CHAPTER 1: DEFINING THE SELF: PERSONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL

PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND IDENTITY

Lesson 3:
The Self as Cognitive Construct

Intended learning Outcomes

1. Identify the different ideas in Psychology about the “self”.

2. Create their own definition of the “self”  based on the definitions from Psychology. 

3. Analyze the affets of various factors identified in Psychology in the formation of the
“self”.

 Introduction

As seen from the previous lessons, every field oof study, at least in the social
sciences have their own research, definition, and co nceptualization of self and identity.
Some are similar while some specific only in their field. Each field also ha thousands of
research on self an didentity as well as related or synnymous terms. The trend of the
lessons also seems to define the concept of the “self” from a larger context (i.e. culture and
society) down to the individual. However, it must be pointed out that modern researches
acknowledge the contributions of each field and tis is not some sort of a nurture vs. Nature,
society/culture vs. Individual/brain, other social sciences vs. Psychology debate. Psychology
may focus on the individual and the cognitive functions but it does not discount the context
and other posssible  factors that affect the individual. The following lesson provides an
overview of the themes of psychology regarding the said concept. 

Discussion:

Modern researchers acknowledge the contributions of different fields in the concept

of self. In Psychology, it is thought that its only focus is on the cognitive functions. But, it
does not discount the context and the other possible factors that may affect the individual

“I am who I am”

If you are who you are, then what are you that makes you who you are?

Psychology has various definitions of Self, simply put, 

“Self” is “the sense of personal identity and of who we

are as individuals” (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014, 106).

William James (1890) 

 One of the earliest psychologists to study the self

Two aspects:

a. The “I”

- the thinking, acting and feeling self 

 b. The “me”

- The physical characteristics as well as the psychological capabilities that 

    make you who you are.

-  Self is not fixed in one time frame

Carl Rogers (1959)

“I” is the one who acts and decides.

 “Me” is what you think or feel about yourself as an

object. 

Other concepts similar to self are IDENTITY And SELF-

CONCEPT 

IDENTITY is composed of personal characteristics,

social roles and responsibilities, as well as affiliations
that define who one is. 

SELF-CONCEPT is what basically comes to your mind

when you are asked about who you are. 

SELF-IDENTITY, and SELF-CONCEPT are not fixed in one time frame. 

Hobbies
As you grow and adapt to
changes around your world
your schemas also change.
Ex.

When someone states your

Family
Self Religion

first name, even he’s not

talking about you, your
attention will be drawn to him.
Nationality

If you have a provincial

language or dialect and heard
someone in different place
using it, it will catch your attention

If you consider yourself a manga collector or a book lover a shop or a boutique may catch
your interest.

Theories generally see the self and identify as mental construct, created and re-created in
memory. (Elmore, Oyserman and Smith, 2012, 75.)

Several Psychologist followed this trend of thought, looking deeper into the mind of a person
to theorize the self, identity, self-concept, and In turn one’s personality.
SIGMUND FREUD

Saw the self, its mental processes, and one’s behavior as the results of the interaction
between the Id, Ego, and the Superego.
ID

“Internal
EGO
“Reality” “Conscience”

SUPEREGO
Desires” The part that Personally
Instinctive gives sense of concerned with
Drives identity. morals,
Consists of Rational part of precepts,
body’s primitive the personality standards, and
urge concerned ideas.
with achieving The critical
pleasure and faculty of the
satisfaction. personality
Lives in the
Unconscious

PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

Freud believed that personality develops through a series of childhood stages in

which the pleasure-seeking energies of become focused on certain erogenous areas.

If these psychosexual stages are completed successfully, the result is a healthy

personality. If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage, fixation can occur. A
fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage.

FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL

Stage Age Point of Activities for  Gratification

Interest

1. Oral Birth- 1 year Mouth -sucking, chewing

2. Anal 1-3 years Anus -withholding or  expelling feces

3. Phallic 3-6 years Genitals -fonding with genitals,  masturbation

4. 6-puberty Environment -games, play

Latency

5. Genital Adolescence/  Opposite -crushes, going  steady, marriage

adulthood

1. Oral Birth- 1 year Mouth -sucking, chewing

During the oral stage, the infant's primary source of interaction occurs through  the
mouth, so the rooting and sucking reflex is especially important.

