PERFECT FERSONS
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
I. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF SELF
A. PHILOSOPHY
● is derived from the Greek words “Philos” and
“Sophia” which literally means “Love for
Wisdom”. It is the study of acquiring knowledge
through rational thinking and inquiries that
involves answering questions regarding the
nature and existence of man and the world we
live in.
● As such, it is imperative to look into the various
explanations from different philosophers of their
notion of what the “Self” its nature and how it is
formed in order to have a better picture of how
people develop their behaviors, attitude, and
actions and to be able to identify and understand
who we are and how we came to be.
II. Philosophy and the Self
● called the mother of all disciplines because all
fields of study began as philosophical
discourses. Ancient philosophers attempted to
explain natural and social phenomena, coming
up with their own definitions of how the world
works and what factors contribute to such
phenomena. It was also inevitable to come up
with various conceptions of what it means to be
human,- and the different definitions of the self.
● In the context of Philosophy, the SELF refers to
the condition of identity that makes one subject
of experience distinct from all others. It is
sometimes understood as the unified being
essentially connected to consciousness,
awareness, and agency (rational choice). Various
philosophers introduced specific characteristics
and meanings of self, which over time
transformed from pure abstractions to
explanations that hold scientific proofs.
III. SOCRATES: An Unexamined Life is Not Worth
Living
● He was the first philosopher who engaged in
systematic questioning about the self. According
to him, a philosopher’s task is to “know thyself”
through the process of Introspection because
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Knowing oneself is through the use of the
Socratic Method - the dialogue between the soul
and itself. Socrates believes that the answer to
our pursuit of knowing ourselves lies in our own
abilities and wisdom and that the only way for us
to understand ourselves is through internal
questioning or introspection. This method of
questioning oneself, where the person assumes
the role of both the teacher and the student is
known to the world as the Socratic Method or
Socratic Conversation.
● Examining one’s self is the most important task
one can undertake, for it alone will give us the
knowledge necessary to answer the question
‘how should I live my life’. He posited that “Once
we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for
ourselves, but otherwise we never shall.” Thus,
through self-knowledge, we will discover our
true nature. Socrates famously maintained that
our true self is our soul. Socrates also posited
that possession of knowledge is a virtue and that
ignorance is depravity, that a person’s
acceptance of ignorance is the beginning of the
acquisition of knowledge. So, one must first
have the humility to acknowledge one’s
ignorance so as to be able to know what he is
lacking and what he needs to know.
● He believed that MOST MEN WERE NOT REALLY
FULLY AWARE OF WHO THEY WERE and the
virtues that they were supposed to attain in
order to preserve their SOULS for the afterlife.
The worst that can happen to anyone is to live
but die inside. By continuously asking and
evaluating who we are we as a person will also
be able to understand our strengths and
weaknesses, the things that we like and dislike,
how we want people to treat us, and how we
want ourselves to be treated, so by knowing
these things we can act in accordance to what
we know we are and live our lives following our
knowledge of ourselves.
● Man is composed of two important aspects of
his personhood. All individuals have an
imperfect, impermanent aspect, the body while
maintaining that there is also a soul that is
perfect and permanent.
A. PLATO: The measure of a man is what he does
with power
● Plato is a student of Socrates who
supported the idea of the dualistic nature
of man – body and soul. He attested that
the man is a soul using a body. The body
connotes man’s material, sensible world
while the soul, on the contrary, connotes
the ideal world that exists apart from the
body.
● The IDEAL WORLD (Intelligible world) is
the true world of reality. The SENSIBLE
WORLD (World of Matter) is a world of
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 becoming; it is a world of constant
change. Plato views the superiority of the
human soul over the human body. Hence,
the real man for Plato is his soul and not
