GEC 1 (Understanding the Self)

Lesson 3: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEWS OF SELF

I. Starting AccUrAtely (Introduction)

A. Lesson Introduction
Do you find it easy to talk about yourself? Do you like hearing life stories of other
people and take the chance to talk about yourself or relate yourself to others?
The psychology of self focuses on our representation of ourselves based on our
experiences. These experiences may either be from the home, school and other groups,
organizations or affiliations we engaged in. The “self” is one of the most heavily researched
areas in social and personality psychology. It is here, where concepts are introduced
beyond our physical attributes, lies our psychological identity. Questions of “Who am I?” or
“What am I beyond my looks?” are thoughts of many that continuously search for a deeper
sense of self which can be traced back from some time of human history (Villafuerte, et.al.,
2018).
In this lesson, psychology focuses on the individual and the cognitive functions like
learning, memory, attention and also the executive functions of the mind, and then
considers also context (situation) and other possible factors that affect the individual. This
lesson will provide us an overview of the themes of psychology about the concept of the
“self.”

B. Intended Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to be able to:
A. describe the different “selves” residing within the individual;
B. examine the factors and forces that influence the development of the “other selves” and;
C. formulate ways on how to strengthen the “true self”.

II. StimUlating LeArning (Motivation)

As you grow, you begin to learn about the qualities and characteristics that you possess.
Also, others give comments about the characteristics and traits that they observed in you. Try to
ask the family members in your household. This will help you see who you are through the eyes
of others and then will give you the opportunity to compare and validate what you have
thought defines who you are.

Then, please take time to ponder upon these questions (No need to write your answers.
This will serve as moments of reflection):

1. What do you think are the qualities and characteristics that you possess?

2. Compare what you know about yourself to those shared by others. Which qualities or
characteristics are similar to what you have written? Which qualities or
characteristics are different or not similar? Which qualities or characteristics
identified by others about you are not really parts of your personality?

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III. IncUlcAting Concepts (Inputs/Lesson Proper)
In an attempt to provide answer to the question, “Who am I?” a lot of people may say “I am
who I am.” Yet this statement still brings up the question “If you are who you are, then who are you
that make you who you are?”

“Self” is “the sense of personal identity and of who we are as individuals”

(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014, 106 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p. 29).

There are various ideas in psychology about the “self” and other similar or interchangeable
concepts.
Let us begin by looking at the self as a cognitive construction.

A. The Psychology of Self

The “self” and “identity” are seen by the theorists in psychology as mental constructs
which are created and re-created in the memory and current researches point to the frontal
lobe of the brain as the specific area associated with processess concerning the “self”
(Elmore, et al, 2012 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018). Several psychologists tend to look
deeper into the mind of the person to theorize about the self, identity, self-concept and
even personality. However, they found out that to understand the person is to look also
at the effects of the environment to the formation of the self, identity, and self-concept. It
is because social interaction always has a part to play in who we think we are and this is
now the nature-and-nurture perspective (Alata, et al., 2018).
Here are some of the ideas by some theorists in psychology which led to the
understanding of the self. While you read through, kindly jot down in your notebooks some
questions you may have in mind which you may post for further clarification in the LMS or
other platform being used for instruction.

1. “Me-self” and “I-self” by William James (1890)

William James distinguished two understandings of the self, the self as “Me” and
the self as “I” (Woźniak, 2018).

Two Aspects of the Self according to James (1890):

“ME-SELF” “I-SELF”
 Corresponds to the self as an object of  Reflects the self as a subject of
experience (self as object) (Woźniak, experience (self as subject) (Woźniak,
2018). 2018).

 The self as known (or the empirical self)  The knower (or pure ego)

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  The consciousness itself

o The physical characteristics as well as o The thinking, acting, and feeling

psychological capabilities that make self.
who you are.

o Referred to as the empirical self, self o Referred to as the nominative self,

that is known by the self, rather than the self as knower of the self, rather
the self as knower. than the self so known (American
Psychological Association, 2020).

