SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M.

REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

TO YOU DEAR FRESHMEN:

Welcome to College Life. This course is Understanding the Self. This course is a fundamental
course in the tertiary education. This course is designed to help you understand the nature of
the self and the factors that influence and shape self-identity. These sets of modules will contain
all the necessary lessons as indicated in our course syllabus. The main purpose of this module
is to help you learn and complete your course work while you are studying at home.

This module has icons that you should be familiar with as you work through the entire modules
of this course.
In this part you will know the
contents of this module.

Let’s Begin Here

This part of the module will tell you what are the
learning competencies that you need to achieve.
Let’s Hit It

This is a short activity or review of the previous

lesson that aims to help you bridge the current to the
past lesson.
Let’s Recall

In this part the new lesson will be discussed. The

concepts will help you understand the new concepts
and skills.
Let’s Learn
This part contains activities and questions that can
help you translate theoretical learnings to practical
application.
Let’s Do It

This part contains questions and activities that aims

Let’s Put Your to process the lessons that you learned in this
Thoughts into module. This involves activities and exercises that
Writing aims to enhance your understanding and skills
related on the topic at hand by writing about it.

This part contains questions and activities that aims

Let’s Assess Your to assess and measure the level of learning of the
Learning target competency/ies.

At the end of the module, a glossary of terms is

prepared for you to serve as your guide on the
Glossary different concepts and terms found in the module.

At the end of the module,

references are also provided.
References

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

MODULE
The Psychology of
3 the Self

Let’s Begin Here

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help
you better understand yourself by looking into the different explanations on
the concept of the self in Psychology. As a bonus, you will be given fun
enrichment activities. Be careful in answering the exercises and tasks by
carefully reading every given instruction. Let’s begin!

Let’s Hit It

After going through this module, you are expected to:

3.1 Identify the different ideas in Psychology about the self,
3.2 Create your own definition of the “self” based on the definitions from
psychology.
3.3 Analyze the effects of various factors identified in psychology in the
formation of the self.

Materials Needed:
 Ballpen
 Paper
 MS Word Document/WPS

Duration:
6 hours/2 weeks

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Let’s Recall
Direction: Answer the question below in your answer sheet.
What are the different factors discussed in the previous module that affects the
development of the self? Explain briefly in one (1) sentence how it affects the
development of the self.

Let’s Learn
As discussed in your previous lessons in your senior high school, every
field of study, at least in the social sciences have their own conceptualization
of different personal and societal phenomenon/ideas/concepts. In the same
light, psychology, a field of social science, has it’s take on the concept of the
self.

DEFINITIONS OF THE SELF BASED ON VARIOUS PSYCHOLOGISTS

Unlocking Word Meaning

Identity – is composed of personal characteristics, social roles, and
responsibilities as well as affiliations that define who one is.
Self-concept – is what basically comes to your mind when you are asked about
who you are, it is your knowledge/idea of yourself.

WILLIAM JAMES (1890) – has described the self as having two aspects – the
I and the ME. The “I” is the thinking, acting and feeling self. While the “ME” is
compose of the material, social and spiritual aspect of a person. Material aspect
of the self includes all the material things that the individual possess, value and
desire to have, hence the attainment of these materials may contribute to
building an individual’s self-image. The social aspect includes a person’s status
in the society. The role that an individual play in the society can either help
boost an individual’s self-esteem or may do otherwise. Finally the Spiritual "me"
basically states that a persons’ values and morals combined with intellect play
a role in their self-image and the "me".

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Let’s Do It Activity
Pause & Reflect: Answer the following briefly in your answer sheet.

1. What are the material things that you possess? How about the things
that you desire to have?
2. Do you think, your self-image may improve if you attain these material
things?
3. What are your roles in the society? What is your social status?
4. Do you think your roles and social status affects your self-image?