The primary conflict at this stage is the weaning process-the child must become less 
dependent upon caretakers. If fixation occurs at this stage, Freud believed the  individual
would have issues with dependency or aggression. Oral fixation can result  in problems with
drinking, eating, smoking or nail biting.

2. 1-3 years Anus -withholding or  expelling feces

Anal

The major conflict at this stage is toilet training-the child has to learn to control  his or
her bodily needs. Developing this control leads to a sense of  accomplishment and
independence. According to Freud, inappropriate  parental responses can result in negative
outcomes.

3. 3-6 years Genitals -fonding with  genitals,  masturbation

Phallic

During the phallic stage, the primary focus of the interests is on the genitals. At  this
age, children also begin to discover the differences between males and  females.

He/She becomes a rival for the affection of the parent of the opposite sex:

The Oedipus complex describes these feelings of wanting to possess the mother and
the desire to replace the father.

Electra complex describes the girl wants her father and tries to keep out her mother.

4. Latency 6- Environment -games, play

puberty

During the latent period, the point of interests are suppressed. The stage begins 
around the time that children enter into school and become more concerned with  peer
relationships, hobbies and other interests.

The latent period is a time of exploration in which the sexual energy is still present,  
but it is directed into other areas such as intellectual pursuits and social interactions.  This
stage is important in the development of social and communication skills and  self-
confidence.

5. Genital Adolescence/  Opposit -crushes, going  steady, marriage

adulthood e

During the final stage of psychosexual development, the individual develops a  strong
sexual interest in the opposite sex. This stage begins during puberty but  last throughout the
rest of a person's life.

Theory of Symbolic Interactionism (G.H. Mead 1934)

1. We do not ourselves out of nothing. Society provides a big counterpart in our

foundations, even we make our choices, we will still operate in our social and
historical context one way or another.

2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need others to affirm and reinforce
points about our identity. What others say or look at you will have an effect on your
idea of yourself one way or another.

3. What we think is important to is influenced by what is important in our social and

historical context. Ex. Education, money, being a nurse, police or loyal due to
demands.

Social Interaction and group affiliation therefore, are vital factors in creating our self –
concept especially in the aspect of providing us with our social identity or our perception of
who we are based on our membership to certain groups (Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014, 110)
It is also inevitable that we have several social identities that can overlap, and that we
automatically play the roles as we interact with our groups.

Awareness of Self – Concepts- is having a clear perception of your personality, including

strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. Allows you to
understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to them
in the moment. 

Carver and Schier (1981) identified two types of self that we can be aware of: 

a. The Private Self – internal standards and private thoughts and feelings

b. The Public Self – public image commonly geared towards having a good
presentation of yourself to others (Hogg and Vaughan 2010, 69)

Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self

schema:

1. The actual self - Who you are at the moment

2. The ideal self -who you like to be

3. Ought self- who we think we should be

Example is that you are a student interested in basketball but is also academically
challenged in most of your subject. Your ideal self might be to practice more and play with
the varsity team but ought to pass your subjects as a responsible student. One has to find
solution to such discrepancies in order to avoid agitation, dejection, or other negative
emotions. In some instances, however, all three may be line with one another. 

Self – Awareness can also be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our
next course of action. 

 Can keep you from doing something

dangerous.

 It can help remind you that there is an

exam tomorrow in one of the subjects
when you are about to spend time
playing computer with your cousins.

 Can be too much that we are concerned

about being observed and criticized by
others, also known a self –
consciousness.
Deindividuation – “the loss of individual self – awareness and individual accountability in
groups” (Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb 1952; Zibardo, 1969, all in Jhangiani and Tarry
2014, 114). 

 We lessen our self – control and awareness in group.

 Group identity and Self – awareness has huge impact on our self – esteem.

 One way which our social relationship affects our self – esteem is through social
comparison.

”SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY”

-We learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as our social
statues by comparing aspects of ourselves with other people (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014,
114)

Downward social comparison

-Is the more common type of comparing ourselves with others. As the name implies, we
create a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves with those who are worse off than us. 

