Chapter 4

Course Topic: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

Educational Objectives of the chapter:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Identify the impact of experiences in developing the self.

2. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self
and identity by studying the theory of the self.

Discussion:
Psychology - The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those
affecting behavior in a given context.

1. William James’ Concept of the Self

The “Me – Self” and the “I – Self
Two categories:
I – Self
 The self that knows who he or she is
 Thinking self
 Reflects the soul of a person or what is now thought of as the mind and is called pure ego.
Me – Self
 The empirical self (experiences)
 It refers to describing the person’s personal experiences and further divided into sub –
categories: material self, social self, and spiritual self.
The material self consists of things that belong to a person such as the body, clothes,
house, etc.
The social self refers to whom and how a person acts on social situations.
The spiritual self refers to the most intimate and important part of the self that includes
the person’s purpose, motives, emotions, values, conscience, and moral behavior.
 James believed that the path to understanding the spiritual self is through introspection
(Self – reflection).

2. Carl Rogers’ Self Theory

The “Real Self” and “Ideal Self
 Another concept of self – understanding is self – concept - image of oneself.

 SELF is a flexible and changing perception of personal identity.

 The self develops from interactions with significant people and self – awareness.
 According to Rogers, human beings are always striving for self – fulfillment, or self –
actualization.
 When the needs of the self are denied, severe anxiety may result.
 Central to achieving self – actualization is the development of self – concept.
Two components of self – concept
1. REAL SELF
 Consists of all the ideas, including the awareness of
“what I am” and “what I can do”

2. IDEAL SELF
 The person’s conception of what one should be or wanted
to be that includes one’s goals and ambitions in life
 The closer (congruent) the ideal self is to the real self, the more fulfilled and happy the
individual becomes. The farther (incongruent) the ideal self is to the real self leads to
unhappy and dissatisfied person.

“Multiple Self” vs “Unified Self”

 Self – understanding in adolescents also includes conceptualizing the self as multiple or
unified and true or false.
 The construction of multiple selves varies across different roles and relationships.
 Coping with different selves constitutes a formidable task among adolescents.
 These challenges contribute heavily to the young person’s struggle for a unified self.

3. Donald Winnicott
“True Self” vs “False Self”
FALSE SELF
 The function of the false self is to hide and protect the true self.
 People pretend to display a false self to impress others.
 The self can change depending on situations.
TRUE SELF
 Who a person really are without pretentions.
 Can show Self with confidence not afraid of being judge.
4. Albert Bandura
The Self as “Proactive” and “Agentic”
 Albert Bandura suggests that humans have the ability to act and make things happen.
 In his theory of the self, people are viewed as proactive agents or experiences.
 Agency embodies the endowments, belief systems, self – regulatory capabilities, and
structures and functions through which personal influence is exercised, rather than residing
as a distinct entity.
 The main agentic features of human agency are:
Intentionality
Forethought
self – reactiveness, and
self – reflectiveness
Intentionality refers to acts done intentionally.
Forethought enables the person to anticipate the likely consequences of prospective actions.
Self – reactiveness enables the person to make choices and choose appropriate courses of action,
as well as motivate and regulate their execution.
Self – reflectiveness gives the person the ability to reflect upon oneself and the adequacy of
one’s thoughts and actions.
 People are not only agents of action but self – examiners of their own functioning.
 Efficacy beliefs are the foundation of human agency
 Self – efficacy refers to the individual’s belief that he or she is capable to perform a task.
 It influences whether people think pessimistically or optimistically and in ways that are self –
enhancing or self – hindering.
 Efficacy beliefs play a central role in self – regulation.
5. Carl Jung
The Self as the “Central Archetype”
 Jung suggested that the psyche continues to develop throughout life, but the psyche starts to
show a definite form and content during adolescence.
 Jung conceived the structure of personality (psyche) as a complex network of interacting
systems that strive toward harmony.
 PERSONALITY (PSYCHE)
The main systems are:
Ego
Personal unconscious, and
Collective unconscious
 The ego is one’s unconscious mind, the part of the psyche that includes perceptions,
thoughts, feelings, and memories that may enter consciousness. It is through the ego that we
establish sense of stability.
 Personal unconscious includes the repressed and forgotten experiences.
 The collective unconscious consists of the fundamental elements of the human psyche that
includes experiences all human share in common.

 Within the collective unconscious lie archetypes.

