WHAT IS SELF?

As mentioned earlier, there are various definitions of the

"self" and other similar or interchangeable concepts in
psychology simply put, self is the sense of personal
identity and of who we are as individuals.

William James was one of the earliest psychologists to

study the self and conceptualized the self as having two
aspects the "I" and the "me".

The "I" is the thinking, acting, and feeling self. The "me"
on the other hand, is the physical characteristics as well
as psychological capabilities that makes who you are.
Carl Rogers's theory of personality also used the same
terms, the "I" as the one who acts and decides while that
"me" is what you think or feel about yourself as an
object.
Other concept similar to self are IDENTITY. It is composed of
personal characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as
well as affiliations.

SELF-CONCEPT is what basically comes to your mind when you

are asked about “who are you”. Self-identity and self-concept
are not fixed in one time frame, and they are not fixed for life
nor are they ever-changing at every moment.

Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or

our organized system or collection of knowledge about who we
are. Imagine an organized list or diagram similar to the one
below.
 Hobbies

Physical
characteristics Identity Age

Name
 Perceive
behaviour,
abilities, and
unique
characteristics

Self-worth, Self Self Likened to the

soul or “Freud’s
Image, Ideal Self
Concept Psyche”

Influence by our
childhood
experiences and
evaluation by
others
Theories generally see the self and identity as mental
construct created and recreated in memory. Current
researches point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the
specific area in the brain associated with the processes
concerning the self.

Several psychologist, especially during the fields earlier

development, followed this trend of thought, looking deeper
into the mind of the person to theorize about the self,
identity, self-concept, and in turn, one's personality.

The most influential of them is SIGMUND FREUD. Basically,

Freud saw the self its mental processes and ones behavior
as the result of the interaction between the I.D, EGO and
the SUPEREGO.
As in the above mentioned definitions of the self, social interaction
always has a part to play in who we think we are.

Three reasons why self and identity are social products:

1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.

2. Whether you like to admit it or not, we actually need others to
affirm and reinforce who we think we are, we also need them as
reference points about our identity.
3. What we think is important in our social or historical context.

Two types of self that we can be aware: the private self or your internal
standards and private thoughts and feelings. The public self or your
public image commonly geared toward having a good presentation of
yourself to others.
SELF- AWARENESS may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our next course of action. It
can keep you doing something dangerous. It can be too much that we are concerned about being observed and
criticized by others. It is also known as self-consciousness.

At other times, especially with large crowds, we may experience the INDIVIDUATION or "the loss of individual
self-awareness and individual accountability in groups”. A lot of people will attune themselves with the emotions
of their group and because the large crowd also provides some kind of anonymity. We may lessen our self-
control and act in ways that we will not do when we are alone.

Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our SELF-ESTEEM, one of the common
concepts associated with the "self". It is define our own positive or negative perception or evaluation of
ourselves.

One of the ways in which our social relationship affects our self-esteem is through social comparison. According
to the social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as our
social status by comparing aspects of ourselves with other people.
The 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. By having the advantage, we can raise our self-esteem.

The UPWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON 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
they highlight more of their weakness or inequities.
SOCIAL COMPARISON also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance theory, which states that we
can feel threatened when someone performs us, especially when that person is close to us.

Take note that this occurs not only between individuals but also among groups. Thus, if a person’s group is
performing better and is acknowledged more than the group, then his self-esteem may also be heightened.
FIRST, we distance ourselves from that person or redefine our relationship with them. Some will resort to
the silent treatment, change of friends, while some may also redefine by being closer to that person, hoping
that some association may give him a certain kind of acknowledgement also.

SECOND, we may also reconsider the importance of the aspect or skill in which you were out performed.

LASTLY, we may also strengthen our abilities and resolve to improve that certain aspect of ourselves.

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.

Sometimes, there is a thin line between high self-esteem and narcissism and there are a lot of test and
measurements for self-esteem like the Rosenberg scale but the issue is that the result can be affected by
the desire of the person to portray herself in a positive or advantageous way.
DO YOU EASILY GET AFFECTED WHEN
SOMEONE BASH YOU OR SAY
SOMETHING ABOUT YOU? AND WHAT
DO YOU USUALLY DO?
 Activity 3:

Make a doodle that represent about yourself. Then,

put your explanation at the back of your work.
 ANNOUNCEMENT

September 10 – Synchronous Class

September 17 – Preliminary Examination