Knowing Personality or the Self

What comes into your mind when you think of the concept “self’?
What makes a person himself or herself? In this module, though there are a lot of
definitions of the word “self”, oneself will be treated synonymously with the
term “personality”. The word personality came from the Greek
word “persona” which means mask. The term came from the Greek custom of
putting up a show wherein actors wear masks to portray different personalities or
selves. The activity that you did about creating a mask somehow asks you to
describe the things that you know about yourself and how you want “to be
seen” by the external world.
The self encompasses one’s body, feelings, emotions, thoughts,
values and relationships. It is a unique personal identity made up of one’s
experiences, beliefs, convictions, as well as one’s longings, dreams, life’s
purpose and meaning. As we look deeply within ourselves, we will realize that it
is every human person’s goal to strive harder to acquire a positive view of
oneself or a Positive Self-Concept.
But what is self-concept? The term self-concept is a general term
used to refer to how someone thinks about, evaluates or perceives themselves.
To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. Lewis (1990) suggests
that the development of oneself has two aspects:

1. The Existential Self - This is 'the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-
concept; the sense of being separate and distinct from others and the
awareness of the constancy of the self' (Bee, 1992). The child realizes that they
exist as a separate entity from others and that they continue to exist over time
and space.
2. The Categorical Self- Having realized that he or she exists as a separate
experiencing being, the child next becomes aware that he or she is also an
object in the world. Just as other objects including people have properties that
can be experienced (big, small, red, smooth and so on) so the child is
becoming aware of himself or herself as an object which can be experienced,
and which has properties.

Understanding these two aspects of our development is very crucial and

important in our development as a human being as a whole (this will be further
discussed in lesson 2). And at your current state as an adolescent, it is necessary
for you to understand the why’s of your thoughts and behaviors. Another
renowned psychologist, Carl Rogers (1959), believes that the self-concept has
three different components: The view you have of yourself (self-image), how
much value you place on yourself (self-esteem or self-worth), what you wish you
were really like (ideal-self). We are going to discuss it one by one. Let us proceed
to the first one!

SELF-IMAGE (how you see yourself)

Mountain Sate Centers for Independent Living explain that: “Self-

image is how you perceive yourself. It is a number of self-impressions that have
built up over time… These self-images can be very positive, giving a person
confidence in their thoughts and actions, or negative, making a person doubtful
of their capabilities and ideas.” What you see when you look in the mirror and
how you picture yourself in your head is your self-image. Let’s do the next
activity for us to further understand what self-image is.

EXPLORE

Kuhn (1960) investigated the self-image by using The Twenty Statements

Test. He asked people to answer the question 'Who am I?' in 20 different ways.
He found that the responses could be divided into two major groups. These
were social roles (external or objective aspects of oneself such as son, teacher,
and friend) and personality traits (internal or affective aspects of oneself such as
gregarious, impatient, and humorous).

The list of answers to the question “Who Am I?” probably include

examples of each of the following four types of responses:

 Physical Description: I’m tall, have blue eyes...etc.

 Social Roles: We are all social beings whose behavior is shaped to some
extent by the roles we play. Such roles as student, housewife, or member of the
football team not only help others to recognize us but also help us to know what
is expected of us in various situations.
 Personal Traits: These are the third dimension of our self-descriptions. “I’m
impulsive...I’m generous...I tend to worry a lot”...etc.

4) Existential Statements (abstract ones): These can range from "I’m a child of the
universe" to "I’m a human being" to "I’m a spiritual being"...etc.

*Typically, young people describe themselves more in terms of personal traits,

whereas older people feel defined to a greater extent by their social roles.

SELF-ESTEEM (the extent to which you value yourself)

Self-esteem (also known as self-worth) refers to the extent to which we like,

accept or approve of ourselves, or how much we value ourselves. Self-esteem
always involves a degree of evaluation and we may have either a positive or a
negative view of ourselves.

High self-esteem (we have a positive view of ourselves)

This tends to lead to:
 Confidence in our own abilities
 Self-acceptance
 Not worrying about what others think
 Optimism
Low self-esteem (we have a negative view of ourselves)
This tends to lead to:
 Lack of confidence
 Want to be/look like someone else
 Always worrying what others might think
 Pessimism
Argyle (2008) believes there are 4 major factors that influence self-esteem.

1. The Reaction of Others

If people admire us, flatter us, seek out our company, listen attentively
and agree with us we tend to develop a positive self-image. If they avoid us,
neglect us, tell us things about ourselves that we don’t want to hear we develop
a negative self-image.

2. Comparison with Others

If the people we compare ourselves with (our reference group) appear to
be more successful, happier, richer, better looking than ourselves we tend to
develop a negative self-image BUT if they are less successful than us our image
will be positive.

