Psychological Self Self characteristics as well as

HOW people define themselves in relation to others psychological capabilities

greatly influences how they THINK, FEEL, and BEHAVE, that makes who you are.
and is ultimately related to the construct of identity The greatest discovery of my generation is that human
beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of
Psychology mind.
Greek words “psyche” and “logos”
literally means the study of souls I Self Me Self
What people see or Individuals’ reflections
Scientific Definition: The scientific study of behavior
perceive themselves doing about themselves
and mental processes. The one who acts and What you think or feel
decides about yourself
Why study Psychology?
Carl Rogers (Phases of the Self: I and Me)
The study will give you new ways to look at and
interpret your world and the people who inhabit it.
- Physiological: Organism’s Physical Process
When I look at the world I’m pessimistic but when I look
- Cognitive: Organism’s thinking and Understanding
at people I optimistic.
- Help you gain a better understanding of your own
behavior
Other terms of SELF such as: self-view, self-image, self-
- Can provide useful insight into behavior
schema, and self-concept.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Identity is composed of personal characteristics, social
Austrian Neurologist, Father of Psychoanalysis roles, and responsibilities.
According to him: Self-Concept = the totality of individual’s thoughts and
- humans are being manipulative feelings having reference to himself as an object.
- human mind is the source of subjectivity society (Rosenberg, 1979, p.7)
affects our psychological thinking Includes: Cognitive, Behavioral, Affective Component

His view of human nature is that human are Self-concept – a term used to refer to how someone
BIOLOGICAL ORGANISMS motivated by the thinks about or perceive them. To be aware of oneself
SATISFACTION of BODILY NEEDS and with motivating is to have a concept of oneself.
forces that drive behavior. - The individual’s belief about himself/herself, including
the person’s attributes and who and what the self is.

ID (wants) EGO (realistic SUPEREGO Self-concept includes two different experiences of the
principle) (Morality) self.
Reduce tension Balances the Conscience –
by satisfying desires of the results from The Existential Self The Categorical Self
basic desires people and how experiences with The sense of being The self-concept (and the
(Instant to present it punishments for separate and distinct from concept of others) tends
gratification) improper others and the awareness to focus on his/her own
behavior and of the constancy of the visible characteristics
tells us what we self.
should not do.
Ego-Ideal –
develops from The self can be defined in different ways
experiences with
rewards for “I” or existential self “Me” of categorical self
proper behavior Refers to the subjective Refers to the objective
and tells us what aspect of existence understanding of one’s
we should do including personal agency personal experiences
and continued existence (physical appearance,
across time. personality traits, and
The child is the Father of a Man. cognitive abilities)
Personality is shaped by early childhood experiences.
Self- Concept encompasses 3 things
William James (1842-1910)
1) Self-image is what you see in yourself. It does not
-one of the first to postulate a theory of the self in The
necessarily have to reflect reality.
Principles of Psychology
Includes: Physical description, Social Roles, Personal
- described two aspects of the self that he termed the I
traits, Existential Statements
self and Me Self
2) Ideal Self refers to how you wish you were, and how
you think you should be (Ought To well). It is shaped by
I Self Me Self your life experiences and messages you received from
Thinking, Feeling, Acting The physical other people about how you should be cultural values,
 and things you admired in role models (idealized Worrying about what
image). others might think
In psychology, real self and ideal self are terms used to
describe personality domains.
The real self is WHO WE ACTUALLY ARE. It is HOW WE Hate yourself? Just remember that the creator of the
THINK, HOW WE FEEL, LOOK, and ACT. The real self universe and everything within it designed you to be the
can be seen by others, but because we have no way of way you are. You’re perfect.
truly knowing how others view us, the real self is our
self-image.
SELF-CONEPT (also called self-awareness)
I am, I Decide, I Evolve, I Advance, and I Let go Carver and Scheler (1981) identified 2 types of self that
we can be aware of:
A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with their actual 1) The PRIVATE self – your internal standards and
experience (real self), or what is even possible. This is
private thoughts and feelings
called incongruence. 2) The PUBLIC self – public image commonly geared
Incongruent Congruent toward having a good presentation of you to others.

