REVIEWER IN UNDERSTANDING THE SELF the personality of the individual also evolves;

and
Personality 3) brain. The preliminary results from the
electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) research
 The etymological derivative of personality gives indication that better understanding of
comes from the word “persona”, the theatrical human personality and behavior might come
masks worn by Romans in Greek and Latin from the study of the brain.
drama. Personality also comes from the two
Latin words “per” and “sonare”, which literally  Situational Factors of Personality.
means “to sound through”. Although these factors do not literally create
 Personality have no single definition since and shape up an individual’s personality,
different personality theories have different situational factors do alter a person’s behavior
views on how to define it. However, the and response from time to time. The situational
commonly accepted definition of personality is factors can be commonly observed when a
that it is a relatively permanent traits and person behaves contrastingly and exhibits
unique characteristics that give both different traits and characteristics.
consistency and individuality to a person’s
behavior (Roberts & Mroczek, 2008).  Cultural Factors. Culture is traditionally
 Personality plays a key role in affecting how considered as the major determinants of an
people shape their lives. It involves the complex individual’s personality. The culture largely
relationship of people with their environment, determinants what a person is and what a
how they cope and adjust through life, and how person will learn. The culture within a person is
they respond to demands of physical and social brought up, is very important determinant of
challenges. behavior of a person. Culture is complex of
 Personality is the overall pattern or these belief, values, and techniques for dealing
integration of a person’s structure, modes of with the environment which are shared among
behavior, attitudes, aptitudes, interests, contemporaries and transmitted by one
intellectual abilities, and many other generation to the next.
distinguishable personality traits. Personality is
the conglomeration of the following Personality Traits
components: physical self, intelligence, -reflect people’s characteristic patterns of
character traits, attitudes, habits, interest, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Personality
personal discipline, moral values, principles and traits imply consistency and stability—someone
philosophies of life. who scores high on a specific trait like
Extraversion is expected to be sociable in
Determinants of Personality different situations and over time. Thus, trait
Personality refers to the total person in psychology rests on the idea that people differ
his/her overt and covert behavior. The from one another in terms of where they stand
determinants of factors of personality are as on a set of basic trait dimensions that persist
follows: over time and across situations.

 Environmental Factors of Personality. The most widely used system of traits is called
The surroundings of an individual compose the the Five-Factor Model. This system includes five
environmental factors of personality. This broad traits that can be remembered with the
includes the neighborhood a person lives in, his acronym OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness,
school, college, university and workplace. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
Moreover, it also counts the social circle the Each of the major traits from the Big Five can
individual has. Friends, parents, colleagues, co- be divided into facets to give a more fine-
workers and bosses, everybody plays a role as grained analysis of someone's personality
the determinants of personality.
The Five-Factor Model of Personality
 Biological Factors of Personality. This Research that used the lexical approach showed
further includes: that many of the personality descriptors found
in the dictionary do indeed overlap. In other
1) hereditary factors or genetic make-up of
words, many of the words that we use to
the person that inherited from their parents.
describe people are synonyms. Thus, if we want
This describes the tendency of the person to
to know what a person is like, we do not
appear and behave the way their parents are;
necessarily need to ask how sociable they are,
2) physical features include the overall
how friendly they are, and how gregarious they
physical structure of a person: height, weight,
are. Instead, because sociable people tend to
color, sex, beauty and body language, etc. Most
be friendly and gregarious, we can summarize
of the physical structures change from time to
this personality dimension with a single term.
time, and so does the personality. With
Someone who is sociable, friendly, and
exercises, cosmetics and surgeries, many
gregarious would typically be described as an
physical features are changed, and therefore,
“Extravert.” Once we know she is an extravert,
we can assume that she is sociable, friendly, factors predict good grades in college, you
and gregarious. might guess something like intelligence. This
The most widely accepted system to emerge guess would be correct, but we know much
from this approach was “The Big Five” or more about who is likely to do well. Specifically,
“Five-Factor Model” (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae personality researchers have also found the
& John, 1992; McCrae & Costa, 1987). personality traits like Conscientiousness play an
important role in college and beyond, probably
Big 5 Trait Definition because highly conscientious individuals study
Openness The tendency to appreciate new hard, get their work done on time, and are less
art, ideas, values, feelings, and distracted by nonessential activities that take
behaviors. time away from school work. In addition, highly
Conscientiousness The tendency to be careful, on- conscientious people are often healthier than
time for appointments, to follow people low in conscientiousness because they
rules, and to be hard working. are more likely to maintain healthy diets, to
Extraversion The tendency to be talkative, exercise, and to follow basic safety procedures
sociable, and to enjoy others; the like wearing seat belts or bicycle helmets. Over
tendency to have a dominant style.the long term, this consistent pattern of
Agreeableness The tendency to agree and go along behaviors can add up to meaningful differences
with others rather than to assert in health and longevity. Thus, personality traits
one owns opinions and choices. are not just a useful way to describe people you
Neurotism The tendency to be frequently know; they actually help psychologists predict
experience negative emotions such howas anger,
good aworry,
workerandsomeone
sadness,will be, how long
as well as being interpersonally sensitive.
he or she will live, and the types of jobs and
activities the person will enjoy.

