Chapter 2

Knowing Oneself
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Conduct self-exploration and simple disclosure;
2. Explain that knowing oneself can make a person accept his or her strenghts and
limitation, and deal with others better;
3. Share his or her unique characteristics, habits, and experiences; and
4. Maintain a journal
What is your understanding of “Self”?
Self- The philosophy of self defines the essential qualities that make one person distinct
from all others. There have been numerous approaches to defining these qualities. The
self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this
self is the agent responsible for the thoughts and actions of an individual to which they
are ascribed. It is a substance, which therefore endures through time; thus, the
thoughts and actions at different moments may pertain to the same self.
(https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_self)
• Personality is the set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives that identifies an
individual. Personality is the essence of who we are and is the embodiment of one’s
physical, psychological, cognitive, affective, and spiritual self.
• The nature versus nurture debate involves the extent to which particular aspects of
behavior are a product of either inherited (i.e., genetic) or acquired (i.e., learned)
influences.
• Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and
other biological factors.
• Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception, e.g., the
product of exposure, life experiences and learning on an individual.
• Behavioral genetics has enabled psychology to quantify the relative contribution of
nature and nurture with regard to specific psychological traits.
• Instead of defending extreme nativist or nurturist views, most psychological researchers
are now interested in investigating how nature and nurture interact in a host of
qualitatively different ways.
• For example, epigenetics is an emerging area of research which shows how
environmental influences affect the expression of genes.
Explain
1. How do you understand the “Self”?
2. How does the “Self” relate to personality?
3. What are the two key components of personality?
4. What is personality trait?
5. What influences the development of personality?