Republic of the Philippines

SORSOGON STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Computer and Information Technology
Bulan Campus
Bulan, Sorsogon
Tel. No: (056) 311-98-00; E-mail Add.: [email protected]

Course code and Title GEC 11 Understanding the Self

Time, Day, Venue TBA

Prerequisite None
Name of Teacher Eula Ceelin V. Barcarse
Contact information of teacher [email protected]

Term 2nd Semester S.Y. 2023-2024

Course Rationale

Course Description:
The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the factors and forces
that affect the development and maintenance of personal identity. The directive to
Know Oneself has inspired countless and varied ways to comply. Among the questions
that everyone has had to grapple with at one time or other is ―Who am I? At no other
period is this question asked more urgently than in adolescence---traditionally believed
to be a time of vulnerability and great possibilities. Issues of self and identity are
among the most critical for the young.
Also, this intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and concerns
regarding self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of one‘s self. It strives to
meet this goal by stressing the integration of the personal with the academic
contextualizing matters discussed in the classroom and in the everyday experiences of
students in making better learning, generating a new appreciation for the learning
process, and developing a more critical and reflective attitude while enabling them to
manage and improve their selves to attain a better quality of life.
Moreover, this is divided into three major parts: The first part seeks to
understand the construct of the self from various disciplinal perspectives: philosophy,
sociology, anthropology, and psychology as well as the more traditional division
between the East and West each seeking to provide answers to the difficulty but
essential question of ―What is the self? And raising, among others, the question: ―Is
there even such a construct as the self?
The second part explores some of the various aspects that make up the self,
such as the biological and material up to and including the more recent Digital Self. The
third and final part identifies three areas of concern for young students: learning, goal
setting, and managing stress.
Course Learning Outcomes
1. Determine the principles of development essential to understanding and knowing
the self.
2. Utilize the theoretical foundations in the understanding the self.
3. Value the significance of the cultural orientation of each individual.
4. Identify principles in life which are served as inspiration and goal setting.
5. Project goal-settings which served as motivation of developing and improving the
self which are reflected in the portfolio
Learning objectives:
1. Identify the different ideas in psychology about “self”
2. Create your own definition of the “self” based on the definitions from Psychology
3. Analyze the effects of various factors identified in Psychology in the formation of
the “self”

MODULE 4: Psychological Theories of the Self

Discussion:
A lot of people say. “I am who I am”. Yet, this statement still begs the question,
“if you are who you are, then who are you that makes you who you are?” Kung ikaw ay
ikaw, ano ang mayroon ka kaya ka nagiging ikaw?

William James (1890) was one of the earliest psychologists to study the self. He
conceptualized the self as having two aspects, the “I” and the “me”. According to
William James, the “I” is the thinking, acting and feeling self. The “me” is the physical
characteristics as well as psychological capabilities that make you who you are.
Carl Rogers’s (1959) theory of personality also used the same terms, the “I” as
the one who acts and decides while the “me” is what you think or feel about yourself as
an object.

Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-concept. Identity is

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.

Self, identity and self-concept are not fixed in one time frame. They are not also
fixed for life nor are the ever-changing at every moment. Think of a malleable metal,
strong and hard but can be bent and molded in other shapes. Think about water, it can
take any shape of the container, but at its core, it is still the same element.

Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or our organized system or
collection of knowledge about who we are. Imagine an organized list or a diagram
similar to the one below:

Hobbies

Family SELF Religion

Nationality

The schema is not limited to the example above. It may also include your
interests, work, age, name and physical characteristics, among others. As you grow and
adapt to the changes around you, they also change. But they are not passive receivers,
they actively shape and affect how you see, think and feel about things.