In the psychology of William James, the ME-SELF or the empirical self is held
to consist of the following:
 material self - everything material that can be seen as belonging
to the self (American Psychological Association, 2020).
o refers to the things that belong to us like family, clothes,
body, and money.
 social self - the self as perceived by others (American
Psychological Association, 2020).
o is the self in social situations. Our social selves are our
behavior in different social situations.
 spiritual self- the self that is closest to one’s core subjective
experience of oneself (American Psychological Association,
2020).
o includes our core values, conscience, and personality.

2. “Real self” and “Ideal Self” by Carl Rogers

Two Aspects of the Self according to Carl Rogers:

“Real Self” (Self-image) “Ideal Self”

 It includes all of those aspects of one’s  It briefly represents our strivings to

being and one’s experiences that are
perceived in awareness (though not
always accurately) by the individual
(Feist, et al., 2013 as cited by
Villafuerte, et al., 2018)
achieve in our goals or ideals. In other
words it is our dynamic ambitions and
goals (Ismail & Tekke, 2015).

 It includes the influence of our body  Revolves around goals and ambitions
image intrinsically, how we see in life. This is what our parents have
ourselves, which is very important to taught us to consider:
good psychological health.

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 o In other words, we might perceive o what we admire in others,
ourselves as a beautiful or ugly, good
o what our society promotes
or bad person.
o what we think are in our best
 It is the part of ourselves where we feel,
interest.
think, look and act involving our self-
image (Villafuerte, et al., 2018).

 Simply put, REAL SELF is;  The IDEAL SELF is;

o the self-worth o how we want to be

o who we really are o dynamic, changing

o what can be seen by others o the learned values, societal ones

In order to actualize (complete realization of one’s potential), enhance and maintain

the self, Rogers (1959) believed that people are encouraged by an innate tendency
which is the one basic motive of self. His entire theory is thus developed on actualizing
tendency (Schultz & Schultz, 2013).

A wide gap between the ideal self and the real self indicates incongruence and an
unhealthy personality (Feist, et al., 2013 as cited by Villafuerte, et al., 2018). Hence,
alignment between the real self and the ideal self is necessary.

IMPLICATION:
If the way that I am (the REAL SELF) is aligned with the way I want to be (the
IDEAL SELF), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or peace of mind. If the
way that I am is not aligned with how I want to be, the incongruence, or lack of
alignment, will result in mental distress or anxiety. The greater the level of
incongruence between the ideal self and the real self, the greater is the level of
resulting distress.

In the scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the highest, how aligned is your real self to your ideal
self?

3. Multiple versus Unified Self

Theorists believed that there is no one answer to the question, “Who am I?” as one
person can undergo several transitions in his life and create multiple versions of himself.
However, there is still the contention of the importance of mental well-being, of maintaining a
unified, centralized, coherent self.

Multiple Self Unified Self

• The capacities we carry within us from  The consistent and cohesive

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 multiple relationships. aspects of the self.

 Not discovered, but created in our  What makes us distinct from others.
relationships with other people.

Is it possible to have a unified self despite the fact that we experience “shifts” and “morphs”
as we interact in different social situations and as we undergo several transitions in our lives?

4. True Self versus False Self

True Self False Self

 Based on a sense of being in the  A necessary defensive organization,

experiencing body a survival kit, a caretaker self, the
means by which a threatened
person managed to survive.

• Has a sense of integrity and connected • Used when a person has to comply
wholeness with external rules such as being
polite or in following social codes.

B. Now, let us take a look at the concepts related to the psychological views of the self.

1. Identity
- It is composed of one’s personal characteristics, social roles and responsibilities as
well as affiliations that defines who one is (Elmore, et al, 2012, 69 as cited by Alata,
et al., 2018, p. 29).

