Psychological Theories

a) The self as cognitive construction

b) William James ‘’Theory of the self’’

c) Me-self I-self

d) Global Vs. Differentiated Models

e) Real and Ideal Self Concept

f) Multiple vs. Unified self

g) True or false Selves

What is psychology?

 Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think, and feel.

 It includes topics, such as how the brain works, how our memory is

organised, how people interact in groupings and how children learn about

the world.
The self as cognitive construction
 Online dictionaries define the term cognitive as ‘’relating to, being or
involving conscious intellectual activity, such as thinking, reasoning, or
remembering’’

 Self theories argue that it is natural for humans to form theories about
themselves, both as a single entity and as a group, to make meaning of
one’s existence and experience.
Jean Piaget
 Was a swiss clinical psychologist known for his pioneering work in child
development.

 He pioneered the ‘’theory of cognitive development’’

 The theory dealts with the nature of knowledge itself.

 According to piaget, cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of

mental processes resulting from biological maturation and environmental
experience.

 he believes that children construct an understanding of the world around

them, experiences inconsistencies between what they already know and what
they discover in their environment, and then adjust their ideas accordingly.
3 basic components to Piagets
cognitive theory
1. Schemas/ schemes: these are the building blocks of knowledge. Schemes
are mental organizations that individuals use to understand their
environments and designate action.

2. Adaptation: it involves the child's learning processes to meet situational

demands.

3. Stages of cognitive Development: they reflect the increasing sophistication

of the child's thought process.
Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage Age Characteristic of stage

Sensorimotor 0-2 The child learns by doing,

looking, touching, sucking.

Preoperational 2-7 The child uses language and

symbols, including letters and
numbers. Egocentrism is also
evident.
Concrete operations 7-11 Child demonstrate
conservation, reversibility, serial
ordering and a mature
understanding of of cause and
effect relationship.
formal operations 12+ Individual demonstrates
abstract thinking atthis stage is
still concrete.
Harter’s Self Development concept
 Early Childhood – the child described the self in terms of concrete, observable
characteristics such as physical attributes. (Im pretty/ugly/strong) possessions
(‘’ I have a lot of toys’’) behaviours (‘’ I love playing with my toys’’)

 Middle to later childhood- the self is described in terms of trait like constructs.
(e,g: smart, honest,friendly, shy)

 Adoloscence- according to Harter, this is the emergence of more abstract self

definitions, such as inner thoughts, emotions, attitudes and motives.

 Emerging Adults-the marked characteristic of ‘’self’’ for emerging adults is

having a vision of a ‘’possible self’’

It is the age of possibilities, early emerging adulthood (17-22) was found to be

a time of ‘’grand dreams’’ of being wealthy and having a glamourous occupation.

But beyond emerging adulthood (ages 28-33) the visions of a possible-self become
more realistic, is still optimistic.
William James and the
Me- self,: I- self
 ‘’the art of being wise is knowing what to overlook’’

Wrote William Jamed in his ground breaking masterpiece ‘the principles of

Psychology’ written in 1890

 The father of American Psychology’

 According to James 1950, The self has two elements.

 The I- self and the Me- self

 I- self is the pure ego. It is the subjective self. It is the ‘’self’ that is aware of its
own actions. I-self characteristically has four features. These are:

1. A sense of being the agent or initiator of behaviour. I believe my actions have

an impact; that I cause an effect in my environment.

2. A sense of being Unique. This is how I am different from everything in my

environment; I perceive there is only one me.

3. A sense of continuity. I am the same person from day to day.

4. A sense of awareness about being aware. I understand what is going on in me

and around me; and I know I understand it.

 Me-self is the self that is the object. It is the self that you van describe, such as
your physical characteristics, personalities , social role, or relationship, thought,
feelings.

 James called it Empirical self. The Empirical is defined as ‘’based on, concerned
with or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic’’
The dimensions of me- self include:

1. Material- physical appearance and extensions of it such as clothing,

immediate family and home.

2. Social- social skills and significant interpersonal relationships and

3. Spiritual- personality, character, defining values.

Ideal self Vs. Real self
IDEAL SELF
 Is the person that you would like yourself to be.

 It is your concept of ‘’the best me’’ who is worthy of admiration.

 It is the idealized image of self that the individual has developed

based on what you have learned and experience.

The Ideal self could include:

1. Notions influenced by your parents

2. What you admire in others

3. What the society sees as acceptable

4. What you think is in your best interest

Real Self

 Is the person you actually are.

 It is how you behave right at the moment of a situation.

 It is who you are in reality- how you think, feel or act at present
The importance of alignment
 According to Rogers, ‘’If the way that I am (the real self) is aligned with the way that I
want to be (the ideal self), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or peace of
mind.

 In other words, when your real self and Ideal self are very similar you experience
CONGRUENCE.

 High congruence leads to a greater sense of self-worth and a healthy, productivity

life’’

 When there is a great inconsistency between your ideal and real selves or if the way
you are is not aligned with what you want to be, then you experience a state Rogers
called INCONGRUENCE.

 Incongruence lead to maladjustment.

 Maladjustment is defined as the inability to react successfully and satisfactorily to the

demands of one’s environment.
MULTIPLE VS. UNIFIED SELVES

 ONE SELF OR MANY SELVES?

 Contemporary psychological studies challenged the notion of a single,

distinct, ‘’only one’’ notion of self. Several major personally theorists

proposed that the mind is made up of several sub-selves.

Allport’s Personality Theory

 Gordon Allport (1961) proposed his ‘’personality trait’’ theory that

every person possesses ‘’traits’’. According to Allport, a ‘’trait’’ is

your essential characteristic that never ever changes and sticks with

you all your life.

 These traits shape who you are(how you think, feel, or behave)
TRUE VS FALSE SELF
 FALSE SELF
 Winnicot expressed that the False Self is the product of early experience.

 The false self is put up to defend and protect the core from these realities and
prevent it from any changes.

 It is the defensive organization formed by the infant because of inadequate

mothering or failures in emphaty.

 It is also based on being completely obedient to the parents’ wishes.

 Winnicot asserted that when the child is constantly expected to follow rules, a
false self develops.

 Healthy False Self- feels that it is still connected with the true self, it can be
compliant without feeling guilty that it abandoned its true self.

 Unhealthy False Self- an individual who may seem happy and comfortable in
his or her environment but actually feels forced to fit in and constantly needs to
adjust his or her behavior to adapt to the social situation is said to have an
unhealthy false self.
TRUE SELF
 True self flourishes in infancy if the mother is positively responsive to the
childs spontaneous expressions.

 True self is part of the infant that feel creative, spontaneous and real.

 It has a sense of integrity , of connected wholeness.

 True self is is a sense of being alive and real in ones mind and body, having
feelings that are spontaneous and unforced. This experience of aliveness is
what allows people to be genuinely close to others and to be creative.