his body.
● Like most other ancient philosophers,
Plato maintains a virtue-based
eudaemonistic conception of ethics. That
is to say, happiness or well-being
(eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral
thought and conduct, and the virtues
(aretê: ‘excellence’) are the requisite
skills and dispositions needed to attain
it.
● Justice in the human person can only be
attained IF THE THREE PARTS OF THE
SOUL ARE WORKING HARMONIOUSLY
WITH ONE ANOTHER (the Republic). To
know more about the three parts of the
soul.
● In the Phaedrus, Plato (through his
mouthpiece, Socrates) shares the
allegory of the chariot to explain the
tripartite nature of the human soul or
psyche.
● The chariot is pulled by two winged
horses, one mortal and the other
immortal. The mortal horse is deformed
and obstinate. Plato describes the horse
as a “crooked lumbering animal, put
together anyhow…of a dark color, with
grey eyes and blood-red complexion; the
mate of insolence and pride, shag-eared
and deaf, hardly yielding to whip and
spur.”
The immortal horse, on the other hand, is
noble and game, “upright and cleanly
made…his color is white, and his eyes
dark; he is a lover of honor and modesty
and temperance, and the follower of true
glory; he needs no touch of the whip, but
is guided by word and admonition only.”
● The chariot, charioteer, and white and
dark horses symbolize the soul and its
three main components. The Charioteer
represents man’s Reason, the dark horse
his appetites, and the white horse his
spiritedness.
● Appetitive Part – part of the soul that drives man
to experience thirst, hunger, and other physical
wants. It is the seat of physical pleasures. It
seeks power, wealth, and even sexual
satisfaction. It is located in the stomach.
● Spiritual Part – part of the soul that makes man
assert abomination and anger. It is the seat of
emotions (i.e. anger, fear, hatred, jealousy). It is
located in the chest.
● Rational Part – it is the seat of reasoning. It is the
rational part of the soul that enables man to
think, reflect, draw conclusions, and analyze.
This part of the soul is located in the head. For
Plato, this part of the soul is the most important
and the highest. It naturally desires to acquire
knowledge and wisdom. It is this part that rules
over the other parts and is not to be overruled. It
is this part that specifically distinguishes man
from the brutes. Man can control his appetite
and self-assertion of spirit through reason.
IV. ARISTOTLE: Man is a rational animal
● Aristotle's philosophical speculation of self
exists as a process of hylomorphism in which
the self holds two realms of existence the
physical realm which is the human body
substance holding tight to the body substance
physical functions, however, not of necessity
quantumly constant, and, the metaphysical
realm, which for Aristotle existed as the
entelechy vital force, or, soul, of the self's ability
to actually exist itself. He denied the world of
Forms and said the form exists within the object.
The soul exists only in the body. When the body
dies, the soul dies with it. For Aristotle, the body
and soul are in a STATE OF UNITY. The BODY is
MATTER to the soul and the SOUL is the FORM
of the body. Body and soul, therefore, are
inseparable. They constitute man as a whole.
● Aristotle also believed that there are 3 kinds of
souls.
● He believed that man is a RATIONAL ANIMAL.
RATIONAL SOUL – exists only in man. The
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 rational soul ranks the highest of all kinds of
souls. Besides, it is capable of thinking,
reasoning and willing. The self is "soul" force
pro formed into a conscious awareness of itself
developing, of necessity, multitudes of qualities
of metaphysical mental awareness. Physically
the self assumes earthly reality practical and
pragmatic earthly reality functions such as
sense experience, which sense experience,
lacking conscious awareness (not yet
discovering self/soul), form into sense
perceptions, sense impressions, and sense
opinions of earthly reality, which, not of self/soul
necessity, tell truth.
perception of size based on the distance of an object
from the viewer. Descartes explained that because
we cannot always trust our senses and in turn what
we perceive as who we are or the essence of our
existence, we as a rational being should focus on
the mind and explained that the more we think and
doubt what we perceived from our senses and the
answer that came from such thinking or doubting
leads to better understanding of ourselves. He also
implies that being in a constant doubt regarding
one’s existence is proof that a person actually exists.

