Republic of the Philippines

Province of Northern Samar

Municipality of Las Navas
COLEGIO DE LAS NAVAS
(The First Community College in the Island of Samar)

COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

COURSE MODULE

Course Code Course Title Name of Student Contact Number

GE 10 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

TITLE:

PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND IDENTITY

OVERVIEW:

Every field of study have their own research, definition, and conceptualization of self and identity. Some are similar,
while some are specific only in their field. In this module, the self will be defined from psychological and cultural
perspectives, taking into context major cognitive and environmental factors that affect the individual.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this module, students should be able to:

1 Identify different ideas in psychology about the self;

2. Create a self-schema based on Carl Roger’s concept of the self;
3. Differentiate the concept of self between western and eastern perspectives; and
4. Create a representation of the Filipino self.

DISCUSSION OF TOPICS

LESSON 1: THE SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT

In confidence or in an attempt to avoid further analytical questions, 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?”

There are various definitions of the “self” and other similar or interchangeable concepts in psychology. But simply
put, “self” is the sense of personal identity and of who we are as individuals (Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014).

1. “I” vs “Me”
William James conceptualized the self as having two aspects, the “I” and the “Me”. The “I” is the thinking,
acting, and feeling self while the “Me” is the physical characteristics as well as the psychological
capabilities that makes you who you are.

2. Identity – composed of personal characteristics, social roles and responsibilities, as well as affiliations
that define who one is.

3. Self-concept – what basically comes to mind when asked about who we are

These concepts of the self are not fixed in one time frame or for life, nor are they ever changing at every moment.
They are like a malleable metal, strong and hard but can be bent and molded in other shapes; or like water which
can take any shape of the container and still remain the same element. This idea is best captured in Carl Roger’s
concept of self –schema that change as we grow older,

“Molding Holistic Individuals for a Brighter Tomorrow”

1
 Republic of the Philippines
Province of Northern Samar
Municipality of Las Navas
COLEGIO DE LAS NAVAS
(The First Community College in the Island of Samar)

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND CONCEPTS OF THE SELF

1. Carl Roger’s concept of Self-Schema refers to our organized system or collection of knowledge about who we
are. It may include our family, religion, nationality, interests, physical characteristics, age, and name among others
(see diagram below). As we grow and adapt to change, they also change.

Carl Roger’s self-schema

2. Sigmund Freud – saw the self , its mental processes, and one’s behavior as the results of the interaction between
the Id, Ego and the Superego.

3. G.H. Mead’s theory of Symbolic Interactionism argued that the self is created and developed through human
interaction. Oyserman, Elmore and Smith (2012) cited three reasons why self and identity are social products:
a. Society helped in creating the foundations of who we are.
b. We need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are.
c. What we think is important to us may also have been influenced by what is important in our social or
historical context.

4. Self-awareness is when we are aware of our self-concepts. Carver and Scheier (1981) identified two types of self
that we can be aware of:
a. private self – intern al standards, private thoughts and feelings
b. public self – public image commonly geared toward having a good presentation of yourself to others

5. Self-esteem is defined as our own positive or negative perception or evaluation of ourselves.

6. Social Comparison theory states that we learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well
as our social status, by comparing aspects of ourselves with other people.
a. downward social comparison – creates a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves with those who
are worse off than us
b. upward social comparison – comparing ourselves with those who are better off than us.. may serve as
motivation to others, but most of the times produce low self-esteem

7. Self-evaluation maintenance theory states that we can feel threatened when someone out-performs us,
especially when that person is close to us (i.e. friend or family). There are three common reactions to this:
a. creating distance or redefining relationship with the person who outperformed us
b. letting go of the skills where we got beaten and finding other hobbies where we could excel
c. improving ourselves through trainings and seminars

8. Narcissism is a “trait characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness”.

LESSON 2: THE SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHTS

Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different perceptions of the “self”. And one of the most
common distinctions between cultures and people is the Eastern-vs-Western dichotomy wherein Eastern
represents Asia and Western represents Europe and Northern America.

In this lesson, we will look at religious beliefs and political philosophies that greatly influenced the mindset of each
nation or culture. Since almost all the theories about the self, which were discussed in the previous lessons also

“Molding Holistic Individuals for a Brighter Tomorrow”

2
 Republic of the Philippines
Province of Northern Samar
Municipality of Las Navas
COLEGIO DE LAS NAVAS
(The First Community College in the Island of Samar)

came from the Western scientific research, we will highlight the Eastern thoughts in this lesson.