______________________________________________________________

CARL ROGERS captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or the

organized system or collection of knowledge about who you are. It may include
your interest, work, course, age, name, physical characteristics, hobbies, family,
religion, nationality. As you grow up, your self-schema also changes to adapt
the changes in your life. Self-schema also actively shapes and affect the way a
person think, feel and behave towards certain things. An example would be
Ana, she is a booklover and a bookstore always entices her among all the other
stores in the mall, her allowance would always be spent on books as well. Ana’s
behavior is shaped by her love for books – which is considered as her interests.

An example of a simple self-schema is shown below.

Hobbies

Family SELF Religion

Nationality

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Let’s Do It Activity
Activity: My Hex of a Self-Schema
Direction: Based on Carl Roger’s concept of self-schema, complete the
graphic organizer below, you may write as many as you can inside each
hexagon.

Hobbies

Physical Religion
Characteristics

NAME

Interests Gender

Nationality

_______________________________________________________________

SIGMUND FREUD saw the self, its mental processes and one’s behavior as
the results of the interaction between the Id, the Ego and the Superego. These
are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical. As discussed in
module 1, the Id is the is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that
contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego
operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates
between the desires of the id and the super-ego. Each of this system has it’s
unique features and interact with each other that contributes to the a person’s
behavior.

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Image Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/ab/63/7bab63ba8d2d66757180bb80ecad52e4.png

Let’s Do It Activity
Activity: Tell Me a Story
Direction: Share a personal experience when you think your ID (pleasure
principle) were in conflict with your EGO (reality principle) and you’re
SUPEREGO (moral principle). What was your action about it? Explain the
outcome of that particular experience.

GEORGE HERBERT MEAD proponent of the theory of symbolic interactionism

argued that the self is created and developed through human interaction.
According to him, there are three reasons why self and identity are social
products.
1. People do not create oneself out of nothing, society helps in creating
foundations of who one is and even if one makes his own choices, one
still operate based on his social context.
2. People need others to affirm and reinforce their concept and idea about
themselves. People also need others as reference point of their identity.
Social media attention is a good example, one person may consciously

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

or unconsciously try to gain more “likes” or “heart” and/or other positive

reaction/comments that can and will reinforce their self-concept. If one
person posted a ‘cute’ selfie and it garners very few likes, that persons’
idea of oneself will be affected.
3. What we think is important to us may also have been influenced by what
is important in one’s social & historical context. Money might be an
important thing to you because you grow up in a low-income family and
realized how important money is in addressing certain needs like medical
emergencies.
Social interaction & group affiliation, therefore are important factors in
creating self-concept especially in the aspect of providing ones social identity.

SELF AWARENESS
Self – awareness is being aware of ones’ self-concept. Carver & Scheier
(1981) identified two types of self that one can be aware of.
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.

Self-awareness also presents at least three other self-schema:

1. Ideal Self is who you like to be
2. Actual Self is who you are at the moment
3. Ought Self is who you think you should be
An example is Ron, he is a student who is very much interested in
basketball, Ron is having a hard time with most of his subjects (actual self).
Ron’s ideal self might be to practice more and play in the school’s varsity team
for basketball but ought to pass his subjects as a responsible student (ought
self).
Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on circumstances.
It is positive when you use your self-awareness as guide to your actions,
example is Marnie, she stops herself from binge-watching her favorite Korean
drama because she has to work on her modules that is due that week. In this
example, self-awareness becomes a positive thing. Self-awareness could be
negative when it is too much that one becomes too concerned about being
observed and criticized by others also known as being overly self-conscious,
when one is being overly self-conscious, it hinders her to behave naturally and
show her natural self.

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Deindividuation is defined as the loss of individual self-awareness and

individual accountability in groups. Many individuals adapt themselves with the
emotion of their group and because a group gives a person a sense of
anonymity and security from being single-out, a person may lessen one’s self-
control and behave in a manner that he would not have acted if he/she is alone.
An example would be a group of bullies, commonly, bullies are in group
because they find strength in group but individually, they behave differently.

Let’s Do It Activity
Activity: You through Others’ Eyes
Direction: Complete the boxes below by evaluating yourself and
acknowledging these aspects of yourself.