1. Openness Who Am I?
Prefers not to be exposed to alternative moral In definition, self-concept is generally thought of
systems; narrow interest; inartistic; not as our individual perceptions of our behavior,
analystica; down-to-earth abilities, and unique characteristics—a mental
Enjoys seeing people with new types of haircuts picture of who you are as a person. For
and body piercing; curious; imaginative; example, beliefs such as "I am a good friend" or
untraditional "I am a kind person" are part of an overall self-
concept.
2. Conscientiousness
Prefers spur-of-the-moment action to planning; Self-concept tends to be more malleable when
unrealiable; hedonistic; careless; lax people are younger and still going through the
Never late for a date; organized; hardworking; process of self-discovery and identity formation.
neat, persevering; punctual; self-disciplined As people age, self-perceptions become much
more detailed and organized as people form a
3. Extraversion better idea of who they are and what is
Preferring a quiet evening reading to a loud important to them.
party; sober; aloof; unenthusiastic According to the book Essential Social
Being the life of the party’ active; optimistic; Psychology by Richard Crisp and Rhiannon
fun-loving; affectionate Turner:
 The individual self consists of attributes and
4. Agreeableness personality traits that differentiate us from
Quickly and confidently asserts own rights; other individuals. Examples include introversion
irritable; manipulative; uncooperative; rude or extroversion.
Agrees with other about political opinions; good-  The relational self is defined by our
natured; forgiving; gullible; helpful; forgiving relationships with significant others. Examples
include siblings, friends, and spouses.
5. Neurotism  The collective self reflects our membership in
Not getting irritated by sall annoyances; calm, social groups. Examples include British,
unemotional; hardy; secure; self-satisfied Republican, African-American, or gay.
Constantly worrying about little things;
insecure; hypochondrical; feeling inadequate At its most basic, self-concept is a collection of
beliefs one holds about oneself and the
Traits are important and interesting because responses of others. It embodies the answer to
they describe stable patterns of behavior that the question "Who am I?".
persist for long periods of time (Caspi, Roberts,
& Shiner, 2005). Importantly, these stable WEEK 2: THE SELF ACCORDING TO
patterns can have broad-ranging consequences PHILOSOPHY
for many areas of our life (Roberts, Kuncel, Philosophy is defined as the study of
Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007). For instance, knowledge or wisdom from its Latin roots, philo
think about the factors that determine success (love) and sophia (wisdom). This field is also
in college. If you were asked to guess what
considered as “The Queen of All Sciences”  The self, according to Socrates is the immortal
because every scientific discipline has and unified entity that is consistent over time.
philosophical foundations. For example, a human being remains the same
Various thinkers for centuries tried to explain person during their childhood to adulthood
the natural causes of everything that exist given the fact that they undergone
specifically the inquiry on the self preoccupied developmental changes throughout their
these philosophers in the history. The Greek lifespan.
philosophers were the ones who seriously
questioned myths and moved away from them Plato
in attempting to understand reality by
exercising the art of questioning that satisfies A student of Socrates, who introduced
their curiosity, including the questions about the idea of a three-part soul/self that is
self. composed of reason, physical appetite and
spirit or passion.
Socrates o The Reason enables human to think deeply,
A philosopher from Athens, Greece and make wise choices and achieve a true
said to have the greatest influence on European understanding of eternal truths. Plato also
thought. called this as divine essence.
 According to the history he was not able to o The physical Appetite is the basic biological
write any of his teachings and life’s account needs of human being such as hunger, thirst,
instead, he is known from the writings of his and sexual desire.
student Plato who became one of the greatest o And the spirit or passion is the basic emotions
philosophers of his time. Socrates had a unique of human being such as love, anger, ambition,
style of asking questions called Socratic aggressiveness and empathy.
Method.  These three elements of the self works in
 Socratic Method or dialectic method involves every individual inconsistently. According to
the search for the correct/proper definition of a Plato, it is always the responsibility of the
thing. In this method, Socrates did not lecture, reason to organize, control, and reestablish
he instead would ask questions and engage the harmonious
person in a discussion. He would begin by relationship between these three elements.
acting as if he did not know anything and would  Plato also illustrated his view of the soul/self
get the other person to clarify their ideas and in “Phaedrus” in his metaphor: the soul is like a
resolve logical inconsistencies (Price, 2000). winged chariot drawn by two powerful horses: a
 The foundation of Socrates philosophy was white horse, representing Spirit, and a black
the Delphic Oracle’s that command to “Know horse, embodying appetite. The charioteer is
Thyself”. Here, Socrates would like to reason, whose task is to guide the chariot to the
emphasize that knowing or understanding eternal realm by controlling the two
oneself should be more than the physical self, independent-minded horses. Those charioteers
or the body. who are successful in setting a true course and
 According to Socrates, self is dichotomous ensuring that the two steeds work together in
which means composed of two things: The harmonious unity achieve true wisdom and
physical realm or the one that is changeable, banquet with the gods. However, those
temporal, and imperfect. The best example of charioteers who are unable to control their
the physical realm is the physical world. The horses and keep their chariot on track are
physical world is consisting of anything we destined to experience personal, intellectual,
sense – see, smell, feel, hear, and taste. It is and spiritual failure.
always changing and deteriorating. The ideal
realm is the one that is imperfect and St. Augustine
unchanging, eternal, and immortal. This He is considered as the last of the great
includes the intellectual essences of the ancient philosophers whose ideas were greatly
universe like the concept of beauty, truth, and Platonic. In melding philosophy and religious
goodness. Moreover, the ideal realm is also beliefs together, Augustine has been
present in the physical world. One may define characterized as Christianity’s first theologian.
someone as beautiful or truthful, but their  Like Plato, Augustine believed that the
definition is limited and imperfect for it is physical body is different from the immortal
always relative and subjective. It is only the soul. Early in his philosophical development he
ideal forms themselves that are perfect, described body as “snare” or “cage” of the soul
unchanging, and eternal. and said that the body is a “slave” of the soul
 For Socrates, a human is composed of body he even characterized that “the soul makes war
and soul, the first belongs to the physical realm with the body”. Later on he came to view the
because it changed, it is imperfect, and it dies, body as “spouse” of the soul, with both
and the latter belongs to ideal realm for it attached to one another by a “natural appetite.”
survives the death. Socrates also used the term He concluded, “That the body is united with the
soul to identify self. soul, so that man may be entire and complete,
is a fact we recognize on the evidence of our which people are sleeping or comatose, their
own nature.” bodies continue to function even though their
 According to St. Augustine, the human nature minds are not thinking, much like the
is composed of two realms: mechanisms of a clock.
 He identified the physical self as part of
1. God as the source of all reality and truth. nature, governed by the physical laws of the
Through mystical experience, man is capable of universe, and available to scientific analysis and
knowing eternal truths. This is made possible experimentation, and the conscious self (mind,
through the existence of the one eternal truth soul) is a part of the spiritual realm,
which is God. He further added that without God independent of the physical laws of the
as the source of all truth, man could never universe, governed only by the laws of reason
understand eternal truth. This relationship with and God’s will. And because it exists outside of
God means that those who know most about the natural world of cause-and-effect, the
God will come closest to understanding the true conscious self is able to exercise free will in the
nature of the world. choices it makes.
2. The sinfulness of man. The cause of sin or
evil is an act of mans’ freewill. Moral goodness
can only be achieved through the grace of God. John Locke
 He also stated that real happiness can only be
found in God. For God is love and he created An English philosopher and physician and
humans for them to also love. Problems arise famous in his concept of “Tabula Rasa” or Blank
because of the objects humans choose to love. Slate that assumes the nurture side of human
Disordered love results when man loves the development.
wrong things which he believes will give him
happiness. Furthermore, he said that if man  The self, according to Locke is consciousness.
loves God first and everything else to a lesser In his essay entitled On Personal Identity (from