2. Self-concept
- It is basically what comes to your mind when you are asked about who you are
(Elmore, et al, 2012, 69 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p. 29).
- It refers to the knowledge of the self which was constructed through experiences or
insights out of such experiences.
- It is defined in a wide way as the individual`s tendency to act in ways which
actualize himself, lead to his differentiation and a group of experiences, accordingly,
are differentiated and symbolized in conscious awareness as self experiences, the
sum of which establishes the individual`s self- concept.

3. Self-schema
- The concept by Carl Rogers which refers to our own organized system or collection
of knowledge about who we are.
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 - Self-schema includes the following about you:
 your name
 your family
 your nationality
 your religion
 your hobbies
 your interests
 your work
 your course
 your age
 your physical characteristics, etc.
- Your schema is your mental pattern or an organization or conceptual pattern in your
mind about your “self” and your “identity” which undergo changes throughout time
(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg, 2011, 616; Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014, 107-108 as
cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p. 30).

4. Self-awareness
- It is a clear and realistic view of one’s self.
- There are times when we are aware of our self-concepts.
- Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and
our next course of action.

Two types of self that we can be aware of (Carver and Scheier):

a. The private self - your internal standards and private thoughts and
feelings.
b. The public self - your public image commonly geared towards having a
good presentation of yourself to others.

Three other self –schema of self- awareness

 “Actual” self – who you at are the moment.

 “Ideal” self – who you like to be.
 “Ought” self – who you think you should be.

Example: You are a student interested in basketball but you are also
academically challenged in most of your subjects. Your ideal self may be to practice
more and play with the varsity team but you also ought to pass your subjects as a
responsible student.

5. Self-esteem

- refers to the positive or negative perception or evaluation of oneself. It is a person’s

overall self- evaluation or sense of self – worth.

- Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our self-esteem.

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 C. The Self as Proactive and Agentic

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory takes an agentic view of personality which
means that humans have the capacity to exercise control over their own lives.

- Self as proactive – the self is self-regulating, self-organizing, and self-reflective.

- Agent Self – known as the executive function that allows for actions; resides over
everything that has to do with decision-making, self-control, taking charge of
situations, and actively responding.
- Self-Efficacy
o It is the measure of one’s ability to accomplish goals.
o People with high self-efficacy often are eager to accept challenges because
they believe they can overcome them, while people with low self-efficacy may
avoid challenges, or believe experiences are more challenging than they
actually are (appsychtextbk.wikispace.com, 2014 as cited by Villafuerte, et al.,
2018).

If you have a high sense of self-efficacy, you tend to accept challenges and complete
your goals regardless of the trying circumstances that you are facing. Since you have
actually that power to influence your own actions to produce desired consequences in your
life, there is that need to be intentional by consciously acting in your environment in a
manner that permits growth toward psychological health (Alata, et al., 2018).

How important is self-efficacy to you as you strive to align your real self to your ideal
self?

IV. Using/Applying Knowledge (Application/Integration)

WRITING ACTIVITY: How important is it to have a sense of self-worth? Since our real self is
the seat of our self-worth, what does it mean to strive to become the person that we want to be?
As a college student, what can you do help yourself raise your self–esteem? State your
answers in not less than 100 words (30 points).

References:

Alata, E., Caslib, B., Serafica, J. & Pawilen, R,A. (2018). Understanding the self (1st
edition). Rex Book Store, Inc.

Villafuerte, S., Quillope, A., Tunac, R., & Borja, E. (2018). Understanding the self.
Quezon City: Nieme Publishing House Co.

American Psychological Association (2020). Empirical self. Retrieved from

https://dictionary.apa.org/empirical-self.

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American Psychological Association (2020). Nominative self. Retrieved from
https://dictionary.apa.org/nominative-self.

Ismail, N.A.H., & Tekke, M. (2015). Rediscovering Rogers’s Self Theory and Personality.
Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology, 4 (3), 28 – 36.

Schultz, D.P., & Schultz, S.E. (2013). Theories of personality. Canada: Cengage Learning.

Wozniak, M. (02 September 2018). “I” and “Me”: The self in the context of consciousness.
Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1 -14. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01656.