Carl Rogers (1959) believes that the self-concept has three different components:
• The view you have of yourself (self-image)
• How much value you place on yourself (self-esteem or self-worth)
• What you wish you were really like (ideal-self)

The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about,
evaluates or perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of
oneself.
Baumeister (1999) provides the following self-concept definition:
"The individual's belief about himself or herself, including the person's attributes and
who and what the self is".
The self-concept is an important term for both social and humanistic psychology. Lewis
(1990) suggests that the development of a concept of self has two aspects:

(1) The Existential Self

This is 'the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-concept; the sense of being
separate and distinct from others and the awareness of the constancy of the self' (Bee,
1992).
The child realizes that they exist as a separate entity from others and that they continue
to exist over time and space.
According to Lewis awareness of the existential self begins as young as two to three
months old and arises in part due to the relation the child has with the world. For
example, the child smiles and someone smiles back, or the child touches a mobile and
sees it move.
(2) The Categorical Self
Having realized that he or she exists as a separate experiencing being, the child next
becomes aware that he or she is also an object in the world.
Just as other objects including people have properties that can be experienced (big,
small, red, smooth and so on) so the child is becoming aware of himself or herself as an
object which can be experienced and which has properties.
The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, size or skill. Two of the first
categories to be applied are age (“I am 3”) and gender (“I am a girl”).
In early childhood. the categories children apply to themselves are very concrete (e.g.,
hair color, height and favorite things). Later, self-description also begins to include
reference to internal psychological traits, comparative evaluations and to how others
see them.

Self-image (how you see yourself)

This does not necessarily have to reflect reality. Indeed a person with anorexia who is
thin may have a self-image in which the person believes they are fat. A person's self-
image is affected by many factors, such as parental influences, friends, the media etc.
These were social roles (external or objective aspects of oneself such as son, teacher,
friend) and personality traits (internal or affective aspects of oneself such as
gregarious, impatient, humorous).
The list of answers to the question “Who Am I?” probably include examples of each of
the following four types of responses:
1) Physical Description: I’m tall, have blue eyes...etc.
2) Social Roles: We are all social beings whose behavior is shaped to some extent by
the roles we play. Such roles as student, housewife, or member of the football team not
only help others to recognize us but also help us to know what is expected of us in
various situations.
3) Personal Traits: These are the third dimension of our self-descriptions. “I’m
impulsive...I’m generous...I tend to worry a lot”...etc.
4) Existential Statements (abstract ones): These can range from "I’m a child of the
universe" to "I’m a human being" to "I’m a spiritual being"...etc.
Typically young people describe themselves more in terms of personal traits, whereas
older people feel defined to a greater extent by their social roles.

Self-esteem (the extent to which you value yourself)

Self-esteem (also known as self-worth) refers to the extent to which we like, accept or
approve of ourselves, or how much we value ourselves. Self-esteem always involves a
degree of evaluation and we may have either a positive or a negative view of ourselves.
High self-esteem (we have a positive view of ourselves)
This tends to lead to:

● Confidence in our own abilities

● Self-acceptance
● Not worrying about what others think
● Optimism

Low self-esteem (we have a negative view of ourselves)

This tends to lead to

● Lack of confidence
● Want to be/look like someone else
● Always worrying what others might think
● Pessimism

Sigmund Freud's personality theory (1923) saw the psyche structured into three parts
(i.e., tripartite), the id, ego and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives.
These are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical.
According to Freud psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of
the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-
ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates
between the desires of the id and the super-ego.

The Id

The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification
of basic physical needs and urges. It operatess entirely unconsciously (outside of
conscious thought). For example, if your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it
would most likely take the ice cream for itself. It doesn’t know, or care, that it is rude to
take something belonging to someone else; it would care only that you wanted the ice
cream.

The Superego

The superego is concerned with social rules and morals—similar to what many people
call their ” conscience ” or their “moral compass.” It develops as a child learns what their
culture considers right and wrong. If your superego walked past the same stranger, it
would not take their ice cream because it would know that that would be rude. However,
if both your id and your superego were involved, and your id was strong enough to
override your superego’s concern, you would still take the ice cream, but afterward you
would most likely feel guilt and shame over your actions.

The Ego

In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, the ego is the rational,
pragmatic part of our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious
and partly unconscious. It’s what Freud considered to be the “self,” and its job is to
balance the demands of the id and superego in the practical context of reality. So, if you
walked past the stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego would mediate the
conflict between your id (“I want that ice cream right now”) and superego (“It’s wrong to
take someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to go buy your own ice cream. While this
may mean you have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate your id, your ego
decides to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice
cream while also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and potential feelings of
shame.

Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult
personality and behavior are rooted in the results of these internal struggles throughout
childhood. He believed that a person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality
and that imbalances in this system can lead to neurosis (what we now think of as
anxiety and depression) and unhealthy behaviors.
Types of Psychology Theories

1. Developmental Theories
Developmental theories provide a set of guiding principles and concepts that
describe and explain human development. Some developmental theories focus on the
formation of a particular quality, such as Kohlberg's theory of moral development. Other
developmental theories focus on growth that happens throughout the lifespan, such
as Erikson's theory of psychosocial development.

2. Grand Theories
Grand theories are those comprehensive ideas often proposed by major thinkers such
as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and, Jean Piaget.
Grand theories of development include psychoanalytic theory, learning theory
and cognitive theory. These theories seek to explain much of human behavior but are
often considered outdated and incomplete in the face of modern research.
Psychologists and researchers often use grand theories as a basis for exploration but
consider smaller theories and recent research as well.

3. Mini-Theories
Mini-theories describe a small, very particular aspect of development. A mini-theory
might explain relatively narrow behaviors, such as how self-esteem is formed5 or early
childhood socialization.
These theories are often rooted in the ideas established by grand theories, but they do
not seek to describe and explain the whole of human behavior and growth.

4. Emergent Theories
Emergent theories are those that have been created relatively recently and are often
formed by systematically combining various mini-theories. These theories often draw on
research and ideas from different disciplines but are not yet as broad or far-reaching as
grand theories.
The sociocultural theory proposed by theorist Lev Vygotsky is a good example of an
emergent theory of development.

Developmental theories

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

Level 1: Pre-conventional
Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation
Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation
Level 2: Conventional
Stage 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl Orientation
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation
Level 3: Post-Conventional
Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation
Stage 6: Universal-Ethical-Principal Orientation
Level 1: Pre-conventional
Throughout the pre-conventional level, a child’s sense of morality is externally
controlled. Children accept and believe the rules of authority figures, such as parents
and teachers. A child with pre-conventional morality has not yet adopted or internalized
society’s conventions regarding what is right or wrong, but instead focuses largely on
external consequences that certain actions may bring.
Stage 1: Obedience-and-Punishment Orientation
Stage 1 focuses on the child’s desire to obey rules and avoid being punished. For
example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the perpetrator is punished;
the worse the punishment for the act is, the more “bad” the act is perceived to be.
Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation
Stage 2 expresses the “what’s in it for me?” position, in which right behavior is defined
by whatever the individual believes to be in their best interest. Stage two reasoning
shows a limited interest in the needs of others, only to the point where it might further
the individual’s own interests.

Level 2: Conventional
Throughout the conventional level, a child’s sense of morality is tied to personal and
societal relationships. Children continue to accept the rules of authority figures, but this
is now due to their belief that this is necessary to ensure positive relationships and
societal order. Adherence to rules and conventions is somewhat rigid during these
stages, and a rule’s appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.
Stage 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl Orientation
In stage 3, children want the approval of others and act in ways to avoid disapproval.
Emphasis is placed on good behavior and people being “nice” to others.
Stage 4: Law-and-Order Orientation
In stage 4, the child blindly accepts rules and convention because of their importance in
maintaining a functioning society. Rules are seen as being the same for everyone, and
obeying rules by doing what one is “supposed” to do is seen as valuable and important.

Level 3: Post-conventional
Throughout the post-conventional level, a person’s sense of morality is defined in terms
of more abstract principles and values. People now believe that some laws are unjust
and should be changed or eliminated. This level is marked by a growing realization that
individuals are separate entities from society and that individuals may disobey rules
inconsistent with their own principles.
Stage 5: Social-Contract Orientation
In stage 5, the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values. Such
perspectives should be mutually respected as unique to each person or community.
Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid edicts.
Stage 6: Universal-Ethical-Principal Orientation
In stage 6, moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical
principles. Generally, the chosen principles are abstract rather than concrete and focus
on ideas such as equality, dignity, or respect.