degree, then all will fall into its rightful place. his most famous work, Essay Concerning
Human Understanding) he discussed the
Rene Descartes reflective analysis of how an individual may
A French philosopher, mathematician, experience the self in everyday living. He
and considered the founder of modern provided the following key points:
philosophy.
1. To discover the nature of personal identity, it
 Descartes, famous principle the “cogito, ergo is important to find out what it means to be a
sum—“I think, therefore I exist” established his person.
philosophical views on “true knowledge” and
concept of self. 2. A person is a thinking, intelligent being who
 He explained that in order to gain true has the abilities to reason and to reflect.
knowledge, one must doubt everything even
own existence. Doubting makes someone aware 3. A person is also someone who considers
that they are thinking being thus, they exist. themself to be the same thing in different times
The essence of existing as a human identity is and different places.
the possibility of being aware of our selves:
being self-conscious in this way is integral to 4. Consciousness as being aware that we are
having a personal identity. Conversely, it would thinking— always accompanies thinking and is
be impossible to be self-conscious if we did not an essential part of the thinking process.
have a personal identity of which to be
conscious. In other words, the essence of self is 5. Consciousness makes possible our belief that
being a thinking thing. we are the same identity in different times and
 The self is a dynamic entity that engages in different places.
metal operations – thinking, reasoning, and
perceiving processes. In addition to this, self-  Although Locke and Descartes believed that a
identity is dependent on the awareness in person or the self is a thinking intelligent being
engaging with those mental operations. who has the abilities to reflect and to reason,
Locke was not convinced with the assumptions
 He declared that the essential self or the self of Plato, St. Augustine and Descartes that the
as the thinking entity is radically different from individual self necessarily exists in a single soul
the physical body. The thinking self or soul is a or substance. For Locke, personal identity and
non-material, immortal, conscious being, the soul or substance in which the personal
independent of the physical laws of the universe identity is situated are two very different things.
while the physical body is a material, mortal, The bottom line of his theory on self is that self
non-thinking entity, fully governed by the is not tied to any particular body or substance.
physical laws of nature. It only exists in other times and places because
 He also maintained that the soul and the body of the memory of those experiences.
are independent of one another and each can
exist and function without the other. In cases in
David Hume and reduction of tensions to optimal levels and
He was a Scottish philosopher and also the goal of every individual is to make
an empiricist. unconscious conscious.
 His claim about self is quite controversial  Freud proposed how mind works, he called
because he assumed that there is no self! In his this as provinces or structures of the mind. By
essay entitled, “On Personal Identity” (1739) he illustrating the tip of the iceberg which
said that, if we carefully examine the contents according to him represents conscious
of [our] experience, we find that there are only awareness which characterizes the person in
two distinct entities, "impressions" and "ideas". dealing with the external world. The observable
 Impressions are the basic sensations of our behavior, however, is further controlled by
experience, the elemental data of our minds: the workings of the subconscious/unconscious
pain, pleasure, heat, cold, happiness, grief, fear, mind.
exhilaration, and so on.
 Subconscious serves as the repository of past
 On the other hand, ideas are copies of experiences, repressed memories, fantasies,
impressions that include thoughts and images and urges. The three levels of the mind are:
that are built up from our primary impressions
through a variety of relationships, but because 1. Id. This is primarily based on the pleasure
they are derivative copies of impressions, they principle. It demands immediate satisfaction
are once removed from reality. and is not hindered by societal expectations.
 Hume considered that the self does not exist 2. Ego. The structure that is primarily based on
because all of the experiences that a person the reality principle. This mediates between the
may have are just perceptions and this includes impulses of the id and restraints of the
the perception of self. None of these superego.
perceptions resemble a unified and permanent 3. Superego. This is primarily dependent on
self-identity that exists over time. learning the difference between right and
 He further added that there are instances that wrong, thus it is called moral principle. Morality
an individual is limited in experiencing their of actions is largely dependent on childhood
perception like in sleeping. Similarly, when upbringing particularly on rewards and
someone died all empirical senses end and punishments.
according to him, it makes no sense to believe
that self exists in other forms. As an empiricist, According to Freud, there are two kinds of
Hume provide an honest description and instinct that drive individual behavior – the eros
analysis of his own experience, within which or the life instinct and the thanatos of the death
there is no self to be found. instinct. The energy of eros is called libido and
 Hume explained that the self that is being includes urges necessary for individual and
experienced by an individual is nothing but a species survival like thrist, hunger, and sex.in
kind of fictional self. Human created an cases that human behaior is directed towards
imaginary creature which is not real. “Fictional destruction in the form of aggression and
self” is created to unify the mental events and violence, such are the manifestations of
introduce order into an individual lives, but this thanatos.
“self” has no real existence.
Gilbert Ryle
Sigmund Freud A British analytical philosopher. He was
an important figure in the field of Linguistic
A well-known Australian psychologist and Analysis which focused on the solving of
considered as the Father and Founder of philosophical puzzles through an analysis of
Psychoanalysis. His influence in Psychology and language.
therapy is dominant and popular in the 20th to  According to Ryle, the self is best understood
21st century. as a pattern of behavior, the tendency or
 The dualistic view of self by Freud involves the disposition for a person to behave in a certain
conscious self and unconscious self. way in certain circumstances.
 The conscious self is governed by reality  He opposed the notable ideas of the previous
principle. Here, the self is rational, practical, philosophers and even claimed that those were
and appropriate to the social environment. The results of confused conceptual thinking he
conscious self has the task of controlling the termed, category mistake.
constant pressures of the unconscious self, as  The category mistake happens when we
its primitive impulses continually seek for speak about the self as something independent
immediate discharge. of the physical body: a purely mental entity
 The unconscious self is governed by pleasure existing in time but not space.
principle. It is the self that is aggressive,
destructive, unrealistic and instinctual. Both of Immanuel Kant
Freud’s self needs immediate gratification  A German Philosopher who made great
contribution
to the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, and responsible for man’s thoughts, feelings, and
ethics. Kant is widely regarded as the greatest behavior.
philosopher of the modern period.  Paul Churchland is one of the many
 Kant maintained that an individual self makes philosophers and psychologists that viewed the
the experience of the world comprehensible self from a materialistic point of view,
because it is responsible for synthesizing the contending that in the final analysis mental
discreet data of sense experience into a states are identical with, reducible to, or
meaningful whole. explainable in terms of physical brain states.
 It is the self that makes consciousness for the This assumption was made due to the
person to make sense of everything. It is the physiological processes of the body that directly
one that help every individual gain insight and affecting the mental state of the person. The
knowledge. If the self failed to do this advent of sophisticated technology and
synthesizing function, there would be a chaotic scientific research gives hope to understand the
and insignificant collection of sensations. connection between the physical body and the
mind/brain relationship that integrated in the
 Additionally, the self is the product of reason,
self.
a regulative principle because the self regulates
experience by making  Being an eliminative materialist, he believes
that there is a need to develop a new
unified experience possible and unlike Hume,
vocabulary and conceptual framework that is
Kant’s self is not the object of consciousness,
grounded in neuroscience. This new framework
but it makes the consciousness understandable
will be a more accurate reflection of the human
and unique.
mind and self.
 Transcendental apperception happens when
people do not experience self directly, instead Maurice Merleau-Ponty
as a unity of all impressions that are organized A French philosopher and
by the mind through perceptions. Kant phenomenologist.
concluded that all objects of knowledge, which
 He took a very different approach to the self
includes the self, are phenomenal. That the true