● Psychologically and intellectually earthly reality

self moves into cognitive/self/soul psychological
disequilibrium and psychological dissatisfaction.
Only human Mind Life (soul) absolutely, of
necessity, innately "a priori" knows truth.
Physical earthly reality never knows truth
because of the multitudes of sense perceptions,
sense impressions, sense opinions of earthly
reality that never agree. Metaphysical human
Mind Life (soul), of self/soul existence necessity,
absolutely everlastingly knows truth.

V. RENE DESCARTES: I think therefore I am

● Rene Descartes is a French Philosopher known to
be the father of modern philosophy because of his
radical use of systematic and early scientific method
to aid his ideas and assumptions. Though his works
were often compared or said to be similar to the
concept of St. Augustine which could be traced back
to the works of Plato, what his ideas set him apart is
on his belief in modern dualism or the existence of
body and mind and it’s the implication to one’s
existence were presented with the evidences from
experiments as well as philosophical reasoning, he
also known to be the proponent of the “Methodical
Doubt” which simply meant of a continuous process
of questioning what we perceive and accepting the
fact that doubting, asking questions are a part of
ones’ existence. As such he has defined the roles of
the mind and body to the notion of one’s existence
and sense of self.
● Descartes is known for the statement “Cogito Ergo
Sum” which means in English as “I think therefore I
am”. According to him a person is comprised of mind
and body, the body that perceives from the different
senses and the mind that thinks and question or
doubt what the body has experienced.
● “I am a thinking thing. . . A thing that doubts,
understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses,
imagines, perceives.”
● For him, the body and its perceptions cannot fully
be trusted or can easily be deceived, For instance
there are times that we feel that a dream is real
before actually waking up or having different
● SUBSTANCE, according to him, is something
that could exist independently. The mind and
soul can exist without the body. Establishing the
distinction of soul from the body can make
people believe in the afterlife and soul’s
immortality.
● The SELF is a thinking thing. The thinking self is
the soul. It is the non-material, immortal,
conscious being, independent of the physical
laws of the universe. While the physical body is
the material, mortal, non thinking entity and fully
governed by the physical laws of nature.
A. JOHN LOCKE: Man is born with a Blank Slate
● John Locke is an English Philosopher,
Physician, He is considered to be the father of
Classical liberalism some of his works on this
subject matter paved the way to several
revolutions to fight the absolute powers of
monarchs and rulers of his time that led to the
development of governance, politics and
economic system that we now know.
● His work on the self is most represented by the
concept “Tabula Rasa” which means a Blank
Slate. He believed that the experiences and
perceptions of a person is important in the
establishment of who that person can become.
Unlike what the other Philosophers view on
human experiences and senses, John Locke
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 does not disregard the experiences of the
person in the identification and establishment of
who we are as a person. He stated that a person
is born with knowing nothing and that is
susceptible to stimulation and accumulation of
learning from the experiences, failures,
references, and observations of the person.
● According to the Memory Theory of the Self,
Locke posited that CONSCIOUSNESS- is what
defines one’s SELF. X is the same person as Y if
and only if X shares at least one experiential
memory with Y. The person today is the same
person as yesterday through the memories he
has of the past. The accumulated experiences of
the person yesterday.
● Considering this, the process of the mind to
absorb information and accumulate knowledge
may imply that as a person to be able to be
whom we want to be, with the right stimulations,
enough experiences, as well as awareness that
by primarily knowing nothing will enable one to
be open to any kind of learning and does not
limit any possibilities for growth implies that the
opportunity for one person to develop to
anything he wants to be is limited only to the
environment, experiences, and the choices of
the person
B. DAVID HUME: The self is a bundle of perception
● The Scottish Philosopher David Hume, focused
his work in the field of Empiricism, Skepticism,
and naturalism. Being an Empiricist which
believes in concrete evidences and observable
experiences that meld a person, his notion on
the self contradicts to the ideas of the
philosophers before him which said that at the
notion of self, one’s identity and behavior does
not exceed the physical realm and that the “Self
“is only the accumulation of different
impressions.
● Hume argues that our concept of the self is a
result of our natural habit of attributing unified
existence to any collection of associated parts.
“For my part, when I enter most intimately into
what I call myself, I always stumble on some
particular perception or other, of heat or cold,
light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I
never can catch myself at any time without a
perception, and never can observe anything but
the perception” (Treatise, 1.4.6.3).
● That is the idea that Hume reiterated when
saying that there should be no permanent
concept of the self. He said when a person is
asked the question “who you are? “That person