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Development

Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust
Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt
Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority
Stage 5 - Identity vs. Confusion
Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation
Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation
Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair

Stage 1: Infancy (birth to 18 months)

� Basic Conflict: Trust vs. Mistrust

� Important Events: Feeding

� Outcome: During the first stage of psychosocial development, children develop a

sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. A lack of
this will lead to mistrust.
Stage 2: Early Childhood (2 to 3 years)
● Basic Conflict: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

● Important Events: Toilet Training

● Outcome: Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical
skills and a sense of independence. Potty training plays an important role in
helping children develop this sense of autonomy. Children who struggle and who
are shamed for their accidents may be left without a sense of personal control.
Success during this stage of psychosocial development leads to feelings of
autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt.
Stage 3: Preschool (3 to 5 years)
● Basic Conflict: Initiative vs. Guilt

● Important Events: Exploration

● Outcome: Children need to begin asserting control and power over the
environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try
to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt.
Stage 4: School Age (6 to 11 years)
● Basic Conflict: Industry vs. Inferiority

● Important Events: School

● Outcome: Children need to cope with new social and academic demands.
Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of
inferiority.
Stage 5: Adolescence (12 to 18 years)
● Basic Conflict: Identity vs. Role Confusion

● Important Events: Social Relationships

Outcome: Teens need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success
leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and
a weak sense of self
Stage 6: Young Adulthood (19 to 40 years)
● Basic Conflict: Intimacy vs. Isolation

● Important Events: Relationships

● Outcome: Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other
people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness
and isolation.
Stage 7: Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years)
● Basic Conflict: Generativity vs. Stagnation

● Important Events: Work and Parenthood

● Outcome: Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by
having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success
leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in
shallow involvement in the world.
Stage 8: Maturity (65 to death)
● Basic Conflict: Ego Integrity vs. Despair

● Important Events: Reflection on life

● Outcome: Erikson's theory differed from many others because it addressed

development throughout the entire lifespan, including old age. Older adults need
to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to
feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair. At this
stage, people reflect back on the events of their lives and take stock. Those who
look back on a life they feel was well-lived will feel satisfied and ready to face the
end of their lives with a sense of peace. Those who look back and only feel
regret will instead feel fearful that their lives will end without accomplishing the
things they feel they should have.
Assignment:

Your Personal Identity

“Who Are You”

Family History Values

Strengths Hopes for

The future

Interests
1. Please write your BRIEF answers inside the circle:

Family History- From what place do your family originate from?

Values- What is really important to you?
Strengths- What skills and talents do you have?
Interests- What are you most interested in?

2. In paragraph form, relate and connect each aspect with one another and explain
how those characteristics make you YOU.

Scoring Rubric:
Above Meets Approaching Below
Expectation Expectaion Expectation Expectation
4 3 2 1
Reflective The reflection The reflection The reflection The reflection
Thinking explains the explains the attempts to does not
student’s own student’s demonstrate address the
thinking and thinking about thinking about student’s
learning his/her own learning but is thinking and/or
processes, as learning vague and/or learning.
well as processes. unclear about
implications for the personal
future learning. learning
process.
Analysis The reflection The reflection The reflection The reflection
is an in-depth is an analysis attempts to does not move
analysis of the of the learning analyze the beyond a
learning experience and learning description of
experience, the the value of the experience but the learning
value of the derived the value of the experience.
derived learning to self learning to the
learning to self or others. student or
or others, and others is vague
the and/or unclear.
enhancement
of the student’s
appreciation
for the
discipline.
 Making The reflection The reflection The reflection The reflection
Connections articulates articulates attempts to does not
multiple connections articulate articulate any
connections between this connections connection to
between this learning between this other learning
learning experience and learning experiences.
experience and content from experience and
content from other courses, content form
other courses, past learning other courses,
past learning, experiences, past learning
life and/or future experiences, or
experiences goals. personal goals,
and/or future but the
goals. connection is
vague and/or
unclear.

References and materials:

● Understanding the Self (2018) by Eden Joy Pastor Alata, Bernardo Nicolas
Caslib Jr, Janice Patria Javier Serafica and R.A. Pilawen
● Albert Bandura, (1994) Social Cognitive Theory of Personality, In Pervin and
John (eds.), Handbook of Personality Theory and Re-search, 2nd edition
(Guilford Press), 134-194.
● T. Csordas.,(1999)., Self and Person, in Bode (ed.), Psychological Anthropology
(Praeger, 1999), 331-350.
● S. Harter, (1996).Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues involving the
Self-Concept, In Bracken (ed.) Handbook of John Wiley and Sons, Inc., (1996).,
Self-Concept: Developmental, Social and Critical Considerations (John Wiley and
Sons, Inc., 1-37.
● Harry Triandis, (1989) The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural
Contexts In Psychological Review Vol. 96, No. 3, 506-520.