and the mind/body “problem.” According to
nature of things is altogether unknown and
him, the division between the “mind” and the
unknowable (Price, 2000).
“body” is a product of confused thinking. The
 For Kant, the kingdom of God is within man.
self is experienced as a unity in which the
God is manifested in people’s lives therefore it
mental and physical are seamlessly woven
is man’s duty to move towards perfection. Kant
together. This unity is the primary experience of
emphasized that people should always see duty
selves and begin to doubt it when an individual
as a divine command (Price, 2000).
use their minds to concoct abstract notions of a
separate mind and body.
Paul and Patricia Churchland
An American philosopher interested in  Developed the concept of self-subject and
the fields of philosophy of mind, philosophy of contended that perceptions occur existentially.
science, cognitive neurobiology, epistemology, Thus, the consciousness, the world, and the
and perception. human body are all interconnected as they
mutually perceive the world.
 Churchlands’ central argument is that the
concepts and theoretical vocabulary that people  According to him, the world and the sense of
use to think about the selves—using such terms self are emergent phenomena in the ongoing
as belief, desire, fear, sensation, pain, joy— process of man’s becoming.
actually misrepresent the reality of minds and  Phenomenology provides a direct description
selves. He claims that the self is a product of of the human experience which serves to guide
brain activity. man’s conscious actions. He further added that,
 The behavior of the self can be attributed to the world is a field of perception, and human
the neuropharmacological states, the neural consciousness assigns meaning to the world.
activity in specialized anatomical areas. Thus man cannot separate himself from his
 Neurophilosopy was coined by Patricia perceptions of the world.
Churchland, the modern scientific inquiry looks  Perception is not purely the result of
into the application of neurology to age-old sensations nor it is purely interpretations.
problems in philosophy. The philosophy of Rather consciousness is a process that includes
neuroscience is the study of the philosophy of sensing as well as interpreting/reasoning.
science, neuroscience, and psychology. It aims
to explore the relevance of neurolinguistic Sociology and Anthropology
experiments/studies to the philosophy of the
mind. Sociology and Anthropology are two interrelated
 Patricia Churchland claimed that man’s brain disciplines that contributes to the
is responsible for the identity known as self. The understanding of self. Sociology presents the
biochemical properties of the brain according to self as a product of modern society. It is the
this philosophy of neuroscience is really science that studies the development,
structure, interaction, and collective behavior of were gained in stage two, the child now begins
human being. On the other hand, Anthropology to see not only his own perspective but at the
is the study of humanity. This broad field takes same time the perspective of others. In this
an interdisciplinary approach to looking at final stage of self development, the child now
human culture, both past and present. has the ability to respond not just to one but
several members of his social environment.
George Herbert Mead and the Social Self  Generalized other the person realizes that
people in society have cultural norms, beliefs
Mead is an American philosopher, sociologist, and values which are incorporated into each
and psychologist. He is regarded as one of the self. This realization forms basis of how the
founders of social psychology and the American person evaluate themselves.
sociological tradition in general. Mead is well-
 The self, according to Mead is not merely a
known for his theory of self.
passive reflection of the generalized other. The
 He postulated that, the self represents the responses of the individual to the social world
sum total of people’s conscious perception of are also active, it means that a person decides
their identity as distinct from others. Mead what they will do in reference to the attitude of
argued that the self like the mind is social others but not mechanically determined by such
emergent. This means that individual selves are attitudinal structures. Here, Mead identified the
the products of social interaction and not logical two phases of self:
or biological in nature.
1. the phase which reflects the attitude of the
 He claimed that the self is something which generalized other or the “me”; and
undergoes development because it is not 2. the phase that responds to the attitude of
present instantly at birth. The self arises in the generalized other or the “I”.
process of social experience and activity as a
result of their relations to the said process as a  In Mead’s words, the "me" is the social self,
whole and to other individuals within that and the "I" is a response to the "me". Mead
process. In other words, one cannot experience defines the "me" as "a conventional, habitual
their self alone, they need other people to individual and the “I” as the “novel reply” of the
experience their self. individual to the generalized other.
 Generally, Meads theory sees the self as a
 The social emergence of self is developed due
perspective that comes out of interactions, and
to the three forms of inter-subjective activity,
he sees the meanings of symbols, social
the language, play, and the game.
objects, and the self as emerging from
 He proposed the stages of self formation: negotiated interactions.
1. Preparatory Stage. Mead believed that the
self did not exist at birth. Instead, the self The Self as a product of modern society
develops over time. Its development is among other constructions
dependent on social interaction and social Georg Simmel
experience. At this stage, children’s behaviors Simmel was a German sociologist,
are primarily based on imitation. It was philosopher, and critic. He was intensely
observed that children imitate the behaviors of interested in the ways in which modern,
those around them. At this stage, knowing and objective culture impacts the individual’s
understanding the symbols are important for subjective experiences.
this will constitute their way of communicating  In contrast to Mead, Simmel proposed that
with others throughout their lives. there is something called human nature that is
2. The Play Stage. Skills at knowing and innate to the individual. This human nature is
understanding the symbols of communication is intrinsic to the individual like the natural
important for this constitutes the basis of inclination to religious impulse or the gender
socialization. Through communication, social differences. He also added that most of our
relationship are formed. Now children begin to social interactions are individual motivations.
role play and pretend to be other people. Role-  Simmel as a social thinker made a distinction
taking in the play stage is the process of between subjective and objective culture. The
mentally assuming the process of another individual or subjective culture refers to the
person to see how this person might behave or ability to embrace, use, and feel culture.
respond in a given situation (Schefer, 2012).
 Objective culture is made up of elements that
The play stage is significant in the development
become separated from the individual or
of the self. It is at this stage where child widens
group’s control and identified as separate
his perspective and realizes that he is not alone
objects.
and that there are others around him whose
 There are interrelated forces in modern
presence he has to consider.
society that tend to increase objective culture
3. The Game Stage. Here, the child is about
according to Simmel. These are urbanizations,
eight or nine years of age and now does more
money, and the configuration of one’s social
than just role-take. The child begins to consider
network.
several tasks and various types of relationships
simultaneously. Through the learnings that
 Urbanization is the process that moves people attitude of absolute boredom and lack of
from country to city living. This result to the concern. This is the inability or limited ability to
concentration of population in one place provide emotional investment to other people.
brought about by industrialization. This paved
way to the organization of labor or increased The Self and Person in the Contemporary
division of labor, which demands specializations Anthropology
wherein this creates more objective culture.
 Simmel also stressed that the consumption of The subfields of Anthropology are as follows:
products has an individuating and trivializing o Archeology. Focus on the study of the past
effect because this enables the person to create and how it may have contributed to the present
self out of things. By consumption, an individual ways of how people conduct their daily lives.
able to purchase things that can easily Archeologists have so far discovered the unique
personalized or express the self. People used ways in which human beings adapted to the
commodities to create self-concept and self- changes in their environment in order for them
image. Simmel also said that products used in to survive. Among their discoveries around the
the modernity to express and produced the self world is the species, homo sapiens did not
is also changing. It becomes more and more become extinct because of their ability to think,
separated from subjectivity (subjective culture) use tools and learn from experience. In relating
due to division of labor and market economy. to the contemporary society, people still aim for
Many products are easily replaced, subjected to survival, for their basic needs to be fulfilled and