 Central to Carl Jung’s theory of the self is the concept of archetype.
 An archetype is a universal thought form or predisposition to respond to the world in
certain ways.
 The archetype represents the hidden potentialities of the psyche, or total personality.
Four major archetypes:
Persona
Shadow
animus/anima, and
self.
 The persona refers to social roles that individuals present to others.
 The shadow refers to the repressed thoughts that are unacceptable. This archetype is often
considered as the dark side of the psyche.
 The anima is the feminine side of the male psyche while the animus is the masculine side
of the female psyche.
 The self is the central archetype that unites all parts of the psyche. The ego is the
individual’s conscious perception of the self.
6. Sigmund Freud
The Construction of Self and Personality
Three structures of personality:
Id
Ego, and
Superego
 The id is the pleasure – seeking side, immature, impulsive, child – like, and cannot delay
gratification.
It has no regard of others and the law.
 The ego refers to the “I” and works on the reality principle, controls the id, and can delay
pleasure.
The ego can conform with existing societal consideration.
 The superego refers to the “conscience” and “moral judge” of conduct.
Violation of rules lead to guilt feelings.
It strives for perfection rather than pleasure.
 It appears that the id is the devil within the self, the superego is the angel, and ego is the person
in the middle.
 The id, ego, and superego are often in conflict with each other.
 Freud used the term ego strength to refer to the ego’s ability to resolve the conflict between the
three structures.
 If this constant state of conflict is unresolved, personality problems may arise.
 In Freud’s view, the id, ego, and superego develop in a series of stages.
 Freud called these psychosexual stages of development that progresses through five stages:
oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
 Each of the stage is associated with conflicts that the individual must resolved so that he or she
can successfully forward to the next stage.
 Freud also believed that each stage has needs and dissatisfaction of needs may result in fixation
which could have lasting negative effects on personality.
The first stage: ORAL STAGE
 lasts from birth up to the first year of life
 During this stage, babies derive pleasure from oral activities like sucking and biting.
 Overindulgence of the oral needs may lead to oral incorporative personality disorder such
as overeating, smoking, and alcoholism while dissatisfaction may lead or oral aggressive
personality disorder such as sarcasm and tactlessness.
The second stage: ANAL STAGE
 occurs around second year of life
 During this stage, the child derives pleasure from the elimination of body wastes.
 Through toilet training, the child learns the basic rules of society. Anal fixations can lead
to anal retentive personality disorder such as obsession with cleanliness or anal expulsion
personality disorder such as clumsiness.
The third stage: PHALLIC STAGE
 occurs around the ages 3 and 6
 Children during this stage derive pleasure from examining, touching, fondling, or
displaying their genitals, or others.
 The behaviors are likely motivated by curiosity on the difference between the anatomy of
man and woman.
 Sex curiosity will remain high during the elementary years and children tend to ask
questions with regard to anatomical structures, sex, and how babies are made.
 During this stage, parents and teachers need to properly educate the children about
sexuality.
 Fixations at this stage may lead to abnormal sex behaviors in late life.
The fourth stage: LATENCY STAGE
 lasts from 7 to 12
 At this stage, sexual energy is repressed because children become busy with school.
The fifth stage: GENITAL STAGE
 starts from adolescence to adulthood.
 During this stage, pleasure is again derived from the genital area and individuals seek to
satisfy their sexual drives from sexual relationships.
 Sexual problems may result as a consequence of inappropriate sex behaviors.
7. Erik Erikson
The Psychosocial Stages of Development

The Role of Erik Erikson’s Theory in Understanding the Self

 Another important aspect of self – understanding involves views of identity development of
the self.
 In Erik Erikson's theory, adolescence stage is the period of identity development.
 Identity formation is usually viewed as a process that requires adolescents to distance
themselves from the strong expectations and definitions imposed by parents and other family
members.
 To achieve an individual identity, one must create a vision of the self that is authentic and
having hold of one’s destiny in an effort to reach goals that are personally meaningful.
 Erikson’s theory proposes that individuals go through eight psychosocial stages of
development.
 While Erikson believed that each stage is important, he gave a particular emphasis on the
development of the ego.
EGO
 The positive force that contributes to identity formation and lay the foundation for certain
strengths and virtues in life.
  Each stage consists of developmental tasks that one needs to accomplish in order to develop
successfully.
 During each stage, the person experiences life crisis which could have negative consequences
if not properly resolved.
The Psychosocial Stages of Development

Age Virtue Crisis

0 to 18 mos. Hope Trust vs. Mistrust
18 mos. to 3 yrs. Will Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
3 to 6 yrs. Purpose Initiative vs. Guilt
6 to 12 yrs. Competence Industry vs. Inferiority
12 to 18 yrs. Fidelity Identity vs. Role Confusion
19 to 40 yrs. Love Intimacy vs. Isolation
40 to 65 yrs. Care Generativity vs. Stagnation
65 yrs. + Wisdom Ego Integrity vs. Despair

ASSIGNMENT: Reflection Paper # 4

Which of the basic concepts described in the theories above that you think applies to you the most?
Did your study of the different theories of the self lead you to change any of your perceptions about
yourself?
Did the theories of the self lead you to recognize your strengths and weaknesses?
How does the lesson foster self – understanding and development?
Explain.

*Short bond paper. It could be type written or hand written. Minimum of 1 Page not more than 3 pages.
type written: Times New Roman, 12, normal, single-spaced, justified
- hand written: print legibly
*Submit your work (Hard copy or soft copy) and for any question, email me at
jessaamon98@yahoo.com
ACTIVITY # 5
UNDERSTANDING MYSELF
https://www.eriesd.org/Page/13051 GE FOUNDATION WORKPLACE SKILLS
PROGRAM
Basic Psychological Needs

Belonging Recognition

A sense that someone A sense that you are

truly cares about you. acknowledged for what
That you are in a mutual you accomplish and who
and loving relationship you are. To feel
with another person. significant, that you make
an impact.

Freedom Self-Esteem

The need to have choice The need to feel

in your life, to have a
sense of control over the
decisions that direct your
behavior.
To be free from a sense of
external control.
competent & confident.
The sense that you can
achieve results, make
good decisions, and you
will stand by your
principles.

Fun Safety
The need to have joy and The need to feel
laughter in your life. The physically and
sense that we can psychologically safe. Free
experience elation and from emotional and
light heartedness. physical threats or harm.
 My Unique Picture Album

Think about the people, places, and experiences in your life that are very special to you. This is
where you get your psychological needs met. Write two examples in each box of how you meet/
experience this particular need.

Belonging Recognition

Freedom Self-Esteem

Fun Safety

type written: Times New Roman, 12, normal, single-spaced, justified

- hand written: print legibly
*Submit your work (Hard copy or soft copy) and for any question, email me at
jemuelbucudlagarto@gmail.com