GEC 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE Module 3: Content

SELF
Module 3: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES

I. Starting AccUrAtely (Introduction)

A. Lesson Introduction
Do you find it easy to talk about yourself? Do you like hearing life stories of other people and
take the chance to talk about yourself or relate yourself to others?
The psychology of self focuses on our representation of ourselves based on our
experiences. These experiences may either be from the home, school and other groups,
organizations or affiliations we engaged in. The “self” is one of the most heavily researched areas in
social and personality psychology. It is here, where concepts are introduced beyond our physical
attributes, lies our psychological identity. Questions of “Who am I?” or “What am I beyond my looks?”
are thoughts of many that continuously search for a deeper sense of self which can be traced back
from some time of human history (Villafuerte, et.al., 2018).
In this lesson, psychology focuses on the individual and the cognitive functions like learning,
memory, attention and also the executive functions of the mind, and then considers also context
(situation) and other possible factors that affect the individual. This lesson will provide us an overview
of the themes of psychology about the concept of the “self.”

B. Intended Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to be able to:
A. describe the different “selves” residing within the individual;
B. examine the factors and forces that influence the development of the “other selves” and;
C. formulate ways on how to strengthen the “true self”.

II. StimUlating LeArning (Motivation)

Note:
Log on to LMS/ FB Group to download the activity sheet (Module 3 – Activity 1). Instructions are
provided there as to the conduct performing the activity and the submission of completed outputs.

III. IncUlcAting Concepts (Inputs/Lesson Proper)

In an attempt to provide answer to the question, “Who am I?” a lot of people may say “I am
who I am.” Yet this statement still brings up the question “If you are who you are, then who are you
that make you who you are?”

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

(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014, 106 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p. 29).

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There are various ideas in psychology about the “self” and other similar or interchangeable
concepts.
Let us begin by looking at the self as a cognitive construction.

A. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF

The “self” and “identity” are seen by the theorists in psychology as mental constructs which are
created and re-created in the memory and current researches point to the frontal lobe of the brain
as the specific area associated with processess concerning the “self” (Elmore, et al, 2012 as cited
by Alata, et al., 2018). Several psychologists tend to look deeper into the mind of the person to
theorize about the self, identity, self-concept and even personality. However, they found out that
to understand the person is to look also at the effects of the environment to the formation of the
self, identity, and self-concept. It is because social interaction always has a part to play in who we
think we are and this is now the nature-and-nurture perspective (Alata, et al., 2018).
Here are some of the ideas by some theorists in psychology which led to the understanding of
the self. While you read through, kindly jot down in your notebooks some questions you may have in
mind which you may post for further clarification in the LMS or other platform being used for
instruction.

1. “Me-self” and “I-self” by William James (1890)

William James distinguished two understandings of the self, the self as “Me” and the self as “I”
(Woźniak, 2018).

Two Aspects of the Self according to James (1890):

“ME-SELF”
 Corresponds to the self as an object of
experience (self as object) (Woźniak, 2018).
 The self as known (or the empirical self)
“I-SELF”
 Reflects the self as a subject of experience
(self as subject) (Woźniak, 2018).
 The knower (or pure ego)
 The consciousness itself

o The physical characteristics as well as o The thinking, acting, and feeling self.
psychological capabilities that make who you
are.

o Referred to as the empirical self, self that is o Referred to as the nominative self, the self
known by the self, rather than the self as as knower of the self, rather than the self so
knower. known (American Psychological
Association, 2020).

In the psychology of William James, the ME-SELF or the empirical self is held to consist of the
following:
 material self - everything material that can be seen as belonging to the self (American
Psychological Association, 2020)
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SELF
o It refers to the things that belong to us like family, clothes, body, and money.
 social self - the self as perceived by others (American Psychological Association, 2020).
o It is the self in social situations. Our social selves are our behavior in different social situations.

 spiritual self- the self that is closest to one’s core subjective experience of oneself (American
Psychological Association, 2020).
o It includes our core values, conscience, and personality.