tends to answer different impressions such as
good, happy, optimistic, contented, sad, etc.
generally they apply to who you are now but at
the same time these characteristics might
change from time to time. If the neighbor you
knew your entire life to be happy and have a
positive outlook suddenly looked sad and
discontented can we say that the person you see
is not your neighbor anymore?
IMMANUEL KANT: Humans have inner and outer selve
● Immanuel Kant, a German Philosopher that is
known for his works on Empiricism and
Rationalism. Kant responded to Hume’s work by
trying to establish that the collection of
impressions and different contents is what it
only takes to define a person. Kant argued that
the awareness of different emotions that we
have, impressions and behavior is only a part of
our self. He said that to fully understand who we
are, a certain level of consciousness or sense
that uses our intuition which synthesizes all the
experiences, impressions and perceptions of
ourselves will pave the way to defining and know
who we really are.
● Kant argued that the sense called
“Transcendental Apperception” is an essence of
our consciousness that provides basis for
understanding and establishing the notion of
“self” by synthesizing one’s accumulation of
experiences, intuition and imagination goes.
This means that this idea goes beyond what we
experience but still able to become aware of. For
example the idea of time and space, we may not
be able to observe the movement of time and the
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 vastness of space but we are still capable of
understanding their concept based on what we
can observe as their representation.
● point of Ryle, all those places, buildings and
● The things that men perceive are not just
randomly infused into the human person without
an organizing principle that regulates the
relationships between these impressions. The
apparatuses of the mind organizes the
impressions that we get from the external world.
Without the self, one cannot organize the
different impressions one gets in relation to his
own existence. The apparatuses of the mind the
self does not only give man his personality but it
is also the seat of knowledge acquisition or
intelligence which synthesizes all knowledge
and experience
● With that in mind and following the idea of
Kant about Self, we can say that we are not only
an object that perceives and reacts to whatever it
is that we are experiencing, we also have the
capabilities to understand beyond those
experiences and be able to think and have a
clear identification who we are and establish a
sense of self that is unique and distinct from
others.
● For Kant, the Metaphysical Self explores the
nature of being existence with no basis in reality.
He further related that humans have inner and
outer self. The INNER SELF includes rational
reasoning and psychological state. The OUTER
SELF includes the body and physical mind
where representation occurs.
GILBERT RYLE: The self is a collection of behavior
● Gilbert Ryle with his behavioristic approach to self,
said that self is the behavior presented by the
person, his notion of dualism is that the behavior
that we show, emotions and actions are the
reflections of our mind and as such is the
manifestation of who we are. Ryle does not
believe that the mind and body, though some say
can coexist, are two separate entities, which is
said to be evident in the unexplainable
phenomenon or abilities of the mind where the
soul is considered.
● To him, once we encounter others, their
perceptions of what we do, how we act, and the
way we behave will then result to the
understanding of other people and the
establishment of who we are. His explanation of
self is further exemplified in his “ghost in the
machine” view. This view said that man is a
complex machine with different functioning
parts, and the intelligence and other
characteristics or behavior of man is
represented by the ghost in the said machine. He
gave further explanation using an example
imagining that if you are touring a visiting friend
to the university that you are studying and you
brought him to the athletic Centre, library,
buildings and classrooms, but then your friends
ask “but where is the university? As such is the
offices are the university, which supports his
idea that the mind and body is not necessarily
separate entities. So considering that analogy,
the idea of Ryle is saying that the things that we
do, how we behave and react and all other
components like the way we talk, walk, and look
is generally who we are as a person.
● For Ryle, The SELF is NOT AN ENTITY THAT
ONE CAN LOCATE and analyze but simply a
CONVENIENT NAME that people use to refer to
all the behaviors that people make. What truly
matters is the BEHAVIOR that a person
MANIFESTS in his day-to-day life.
VI. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
● The self is not created in isolation; we are not
born with perceptions of ourselves as shy,
interested in jazz, or charitable to others, for
example. Rather, such beliefs are determined by
our observations of and interactions with others.
Are you rich or poor? Beautiful or ugly? Smart or
not? Good or bad at playing video games? And
how do you know? These questions can be
answered only by looking at those around us.
The self has meaning only within the social
context, and it is not wrong to say that the social
situation defines our self-concept and our
self-esteem. We rely on others to provide a
“social reality”—to help us determine what to
think, feel, and do (Hardin & Higgins, 1996). But
what forms do these social influences take? It is
