PSYCHOLOGY:

The Self as Cognitive

Construction
What is self?
In psychology, self is the totality of the individual, consisting of all characteristic
attributes, conscious and unconscious, mental and physical.

Other concepts similar to self are:

Identity - 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.
 William James | The Me-self & I-self
James William is known as the father of American Psychology and he distinguished two
sides of the self : Me-self & I-self.

I-self is subject self that is aware of its own actions. (existence of the self)
● Refers to the self that knows who he or she is
● Thinking, acting and feeling self
● Reflects the soul of a person

Me-self is the self that is an object or the self you can describe. (experience of the self)
Three dimensions
● Material - physical appearance
● Social - social skills
● Spiritual - personality, character, defining values.
Global vs. Differentiated model of self
Global model of self
Refers to the general value that a person places on himself or
herself.

Differentiated model of self

Refers to your ability to separate your own feelings and thoughts
from others.
 10 Differentiated model of self

01 02 03
Self Consciousness Self Multiple Self looking glass

04 05 06
Self as structure Self as a flower Self as a creative

07 08 09 10
Self as union Self as identity Self as unicorn Self as chameleon
Carl Rogers | The Real self and Ideal Self
Real Self
The real self is who we actually are. It is how we think, how we
feel,look and act. The real self can be seen by others, but because
we have no way of truly knowing how others view us, the real self
is our self-image.

Ideal Self
The ideal self, is how we want to be. It is an idealized image that
we have developed over time, based on what we have learned and
experienced. The ideal self could include components of what our
parents have taught us, what we admire in others, what our society
promotes, and what we think is in our best interest.
Dr Donald Winnicott | True self and False self
True Self
Refers to a sense of self based on authentic experience, and the
feeling of being truly present and alive.

False Self
Is a defensive façade, behind which the person can feel empty, it’s
behaviours being learnt and controlled rather than spontaneous and
genuine.
The Self as proactive and
agentic
Albert Bandura | The self as proactive and agentic.
Albert Bandura said that humans, through their agency are perceived
as proactive agents of experiences. Agency means the endowments,
Belief and self limitations. The main features of human agency are
Intentionally, forethoughts, self-reactiveness, and self-reflectiveness.
Intentionally
Refers to acts that we do intentionally and you know already the possible outcome. for example you decided to
not sleep early, then you intentionally want to wake up late.

Forethoughts
Enables the person to anticipate of future outcomes. example you noticed that is is raining, now you
anticipate that the class might be suspended or not.

Self-reactiveness
Involves making choices and and choosing appropriate courses of action as well as motivating and
regulating. One good example is during examination you don’t know the answer it is your decision if
you want to copy from your classmate or not.

Self-reflectiveness
Gives us the ability to reflect on our lack of thoughts and actions. we are also self-examiners. we give
time to our self to think about our experiences and decisions that we made
The Self in Western and
Eastern thought
 Eastern Western
(Also called Oriental; represents Asia) (Represents Europe and Northern America)
Thank you.