THE SELF AS

COGNITIVE
CONSTRUCT
Tabuac, Syra Jane
Peria, Angelo
Maglalang, Kelvin Ron
De Leon, Francoir
INTRODUCTION

Cognitive construction also known as Constructivism,

was pioneered by Jean Piaget.

Constructivists purport that people construct their own

understanding and knowledge of the world through their
experiences and their reflections upon these experiences.
WHAT IS SELF ?
Is the sense of personal identity and of who we are as individual.

A person's essential being that distinguishes them from

others, especially considered as the object of introspection or
reflexive action.
Diagram of the self
Two aspects of conceptualized self:

• “I”

- is the thinking, acting, feeling self

(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010.)

- as the one who acts and decides .

(Carl Rogers (1959) theory of personality)
Two aspects of conceptualized self:

• “Me”

- is the physical characteristics as well as psychological

capabilities that makes who you are.
(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010.)

- what you think or feel about yourself as an Object.

(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011.)
DIFFERENT
CONCEPTS
OF SELF
Identity
- Is composed of personal characteristics, social roles ,
and responsibilities, as well as affiliation that
define who one is.
(Oysermen, Elmore, and Smith 2012.)

-
Compositions of
Identity
Personal Characteristics

Personal Qualities are personal characteristics 

of an individual.

Other qualities value are: honesty,

assertiveness, flexibility, problem solving,
friendliness, intelligence, leadership, enthusiasm,
and a good sense of humor.
Social Roles
Responsibilities

Becoming a responsible person means being

able to consciously make decisions, conduct
behaviors that seek to improve oneself and/or
help others.

Most importantly, a responsible person accepts the

consequences of his or her own actions and decisions.
Self-concept
- Is what basically comes to your mind when you are asked
about who you are.
(Oysermen, Elmore, and Smith 2012.)

- is the image that we have of ourselves.

- is the beliefs, a person holds about his/her own attributes,

and how he/she evaluates these qualities.

- Also called self-construction or self-perspective.

Self-concept can be divided
into four parts parts:

Actual self

Ideal self

Private self

Social self
Self-schema

Refers to the Cognitive Structures we have to describe various

categories of knowledge about the world, and like other things,
we also hold schemas about ourselves.

A cognitive generalization about the self-derived from

past/previous experience that organizes and guides
the processing of self-related information contained in
the individual’s social experiences.
What they are and How they work?

These categories of knowledge reflect how we expect ourselves

to think, feel, and act in particular settings or situations.
Each of these beliefs includes (‘outgoing’, ‘shy’, ‘talkative’)
as well as our knowledge of past experiences in similar situations.

Among other things, people can hold self-schemas about:

• Physical characteristics (‘I’m pretty, ‘I’m overweight’)
• Interests (‘I love sports,’ I like art’)
• Personality traits (‘I’m shy,’ ‘I’m friendly’)
• Behaviors (‘I’m assertive,’ ‘I avoid conflict’)
Self-Schema are Individualized

Each person has very different self-schemas that

are influenced heavily by past experiences, relationships,
upbringing, society, and culture.

Who we are and our self-perceptions are

heavily influenced by how we are raised, how we
interact with others, and the impressions and
feedback we receive from societal influences.
How they form

De La mater and Meyers suggests

“Our self-schema is produced in our social

relationships. Throughout life, as we meet new
people and enter new groups, our view of self
is modified by feedback we receive
from others.”
Self-Esteem

Is used to describe a person’s overall sense of self-worth

or personal value. In other words, how much you appreciate
and like yourself.

Is often seen as a personality trait, which means that it tends

to be stable and enduring.

Can involve a variety of beliefs about yourself, such as

the appraisal of your own appearance, beliefs, emotions,
and behaviors.
Self-Esteem Theories

The need for self-esteem plays an important role in

psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of need;
Which depicts self-esteem as one of the basic human
motivations.

It is important to note that self-esteem is a concept

distinct from self-efficacy, which involves how well you
believe you’ll handle future actions, performances, or
abilities.
Signs of having a Healthy/High
Self-esteem

• Acting assertively without experiencing any guilt

• Feel at ease communicating with other

• Confidence / Positive Outlook

• Negative trait: Narcissism, which means a trait

characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration,
and self-centeredness/egotistic.
Signs of having a Low Self-esteem

• Fear of failure

• Focus only on your weakness

• Lack of Confidence

• Feeling of shame, depression, or anxiety

• Belief that others are better than you

• Trouble accepting positive feedback