3. 3. Social Roles
Some social roles carry prestige e.g., doctor, airline pilot, TV. presenter,
premiership footballer and this promotes self-esteem. Other roles carry a stigma.
E.g., a prisoner, mental hospital patient, refuse collector or unemployed person.

4. Identification
Roles aren’t just “out there.” They also become part of our personality i.e.
we identity with the positions we occupy, the roles we play and the groups we
belong to.

Another important factor here is the influence of parents. We cannot

deny the fact that parents play a major role in developing positively the self-
esteem of their children. You could just imagine a life of a child or an adolescent
whose major source of developing a negative self-esteem are their loved ones
especially parents. We will now proceed with the last component, the Ideal Self.

IDEAL SELF (what you'd like to be)

If there is a mismatch between how you see yourself (e.g., your self-
image) and what you’d like to be (e.g., your ideal-self) then this is likely to affect
how much you value yourself. Therefore, there is an intimate relationship
between self-image, ego-ideal and self-esteem.
A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what actually happens in
the life and experiences of the person. Hence, a difference may exist between
a person’s ideal self and actual experience. This is called incongruence.
Where a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very
similar, a state of congruence exists. Rarely, if ever does a total state of
congruence exist; all people experience a certain amount of incongruence.
The development of congruence is dependent on unconditional positive
regard. Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must
be in a state of congruence.

Michael Argyle (2008) says there are four major factors which influence its
development:

1. The ways in which others (particularly significant others) react to us.

2. How we think we compare to others
3. Our social roles
4. The extent to which we identify with other people

Personality
Another important lesson that we will discuss under self-development
is Personality. Gordon Allport (1990) defines personality as a “pattern of habits,
attitudes, traits that determine an individual’s characteristics, behaviors, and
traits.

Components of Personality

1. Habits – reactions so often repeated as to become fixed characteristics or

tendencies
2. Attitudes – certain ways of viewing things gained from the environment,
changed by the working mind and imagination and somewhat influenced by
the physical environment, particularly by emotions.
3. Physical Traits – include facial appearance, height, weight, physical
defects, complexion, strength and health.
4. Mental Traits – include our ability to control the mind
5. Emotional Traits – give an individual the capacity to face different
situations in life and still maintain his/her composure.
6. Social Traits – give an individual the ability to get along with others
7. Moral and Religious Traits – standards for a person’s actions and
behaviors. His moral traits are manifested by his conduct. His religious traits guide
his actions according to his beliefs.

Personality according to Amparo and Tuazon (1960) can be one of two things:
 One’s biggest asset leading to success
 One’s heaviest liability leading to failure

People conduct themselves depending on the self-concept/personality

as it regulates how they view and relate to their surroundings. Personality is how
an individual thinks and behaves in different situations. For instance, when
someone has a more withdrawn personality, it can be expected most of the
time, regardless of the situation, highly reclusive, physically inactive and not
socially inclined to interact with others.

Our personality is our biggest responsibility. It ought to be treated with the

most intensive care because it may turn out to be our worst enemy or our best
friend. It may be our best friend because when treated with care, a mature
personality makes us acceptable to the society and thus be successful in the
fields of our endeavor. When neglected, however, it will hinder our personal
growth. Many adolescents today, struggle a lot when it comes to developing
their personality and how to associate themselves with the external world. Just
always remember that all of these are just part and parcel of your lives as
teenagers. The important thing is that you try your best to develop as a good
and responsible teenager as you grow towards adulthood.
Johari Window: A Model for Self-Awareness and Interpersonal Relations

Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, two noted psychologists,

introduced the concept of Johari window. The term “Johari” was coined from
the first syllables of their names. Johari Window is a mechanism designed to help
an individual grow through learning more about oneself and others. It consists of
four windowpanes which is also known as the four windows of truth. The four
windowpanes are the following:

1. Open Area - the area known to oneself and to others. Examples are age,
gender, etc.
2. Hidden Area – the area known only to oneself and not known by others. It
refers to one’s secrets in life
3. Blind Area – the area not known to the self but is known by others.
Examples are expressions and mannerisms.
4. Unknown Area – the area not known to the person or others. This area
remains untapped and undiscovered until the right time or opportunity.