2. “Real self” and “Ideal Self” by Carl Rogers

Two Aspects of the Self according to Carl Rogers:

“Real Self” (Self-image) “Ideal Self”
 It includes all of those aspects of one’s  It briefly represents our strivings to achieve
being and one’s experiences that are in our goals or ideals. In other words it is
perceived in awareness (though not our dynamic ambitions and goals (Ismail &
always accurately) by the individual (Feist, Tekke, 2015).
et al., 2013 as cited by Villafuerte, et al.,
2018)

It includes the influence of our body image  Revolves around goals and ambitions in
intrinsically, how we see ourselves, which life. This is what our parents have taught
is very important to good psychological us to consider:
health. o what we admire in others,
o In other words, we might perceive o what our society promotes
ourselves as a beautiful or ugly, good or o what we think are in our best interest.
bad person.
It is the part of ourselves where we feel,
think, look and act involving our self-image
(Villafuerte, et al., 2018).

 Simply put, REAL SELF is;  The IDEAL SELF is;

 the self-worth  how we want to be
 who we really are  dynamic, changing
 what can be seen by others  the learned values, societal ones

In order to actualize (complete realization of one’s potential), enhance and maintain the self,
Rogers (1959) believed that people are encouraged by an innate tendency which is the one basic
motive of self. His entire theory is thus developed on actualizing tendency (Schultz & Schultz, 2013).

A wide gap between the ideal self and the real self indicates incongruence and an unhealthy
personality (Feist, et al., 2013 as cited by Villafuerte, et al., 2018). Hence, alignment between the
real self and the ideal self is necessary.

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SELF

IMPLICATION:
If the way that I am (the REAL SELF) is aligned with the way I want to be (the
IDEAL SELF), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or peace of mind. If the
way that I am is not aligned with how I want to be, the incongruence, or lack of
alignment, will result in mental distress or anxiety. The greater the level of
incongruence between the ideal self and the real self, the greater is the level of
resulting distress.

In the scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the highest, how aligned is your real self to your ideal
self?

3. Multiple versus Unified Self

Theorists believed that there is no one answer to the question, “Who am I?” as one person can
undergo several transitions in his life and create multiple versions of himself. However, there is still
the contention of the importance of mental well-being, of maintaining a unified, centralized, coherent
self.

Multiple Self Unified Self

• The capacities we carry within us from multiple The consistent and cohesive aspects
relationships. of the self.

 Not discovered, but created in our  What makes us distinct from others.
relationships with other people.

Is it possible to have a unified self despite the fact that we experience “shifts” and “morphs” as
we interact in different social situations and as we undergo several transitions in our lives?

4. True Self versus False Self

True Self False Self

 Based on a sense of being in the  A necessary defensive organization, a survival

experiencing body kit, a caretaker self, the means by which a
threatened person managed to survive.

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• Has a sense of integrity and • Used when a person has to comply with external
connected wholeness rules such as being polite or in following social
codes.

B. Now, let us take a look at the concepts related to the PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEWS OF THE SELF.

1. Identity
- It is composed of one’s personal characteristics, social roles and responsibilities as well as
affiliations that defines who one is (Elmore, et al, 2012, 69 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p.
29).

2. Self-concept
- It is basically what comes to your mind when you are asked about who you are (Elmore, et al,
2012, 69 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p. 29).
- It refers to the knowledge of the self which was constructed through experiences or insights
out of such experiences.
- It is defined in a wide way as the individual`s tendency to act in ways which actualize himself,
lead to his differentiation and a group of experiences, accordingly, are differentiated and
symbolized in conscious awareness as self experiences, the sum of which establishes the
individual`s self- concept.

3. Self-schema
The concept by Carl Rogers which refers to our own organized system or collection of knowledge
about who we are.