the dynamics of fashion and diversification of to live legacy to their society.
markets which leads to inappropriate sign use. o Biological Anthropology. Focus on how the
human body adapts to the different earth
 Money creates a universal value system
environments. Among the activities of
wherein every commodity can be understood.
Anthropologists are identification of probable
Money also increases individual freedom by
causes of diseases, physical mutation, and
pursuing diverse activities and by increasing the
death, evolution, and comparison of dead and
options for self-expression. Money also makes
living primates. They are interested in
the individual to be less attached to the
explaining how the biological characteristics of
commodities because the individual tends to
human being affects their way of living.
understand and experience their possession
Accordingly, human beings at present still share
less in terms of their intrinsic qualities and more
the same biological strengths and
of their objective and abstract worth.
vulnerabilities. Like eating balanced nutrients
Additionally, money also discouraged intimate
and minerals that are beneficial to all human
ties with people. Money comes to stand in the
beings while being exposed to a virus in a
place of almost everything – and this includes
pandemic might cause negative implications to
relationship! Money further discourages
many.
intimate ties by encouraging a culture of
o Linguistic Anthropology. Focused on using
calculation.
language as means to discover a group’s
 Because of urbanization, Simmel observed manner of social interaction and their
that social networks also changed. Group worldview. Anthropologists in this field want to
affiliations in urban is definitely different from discover how language is used to create and
rural settings wherein the relationship are share meanings, to form ideas and concepts
strongly influenced by family. An individual and to promote social change. Furthermore,
tends to seek membership to the same group they also study how language and modes of
which makes the family as basic socialization communication changes over time.
structure. This natural inclination to join groups o Cultural Anthropology. Focused in knowing
is called by Simmel as organic motivation and what makes one group’s manner of living forms
the grouping is called primary group. This group an essential part of the member’s personal and
is based on ties of affection and personal loyalty societal identity. This encompasses the
endure over long periods of time, and involve principles of Theory of Cultural Determinism
multiple aspects of a person’s life. which suggests that the human nature is
 On the other hand, in the modern urban determined by the kind of culture he is born and
settings, group membership is due to rational grew up in. Cultural diversities are manifested
motivation or membership due to freedom of in different ways and different levels of dept.
choice. This characterized the secondary group The following are the ways in which culture may
which is goal and utilitarian oriented, with a manifest itself in people:
narrow range of activities, over limited time Symbols. These are the words, gestures,
spans. As a result, it is more likely that an pictures or objects that have recognized or
individual will develop unique personalities. accepted meaning in a particular culture.
Moreover, Simmel said that a complex web of Example: colors have similar meaning across all
group affiliations produces role conflicts and cultures.
blasé attitude. Role conflict is a situation that Heroes. These are persons from the past or
demands a person of two or more roles that present who have characteristics that are
clash with one another. Blasé attitude is an important in culture. They may be real of work
of fictions. Example: Fiction – Thor, Captain roles, as well as the knowledge that an
America; Real – Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini. individual exist as individuals. As humans grow
Rituals. These are activities participated by and develop, self-concept becomes abstract
a group of people for the fulfilment of desired and more complex.
objectives and are concerned to be socially  According to the psychologist Dr. Bruce A.
essential. Example: Wedding, fiesta, Christmas Bracken in 1992, there are six specific domains
celebration, graduation, etc. that are related to self-concept these are:
Values. These are considered to be the core
of every culture. These are unconscious, neither 1) the social domain or the ability of the person
discuss or observed, and can only be inferred to interact with others;
from the way people act and react to situations. 2) the competence domain or the ability to
Example: hospitality, respect for elders etc. meet the basic needs;
 The field of Anthropology offers another way 3) the affect domain or the awareness of the
by which a person can view themselves. As self emotional states;
is formed or determined by the past and
4) the physical domain or the feelings about
present condition, by biological characteristics,
looks, health, physical condition, and overall
the communication and language use, and the
appearance;
lifestyle we choose to live.
5) academic domain or the success or failure in
The Self Embedded in the Culture the school; and
Clifford Geertz 6) family domain or how well one function
within the family unit.
Clifford Geertz was an Anthropology Professor
at the University of Chicago. He studied William James and the Me-Self and I-Self
different cultures and explored on the
conception of the self in his writings entitled, William James is a well-known figure in
“The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Psychology who is considered as the founder of
Concept of Man” (1966) in his fieldwork at Java, functionalism. He brought prominence to U.S.
Bali and Morrocco. psychology through the publication of The
 The analysis of Geertz (1966) in his cultural Principles of Psychology (1890) that made him
study about the description of self in Bali is that more influential than his contemporaries in the
the Balinese person is extremely concerned not field.
to present anything individual (distinguishing  James made a clear distinction between ways
him or her from others) in social life but to of approaching the self – the knower (the pure
enact exclusively a culturally prescribed role or or the I – Self) and the known (the objective or
mask. In one instance, Geertz (1973) gave an the Me – Self). The function of the knower (I-
example of the stage fright that pervades Self) according to James must be the agent of
persons in Bali because they must not be experience. While the known (Me-Self) have
publicly recognizable as individual selves and three different but interrelated aspects of
actors points precisely to the fact that agency empirical self (known today as self-concept):
or an ability to act in one’s own account is an the Me viewed as material, the Me viewed as
integral ability of human beings—an ability social, and the Me viewed as spiritual in nature.
which continually threatens  The material self is consists of everything an
the culturally established norm of individual call uniquely as their own, such as the
nonindividuality . body, family, home or style of dress. On the
other hand, social self refers to the recognition
The Self According to Psychology an individual get from other people. Lastly,
spiritual self refers to the individual inner or
Psychology is a scientific study of mental subjective being.
processes and human behavior. It aims to
describe, analyze, predict, control human Carl Rogers
behavior in general. Self is an essential
construct in psychology because it fulfills the Carl Rogers is best known as the founder of
goals of the discipline in studying human and client-centered therapy and considered as one
the reason for their action. Many psychologists of the prominent humanistic or existential
tried to define the origin of mental processes theorists in personality. His therapy aimed to
and behavior but they all settle down with make the person achieve balance between their
numerous theories and assumptions. self-concept (real-self) and ideal self.
The Self as Cognitive Construction  The real self includes all those aspects of
one's identity that are perceived in awareness.
The cognitive aspect of the self is known as self- These are the things that are known to oneself
concept. Self-concept is defined as self- like the attributes that an individual possesses.
knowledge, a cognitive structure that includes
 The ideal self is defined as one’s view of self
beliefs about personality traits, physical
as one wishes to be. This contains all the
characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and
aspirations or wishes of an individual for this. false self can be a healthy self if it is
themselves. perceived as functional for the person and for
 A wide gap between the ideal self and the the society and being compliant without the
self-concept indicates incongruence and an feeling of betrayal of true self. On the other
unhealthy personality. Psychologically healthy hand, unhealthy false self happens when an
individuals perceive little discrepancy between individual feels forced compliance in any
their self-concept and what they ideally would situation.
like to be.  On the contrary, true self has a sense of
Multiple versus Unified Self integrity and connected wholeness that is
 According to Multiple Selves Theory, there are rooted in early infancy. The baby creates
different aspects of the self exist in an experiences of a sense of reality and sense of
individual. From here, we can say that self is a life worth living. Winnicott claimed that true self
whole consist of parts, and these parts manifest can be achieved by good parenting that is not