According to Luft and Ingham, a person can use the Johari Window to
improve the self by widening the open area and reducing the blind and hidden
areas. Doing so will eventually lead to the reduction of the unknown area as
well as pave the way for one to discover more about oneself in terms of
attitude, talents, capabilities and other skills. These can be made possible by the
following:

1. Self-disclosure and Sharing

2. Establishing Trust
3. Asking for feedback and giving feedback
The Johari Window likewise enhances one’s competence to interrelate
with people through trust, understanding, and concern. Let us now proceed
writing our second journal. Just follow the instructions below and try to “see” your
hidden, blind and unknown areas.
SELF DEVELOPMENT

Knowing Oneself
THE MASKS WE WEAR
The self encompasses one’s body,
feelings, emotions, thoughts,
values and relationships. It is a
unique personal identity made up
of one’s experiences, beliefs,
convictions, as well as one’s
longings, dreams, life’s purpose
and meaning.
In our discussion, though there are
a lot of definitions of the word
“SELF”, oneself will be treated
synonymously with the term
“PERSONALITY”.
 What
is
Personality?
The term “Personality” is
derived from the Latin
word “persona” meaning
“a mask”.
 Personality refers to the
individual differences in
characteristic patterns of
thinking, feeling and
behaving
We will talk more about personality
as we go on through our
discussion. For the meantime, let’s
first talk of the main goal why we
need to discuss the self or
personality, and that is developing
a POSITIVE SELF CONCEPT.
Positive Self-Concept
The term Self-Concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks
about, evaluates or perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a
concept of oneself. Lewis (1990) suggests that the development of oneself has two
aspects:
1. The Existential Self - This is 'the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-
concept; the sense of being separate and distinct from others and the awareness
of the constancy of the self' (Bee, 1992). The child realizes that they exist as a
separate entity from others and that they continue to exist over time and space.
2. The Categorical Self- Having realized that he or she exists as a separate
experiencing being, the child next becomes aware that he or she is also an object
in the world. Just as other objects including people have properties that can be
experienced (big, small, red, smooth and so on) so the child is becoming aware of
himself or herself as an object which can be experienced, and which has
properties.
A renowned psychologist,
Carl Rogers (1959),
believes that the self-
concept has three different
components: The view you
have of yourself (self-
image), how much value
you place on yourself (self-
esteem or self-worth),
what you wish you were
really like (ideal-self
 SELF-IMAGE
(how you see yourself)
Mountain Sate Center for
Independent Living explain that:
“Self-image is how you perceive
yourself. It is a number of self-
impressions that have built up over
time. These self-images can be very
positive, giving a person confidence
in their thoughts and actions, or
negative, making a person doubtful
of their capabilities and ideas.”
What you see when you look in the
mirror and how you picture yourself
in your head is your self-image
THE TWENTY STATEMENT TEST
 Kuhn (1960) investigated the self-image by using
The Twenty Statements Test. He asked people to
answer the question 'Who am I?' in 20 different
ways. He found that the responses could be divided
into two major groups. These were social roles
(external or objective aspects of oneself such as son,
teacher, and friend) and personality traits (internal
or affective aspects of oneself such as gregarious,
impatient, and humorous).
The list of answers to the question “Who Am I?” probably include examples of each of the
following four types of responses:

1) Physical Description: I’m tall, have blue eyes...etc.

2) Social Roles: We are all social beings whose behavior is shaped to some extent by the
roles we play. Such roles as student, housewife, or member of the football team not only help
others to recognize us but also help us to know what is expected of us in various situations.

3) Personal Traits: These are the third dimension of our self-descriptions. “I’m
impulsive...I’m generous...I tend to worry a lot”...etc.

4) Existential Statements (abstract ones): These can range from "I’m a child of the universe" to
"I’m a human being" to "I’m a spiritual being"...etc.
 SELF-ESTEEM
(the extent to which you value yourself)
Self-esteem (also known as
self-worth) refers to the
extent to which we like,
accept or approve of
ourselves, or how much we
value ourselves. Self-
esteem always involves a
degree of evaluation and
we may have either a
positive or a negative view
of ourselves.
High self-esteem (we have a
positive view of ourselves)
This tends to lead to:
● Confidence in our own
abilities
● Self-acceptance
● Not worrying about
what others think
● Optimism
Low self-esteem (we have
a negative view of
ourselves)
This tends to lead to:
● Lack of confidence
● Want to be/look like
someone else
● Always worrying
what others might think
● Pessimism
Michael Argyle (2008) believes there are 4 major factors that
influence self-esteem:

1. The Reaction of Others

If people admire us, flatter us, seek
out our company, listen attentively
and agree with us we tend to
develop a positive self-image. If
they avoid us, neglect us, tell us
things about ourselves that we
don’t want to hear we develop a
negative self-image.
 Michael Argyle (2008) believes there are 4 major factors that
influence self-esteem:

2. Comparison with Others

If the people we compare ourselves
with (our reference group) appear
to be more successful, happier,
richer, better looking than
ourselves we tend to develop a
negative self-image BUT if they are
less successful than us our image
will be positive.
Michael Argyle (2008) believes there are 4 major factors that
influence self-esteem:

