LESSON 3: THE SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT

In confidence or in an attempt to avoid further analytical discussions, 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 in past lessons, 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 and the Me-self and I-self

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
distinction was originally based on the idea that the former ―Me‖ corresponds the self
as a subject of experience. It is the physical characteristics as well as psychological
capabilities that makes who you are. On the other hand, the ―I‖ is the thinking, acting
and feeling self. It is the one who acts and decide.

Carl Rogers and Self-schema

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 a
diagram similar to the one below.

Hobbies

Family Self Religion

Nation
ality
 The schema is not limited to the example above. It may include your interest,
work, course, age, name, and physical characteristics, among others. As you grow
and adapt to the changes around you, they also change.

Sigmund Freud and the Id, Ego and Superego

Several psychologist, especially during the field’s 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 self, its mental process
and one’s behavior as the result of the interaction between the Id, Ego, and
Superego.

ID- (Pleasure principle) the Id is the

primitive and instinctive component of
personality. It is part of the unconscious
that contains all the urges and impulses,
including what are called the libido, a kind
of generalized sexual energy that is used
for everything from survival instincts to
appreciation of art.

Example: A hungry baby cried he was

fed.

EGO – (Reality principle) the ego is the

only part of the conscious personality. It’s
what the person is aware of when they
think about themselves and what they
usually try to project towards others.

Example: Mary wanted to borrow her mom’s necklace but knew her mom would be
angry if she took it without asking, so she asked her mom if she could wear it.

SUPEREGO – (Moral principle) the superego is a part of the unconscious that is the
voice of conscious and the source of self-criticism. The superego’s function is to
control the id’s impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and
aggression.

Example: Sarah knew she could steal the supplies from work and no one would
know about it. She also knew that stealing was wrong, so she decided not to take
anything even though she probably wouldn’t caught.