Upward social comparison (Also with groups)

-Which is comparing ourselves with those who are better off than us. While it can be a form
of motivation for some, a lot of those who do this actually felt lower self-esteem as we
highlight more of our weakness or inequities. 

“Self – Evaluation Maintenance Theory” – we can feel threatened if someone outperforms

us specially if that person is close to us i.e. friend or Family

 We distance ourselves from that person or redefine relationship ex. Silent treatment,
change of friends, or redefine by being closer to that person hoping that association
will give certain kind of acknowledgement.

 Reconsider the importance of the aspect of skill in which you are outperformed. Ex. If
you got defeated in drawing, you may think that drawing is not really for you and find
another hobby that you could excel thus preserving your self – esteem.
  Strengthen or resolve to improve that certain aspect. Instead of quitting, you might
join seminars, practice more often, read books about it, add some element in drawing
to make it unique etc.

Achieving your goal through hard work may increase self – esteem too.

However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, some people become

NARCISSISTIC. 

NARCISSISM is a trait characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-

centeredness. 

Self-complexity and Self-Concept Differentiation

Self-concept – is a knowledge representation that contains knowledge about us,

including our beliefs abour our personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values,
goals and roles, as well as the knowledge that we exist as individuals. 

Self-schemas – organized into a variety of different cognitive aspects.

Self-complexity – the extent to which individuals have many different and relatively
independent ways of thinking about themselves. 

Some selves are more complex than others, and these individual differences can be
important in determining psychological outcomes. Having a complex self means that we
have a lot of different ways of thinking about ourselves.

Who do you think you are?

Why is it important to know yourself?

Happiness - you will be happier when you can express who you are. Expressing your
desires, moreover, will make it more likely that you get what you want. 

Less inner conflict – when your outside actions are in accordance with your inside feelings
and values, you will experience less inner conflict. 

Better decision-making – when you know yourself, you are able to make better choices
about everything, from small decisions like which sweater you’ll buy to big decisions like
which partner you’ll spend your life with. You’ll have guidelines you can apply to solve life’s
varied problems. 

Self-control – when you know yourself, you understand what motivates you to resist bad
habits and develop good ones. You’ll have the insight to know which values and goals
activate your willpower. 

Resistance to social pressure – when you are grounded in your values and preferences,
you are less likely to say “yes” when you want to say “no”. 

Tolerance and understanding of others – your awareness of your foibles and struggles
can help you empathize with others. 

Vitality and pressure – being who you truly are helps you feel more alive and makes your
experiences of life richer, larger, and more exciting. 

The Building Blocks of Self: Your VITALS 

V- VALUES 

Such as helping others, being creative, financial security and so on – are guides to decision-
making and motivators for goals. 

I – INTERESTS 

Include your passions, hobbies, and anything that draws your attention over a sustained
period of time. To figure out your interests, ask yourself these questions: What do you pay
attention to? What are you curious about? What concerns you? The focused mental state of
being interested in something makes life vivid and may give you clues to your deepest
passions. 

T-TEMPERAMENT 

Describes your inborn preferences. Do you restore your energy from being alone (introvert)
or from being with people (extrovert)? Are you a planner or go-with-with-the-flow type of
person? Do you make decisions more on the basis of feelings or thoughts and facts? Do you
prefer details or big ideas? Knowing the answers to temperament questions like these could
help you gravitate toward situations in which you could flourish and avoid situations in which
you could wilt. 

A. Around-the-Clock Activities 

The “around-the-clock” category refers to when you like to do things – your biorhythms. Are
you a morning person or a night person, for example? At what time of day does your energy
peak? If you schedule activities when you are at your best, you are respecting your innate
biology. 
 L – Life Mission and Meaningful Goals

Ask yourself the question: “what have you been the most meaningful events of your life?”
you may discover clues to your hidden identity, to your career and to life satisfaction. 

S- STRENGTHS 

Can include not only abilities, skills and talents, but also character strengths such as loyalty,
respect for others, love of learning, emotional intelligence, fairness, and more. Knowing your
strengths is one of the foundations of self-confidence; not being able to acknowledge your
own superpowers could put on the path to low self-esteem.