to this question that we will now turn.
VII. Sociology and Socialization
● SOCIOLOGY is the study of society, social
institutions, and social relationships. Sociology is an
exciting and illuminating field of study that analyzes
and explains important matters in our personal lives,
our communities, and the world.
● This field of study views the SELF as a relatively
stable set of perceptions of who we are in relation to
ourselves, others, and social systems. It is socially
constructed in the sense that it is shaped through
interaction with other people.
● SOCIALIZATION is a means by which human infants
begin to acquire the skills necessary to perform as a
functioning member of their society and is the most
influential in the learning process one can
experience.
A. Looking Glass Self
● I am not what I think I am and I am not what you
think I am; I am what I think that you think I am.”
-CHARLES COOLEY
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 ● The LOOKING-GLASS SELF is a social concept
stating that a person’s self grows out of
society’s INTERPERSONAL INTERACTIONS and
the PERCEPTIONS OF OTHERS. The view of
ourselves comes from the contemplation of
personal qualities and impressions of how
others perceive us.
● The term refers to people shaping their identity
based on the perception of others, which leads
people to reinforce other people’s perspectives
on themselves. People shape themselves based
on what other people perceive and confirm other
people’s opinions of themselves.
● Cooley adheres to the INTERACTIONIST
PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY which aims to
understand the meanings attached to certain
situations and the behavior attached to it. He
observed his own children to study human
nature.
B. 3 Processes Involved in Developing the
Self-concept or Self-Image According to Cooley:
1. We imagine how we appear to another person.
2. We imagine what judgments people make of us
based on our appearance.
3. We imagine how the person feels about us, based
on the judgments made of us. The result could lead
us to change our behavior based on how we feel
people perceive us.
THE PRIMARY GROUP is the source of human nature and
is characterized by close, intimate, face-to-face interaction
whose primary function is socialization
THE SECONDARY GROUP refers to the larger and more
disparate ‘nucleated group whose members were rarely if
ever all in direct contact.
The looking-glass self is a theory about how people
develop an identity and sense of self. Individuals receive
ideas about themselves from others, interpret them, and
incorporate them into their self-image.
This sense of self begins developing in childhood and
by adulthood is usually solidly formed, although not
completely defined. The process of developing and
modifying a sense of self continues throughout an
individual's life. As an individual comes into contact
with new people and situations,beliefs regarding
perception continually shape and reshape the sense of
self.
C. THEORY OF SOCIAL SELF
HERBERT MEAD
● Mead's theory of the social self has based on
the perspective that the self emerges from
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, such as observing and
interacting with others, responding to others'
opinions about oneself, and internalizing
external opinions and internal feelings about
oneself.
● According to Mead, the self is not there from
birth, but it is developed over time from social
experiences and activities.
D. DEVELOPMENT OF SELF
● Preparatory Stage (imitation Stage) LANGUAGE
develops self by allowing individuals to respond to
each other through symbols, gestures, words, and
sounds. It conveys others' attitudes, emotions, and
opinions toward a subject or person.
● PLAY develops self by allowing individuals to take
on different roles, pretend, and express expectations
of others. Play develops one's self-consciousness
through role-playing. During role-play, a person is
able to internalize the perspective of others and
develop an understanding of how others feel about
themselves and others in a variety of social
situations.
● GAMES develop self by allowing individuals to
understand and adhere to the rules of the activity.
Self is developed by understanding that there are
rules by which one must abide in order to win the
game or be successful at an activity.
2 FORMS OF THE SELF
● “ME” part of the self is the Objective element and
active part of self. It is our Social Self and it is the
organized set of attitudes of others that individuals
assume.
● “I “part of the self is the part of you that’s existing out
in the world, acting, being spontaneous, etc. It is the
subject of the action. It’s what you would commonly
think of as yourself. It is in response to the ME self.
SUMMARY of Mead’s Theory:
The behavior of the individual can be understood only in
terms of the behavior of the whole social group of which
he is a member since his individual acts are involved in
larger, social acts which go beyond himself and which
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implicate the other members of the group.” Mead argued
that there could be no self apart from society, no
consciousness of self, and no communication. in its
turn, society must be understood as a structure that
emerges through an ongoing process of communicative
social acts, through transactions between persons who
are mutually oriented toward each other.
appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors.
Self Worth
- also known as self esteem
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- it is what we think about ourselves
- it is developed in early childhood
- it is developed by our interaction with parents

