UTS Chap 1 Lesson 3 and 4

LESSON 3:
The Self as Cognitive Construct
OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the different ideas in psychology about the “self”;
2. Create your own definition of the “self” based on the definitions
from psychology; and
3. Analyze the effects of various factors identified in psychology in
the formation of the “self.”
There are various definitions of the “self” and other similar or
interchangeable concepts in psychology.
Conceptualized self as having two

aspects:
a. “I” – the thinking, acting, and feeling
self
b. “me” – the physical characteristics
as well as psychological capabilities
that makes who you are
WILLIAM JAMES
Carl Rogers’ Theory of Personality
conceptualized self as:
a. “I” – the one who acts and decides
b. “me” – what you think or feel about
yourself as an object.
CARL ROGERS
Identity is composed of personal
characteristics, social roles and
responsibilities, as well as affiliations that
HOBBIES define who one is.
Self-concept is what basically comes to

your mind when you are asked about who
FAMILY SELF RELIGION you are.
- Self, identity, and self-concept are not fixed

in one time frame.
NATIONALITY - Carl Rogers captured this idea in his
concept of self-schema or our organized
system or collection of knowledge about
who we are.
-Theories generally see the self and identity as
mental constructs, created and recreated in
memory.
-Freud saw the self, its mental processes, and one’s
behavior as the results of the interaction between
the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
-There are three reasons why self and identity are
social products:
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.
2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we
actually need others to affirm and reinforce
who we think we are.
3. What we think is important to us may also
have been influenced by what is important
in our social or historical context.
-Social interaction and group affiliation are vital
factors in creating our self-concept especially in the
aspect of providing us with our social identity.
-There are times when we are aware of our
self-concepts; this is called self-awareness.
- Carver and Scheier identified two types of

self that we can be aware of:
1) the private self or your internal
standards and private thoughts and
feelings; and
2) the public self or your public image
commonly geared toward having a good
presentation of yourself to others.
- Self-awareness also presents us with at
least three other self-schema:
• The “actual” self is who you are at the
moment
• The “ideal” self is who you like to be
• The “ought” self is who you think you
should be
- Self-awareness may be positive or
negative depending on the circumstances
and our next course of action.
- Our group identity and self-awareness
has a great impact on our self-esteem.
- One of the ways in which our social relationship
affects our self-esteem is through social
comparison:
• The downward social comparison which is
comparing ourselves with those who are
worse off than us.
• The upward social comparison which is
comparing ourselves with those who are
better off than us.
- 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 the attempt to increase or maintain
self-esteem, some people become narcissistic, a
“trait characterized by overly high self-esteem,
self-admiration, and self-centeredness.”
Lesson 4:
The Self in Western and Eastern
Thoughts
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Differentiate the concept of self according to Western
thought against Eastern/Oriental perspectives;
2. Explain the concept of self as found in Asian thoughts; and
3. Create a representation of the Filipino self.
• Confucianism
- A code of ethical conduct, of how one
should properly act according to his/her
relationship with other people
- The identity and self-concept of the
individual are interwoven with the identity
and status of his/her community or culture,
sharing its pride as well as its failures.
- Self-cultivation is seen as the ultimate
purpose of life.
- The cultivated self in Confucianism is what
some scholars call a “subdued self” wherein
personal needs are repressed (subdued) for
the good of many, making Confucian
society also hierarchal for the purpose of
maintaining order and balance in society.
• Taoism
- Living in the way of the Tao or the
universe
- The self is not just an extension of the
family or the community; it is part of the
universe.
- The ideal self is selflessness but this is not
forgetting about the self; it is living a
balanced life with society and nature,
being open and accepting to change,
forgetting about prejudices and egocentric
ideas and thinking about equality as well
as complementarity among humans as
well as other beings.
• Buddhism
- The self is seen as an illusion, born out of
ignorance, of trying to hold and control
things, or human-centered needs; thus, the
self is also the source of all these
sufferings.
- To forget about the self, forget the cravings
of the self, break the attachments you have
with the world, and to renounce the self
which is the cause of all suffering and in
doing so, attain the state of Nirvana.
Eastern thoughts:
- Sees the other person as part of
yourself as well as the things you may
create, a drama in which everyone is
interconnected with their specific roles
- Asian culture is called a collectivistic
culture as the group and social
relations that is given more importance
than individual needs and wants.
Western thoughts:
- Looks at the world in dualities wherein
you are distinct from the other person,
the creator is separate from the object
he created, in which the self is
distinguished and acknowledged
- The Western culture is what we would
call an individualistic culture since
their focus is on the person.

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LESSON 3:

The Self as Cognitive Construct

Conceptualized self as having two

Self-concept is what basically comes to

- Self, identity, and self-concept are not fixed

- Carver and Scheier identified two types of

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