Understanding the self IDENTITY VS.

SELF
Self and identity are two related concepts that are often
AN OVERVIEW OF SELF/IDENTITY used interchangeably (Tap & Sordes-Ader, 2012).
- Understanding the self is crucial and it takes
time and effort. Many people are trying to IDENTITY - An individual’s sense of self defined by (a) a
understand themselves in a context of isolation set of physical, psychological, and interpersonal
and vagueness. But according to Baumeister characteristics that is not wholly shared with any other
(2011), there are 3 conceptual or experiential person and (b) a range of affiliations (e.g., ethnicity) and
roots to explain the self. For him, self is a social roles. Identity involves a sense of continuity, or
knowledge structure, an interpersonal being, the feeling that one is the same person today that one
and an an agent with executive function. was yesterday or last year (despite physical or other
changes). Such a sense is derived from one’s body
Self is a knowledge structure. sensations; one’s body image; and the feeling that one’s
- We are capable of self-awareness, and we use it memories, goals, values, expectations, and beliefs
to build up extensive stores of information belong to the self.
about ourselves.
Self is an interpersonal being. SELF - The totality of the individual, consisting of all
- The self's most important functions involve with characteristic attributes, conscious and unconscious,
interpersonal processes and how we relate to mental and physical. Apart from its basic reference to
others. personal identity, being, and experience, the term’s use
Self is an agent with executive function. in psychology is wide-ranging.
- Self is not just a being but also makes choices, The self refers to a person's overall attributes or
initiates action, have a control over the qualities, both known and unknown to others (but
environment, and regulates its own responses known to oneself).
and inner processes.
- FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELF/IDENTITY
Scholars from various disciplines have attempted to
explain and completely expound on a variety of HEREDITARY FACTOR - heredity is the sum of all
questions and conflicts concerning the nature, biological processes by which particular characteristics
existence, and dimensionality of the self. The most are transmitted from parents to their offspring.
common self-related concerns are nature vs. nurture, Heredity causes both similarities and differences in
identity vs. self, and dimensions of the self. people.

ISSUES ABOUT THE SELF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR - Everything in your

- One of the debates about the self-concerns the surrounding is part of your environment. You had little
relationship between nature and nurture. It is control over your surroundings as an infant, but have
focused on how much each factor contributes more autonomy as you get older. And you will most
to many aspects of human behavior, including likely be able to control your environment over time.
personality, cognitive characteristics, You have two different types of environments that have
temperament, and psychopathology. significant impact on your personal growth:

NATURE VS. NURTURE Psychological and Personal Environments

NATURE - The natural basis of the self is anchored on Psychological Environment It is composed of
biology and explains that human traits are passed from attitudes expressed by people around you.
one generation to another. Includes: Feelings and beliefs of family
NURTURE - Argues that the self should be principally members, instructors, colleagues, and friends.
viewed as an outcome of various nurturing factors in These people has a great impact on your
the context of one's life. attitudes. You have some power over your
 psychological environment by choosing the There are various factors that can affect self-concept,
people you wanted to be with. these include: age, sexual orientation, gender and
Physical Environment The place where you religion. The self-concept is also made up of a
grow up is one of the major factor that combination of self-esteem and self-image.
influence yourself and identity. When you were
young, you have no to little power of your your ROGER’S THREE PARTS OF SELF-CONCEPT
physical environment but as you grow older you Carl Rogers proposed that self-concept is made up of
will have the freedom to choose where you three different parts:
want to live.
Ideal self: The ideal self is the person you aspire
SOCIAL FACTOR - It refers to the impact of important to be. II possesses the characteristics or traits
persons in one's life. It largely comprises the family, you are striving for or desire to have. It's who
which shapes the majority of an individual's basic you see yourself to be if everything went
attitudes and behaviors. Many social scientists refer to according to plan.
it as the "nursery of human nature." In this social group, Self-image: It is the way you now perceive
an individual does not only acquire biological yourself. Your self-image is influenced by a
characteristics (through heredity) but also learn, both variety of factors, including physical qualities,
directly and indirectly, certain behaviors and characters. psychological traits, and social roles.
Social factors are strong foundations of one's being. Self-esteem: It is influenced by how much you
During the developmental years, the traits acquired like, accept, and appreciate yourself. Numerous
from the influences of social groups are combined to things, such as how other people see you, how
produce one's identity, or distinctiveness and you feel you stack up against other people, and
similarities with others. Psychologists define this your place in society, can have an impact on
process of character and trait integration (or identity your sense of self-worth.
formation) as personality formation.