The study of either the COGNITIVE,CONATIVE or

AFFECTIVE representation of one’s identity. SELF is
the inner personality and is influenced by experience
throughout life.

1. Self-Awareness (How much am I aware of myself?)

- the experience of one's own personality or individuality
- Self-awareness involves being aware of different aspects of
the self including traits, behaviors, and feelings. Essentially,
it is a psychological state in which oneself becomes the
focus of attention.

2. Self-Knowledge (How much I know myself?)

- is knowledge and understanding of internal concepts (such 4. Self-Perception (How much I present myself to
as one's own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses) that others?)
have been gleaned through reflection and honesty. - a person’s view of his or herself or of any of the
- Self-knowledge also refers to knowledge of one's own mental or physical attributes that constitute the
mental states, processes, and dispositions. self.
- the idea that you have about the kind of person
3. Self-Esteem (How much I value myself?) you are.
- the term self-esteem is used to describe a person's overall
sense of self-worth or personal value. In other words, how
much you appreciate and like yourself. It involves a variety of
beliefs about yourself, such as the appraisal of your own
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SELF-CONCEPT is influenced by childhood experiences
and the evaluation of others.

SELF IMAGE
● it is how we see ourselves
● Including the influence of our body images on our
inner personality and the
● Effects of how a person thinks, feels, and behaves in
the world.
IDEAL SELF
● The person we would like to be
● Consists of our goals and ambitions in life PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
● Forever changing. - ERIK ERIKSON

● A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what

actually happens in life and the experiences of the
person.

● Hence, a difference may exist between a person’s

ideal self and actual experience.

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY is based on

eight stages of development
PSYCHOANALYTIC (THEORY OF PERSONALITY)
- SIGMUND FREUD