themselves when need arise. necessarily a perfect parenting.
 Gregg Henriques proposed the Tripartite The Self as Proactive and Agentic
Model of Human Consciousness, wherein he Albert Bandura
described that self is consist of three related,
but also separable domains these are the
experimental self, private self, and public self. Albert Bandura is a psychologist and
Professor Emeritus of Social Science in
The experiential self or the theater of Psychology at Stanford University. He is known
consciousness is a domain of self that defined for his theory of social learning by means of
as felt experience of being. This includes the modeling. He is famous for his proposed
felt consistency of being across periods of time. concept of self-efficacy.
It is tightly associated with the memory. This is  His personality theory, The Social Cognitive
a part of self that disappears the moment that Theory asserts that a person is both proactive
an individual enter deep sleep and comes back and agentic, which means that we have the
when they wake up. capacity to exercise control over our life. This
o The private self consciousness system or the theory emphasized that human beings are
narrator/interpreter is a portion of self that proactive, self-regulating, self-reflective, and
verbally narrates what is happening and tries to self-organizing.
make sense of what is going on. The moment  Self as proactive means an individual have
that you read this part, there is somewhat like a control in any situation by making things
“voice” speaking in your head trying to happen. They act as agent in doing or making
understand what this concept is all about. themselves as they are. Agency is a defining
o Lastly, the public self or Persona, the domain feature of modern selfhood. Agents assume
of self that an individual shows to the public, some degree of ownership and control over
and this interacts on how others see an things, both internally (I control my own
individual. Henriques’ Tripartite Model attempts thoughts) and externally (I make things happen
to capture the key domains of consciousness, in the environment). The ability of an individual
both within the self and between others. to pursue their goals in life is an example of
 Unified being is essentially connected to agentic approach to self.
consciousness, awareness, and agency. A well-  According to Bandura (1989), self-efficacy
adjusted person is able to accept and beliefs determine how people feel, think,
understood the success and failure that they motivate themselves and
experienced. They are those kinds of person behave. Such beliefs produce these diverse
who continually adjust, adapt, evolve and effects through four major processes. They
survive as an individual with integrated, unified, include cognitive, motivational, affective and
multiple selves. selection processes. A strong sense of efficacy
enhances human accomplishment and personal
True versus False Self well-being in many ways.
Donald Winnicott  In contrast Bandura (1989) said that people
who doubt their capabilities shy away from
Donald Winnicott was a pediatrician in London difficult tasks which they view as personal
who studied Psychoanalysis with Melanie Klein, threats. They have low aspirations and weak
a renowned personality theorist and one of the commitment to the goals they choose to
pioneers in object relations and development of pursue. When faced with difficult tasks, they
personality in childhood. dwell on their personal deficiencies, on the
 According to him, false self is an alternative obstacles they will encounter, and all kinds of
personality used to protect an individual’s true adverse outcomes rather than concentrate on
identity or one’s ability to “hide” the real self. how to perform successfully. They fall easy
The false self is activated to maintain social victim to stress and depression.
relationship as anticipation of the demands of
others. Compliance with the external rules or Western and Oriental/Eastern Thought
following societal norms is a good example of
Individualistic versus Collective Self and generally cannot disagree with the hive.
Understanding individualism and collectivism Any ant that acts in a way contrary to the
could help in the understanding of the cross- interests of the group is a malfunctioning ant. If
cultural values of a person. Not every culture is an ant does not follow the certain pattern of
at one end or the other of the spectrum, but the how they protect their queen, it will be entirely
majority tend to favor one over the other in unable to support itself, find other ants that
everyday life. support other queen ant and will surely die in
Individualistic Self short order. If the malfunctioning ant stays
 Individualism is not the idea that individuals within the group, it will be a threat to the line
should live like isolated entity, nor the idea that appropriate to protecting the queen ant.
they should never get or give help from others,  Examples of the collectivist thinking is when
nor the idea that an individual never owes our identity is in large part, a function of our
anything to other people. membership and role in a group, e.g., the family
 Individualism is the idea that the fundamental or work team. The survival and success of the
unit of the human species that thinks, lives, and group ensures the well-being of the individual,
acts toward goals is the individual. This means so that by considering the needs and feelings of
that we can form our own independent others, one protects oneself. Harmony and the
judgments, act on our own thoughts, and interdependence of group members are
disagree with others. stressed and valued. Group members are
relatively close psychologically and emotionally,
 Each adult individual can consider what is in but distant toward non-group members.
his own best interests. Each can act on his own Collectivist characteristics are often associated
private motivations and values and can judge with women and people in rural settings.
other people as good people to form
relationships with, or as bad people to be  Asian countries are known to be collective in
avoided. Each can decide whether to cooperate nature.
with others to solve problems. Each can choose
to think for himself about the conclusions that The Social Construction of the Self in
the majority of others in a group come to, Western Thought
accepting or rejecting their conclusions as
indicated by his own thought. Self has been an area of interest by French and
 Example of the description would include an English philosophers, and evident in the ideas of
individual identifies primarily with self, with the Greek philosophers like Socrates and Plato.
needs of the individual being satisfied before  Descartes in 17th century emphasized the self
those of the group. Looking after and taking in his dictum “I think therefore I am” which
care of ourselves, being self-sufficient, claims that cognitive basis of the person’s
guarantees the well-being of the group. thoughts is proof for the existence of the self.
Independence and self-reliance are greatly  Kant believed that the self is capable of
stressed and valued. actions that entitles it to have rights as an
autonomous agent.
 In general, people tend to distance
 Here are some qualities imparted to the
themselves psychologically and emotionally
Western subjective self. It sketches some
from each other. One may choose to join
features on subjectivity and ways of thinking of
groups, but group membership is not essential
western persons. This provides an
to one’s identity or success. Individualist
impressionistic profile through the use of a few
characteristics are often associated with men
strokes characterizing some ways of being and
and people in urban settings.
thinking of many western persons.
 Western cultures are known to be o Western self as analytic. Since analytic and
individualistic. inductive modes of thinking were prominent for
Collective Self person in western cultures, to see objects as
 Collectivism is the idea that the fundamental divisible combinations of yet smaller objects.
unit of the human species that thinks, lives, and Real things are not only visualized but
acts toward goals is not the individual, but some immaterial things like thoughts, ideas and
group. In different variants, this group may be memories would be given emphasis.
the family, the city, the economic class, the o Western self as monotheistic. Monotheism can
society, the nation, the race, or the whole be known as the rigid consequence of the
human species. The group exists as a super- doctrine of normal human being. It is like
organism separate from individuals: A group forcing the concentration of supernatural
may make its own decisions, acts apart from capabilities.
the actions of individuals, and has its own o Western self as individualistic. The emphasis
interests apart from those of the individuals on individualism has direct and indirect effects
that compose it. on both the presentation of self (in public ways)
 Under collectivism, individuals are analogous and the experience of the self (in private
to ants in the protection of their queen ant. The awareness).
individual ant doesn’t have minds of their own,
o Western Self as materialistic and rationalistic. o Yi the rightness. The right way of behaving
The western accentuation of rational, scientific which is unconditional and absolute. Right is
approach to reality has tended to define right, and what is not right is wrong. Actions
spiritual and immaterial phenomena as must be performed and carried out because
potentially superstitious and dangerous. In any they are right actions. Confucius emphasized
society, belief system is stratified and that actions should be performed because they
composed of a hierarchy of interrelated, causal- are right and not for selfish benefits that they
explanatory models. provide.