CULTURAL HERITAGE - Cultural heritage consists of

acquired behaviors, beliefs, and languages passed down
from generation to generation. Your culture is defined
by the foods you eat, the festivals you celebrate, and
the traditions you follow.

ETHNIC GROUP - An ethnic group is made up of Self-concept is not always aligned with reality. If its is
individuals who shared racial and/or cultural features aligned it means it is congruent. Your self-concept is
such as racial background, language, religion, and said to be congruent when it is aligned. Your self-
customs. concept is incongruent if there is a discrepancy
between how you perceive yourself (your self-image)
SELF-CONCEPT AND ITS DYNAMICS and who you desire to be (your ideal self). This
One’s description and evaluation of oneself, including incongruence can negatively affect self-esteem.
psychological and physical characteristics, qualities,
skills, roles and so forth. Self-concepts contribute to the
individual’s sense of identity over time. The conscious
representation of self-concept is dependent in part on
non-conscious schematization of the self (see schema).
Although self-concepts are usually available to some
degree to the consciousness, they may be inhibited
from representation yet still influence judgment, mood,
and behavioral patterns. Also called self-appraisal; self-
assessment; self-evaluation; self-rating.
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF For him, there was a soul first before man’s body. The
As children, we were taught to spell or write our names. soul has knowledge by direct intuition and all these are
Further, we were told to refer to this name when talking stored in his mind. However, once he came to the
about ourselves. But really, who exactly are we? What material world, he lost it in the world of senses. He
do we mean by the “SELF”? forgot most of what he knew. This resulted in the lack of
Are we souls, or minds or combination of body and knowledge or ignorance which causes problems to a
mind? Will we survive bodily death because we are man. But this can be restored through dialectic method
more than a body or when our body is dead, that is or the Socratic Method, a sort of intellectual midwifery
really the end? trying to painfully coax knowledge out of man. It is the
The philosophical search seeks to uncover who man is exchange of question and answer that ultimately aims
and his nature by focusing not just on a man's everyday to make the person remember all the knowledge that
aspirations, but also on what ultimately defines him, his he has forgotten.
ambitions, and his identity. From the primeval to
modern day, there is no universal answer to the Plato (428/427- 348/347 BCE)
question of "WHO AM I?" depending on how we - Socrates’ prized student
understand and analyze this "simple yet tough to - Founded the Academy (Academia) or the prototype of
answer" question, there are variety of ways to answer the modern university (Law, S., 2007) Plato believed
this. that man is composed of body and soul. The soul is the
To help and guide us, we will now look at how some of true self which is the unchanging and permanent self.
our history's great brains addressed the question, The soul is the true self, the unchanging and eternal
"WHO AM I?" ” self. The body is a replica of the true self that changes,
Philosophy of the self has been defined through two ages, and so forth. The body is seen as a prison for our
distinct lenses: Rationalism and Empiricism soul. Through contemplation or mental communion
with universal and timeless ideas, we can release
Rationalism Reason is the fundamental and most ourselves from the confinement of our body senses. We
superior source of understanding about reality. Sense live even in the absence of bodies, according to him,
experience is an inaccurate and insufficient path to because we are merely souls.
knowledge. Fundamental world concepts can be known
a priori: they are either innate or self-evident to He also thought that the soul is made up of three
consciousness. parts:
Empiricism Sense experience is the only source of a. Rational soul – responsible for reason and intellect
authentic knowledge about the world. Unless it is b. Spirited soul – in charge of emotions
founded on the solid bedrock of sense experience, c. Appetitive soul – in charge of eating, drinking,
reason is an untrustworthy and inadequate path to sleeping, and even sexual desires.
knowledge. There is no such thing as innate knowledge
because knowledge is gained via experience. The mind St. Augustine (354-430 AD)
before experience is a tabula rasa, a blank slate. - Self-confessed sinner
- Bishop of Canterbury
Socrates (470–399 BCE) - Inspired by Plato
- “Market Philosopher” - Man is of a bifurcated nature.
- “An unexamined life is not worth living” - Two aspects:
- Socratic Method - Imperfect (earthly)
- Concerned with the problem of the self. - capable of reaching immortality
- Dualistic - every man is composed of body and soul - Goal of the person: To attain communion with the
- Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue. As the ultimate divine Taking his cue from Plato’s idea of ideal world or
virtue, it will lead to ultimate happiness. the world of forms, gave him a philosophical idea of
- "Mastering yourself is true power" God and paved the way for his return to Christianity.
According to him, our world is only temporary home
(AD 426). The real world is where the God is, as God is
the ultimate expression of love (City of God, Books Man is a free agent, capable of choosing his own
XI XXII). He created man in His likeness out of that love. decisions (Kant, 1781). We are endowed with both
Man seeks happiness, but it can only be found in God. reason and free will. We can choose whether or not to
Furthermore, moral rule exists and is enforced in the be moral. He underlined that no one should be
mind so that we can distinguish between right and exploited or used. Man should not be reduced to a
wrong. We do, however, have Eternal Law, which thing; rather, he should be appreciated as a person. To
should be universally observed because it comes from know our obligation, we must think about it rationally,
the Eternal Reason or God Himself. This is the moral law not anticipate higher authority to hand it to us, and not
that tells us if our actions are morally good or wrong. let our emotions guide us.