STAGE 1- ORAL SENSORY

WHAT MAKES YOUR PERSONALITY DIFFERENT Age: Birth to 1 year

FROM OTHERS? Conflict: Trust vs. Mistrust
Event: feeding
Relationship: Mother
Resolution: Hope
This stage is all about fulfilling needs.
Baby needs to trust the world around them to take care
of their needs. If they are hungry, they need to develop
trust that they will be fed. If they are not fed, or their
8
diaper is left dirty, they may develop a mistrust in the
outside world. This sense of trust of mistrust can effect
us throughout the rest of our lives. The infant must
develop a loving, trusting relationship with the
mother/caregiver through feeding, teething and
comforting failure to resolve this conflict can lead to
sensory distortion, and withdrawal.
STAGE 2 – MUSCULAR-ANAL
■ Age: 1 to 3 years
■ Conflict: Autonomy vs.
Shame/Doubt
■ Event: toilet training
■ Relationship: Parents
■ Resolution: Will
Autonomy means being your own boss.
Here a toddler tries to control their
own bodies by toilet training and
their environment, by always saying
"NO!!!!". Sometimes they do poopy in
their pants or get yelled at by their
parents, causing shame and doubt in
their own abilities. If we learn how
to control ourselves in reasonable
ways, we develop a healthy will. We
are then able to face the later
challenges of life. The child’s
energy is directed towards mastering
physical skills such as walking,
grasping and muscular control. The
child learns self control but may
develop shame, doubt, impulsivity or
compulsion if not handled well.
STAGE 3 – LOCOMOTOR
● Age 3 to 6 years
● Conflict: Initiative vs. Guilt
● Event: Independence
● Relationship: Family
● Resolution: Purpose
In this stage children want to
understand the world and they ask too
many darn questions!!!! If their
initiative in questioning the world
is encouraged, then they will feel
comfortable with expressing their
curiosity throughout the rest of
their life. If we discourage them and
tell them to shut up, then they will
feel guilty about their questioning
and avoid being inquisitive later.
The child may show too much force in
this stage causing feelings of guilt
failure to resolve this conflict can
lead to ruthlessness and inhibition.
The child continues to become more
assertive in exploration, discovery,
adventure and play.
STAGE 4 – LATENCY
■ Age 6 to 12 years:
■ Conflict: Industry vs.
Inferiority
■ Event: school
■ Relationships: teachers, friends
and neighborhood
■ Resolution: Competency
This is where most children begin
formal education (what we call
school). For the first time children
are being formally evaluated. If a
child raises their hand in class and
answers a question correctly, then
he/she will feel industrious
(competent). If he/she tries to
answer a question but stutters to get
out the wrong answer, and other
students all start making fun of
his/her speech impediment, then the
child will feel inferior. The child
must learn to deal with new skills
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and develop a sense of achievement
and accomplishment failure to do so
can create a sense of inferiority,
failure and incompetence
STAGE 5 – ADOLESCENCE
■ Age: 12 to 20 years
■ Conflict: Identity vs. Role
confusion
■ Event: development of peer
relationships
■ Relationships: peers, groups and
social influences
■ Resolution: Fidelity
In adolescence, Erikson believed that
a teenager’s main social need is to
discover his or her social identity.
While searching for your identity,
you may try out different roles, like
trying to fit into various social
groups, experimenting with drugs or
sex, or just changing your wardrobe.
You should be trying to find a stable
sense of self now, or Erikson
believed you may have an identity
crisis later. The teenager must
achieve a sense of identity in
occupation, sex roles, politics and
religion. In addition, they must
resolve their identity and direction.
Failure to make these resolutions can
lead to the repression of aspects of
the individual for the sake of others
(fanaticism).
STAGE 6 – YOUNG ADULTHOOD
■ Age: 20 to 40 years
■ Conflict: Intimacy vs. Isolation
■ Event: parenting
■ Relationships: lovers, friends
and work connections
■ Resolution: Love
Young adults (early 20s into early
30s) are trying to balance their
career efforts (work, school or
self-improvement) with the need to be
in an intimate relationship with
another person. How much time should
I spend looking for a relationship?
What if I don't find anybody? What if
I am all alone for the rest of my
life? In this stage, the individual
must develop intimate relationships
through work and social life failure
to make such connections can lead to
promiscuity, exclusivity and
isolation.
STAGE 7 – MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
■ Age: 40 to 65 years
■ Conflict: generativity vs.
stagnation
■ Event: parenting
■ Relationships: children and the
community
■ Resolution: Care
Erikson believed that by the time we
reach our mid 30s to mid 50s we start
to really examine our lives and see
if it is going the way we planned it
or did it take a drastic turn. This
is where some people take drastic
steps and change their lives. You
could see a lot of late divorces or
extreme changes in clothes or cars-
we call this experience a mid life
crisis this stage is based on the
idea that each adult must find a way
to satisfy, support and contribute to
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the next generation; it is often
thought of as giving back failure to
resolve this stage can lead to
overextension or rejectivity.

STAGE 8 – MATURITY INTEGRITY VS.

DESPAIR

■ Age: +65 years

■ Conflict: Ego Integrity vs.
Despair
■ Event is reflection on and
acceptance of the individual’s
life
■ Relationship: All humans
■ Resolution: Wisdom

Towards the end of our lives we look

back and evaluate ourselves. Did we
live a good life? Leave behind a
legacy of friends or family? Or did
we waste our time playing Madden 2023
on Playstation 7? If we feel like
there were many lost opportunities
along the way we may fall into
despair. I like to use this stage to
try to shape my life now- you should
too. The individual is creating
meaning and purpose of one’s life and
reflecting on life achievements
failure to resolve this conflict can
create feelings of disdain & despair.

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