISM
4. TAOISM

1.HINDUISM
 Origin: India Book: Veda
 The Hindu concept of self is expounded in Vedanta, a major school of Indian thought based on Upanishads,
the classical Indian philosophical treatises.
 Brahman – absolute reality
 Atman – soul or spirit, the true knowledge of self
 Vedanta characterizes human suffering as the result of failure to realize the distinction between true self and
the non-true self.
 The law of karma is the most important doctrine of Hinduism. All actions are subject to karma.
 Individual actions will lead to either good or bad outcomes on one’s life. People will get exactly what they
deserve.
 Hindus believe that Atman, being an immortal soul, continuous to be reincarnated from lifetime to lifetime
until it is freed from the cycle of rebirth and reaches a state of nirvana or non-birth.

2. BUDDHISM
 Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) Origin: China Book: Tripitaka (Cali Panon)
 The root word of Buddhism is buddha meaning awaken or enlightened.
 The Four Noble Truths are the basic principles of Buddhism:
 1. Life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused by attachment to desires
3. Suffering can be eliminated
4. Elimination of suffering
 The Eightfold Path:
1. Right view 2.Right aspiration 3.Right speech 4.Right action 5.Right livelihood
6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration
 In Buddhist philosophy, man is just a title for the summation of the five parts: matter, sensation, perception,
mental constructs, and consciousness that compose the individual.
 The ideal is to experience Nirvana (literally meaning, “blowing out” or “quenching”), ultimate goal of
Buddhism and a state of transcendence devoid of self-reference.
 Nirvana can be achieved through meditation.

3. Confucianism
 Founder: Confucius Origin: China Book: Analects
 The Confucianism doctrines are found in the Analects (Conversation of Confucius).
 The core of Confucian thought is the Golden Rule or the principle of reciprocity: “Do not do to others what
you would not want others to do to you”
 Often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion.
The most important of relationship are the Five Cardinal Relationships:
1. Ruler and minister
2. Father and son
3. Husband and wife
4. Brothers
5. Friends

4.Taoism
 Founder: Lao Tzu Origin: China Book: Tao Te Ching
 This is a Chinese counterculture. Taoists reject the Confucian idea of a relational self.
 The self is an extension of the cosmos, not a social relationships. The self is described as one of the limitless
forms of Tao.
 Tao is commonly regarded as Nature that is the foundation of all that exists.
 It is not bounded by time and space. The ideal is to identify with the Tao.
 Taoists believe that simplicity, spontaneity, and harmony with nature should govern one’s life.

Dichotomy of western and eastern conceptions of self

THE PHYSICAL SELF

 The physical self refers to the body. Both physical extremities and internal organs work together for the body
to perform many of its functions such as breathing, walking, eating, and sleeping.
 Physical development and growth during childhood continue at a slow rate compared to the rapid rate of
growth in babyhood.
 Adolescence begins with onset of puberty.
 This stage is characterized by rapid physical changes that include the maturation of the reproductive system.
  Life span refers to the development from conception to death.

Elizabeth B. Hurlock outlines the stages in the life span:

1. Prenatal – fertilization to birth
2. Infancy – birth to 2 weeks of life
3. Babyhood – 2 weeks of life to 2nd year
4. Early Childhood – 2 to 6 years old
5. Late Childhood – 6 to 10 or 12 years old
6. Puberty – 10 or 12 to 14 years old
7. Adolescence – 14 to 18 years old
8. Early Adulthood – 18 to 40 years old
9. Middle Adulthood – 40 to 60 years old
10. Late Adulthood or senescence – 60 to death

TWO FACTORS AFFECTING PHYSICAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Physical growth and development is the product of heredity and environment.
 Heredity is the biological process of the inheritance of traits from parents to offspring.
 Environment refers to the factors an individual is exposed to throughout life which includes learning and
experiences.
 Sex and other physical traits are determined by the combination of chromosomes and genes during
fertilization when the egg and sperm cells unite.
 Chromosomes are threadlike tissues that carries the genes and are usually found in pairs.
 There are 23 pairs of chromosomes which are classified as autosomes or trait chromosomes (22 pairs) and
gonosomes or sex chromosomes.
 The sex of the offspring depends on the pairing if the sex chromosomes (23rd) from the father or mother.
 Genes are the basic carrier of the hereditary traits and are classified as dominant (strong genes) and
recessive (weak genes)

THEORIES OF PHYSICAL SELF

1. The theory of physiognomy suggests that a person’s physical characteristics such as facial features and
expressions and body structures could be related to a person’s character or personality.
 According to the ancient Chinese practice of face reading, the face is a three-dimensional reflection
of “who we are and how life has affected us.”
2. This practice is rooted in the Five Element theory which makes use of the elements of water, wood, fire,
earth, and metal as models for everything occurring in the natural world.
 Face readers observe how facial features and markings corresponds to a person’s mental, emotional,
and physical makeup.
3. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates developed a theory based on the prominence of body fluids.
 The theory suggests that an excess of or deficiency in any of the four bodily fluids in a person
influences their personality, temperament, and well-being.
 The sanguine type has the prominence of red bile.
- They tend to be impulsive, cheerful, happy, and optimistic.
 The melancholic type has the prominence of black bile.
- They tend to be depressed and pessimistic.
 The choleric has the prominence of yellow bile.
- They are easily angry, jumpy, and temperamental.
 The phlegmatic has excess phlegm.
- They tend to be sluggish, dull, and slow.

BODY IMAGE

 Body image refers to how individuals perceive, think, and feel about their body and physical
appearance.
 Appearance refers to everything about a person that others can observe such as height,
weight, skin color, and hairstyle.
  Through appearances, an individual is able to show others the kind of person he or she is.
 Body image is related to self-esteem which is a person’s overall evaluation of his or her own
worth.
 Body image can affect both the adolescent’s physical and psychological well-being.
 Adolescents worry about different parts of their bodies.
 Girls are more concerned than boys about their physical appearance and overall body image.
 The greatest concern that girls express about their bodies is how they conform to idealized
notions of beauty.
 The way adolescents react to their physical appearance depends in part on sociocultural
factors.
 For both boys and girls, bullying and peer pressure are associated with greater body
dissatisfaction.
 Some girls and young women compare themselves to models and actress in advertisements.
The result is that they try to change their physical appearance either through cosmetic
surgery, dieting, and excessive exercise.
 Girls who have higher body dissatisfaction are likely to experience depression, low self-
esteem, and eating disorders.

Some ways to improve your body image and inner self:

 Be thankful
 Smile a lot
 Take good care of your health
 Live a well-balanced life
 Dress well and be neat
 Spend some time alone to reflect
 Be creative and do something new all the time
 Develop a wholesome attitude
 Respect individuality
 Make friends
 Ask and listen
 Think positive