3. Social Roles
Some social roles carry prestige
e.g., doctor, airline pilot, TV.
presenter, premiership
footballer and this promotes
self-esteem. Other roles carry a
stigma. E.g., a prisoner, mental
hospital patient, refuse collector
or unemployed person.
Michael Argyle (2008) believes there are 4 major factors that
influence self-esteem:

4. Identification
Roles aren’t just “out there.”
They also become part of
our personality i.e. we
identity with the positions
we occupy, the roles we
play and the groups we
belong to.
IDEAL SELF (what you'd like to be)
 If there is a mismatch between how you see
yourself (e.g., your self-image) and what you’d
like to be (e.g., your ideal-self) then this is
likely to affect how much you value yourself.
Therefore, there is an intimate relationship
between self-image, ego-ideal and self-
esteem.
A person’s ideal self may
not be consistent with
what actually happens in
the life and experiences
of the person. Hence, a
difference may exist
between a person’s ideal
self and actual
experience. This is called
“INCONGRUENCE”.
Where a person’s ideal self and
actual experience are consistent or
very similar, a state of
“CONGRUENCE” exists. Rarely,
if ever does a total state of
congruence exist; all people
experience a certain amount of
incongruence. The development of
congruence is dependent on
unconditional positive regard.
Rogers believed that for a person to
achieve self-actualization they must
be in a state of congruence.
 Self Concept
Self-concept

Self-image Self-esteem Ideal-self

The value we
The way we The way we
put on
see ourselves would like to be
ourselves

From Lawrence (1996) ‘Enhancing Self Esteem in the Classroom’

In the movie“The Replacements” starring Keannu Reeves,
who plays as a quarterback football player in the movie.
Shane (Keannu Reeves) asked his coach, Why chose me?
Then, his coach replied: “I look at you and I see two
men: the man you are, and the man you ought to
be. Someday those two will meet. Should make
for a hell of a football player.” You see guys, you
may see yourselves negatively right now but don’t lose
sight of what you want to be, more so, of what you ought
to be. We are all destined to be great, the greatest
version of our very selves. Keep journeying and enjoy life!
The Cracked Pot
 Journal Entry No. 1.
Write an open letter to your current self and use the
key messages/insights that you have learned from the
story of The Cracked Pot as your guide. You can relate
the story in your life as a student or as a son/daughter.
Be guided by the rubrics found on the Appendix of this
module on how you will be graded. Remember, a flaw
or an imperfection has its own beauty. Enjoy Writing!
PERSONALITY
 Gordon Allport (1990)
defines personality as a
“pattern of habits,
attitudes, traits that
determine an individual’s
characteristics, behaviors,
and traits.
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY

1. Habits – reactions
so often repeated as to
become fixed
characteristics or
tendencies
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY
2. Attitudes – certain ways of
viewing things gained from the
environment, changed by the
working mind and imagination
and somewhat influenced by the
physical environment,
particularly by emotions.
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY
3. Physical Traits –
include facial
appearance, height,
weight, physical defects,
complexion, strength
and health.
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY

4. Mental Traits –
include our ability to
control the mind
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY
5. Emotional Traits –
give an individual the
capacity to face
different situations in
life and still maintain
his/her composure.
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY

6. Social Traits – give an

individual the ability to
get along with others
COMPONENTS OF PERSONALITY

7. Moral and Religious Traits –

standards for a person’s actions
and behaviors. His moral traits
are manifested by his conduct.
His religious traits guide his
actions according to his beliefs.
Personality according to
Amparo and Tuazon
(1960) can be one of two
things:

● One’s biggest
asset leading to
success
● One’s heaviest
liability leading to
failure
 Our personality is our biggest responsibility. It
ought to be treated with the most intensive care
because it may turn out to be our worst enemy or
our best friend. It may be our best friend because
when treated with care, a mature personality
makes us acceptable to the society and thus be
successful in the fields of our endeavour. When
neglected, however, it will hinder our personal
growth.
THE JOHARI WINDOW
 Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, two noted
psychologists, introduced the concept of Johari
window. The term “Johari” was coined from the
first syllables of their names. Johari Window is a
mechanism designed to help an individual grow
through learning more about oneself and others. It
consists of four windowpanes which is also known
as the four windows of truth.
According to Luft and Ingham, a person can use the Johari
Window to improve the self by widening the open area and
reducing the blind and hidden areas. Doing so will eventually
lead to the reduction of the unknown area as well as pave the
way for one to discover more about oneself in terms of attitude,
talents, capabilities and other skills. These can be made possible
by the following:
• Self-disclosure and Sharing
• Establishing Trust
• Asking for feedback and giving feedback
Journal Entry No. 2