Rene Descartes (1596- 1650) Sigmund Freud (1856- 1939)

- Father of Modern Philosophy - Father of Psychoanalysis
- “I think, therefore, I am.” (Cogito ergo sum) - “The ego is not the master on its own.”
- Doubts the existence of his own physical body Sigmund Freud believed that our mind has three
- The mind and soul can exist without the body. components:
- Establishing the distinction of soul from the body can a. Id – desires and impulses
make people believe in the afterlife and the soul's b. Ego – Self (negotiator)
immortality. c. Superego – moral standards or the ethical component
Rene Descartes emphasized that man has the mind of personality.
(cogito) and body (extenza) that are separate but the He also believed that the conflict between the id and
mind is conjoined with the body. the superego takes place in the subconscious mind. And
This has led him to the conclusion that self is a thinking the ego's realm is found in the conscious mind.
being, because while he can question whether he has a
true body or if his senses are deceiving him, one thing Gilbert Ryle (1900- 1976)
he cannot deny is that he is thinking. For him, even Through linguistic study, his philosophy focuses on
when the body dies, the mind can continue to exist and language. He thinks that philosophical difficulties arose
function. solely because of linguistic difficulty caused by
misinterpretation, misunderstanding, and so on (1949).
John Locke (1632- 1704) The mind expresses the full system of human thoughts,
- Father of Classical Liberalism emotions, behaviors, and so on (Ryle, 1949). This mind
- Inspired by Descartes is a component of the body. Because we can only know
According to John Locke (1975), our self is not locked in about a person by seeing how he behaves, his habits,
the mind, soul, or body only. In his definition of self, he and reactions in different situations, we can only learn
included the concept of a person's memories. Identity about him.
exists only in consciousness, not in the body and spirit.
He believes in the memory hypothesis, which states Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908- 1961)
that we are the same person as we were in the past as From infancy until adulthood, the self is a constant flow
long as we can recall something from that past. In the of movement and expression. It stems from our
memory theory, personal identity is explained in terms conscious human experience. It all comes down to how
of psychological relationships throughout life stages. one perceives and interprets their experiences. From
We are connected to the past as long as our memories infancy until adulthood, the self is a constant flow of
are there. movement and expression. It stems from our conscious
human experience. It all comes down to how one
Immanuel Kant (1724- 1804) perceives and interprets their experiences.
- “All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds
then to the understanding, and ends with the reason. Body – the physical presence of a person Category
There is nothing higher than reason.” Mistake – is a term coined by philosopher Gilbert Ryle
that refers to a type of informal fallacy in which things
that belong to one grouping are mistakenly placed in
another.
Dualism – In philosophy of mind, dualism is the position
that mental phenomena are, in some respects,
nonphysical and that as a result the mind and physical
body are not identical.
Form – (in Greek morphe), which refers to the essence
of a thing, that which makes it what it is.
Matter – (in Greek, hyle), which refers to the common
“stuff” that makes up the material universe.
Mind – Considered as a separate part of the body which
is unseen
Soul – Interchanged at times with the concept of mind.
Considered as that part of the body that transcends the
death of the body

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

As a social entity, the self is shaped by his culture. A
significant part of who we are is a result of how culture
was embedded in the roots of our being.
What is Social norm?
- rule or standard of behavior shared by
members of a social group.

DIFFERENT PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEY VIEW THE SELF

CARL ROGERS (SELF-CONCEPT)
- According to Rogers (1959), a person cannot
"grow" unless they are in an environment that
fosters genuineness (openness and
self-disclosure), acceptance (being seen and
treated with unwavering positive regard), and
empathy (being heard and understood).