The self-image is different to

The
the
self-image is similar to the Self-awareness presents 3 other self-schema:
a. Actual self – who you are at the moment
ideal self ideal self
b. Ideal self – who you like to be
There is only a little overlap There is a more overlap c. Ought self – who you think you should be

Self-actualization will be difficult Can self-actualize SELF-CONCIOUSNESS

- When SELF-AWARENESS can be too much that we are
concerned about being observed and criticized by
3) Self-esteem and Self-worth others. Sometimes we experience DEINDIVIDUATION or
Self-esteem refers to the extent to which we like, the “LOSS OF INDIVIDUAL SELF-AWARENESS AND
accept, or improve of ourselves; or how much we value INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN GROUPS”
ourselves. Involves a degree of evaluation, and we may
have either a positive or a negative view of ourselves. True Self False Self
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP affects our SELF ESTEEM through Self-determined Dependency on others
SOCIAL COMPARISON. It is when I:
- set my own boundaries
SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY
- am aware of my own
we learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our beliefs and desires
behaviors, as well as our social status by comparing - can say ‘yes’ and ‘no’
aspects of ourselves with the other people. when required
Carl Rogers
2 types of Social Comparison Ideal Self – what we want to be
Real Self – who we are
Advantages Disadvantage Congruency – our ideal self needs to match our actual
self for us to be a fully functioning person – this will give
High Self-Esteem Narcissism
us a positive self-concept.
Confidence in our own
We have free will.
abilities
We need unconditional positive regard
Self-acceptance
- Total acceptance (we need to give it and receive it)
Not worrying about what
others think
your vision will become clear only when you can look in
Optimism
to your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; that
1) Downward Social Comparison looks inside, awake. (Carl Jung)
- Comparing ourselves with those who are worse off
than us creates. HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SELF-CONCEPT?
- Identify and recognize your strengths to improve
2) Upward Social Comparison confidence
- Comparing ourselves with those who are better off - Learn to praise yourself
than us creates. - Develop a positive attitude
- Spend time with supportive friends
Advantages Disadvantages
Stop letting other people define you, be yourself and be
Low Self-Esteem proud of it.
Lack of Confidence Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.
Wanting to look like
others WESTERN AND EUROPEAN THOUGHTS
Sources on the perspective of the Self: 3) RITUAL- proper conduct
- Literature (hero/villain)
- Socialization (boss/subordinate) 5 Basic Virtues
- Artworks, dances and clothing Ren – benevolence, humaneness
Li – righteous, justice
Western vs Eastern Yi – proper, rite
- Religious beliefs ZHi - knowledge
-Political Philosophers Xin – intergrity