The Self as Embedded in Relationships and THE PHYSICAL SELF: BODY IMAGE AND
through Spiritual Development in SELF ESTEEM
Confucian Thought
 Confucius was born in the period of the Zhou The concept of Physical Self
Dynasty in 551 BCE in the state of Lu. He grew ● The understanding of the Physical self is
up poor although he was descended from shaped by biological and environmental factors.
scholarly family.
● The Biological blueprint involves Heredity and
 Confucius philosophy is known as humanistic its important factors. Heredity is defined as the
social philosophy which focusses on human transmission of traits from parents to offspring.
beings and the society in general. The traits are made up of specific information
 Confucianism is centered on ren which can be embedded within one’s gene. Genotype refers
manifested through the li (propriety), xiao to the specific information embedded within
(filiality), and yi (rightness). For Confucius, ren one’s genes; not all genotypes translate to an
reflects the person’s own understanding of observed physical characteristic. Phenotype is
humanity. It is found within each person and the physical expression of a particular trait.
can be realized in one’s personal life and Each individual carries 23 pairs of
relationship. Ren guides human actions that chromosomes, which are threadlike bodies in
makes life worth living which can be realized the nucleus of the cell and the storage unit of
through li, xiao, and yi: genes. The 23rd pair, also known as sex
chromosomes, determines the sex of an
o Li the propriety. Rules of propriety should be individual. Within each chromosome is the
followed to guide human actions. These rules deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is a nucleic
are the customs, ceremonies, and traditions acid that contains the genetic instructions
that forms the basis of li. According to specifying the biological development of every
Confucius, “to individual.
master oneself and return to propriety is
humanity” (Koller, 2007). Self mastery involves ● Maturation is known as the completion of
self development. Self mastery is characterized growth of a genetic character within an
by self-control and the will to redirect impulses organism or the unfolding of an individual’s
to change these to socially accepted expression inherent traits or potential.
of human nature. Li conforms to the norms of
humanity, thus one must fulfill their duties and ● As you grow up, you are exposed to
responsibilities in this five (5) relationships: environmental influences that shape your
father and son, ruler and subject, older and physical self, including those from your social
younger brothers, husband and wife, friend and networks, societal expectations, and cultural
friend. practices that will lead a person to understand
o Xiao the filiality. This is the virtue of reverence themselves.
and respect for the family. Parents should be
revered for the life they and given. Children ● According to Santrock (2014), self-
show respect to their parents by exerting efforts understanding is the individual’s cognitive
to take care of themselves. Reverence for representation of self which consists of
parents and family is further demonstrated by substance and the content of self-conceptions.
bringing honor to the family, making something Self-understanding can be described as simple
of himself and to earn respect of other. If, to perplex and involve a number of aspects of
however, the person is having difficulty giving the self. It also changes throughout the life span
his family the honor that they deserved, he as the person grows older.
should just do this best to not disgrace the
family. Relationship that exist in the family ● As children advance in age, their interests
reflect hoe the person relates to others in the change and with these come changes in their
community. The family is the reflection of the bodies. The changes are rapid and before
person. How the person interacts socially and parents notice it, they are no longer babies but
the values they emulate can all be traced back teenagers. An obvious change in teenagers are
to their family environment. This forms the the changes in Physical Self. The Physical Self
bases of the person’s moral and social virtues refers to the concrete dimensions of the body, it
(Koller, 2007). is the tangible aspect of the person which can
be directly observed and examined.
 development of a body self mainly has three
● Physical Characteristics are the defining traits stages: early psychic experience of the body in
or features of a person’s body. This is also the which sensations like tactile like in infants
first thing people see when they look at another enable babies to discriminate bodies from their
person that could include facial features, surroundings, which contribute to the sense of
hairstyle, clothes, or figure. They encompass self. Next is defining body surface boundaries
everything that one can describe about a which is the stage of being awareness of body
person or group of people, by just looking. image in contrast to surface boundaries. Last
stage is the distinguishing of the body’s internal
● Erik Erikson believed in the importance of the states which is the stage of having cohesion of
body from early development because the the body. In these images and experiences of
physical as well as intellectual skills will the body and the body, surfaces can be
somehow serve as a basis to whether a person organized into holistic understanding of the
has achieved a sense of body.
competence and be able to manage and face Theory suggests that Physical body both has
the demands of life complexities. William James, objective and subjective components.
on the other hand, considered the body as the Individual’s conception and acknowledgment of
initial source of sensation and necessary for their physical bodies substantiate their
origin and maintenance of personality. assessment of the sense of totality which is an
integral to his/her experience of the physical
● A period of rapid physical changes is in world. Moreover, one’s experience of one’s
Puberty. According to Santrock (2016), puberty physical body may be a key predictor of a
is not the same as adolescence because variety of behaviors.
puberty ends prior to the end of the adolescent
period. But the recognized puberty as the most 2. Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective
essential marker of the beginning of Focuses on perceptual, cognitive, and affective
adolescence. The changes experienced during aspects which is a multidimensional experience
puberty are different from girls and boys. Girls that can aid a more precise understanding of
reach puberty earlier than boys and experience the body . The cognitive-behavioral perspective
menarche which is her first menstrual flow. makes multiple distinctions to facilitate precise
Boys, two or three years later, experience conceptual and operational definitions of body-
spermarche or semenarche which is his first image related variables.
ejaculation or nocturnal emission (wet dreams). The cognitive behavioral model of body image
recognizes multiple determinants of body image
● Puberty is a brain neuroendocrine process with a distinction between those determinants
occurring primarily in early adolescence that that are historical versus those determinants
triggers the rapid physical changes. The that are proximal or concurrent that predispose
Pituitary gland is the master endocrine gland or influence how people come to think, feel, and
that controls growth and regulates functions of act in relation to their body.
all the other endocrine glands including gonads. 3. Feminist Perspective
The chemical substances secreted by the
gonads promotes physical changes such as Relies on the social construction in which there
height, widening of the hips and increase in is a possibility of individuals to experience their
fatty tissues in the breast of girls and bodies in distorted ways (especially, women).
responsible for boy’s growth of facial and body women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies as a
hair, muscles, and changes in voice. systematic social phenomenon rather than a
The self as impacted by the body result of individual pathology (McKinley, 2002).
● Different levels of connectedness Specifically, the duality established between the
characterize the relationship between self and mind and body in Western societies and the
body. These connectedness may be in a pairing of men with the “mind” and women with
positive or negative ways, or in helpful or the “body” contribute to women experiencing
destructive ways. Nevertheless, it is between their bodies differently than men.
individuals as well as across situations. The
potential of the physical body to be regarded as ● Factors that affect perception of the Physical
an object introduces the possibility of trait and Self:
state body as well as the state of the self.
1. Personal Factors
● Perspectives in Understanding Physical Self: a. Introspection and Self-reflection . According
1. Psychodynamic Perspective to Hewstone, et al., (2015) Introspection is the
process is the process by which one observes
Freud’s theory of the ego was primarily known and examines one’s internal state (mental and
as body ego, that solidifies the importance of emotional) after behaving in a certain way.
body in understanding the self. The body and its
evolving mental representations form the basis b. Self-Perception Theory. explains that since
of a sense of self (Krueger, 2002). The one’s internal state is difficult to interpret,
people can infer their inner states by observing
their own behavior – as if they are an outside they feel secured with the shield of group
observer. membership where they belong. Social groups
include gender, ethnicity, religion, profession,
c. Self-concept. According to Hewstone, et al., political membership and business
(2015), self-concept is a cognitive organizations.
representation of self-knowledge which includes
the sum total of all beliefs that people have
about themselves.

