SELF AS

COGNITIVE
CONSTRUCT
WMSU
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1. EXPLAIN THE QUOTE ABOVE (IN NOT LESS THAN 50 WORDS).

2. GIVE 5 ADJECTIVES THAT MAY LIFT UP OR BRING DOWN YOUR SELF-ESTEEM.

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 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 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 (Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014)."
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Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or our organized system or collection of
knowledge about who we are (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; jhangaini and Tarry 2014).
Imagine an organized list or diagram similar to the one below.

Hobbies

Family SELF Religion

Nationality

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 It may also 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, but they are not passive receivers, they actively shape and affect
how you see, think and feel about things.

Theories generally see the self and identity as mental construct created and
recreated in memory (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012). Current researches point
to the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the brain associated with the
processes concerning the self.

Several psychologist, 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 personality. 6
 The most influential of them is SIGMUND FREUD. 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. Nurture but instead a nature-- and--nurture
perspective.

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

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 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 (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).

At other times, especially with large crowds, we may experience the individuation
or "the loss of individual self-awareness and individual accountability in groups.
Many people will attune themselves with the emotions of their group and because
the large crowd provides some kind of anonymity. We may lessen our self-control
and act in ways that we will not do when we are alone.

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 Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our self-
esteem, one of the common concepts associated with the "self". It is define
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).
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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.

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 The UPWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON, which is
comparing ourselves with those who are better off
than we (jhangiani and Tarry 2014) are. 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.

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 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. 14
 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.
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 However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, some
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.
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What comes to your mind when you hear the word TRUE?

What comes to your mind when you hear the word FALSE?

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A person is in her/his true self if s/he has a sense of integrity and o

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When the person has to comply with
external rules, such as being polite or
otherwise following social codes, then a
false self is used. The false self constantly
seeks to anticipate demand of others in order
to maintain the relationship.

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Healthy false self
When the false self is functional both for the person and for society then it is
considered healthy. The healthy false self feels that it is still being true to the
true self.

Unhealthy false self

A self that fits in but through a feeling of forced compliance rather than loving
adaptation is unhealthy.
When the false self wins debates against the true self, the person finds that
they are unable to be guided by their true self and so has to adapt to the social
situation rather than assert its self
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CHARACTERISTICS:

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 HOW TO LOVE AND DEVELOP YOUR TRUE
SELF

1. GOD LOVES YOU

• God created you in a very special way.
• He shaped you, fashioned you, and molded you.
• God designed every part of your being.
• You cannot love others if you don’t love your self
• You can’t be successful and happy if you don’t love your self
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2. ACCEPT YOUR SELF AS YOU ARE

• in life: The most stressful thing for you to do is to be someone else. And
the easiest thing to do in the world? To be yourself.
• And there lies your greatest success.
• And your greatest happiness.
• When you become yourself, you discover that success and happiness
becomes almost effortless.

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3. FORGIVE YOURSELF

• Don’t be imprisoned by your own weaknesses or ugliness

4. NURTURE YOURSELF

• Be sensitive to your need

• Feel good about yourself
• Think of your blessings
• Read the Scriptures
• Enjoy yourself, pamper yourself
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