CONFUCIANISM
Individualism Collectivism - focused on having a harmonious social life
Put themselves first Preserving and success of - “subdued self” personal needs are repressed for the
the group is more good of many making Confucian society also
important hierarchical or the purpose of maintaining order and
Dedicated to independent Paying attention to the
balance in society. (Ho, 1995)
thinking and self-reliance needs and feeling of each
member of the group I establish my relationship with others in authentic love
Distant to the feelings of Sensitive with the feelings
and care.
others of the members of the
group to each other TAOISM (DAOISM)
WESTERN EASTERN
A Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao Tzu
SELF DESCRIPTIONS
Talk about their personal Talk about their social advocating humility and religious piety.
attributes roles or the social
The 3 Treasure or 3 Jewels ( 3 ESSENTIAL ENERGIES
situations
SELF EVALUATIONS SUSTAINING HUMAN LIFE)
Highlight their personal Keep a low profile as Jing – ‘essence
achievements promoting the self can be Qi – ‘energy’
seen as boastfulness Shen – ‘spirit’
VALUES
Emphasize more on the Put more emphasis on A central feature of Taoism is harmony between people
value of equality hierarchy as the culture and their environment. Nature or Tao.
wants to keep things in The Tao Chi (Yin-yang diagram) is an example of the
harmony and order value of harmony with the environment. It is also
(Qingxue, 2003)
applied to the concept of health for energy (qi/chi),
VIEWPOINT
balance for disease prevention, healing, and the
Looks at the world in Sees the other person as
DUALITIES wherein you part of yourself as well as development of human potential.
are distinct from other the things you may create.
TAOISM
person, the creator is (Wolter, 2012)
separate from the object - is living in the way of the TAO or the UNIVERSE
he created. (Wolter, 2012) - Self is part of the universe (Ho, 1995)
CULTURE - Self is in harmony with everything
INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURE COLLECTIVIST CULTURE –
– focus on one person group and social relations I am serious in taking care of the environment because
that is given more consider it as an integral part of me.
importance
Family problems are resolved through silence. Only time
WESTERN THOUGHTS
can heal.
- They give higher value with their personal rights
- The western society is trying to find and prove the
BUDDHISM
“truth”.
- World’s 4th largest religion with over 520M followers
(7% of world’s population)
EASTERN THOUGHTS
- GOAL OF OVERCOMING SUFFERING AND THE CYCLE
- Accepting the reality of life and interested in
OF DEATH AND REBIRTH
maintaining the balance of life
- Giving more value to social responsibility 3 MARKS OF EXISTENCE
1) IMPERMANENCE (annica) – nothing lasts and
CONFUCIANISM (aka RUISM) is described as tradition, a everything decays
philosophy, a humanistic/rationalistic religion which 2) SUFFERING (dukkha) – everything is conditioned and
was developed from the teachings of the Chinese conditioning
philosopher CONFUCIOUS (1551-1479 BCE). 3) NON- SELF (anatta) – denies that there is anything
called “SELF”
3 essential core values of Confucianism
1) FILIAL PIETY – respect for elders The self is an illusion and also the source of sufferings.
2) HUMANENESS - goodness (Ho, 1995)
SOCIOLOGICAL SELF Sociocentric Egocentric
The membership of a The self is viewed as
SOCIOLOGY is the study of society, social institutions, person in a particular autonomous and distinct
and social relationships. group defines the individual with inherent
boundaries of the self. characteristics.
Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) introduced the
looking-glass self to highlight that the people whom a 2 ways in which self is viewed in different societies
person interacts become a mirror in which he views Changes in one’s identity usually involve rites of passage
himself. that prepare individuals for new roles from stage of life
to another.
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) believes that a child Three-phased rite of passage
see himself/herself as the focus of their own world and 1) SEPARATION PHASE – people detach from their
they don’t really care what other people of them. They former identity to another
also lack the ability of seeing other person’s 2) LIMINALITY PHASE – a person transitions from one
perspective. identity to another
3) INCORPORATION PHASE – the change in one’s status
Three stages:
is officially incorporated.
1) Preparatory Stage (birth to 2) – children interact with
others through imitation.
2) Play stage (2 to 6) – children become more aware of
the importance of social relationships. They are simply
capable of mimicking social interactions; they’re
capable of creating them.
3) Game stage (6 to 9) – children’s understanding of
social interactions become even more developed.
Children became able to consider attitudes, beliefs, and
behaviors of the individual who are closest to them.

Me (social self) I (response to social self)

How we believed others Our personal responses on
sees us. It is what we what our society thinks
learn through interactions
with others

Mead would who we are, our actual self is balance of

both “I” and “Me”.

Anthropology is the field of social science that focuses

on the study of man.
4 subfields of Anthropology:
1) Archaeology - the study of human activity through
the recovery and analysis of material culture.
Artifacts are tools and objects past people have made.
2) Biological Anthropology – is the biological aspect of a
man. To know how humans being might have evolved
from their early forms.
3) Linguistic Anthropology – aims to discover how
language is used to create and share meanings to form
ideas and concepts and to promote social change.
4) Cultural Anthropology - is a branch of anthropology
focused on the study of cultural variation among
humans.

Theory of Cultural Determinism – states that cultural

diversities are manifested in different ways and at
different level of depth.
Symbols – words, gestures, pictures or objects that
have a recognized meaning in a particular culture.
Rituals – activities participated in a group of people for
the fulfillment of desired objectives and are considered
to be socially essential.
Values- core of every culture