LESSON 2: PSYCHOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVES ABOUT THE SELF

UNDERSTANDING THE
SELF
Mrs. Delilah O. Ballad
Cagayan State University-Carig Campus
MOTIVATION

“Everything that irritates us about others can

lead us to understanding ourselves” –Carl
Jung
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson you will be able to:

1. Examine the self as a construct from a Psychological stance;

2. Compare and contrast the various psychological theories in
terms of how they construed the self; and,
3. Gain understanding of the different facets of the self as
expounded by psychological perspectives;
PSYCHOLOG is the study of mind and
behavior.
Y - APA

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Psychological Perspectives
About the Self
William James

Concept of
Self
 Father of American Psychologists
William James
Concept of the Self Two Facets of the Self:
` I-Self ` and the `Me-Self`
 Two Facets of the Self:

` I-Self `
William James The ` I` Self is the self in action or as subject.
Concept of the Self - a subjective self that is aware of its own action
- the self that knows who he or she is
- describing yourself using your own perspective
 A sense of being the initiator of behaviour.
Initiates thinking, acting and feeling
 A sense of being unique.
 A sense of continuity
 A Sense of awareness.
 Two Facets of the Self:
` Me-Self `

William James The ` Me` self is the self that is an

Concept of the Self object or the self that you can
describe The facet of the self
which is known or perceived or
the emprical self. The outside self.
 Two Facets of the Self:
` Me-Self `
Three Dimensions:
1. Material Self -consists of things or objects that belong to
William James the person or entities that the person belong to.(persons
body, his family, his clothes, his money)
Concept of the Self
2. Social self- to whom and how person acts in certain
situations ( we act differently when we are with others)
3. Spiritual- the more concrete and permanent aspect of the
self, the most subjective and the most intimate part of the
self. (includes person`s purpose, motives, emotions, values,
conscience nad moral behavior. The way to know the
spiritual self is through introspection.
 “Whenever two people meet, there are really
six people present. There is each man as he
sees himself, each man as the other person sees
him, and each man as he really is.” -

Man's self is the “sum total of all

that he can call his.”
2. Carl Rogers
American Psychologist.
Real Self and Ideal Self
Another aspect of understanding the self is
self-concept.
Self-concept is the image of ones self
The self develops from interaction with
significant people and self awareness
According to Rogers, human beings are
always striving for self-fulfillment or self-
actualization.
2. Carl Rogers
American Psychologist.

“The curious paradox is that when I

accept myself just as I am, then I can
change.” -Carl Rogers

Real Self and Ideal Self

2. Carl Rogers
American Psychologist.

Self Concept speaks of

how we think and view
ourselves.
2. Carl Rogers
American Psychologist.

Two Components of the

Self:

1. Real self
2. Ideal Self
2. Carl Rogers
American Psychologist.

Real Self Ideal Self

 How we genuinely  denotes one`s view
appraise our self. ones self as one wishes
 The self that is most to be.
true to what and who  It contains attributes,
we really are. usually positive, that
people aspire to possess.
2. Carl Rogers
American Psychologist.

Discrepancy between our real

self and ideal self redounds to
non -equilibrium indicating an
unhealthy personality.
3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.
“Self-belief does not necessarily ensure success, but self-
disbelief assuredly spawns failure.” -Albert Bandura

“Proactive and Agentic Self”

originators of human experience

Agentic- an individual`s power to control his or

her own goals actions and destiny.
Taking responsibility for your life and actions
rather than watching how things happen
3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.

Proactive and Agentic Self

3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.

“Humans are producers of their

life circumstance not just products
of them.”
3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.

Social cognitive Theory

views people as agents (originators) of experience
not just reactive.

suggests that humans have the ability to act and

make things happen.
3. Albert Bandura “Self-belief does not necessarily ensure success, but self-
disbelief assuredly spawns failure.” -Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.
“Proactive and Agentic Self”
originators of human experience
4 components of human agency or agentic perspective:

 intentionality- enables us to behave with purpose

 Forethought- allows us to anticipate outcome
 Self reactiveness- we canbe motivated to regulate our actions
 Self- reflection- we can reflect on our thoughts and actions and
make needed modifications
3. Albert Bandura “Self-belief does not necessarily ensure success, but self-
disbelief assuredly spawns failure.” -Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.
“emphasize social learning
emphasize the role of conscious thoughts including
efficasy
or our own beliefs in our abilities.
3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.
Self –efficacy concept- one`s
conviction or belief that he or she can
take a task successfully.

people`s belief in their capability to

exercise some measure of control over
their own functions and over
environmental events.
3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.
Bandura views people as:
 One who takes charge of his choices and actions
 More than merely planners and fore thinkers, equipped
with cognitive faculty and capacity to do so
 Agents of change
 Actively involved in shaping their own lives
 Highly motivated and not easily discouraged with
challenges
3. Albert Bandura
A renowned Psychologist.

An Agentic and Proactive Self

believes that no matter how big
the problem may seem to be, he
or she can overcome it.
4. Murray Bowen
American psychiatrist.

“We all have an infant inside of us, but

the infant doesn’t have to run the show.”
-Murray Bowen

 Differentiated Self
4. Murray Bowen “We all have an infant inside of us, but the infant
doesn’t have to run the show.” -Murray Bowen
American psychiatrist.

 Differentiation of selves refers to the

degree to which one is able to balance:
a. Emotional and intellectual functioning
b. Intimacy and autonomy in relationship
( Skowrons & Friedlander, 1998)
4. Murray Bowen
American psychiatrist.

Differentiation involves the ability to

make clear boundaries between our
thoughts and feelings, and to choose
which of the two will guide our
behavior.
4. Murray Bowen
American psychiatrist.
Highly Differentiated Individual vs.
Poorly differentiated individual

o Highly differentiated individuals are

able to balance autonomy and intimacy
in their relationship.
o Poorly differentiated individuals, may
engage in fusion of their relationship.
4. Murray Bowen
American psychiatrist.

Differentiation of self is the capacity to

achieve a clear, coherent sense of self
along with emotional relationships with
important others.
4. Murray Bowen
American psychiatrist.

Differentiation is a silent trait for attaining

mature development and psychological
well being.
(Skowron and Friedlander, 1998)
5. Donald Woods Winnicott
An English Psychoanalyst

With games, and only with games, can the child or the
adult create, and use their whole personalities, and the
individual only discovers his personality when he
becomes a creator.” Donald Woods Winnicott

 Conceptualized the TRUE

and FALSE selves
5. Donald Woods Winnicott
An English Psychoanalyst

TRUE SELF

True self is based on our authentic

experiences as a person.
5. Donald Woods Winnicott
An English Psychoanalyst

FALSE SELF
False self (fake self or superficial) is
our defense against the vulnerabilities
or imperfections of our real self.
5. Donald Woods Winnicott
An English Psychoanalyst
FALSE SELF
It’s formed as an adaptive, learned,
defense to the true self. Behind the false
persona, people may experience
emptiness, but most of the time, they
keep distracted from ever feeling that,
except, perhaps, when alone.
5. Donald Woods Winnicott
An English Psychoanalyst

Continually suppressing our true selves may

inhibit us from truly expressing who we are,
which may negatively impact our well being.
5. Donald Woods Winnicott
An English Psychoanalyst
Thank You for Listening!
Sources:
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