Self-schema includes the following about you:

 your name
 your family
 your nationality
 your religion
 your hobbies
 your interests
 your work
 your course
 your age
 your physical characteristics, etc.

Your schema is your mental pattern or an organization or conceptual pattern in your mind
about your “self” and your “identity” which undergo changes throughout time (Gleitman, Gross,
and Reisberg, 2011, 616; Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014, 107-108 as cited by Alata, et al., 2018, p.
30).

4. Self-awareness
 It is a clear and realistic view of one’s self.
 There are times when we are aware of our self-concepts.

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 Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our
next course of action.

Two types of self that we can be aware of (Carver and Scheier):

a. The private self - your internal standards and private thoughts and feelings.
b. The public self - your public image commonly geared towards having a good presentation of
yourself to others.

Three other self –schema of self- awareness

 “Actual” self – who you at are the moment.

 “Ideal” self – who you like to be.
 “Ought” self – who you think you should be.

Example: You are a student interested in basketball but you are also academically challenged
in most of your subjects. Your ideal self may be to practice more and play with the varsity team but
you also ought to pass your subjects as a responsible student.

5. Self-esteem

- refers to the positive or negative perception or evaluation of oneself. It is a person’s overall

self- evaluation or sense of self – worth.
- Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our self-esteem.

C. THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND AGENTIC

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory takes an agentic view of personality which means that
humans have the capacity to exercise control over their own lives.

- Self as proactive – the self is self-regulating, self-organizing, and self-reflective.

- Agent Self – known as the executive function that allows for actions; resides over everything
that has to do with decision-making, self-control, taking charge of situations, and actively
responding.

- Self-Efficacy
o It is the measure of one’s ability to accomplish goals.
o People with high self-efficacy often are eager to accept challenges because they believe they
can overcome them, while people with low self-efficacy may avoid challenges, or believe
experiences are more challenging than they actually are (appsychtextbk.wikispace.com, 2014
as cited by Villafuerte, et al., 2018).

If you have a high sense of self-efficacy, you tend to accept challenges and complete your goals
regardless of the trying circumstances that you are facing. Since you have actually that power to
influence your own actions to produce desired consequences in your life, there is that need to be
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intentional by consciously acting in your environment in a manner that permits growth toward
psychological health (Alata, et al., 2018).

How important is self-efficacy to you as you strive to align your real self to your ideal self?

IV. Using/Applying Knowledge (Application/Integration)

Note:
Log on to LMS/ FB Group to download the activity sheet (Module 3 – Activity 2).
Instructions are provided there as to how to conduct the activity and how to submit your
outputs.

V. EvalUAting Understanding (Assessment)

Note:
Instructions in the taking the test/quiz will be posted by the instructor via social
media/learning platforms. Contact your instructor via messenger/LMS chat for
clarification.

VII. SUggested Enrichment Activities (Suggested activities, links, etc.)

Note:
Instructions will be posted by the instructor via LMS or other social learning/media
platforms.

References:

Alata, E., Caslib, B., Serafica, J. & Pawilen, R,A. (2018). Understanding the self (1st edition).
Rex Book Store, Inc.

Villafuerte, S., Quillope, A., Tunac, R., & Borja, E. (2018). Understanding the self. Quezon City:
Nieme Publishing House Co.

American Psychological Association (2020). Empirical self. Retrieved from

https://dictionary.apa.org/empirical-self.

American Psychological Association (2020). Nominative self. Retrieved from

https://dictionary.apa.org/nominative-self.

Ismail, N.A.H., & Tekke, M. (2015). Rediscovering Rogers’s Self Theory and Personality.
Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology, 4 (3), 28 – 36.

Schultz, D.P., & Schultz, S.E. (2013). Theories of personality. Canada: Cengage Learning.

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Wozniak, M. (02 September 2018). “I” and “Me”: The self in the context of consciousness.
Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1 -14. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01656.
-=End of Module 3=-

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