Ideal Self Actual Self Ought Self

_______________________________________________________________

SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS & SELF-ESTEEM

Social relationships affects a person’s self-esteem, one of the ways that

it does through social comparison. Social comparison theory believe that
people understand oneself – appropriateness of behavior and social status for
example – by comparing aspects of oneself with others. There are two types of
social comparison:

1. Upward Social Comparison – is comparing oneself with those who are

better that them, while this can be a source of motivating oneself, a lot of
those who do this experiences lower self-esteem as they emphasize
their weaknesses and inequities.

2. Downward Social Comparison – is creating a positive self-concept by

comparing oneself with those who are at a less advantage. By being at
an advantage over the others, a person can raise ones’ self-esteem.

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory states that when a person is

outperformed by others in different aspects, one may feel threatened, especially
when that someone who outperforms them is a friend or relative. In this
circumstances, people may react in three different ways.
1. Redefining relationship with the other, it could be by (a) distancing from
that person, (b) silent treatment and (c) keeping close ties in hope for
association.
2. Reconsider the importance of the aspect/skill that the person was
outperformed. Example, you were outperformed by your best friend in
singing, so you decide that singing is not for you, instead you focused on
dancing since it is where you truly excel. This way the person preserves
ones’ self-esteem.
3. Strengthen ones resolve to improve certain aspects of the self.

Narcissism is a trait that is characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-

admiration, and self-centeredness. This usually occurs in the attempt to raise
or maintain ones’ self-esteem.
Characteristics of Narcissistic Person
1. Often appears charismatic because of how they take care of their image.
2. Look for better partners, better acquaintances as well as people who
appreciates them a lot.
3. At some point becomes bad romantic partner or friend since they only
engage in relationships to serve themselves.

Characteristics of People with High Self-Esteem

1. Commonly described as outgoing
2. Adventurous
3. Adaptable to situations
4. Initiate activities
5. Initiate building relationships with others
6. They may also dismiss other activities that do not conform their self-concept
or boost their self-esteem
7. They can also be bullies
8. They can experiment on abusive behaviors with drugs, alcohol & sex

The duality in the behavior and attitudes of people with high self-esteem
proves to call for guidance and constant self-reflection

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

Let’s Do It Activity
Activity: You through Others’ Eyes

First Phase Direction: On your answer sheet, write ten to fifteen (10-15)
qualities or things that you think define who you are and label it “My Self-
Description”. Do this first before proceeding to the next activity.

Second Phase Direction: For the second part, message your family and
friends and ask them to answer the question below. Send it to 15 – 20 family
members and/or friends. Collate their answers in a sheet of paper/ in your
answer sheet.

“I am (your full name). How would you describe me based on what you see in
me, and hear about me?”

Let’s Put Your Thoughts into Writing

Activity: Journal Writing

Direction: Compare what you wrote about yourself to those written by your
family and friends. Answer the following guide questions in your answer
sheet.
1. What are the descriptions that are similar and which are not?
2. What are the descriptions that are always true to you?
3. What are the descriptions that are sometimes true or circumstantial?
4. What are the descriptions that are not really part of your personality?

Let’s Assess Your Learning

Direction: Answer the following question in your answer sheet.

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 SLM IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF | MICO MAY M. REGIS -CAYACO, RGC l EVSU – TANAUAN CAMPUS

What important realization do you have after learning all of these concepts in
psychology about the self and the different theories and how it applies and how
it helps you understand yourself more.
Additional Activity:
Direction: Do a research and list ten (10) things to boost your self-esteem or
improve your self-concept. Only write those that you believe will work on
yourself.

References
Alata, Eden Joy Pastor, Bernardo Nicolas Caslib Jr, Janice Patria Javier
Serafica, and R A Pawilen. 2018. Understanding the Self. Sampaloc,
Manila: Rex Bookstore.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

CATHERINE BORCE HOMECILLO

San Juan Elementary School, SD
San Carlos City, Region VI
Icons Illustrator

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