1.

3 SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT

In confidence or in an attempt to avoid further analytical discussion, a lot of

people say. “I am who I am” yet, this statement still begs the question, “If you
are who you are, then who are you that makes you who you are?”

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
(Jhangani and Tarry 2014).”

William James (1890) 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 (Gleitman, Gross, and
Reisburg 2011; Hogg, and Vaughan 2010).

The “me” on the other hand is the physical characteristics as well as

psychological capabilities that makes who you are (Gleitman, Gross,
and Reisburg 2011; Hogg, and Vaughan 2010).

Carl Rogers’s (1959) theory of personally also used the same terms, the
“I” as the one acts and decides while the “me” is what you think or feel
about yourself as an object (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisburg 2011;
Hogg, and Vaughan 2010).

Other concept similar to self are IDENTITY is composed of personal

characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as well as affiliation that define
who one is (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).

Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind when you are asked who you
are (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012). Self-identity and self-concept are not
fixed in on-e time frame, and they are not fixed for life nor are they is 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 are (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisburg
2011; Jhangani and Tarry 2014). Image an organized list or diagram similar to
the one below.

HOBBIES

NATIONALITY FAMILY
SELF

RELIGION

It may also include your interest, work, course, age, name, and Physical
characteristics, among others. As grow and adapt to the changes around you,
they also change, but they are not passive receivers, they actively shape and
affect how you see, think and feel about things.

Theories generally seethe self and identify as mental construct created and
recreated in memory (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012). Currect researches
point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the brain associated
with the processes concerning the self.
Several psychologists, 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 personally.
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. This is not nature vs. Nature but instead a
nature and nurture perspective.

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 needs 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 internak
standards and private thoughts and feelings. The public self or your public
image commonly geared towards having a good presentation of yourself to
others (Hogg and Vaughan 2010)

Self-awareness there are times, however, when we are aware of our self
concepts also present us with at least three other self schema the:

ACTUAL, IDEAL, and OUGHT SELF

ACTUAL SELF is who you are at the moment

IDEAL SELF is who you like to be.

OUGHT SELF is who you think you should be.

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. (Jhangani and Tarry 2014)
At other times, especially with large crowds, we may experience de 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 have a great impact on our self-
esteem, one of the common concepts associated with the "self'. It is defined our
own positive or negative perception or evaluation of ourselves (Jhangiani, And
Tarry 2014; Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011).
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 (Jhangiani, and
Tarry 2014; Hogg and Vaughan 2010).
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.
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). 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 (jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). 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 out-performs us,
especially when that person is close to us (i.e., a friend or family).
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.

Such social comparison also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance

theory, which states that we can feel threatened when someone out-performs
us, especially when that person is close to us. In this case, we usually react in
three ways:
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 resolve to improve that certain aspect of
ourselves.
However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, 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.