d. Personal Identity. This is the concept a

person has about himself that develops over the
years. This includes aspects of his life that he
was born into like family, nationality, gender,
physical traits as well as the choices he makes,
such as what he does for living, who his friends
are and what he believes in.

2. Social Factors

a. Attachment Process and Social Appraisal.

According to Bowlby (1969), people learn about
their value and lovability when they experience
how their mothers or caregivers care for them
and respond to their needs.

b. Maintaining, Regulating and expanding the

self in interpersonal relationships .

c. The Looking-glass Self Theory. Charles Horton

Cooley stated that a person’s self grows out of
society’s interpersonal interactions and the
perception of others. The view of oneself comes
from a compilation of personal qualities and
impressions of how others perceive the
individual. Therefore, in a looking-glass self, the
self-image is shaped and reflected from the
social world. Other people’s reactions would
serve as a mirror in which people see
themselves particularly the way in which they
are perceived and judged by others.

d. Social Comparison. The work of Leon

Festinger in 1954 introduced another way of
understanding oneself by comparing one’s
traits, abilities, or opinions to that of others.
Social Comparison is a process of comparing
oneself with others in order to evaluate one’s
own abilities and opinions. There are two types
of social comparison:
● Upward social comparison happens when an
individual compares themselves to others who
are better than them.
● Downward social comparison happens when
an individual compares themselves to someone
who is in a worse situation than they are in
especially when they are feeling low.

e. Social Identity Theory (Collective Identity).

This was formulated by tajfel and Turner 1973
which provides a framework about how people
achieve understanding about themselves by
being a member of their group. This idea
assumes that as a member of the group they
will not be discriminated against by an out-
group. It will enhance their self-esteem because