SELF-CONCEPT AND ITS DYNAMICS

SENSE OF IDENTITY OVER TIME (self-concept)
- One’s description and evaluation of oneself,
including psychological and physical
characteristics, qualities, skills, roles, and so
forth. Self-concepts contribute to the
individual’s sense of identity over time The self-
concept is also made up of a combination of
self-esteem and self-image
FACTORS AFFECTING SEL-CONCEPT
- past experiences
- personality traits
George Herbert Mead exhaustively studied the behavior - abilities
of man in relation to the self as part of the society. - physical features
- values
FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM - goals
- social roles
CARL ROGERS proposed that self-concept is made up of
three different parts:
• Ideal self - The ideal self is the person you aspire to
be. II possesses the characteristics or traits you are
striving for or desire to have. It's who you see yourself
to be if everything went according to plan.
• Self-image - It is the way you now perceive yourself.  Ideal Self- if you are lacking in some way,
Your self-image is influenced by a variety of factors, there is some ideals that you should live up
including physical qualities, psychological traits, and to.
social roles. - Ideal Self is not a positive goal because it is
• Self-esteem - It is influenced by how much you like, unrealistic and ultimately impossible
accept, and appreciate yourself. Numerous things, such
as how other people see you, how you feel you stack up
against other people, and your place in society, can
have an impact on your sense of self-worth

WILLIAM JAMES (COMPONENTS OF SELF)

I-SELF (PURE)
- The “I” is the thinking, acting, and feeling self”
(Glietman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and
Vaughan) 2010.
- It is the self that knows and recognizes who
they are and what they have done. It is the
agent of experience. It is also called the Pure
Ego.
ME-SELF (OBJECTIVE)
- The "Me," on the other hand, is the physical and
psychological attributes that define who you
are.
- It might be regarded as a distinct thing or
individual to whom the subject refers when
talking or describing their personal experiences.

KAREN HORNEY
- Basic Anxiety - feeling of helplessness and
insecurity
- Ways to cope with basic anxiety:
o Compliance (moves toward)
o Aggression (moves against)
o Detachment (moves away)

- Self is the core of your being.

- If you are healthy, you have a clear
understanding of who you are.
- Neurotic has split consumption.
 Despise Self- if you see others despise you
then you take that inside you.
 - Self-Reactiveness - Enables the person to
anticipate the likely consequences of
prospective actions. For example, I will clean my
room not only to make it clean and
comfortable, but also to provide a pleasant
environment to study. I'm considering what a
good consequence might be.
- Self-Reflectiveness - Gives the person the
ability to reflect upon the adequacy of his or her
thoughts and actions. For example, I failed UTS
since I did not study our lesson. Essentially, I will
reflect on what occurred, and the best thing to
do is to do better in the future, and never let
someone or a particular subject pull you down.

