GSELF 0400 7:30 – 8:30 AM MWF

Unit 4: Psychological Perspectives of the Self 2. the world owes them

Are you for real? Are you true to yourself? 3. they should be perfect, the best, etc.
I. William James: the self is both the “knower” and the I. Idealized Self: imaginary picture of the self as the
“known”. It is partly object and partly subject and divided possessor of unlimited powers and superlative qualities. It
into the me-self and the I-self. develops when people feel inferior and have the need to
be loved. One’s view of perfection.
A. The ME-SELF: self as known, the object of thought, the
empirical self, one of the things you may be conscious of. II. Actualized Self: often despised because it fails to fulfill
the requirement of the idealized image. The person is
3 Dimensions of the ME-SELF regardless of other people’s perceptions. The person one is
1. Material Self – pertains to the things you own, things in everyday life.
that belong to us or that we belong to. III. Despised Self: based on the lack of love and acceptance
2. Social Self – Significant interpersonal relations: Who by others; consists of feelings of inferiority and
you are in a given social situation. shortcomings. The feeling that one is hated; it is assumed
that it is one’s true self is the one hated. Negative view of
3. Spiritual Self – One’s personality, character, and the self.
defining values; Who you are at your core; More
concrete or permanent. IV. Real Self: revealed only as a person begins to shed the
various techniques developed to deal with basic anxiety. A
B. The I-SELF: self as knower, soul or mind, pure ego, and force that impels growth and self-realization; the inner core
self-awareness, consciousness itself. of personality, one’s potential. The need to be who one
3 Dimensions of I-SELF truly is.

1. Individual Self – Individual traits, abilities, and
possessions.
2. Relational Self – Other people we have a personal emphasize a person's subjective experience. Everyone has
relationship with.
3. Collective Self – Social roles, social categories, and
social group membership.
II. Karen Horney: the foundation of healthy development
stems from our childhood experiences. People need to
meet certain conditions to grow. Parents need to provide
feelings of safety and security to the child for them to
become psychologically healthy individuals.
“To search for truth about the self is as valuable as to
search for truth in other areas of life.”
 Basic Hostility – anger/ aggression towards the parents
that fail to provide some conditions; parents’ inability
to provide safety and security to the child.
 Basic Anxiety – the development of unacceptable and
repressed feelings. Feelings of inadequacy and
helplessness in a perceived hostile world.
 Idealized Self – the development due to the presence
of anxiety. An overly positive and perfect image of the
self.
Idealized self-beliefs:
1. they are better than the others.
Is having an Idealized Self-Good or Bad? Why?
III. Carl Rogers: experiences can help us grow, develop, and
an ideal self, and it is perfectly “healthy” to have one-
unlike Horney’s concept of Idealized Self-image.
The SELF or SELF-CONCEPT - As the individual
experiences life, he becomes a separate individual from
others. Defined by the words I, my, myself, and me.
The two types of tendencies
1. Formative Tendency – the ability to grow from
simple to complex organisms.
2. Actualizing Tendency – the ability to reach one’s
fullest potential.
The real self and Ideal self should overlap and co-occur in
order for us to become “psychologically healthy
individuals.”
Real Self (Self-Concept) – Refers to the aspects of one’s
being and experiences that are perceived in awareness.
GSELF 0400 7:30 – 8:30 AM MWF
Ideal Self – This pertains to who you want to become in the Self-Efficacy: feelings of adequacy, efficiency, and
future. competence in coping with life.
High Levels – belief that they can deal effectively with
events and situations.
Low Levels - belief that they are unable to exercise
control over events and situations.
Sources of Self-Efficacy
1. Performance Attainment: previous successful
attempts and experiences provide clear indication of
ones’ level of mastery and competence. Prior
achievements demonstrate our capabilities and may
Requirements for the Ideal Self and Real Self to Overlap increase one’s level of self-efficacy.
1. Congruence / Genuineness: being real, accepting the 2. Vicarious Experience: observing and witnessing others
self. perform successfully strengthen self-efficacy, particularly
if the people being observed are similar in abilities.
2. Empathy: ability to recognize and understand others’
feelings. 3. Verbal Persuasions: verbal feedback and encouraging
words may help strengthen levels of self-efficacy. The
3. Unconditional Positive Regard: no conditions of
“WHO” is also an important factor.
worth, unconditional acceptance.
4. Physiological and Emotional Arousal: the more
The Self as PROACTIVE and Agentic
composed we are, the greater one’s self-efficacy is.
1. Proactive – active in advance of a future situation,
rather than just reacting; taking control and making
things happen rather than just adjusting to a situation or
waiting for something to happen.
2. Agentic – self-organizing, proactive, self-reflective, and
self-regulating as times change; agentive perspective
states that we are not merely reactive organisms shaped
by environmental forces or driven by inner impulses.
IV. Albert Bandura: human agency is the essence of
humanness – people are self-regulating, proactive, self-
organizing, and self-reflective. People have the power to
influence their own actions and produce the desired
consequences.
Core Features of Human Agency
1. Intentionality – the idea that people are continually
changing their plans and are aware of the consequences
of their actions.
2. Forethought – the idea that people are able to
anticipate the possible outcomes of their actions and
select behaviors that will produce that desired outcome.
3. Self-Reactiveness – the ability to motivate themselves
and regulate their actions.
4. Self-Reflectiveness – the idea that people have the
ability to examine themselves.