CONFUCIANISM

Confucianism can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one should properly act
according to their relationship with other people. Therefore, the identity and self-concept of
the individual are interwoven with the identity and status of his/her community or culture,
sharing its pride as well as its failures (Ho 1995). The cultivated self in Confucianism is what
some scholars call a “subdued self” wherein personal needs are repressed (subdued) for the
good of many.

TAOISM

Taoism is living in the way of the Tao or the universe. It rejects the hierarchy and strictness
of Confucianism and would prefer a simple lifestyle. For the Taoist, the self is not just an
extension of the family or community; it is part of the universe. The ideal self is
selflessness—living a balances life with society and nature, being open and accepting to
change, forgetting about prejudices and egocentric ideas and thinking about equality among
humans as well as other beings. It means acting spontaneously because you are in harmony
with everything and not because of some legalistic standards.

BUDDHISM

Various groups who have adopted Buddhism have differences in their teachings, but
more likely, their core concepts remained the same. The self is seen as an illusion, born
out of ignorance, of trying to hold and control things; thus, the self is also the source of
all these sufferings (Ho 1995). It is therefore our quest to forget the self, forget the
cravings of the self, break the attachments you have with the world, and to renounce the
self which is the cause of all suffering and in doing so, attain the state of Nirvana.

SYNTHESIS

WESTERN PHILOSOPHY EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

VIEW OF THE SELF Self is distinct from other persons and from the Self is just a part of a whole. One does not create a self
things the self create. You compare yourself to be above other people or nature but one that is beneficial
better; you create associations and bask in the glory and is in harmony with everything else.
of that group for your self-esteem; you put primacy
in developing yourself.

DESCRIPTION OF Talk more of their personal attributes. Talk more of their social roles or the social situations
THE SELF that invoked certain traits that they deem positive for
themselves.

EVALUATION OF Highlights their personal achievements Keeps a low profile as promoting the self can be seen
THE SELF as boastfulness that disrupts social relationships.

“Molding Holistic Individuals for a Brighter Tomorrow”

3
 Republic of the Philippines
Province of Northern Samar
Municipality of Las Navas
COLEGIO DE LAS NAVAS
(The First Community College in the Island of Samar)

CULTURE Individualistic (focus is on the person) Collectivistic (focus is on group and social relations)”

VALUES equality and “fair play” hierarchy

SELF-CHECK TEST:
Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. This refers to personal characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities.

a. self-concept c. self-awareness
b. self-identity d. self-esteem

2. 2. Which of the following elements CANNOT be considered as an analogy to self?

a. plastic c. metal
b. water d. none of the above

3. The private self is concerned with

a. internal standards c. virtual reality connectedness
b. good presentation of self to others d. socialization

4. Creating a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves with those who are far worse than us is called
a. downward social comparison c. downward social distancing
b. upward social comparison d. upward social distancing

5. The part of the brain which is considered as the specific area associated with processes concerning self is the
a. frontal lobe c. temporal lobe
b. parietal lobe d. hind lobe

6. If the focus of Confucianism is hierarchy to maintain order and balance, the focus of Buddhism is
a. spontaneous acts c. forgetting about one’s self
b. ethical conduct d. openness and accepting to change

7. For Westerners, the self is seen as

a. separate and distinct from others c. in harmony with nature
b. part of the things we create d. bound by social norms

8. The ideal self, according to this belief, is selfelssness – being able to act spontaneously because one is in harmony with the universe
a. Confucianism c. Hinduism
b. Buddhism d. Taoism

9. Westerners emphasize more on the value of ______________?

a. equality and fair play c. love and forbearance
b. justice and loyalty d. heroism and chivalry

10. Which of the following eastern thoughts sees the self as the source of suffering?
a. Taoism c. Buddhism
b. Confucianism d. Hinduism

EVALUATION ACTIVITIES:

Create a representation, diagram, or concept map of the SELF according to Filipino culture. Provide a brief
explanation of your output. You can also cite books and researches about Filipino culture, self, and identity to
further elaborate on the topic.

“Molding Holistic Individuals for a Brighter Tomorrow”

4
 Republic of the Philippines
Province of Northern Samar
Municipality of Las Navas
COLEGIO DE LAS NAVAS
(The First Community College in the Island of Samar)

REFERENCES:

Alata, E.J.P. et al. (2019). Understanding the Self. Quezon City: Rex Bookstore.

“I” and “Me”: The Self In The Context of Consciousness

https://www.frontiersin.org

“Molding Holistic Individuals for a Brighter Tomorrow”

5