PHYSICAL SELF Body Image and Self-Esteem

Stages of Lifespan

Physical Self
“The function of the false self is to hide and protect the • Made up of other organs such as the brain,
true self.” -DR. WINNICOTT heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, and muscles
• Refers to the body that includes basic parts
ALBERT BANDURA such as head, neck, arms, and legs
- Canadian-born American Psychologist who • In general, the body performs its functions
- developed Social Cognitive Theory. least well during (1)infancy and (2) old age.
- He is most famous for his modeling study on • Physical efficiency generally peaks in early
aggression, known as the "Bobo doll" adulthood and declines into the middle age.
experiment, which revealed that children may
learn behaviors by observing adults. Physical development and growth during childhood
continues at a slow rate compared with rapid rate of
The person is seen as proactive and agentic which growth in babyhood
means that he has the capacity to exercise control. An
individual has the power to control his or her own goals One of the most crucial stage of development is the
actions and destiny, both internally (I control my own adolescence stage.
thoughts) and externally (I make things happen to the
environment) According to Albert Bandura, the main Adolescence
features of human agency are the following: - Begins with the onset of puberty
- Intentionality - Refers to actions done - This stage is characterized by rapidly physical
intentionally. For example, I spotted an elderly changes that includes the maturation of the
woman crossing the street but she cannot walk reproductive system.
quickly, so I assisted her and my sole intention
was for her to cross safely. Life Span Development from conception to death
- Forethought - Enables the person to anticipate
the likely consequences of prospective actions. ELIZABETH B. HURLOCK
For example, I will clean my room not only to - Outlined the stages in the life span
make it clean and comfortable, but also to - Divided the stages into 10 parts
provide a pleasant environment to study. I'm
considering what a good consequence might be.
 2. ENVIRONMENT
- Refers to the factors to which the individual
is exposed after conception to death which
learning and experience.
- Factors such a diet, nutrition, and diseases
play an important role in physical
development.
BODY IMAGE
- Refers to how individuals perceive, think
and feel about their body and physical
appearance
FACTORS AFFECTING PHYSICAL GROWTH AND
APPEARANCE
DEVELOPMENT
- Everything about a person that others can
observe such as height, weight, skin color,
clothes, and hairstyle.
- Younger women and girls tend to have poor
body image
- Body image can affect both the adolescent's
physical and psychological well-being.
CAUSE OF POOR BODY IMAGE
- Emphasis on thin ideal body
- Bullying and peer pressure Media
1. HEREDITY EFFECTS OF POOR BODY IMAGE
- Biological process of transmission of traits from - BODY DISSATISFACTION
parents to offspring. - Depression
- The sex and other physical traits are determined - Low Self-Esteem
by the combination of (1) chromosome and (2) - Eating Disorders
genes during fertilization (the union of the two - Body Modification
cells: Egg and Sperm. CONCEPT OF BEAUTY
CHROMOSOMES - In Egyptian art, beauty is portrayed in women
- Thread tissues that carries the genes, and are with slim, high waists, narrow hips, and long
usually found in pairs. black hair.
- 23 pairs of chromosomes - Women with full figure and rounded hips were
- Two (2) types: considered beautiful during the Renaissance
1. Autosomes or trait chromosomes (22 pairs) period.
2. Gonosome or sex chromosomes (the X and - Some tribes (e.g., Africa) during the medieval
Y) age consider chubby, fat, or plum women
GENES beautiful.
- Basic carrier of hereditary traits - Some tribes in Malaysia, Philippines and
- Can be classified into : Indonesia considered flat noses to be the most
1. Dominant (strong genes) attractive.
2. Recessive (weak genes) - All culture have, more or less, the same concept
standards of beauty.
- Standards of beauty have change over time
based on changing cultural values
Standards of Beauty
- Clean and unblemished skin
- Thick shiny hair
- Well-proportioned bodies
 - Symmetrical faces C. SOCIOBIOLOGICAL/EVOLUTIONARY
- Beauty is important in all societies - What matters most in human sexual
- Attractive people have a lot of advantages in life relationships is each gender's love, care, and
- Beauty is considered important throughout responsibility for the other.
history. D. PSYCHOLOGICAL
- This is because these features indicate youth, - Rosenthal (2013) also said that sexuality is
health, good genes, and fertility. more than just a bodily response. Instead, it
also includes feelings, ideas, and beliefs.
Above all things physical, it is more important to be E. RELIGIONS
beautiful on the inside. JUDAISM - SEXUAL INTIMACY OFFERS the
possibility of spirituality and transcendence.
SEXUAL SELF ISLAM - family is of the highest significance,
Sexual self-concept therefore celibacy within marriage is forbidden.
- is defined as an individual's evaluation of his or TAOISM - Sexual union is a method of balancing
her sexual feelings and actions. masculine and female energies.
- This refers to the way people experience and HINDUISM - ACT OF CEREMONIAL lovemaking is
express themselves as a sexual being. According a way of both honoring and transcending the
to World Health Organization (WHO), this is the physical body.
central aspect of being human throughout life ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - Marriage solely
and encompasses sex, gender identities and for intercourse and reproduction
roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, .
intimacy, and reproduction. DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY SEXUAL
CHARACTERISTICS

SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERISTICS

- This refers to the sexually dimorphic
characteristics of males and females that
doesn't really involved in reproduction.

FEMALE'S SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS

- examples are the breasts development, pubic
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ABOUT SEXUALITY hair growth, and rounded hips.
A. HISTORICAL MALE'S SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS
- In ancient greece - examples are the genital growth, pubic hair
Man = dominant role growth, facial and chest hair growth, and
Women = child-bearer muscular body.
- During the middle ages (476-1450) any sexual
practices that do not result in reproduction REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS
were immoral. Women were labeled as either - Both males and females have reproductive
temptress (like eve) or a woman of virtue (like organs that are used for reproduction through
the virgin mary). sexual intercourse. There are two types of
- Martin luther, john calvin, and other organs in the reproductive system.
protestant leaders held that sexuality is a
normal part of life and that priests should be
allowed to marry and have children.
B. BIOLOGICAL
- Understanding sexuality requires knowledge of
the structures and functions of the reproductive
system.
 UNDERSTANDING HUMAN SEXUAL RESPONSES

HUMAN SEXUAL RESPONSE CYCLE

The sexual response cycle refers to the sequence of

physical and emotional changes that occur as a person
becomes sexually aroused and participates in sexually
stimulating activities. There are four phases of the
sexual response cycle: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and
resolution. Both men and women experience these
phases, although the timing usually is different

EROGENOUS ZONE
- Encourage relaxation
- Promote blood flow
- Build arousal
- Enhance sexual pleasure
- Achieve orgasm