Understanding The Self

TOPIC 4: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Dr. Jona Addatu, RGC

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves” – Carl
Jung

In the previous topics, you have uncovered the different conceptualizations about the “self” from
the viewpoints of philosophers, anthropologists and sociologists.
Indubitably, the self has been one of the prominent subjects of
investigations across time and discipline, including psychology.
As a science, psychology is particularly concerned with how the
self evolves as it interacts with various forces. It acknowledges the
self being stable and enduring through time but is also susceptible
to change depending on our encounters. It offered ways of thinking
about and viewing the self and these you will be examining on the
succeeding discourse for 4 hours.

https.medium.com/@evans.fishman LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. examine the self as a construct from a psychological stance;

2. compare and contrast the various psychological theories in terms of how they construed
the self;
3. gain understanding of the different facets of the self as expounded by psychological
perspectives;
4. create a personal conceptualization about what the self is, using the propositions of
psychology.

LET’S LEARN

Do This! Who do I say I am? Who do You say I am?

The self is multifaceted. Given the different social roles you take on in life, you may realize that
we have a multiplicity of selves – the self as a child at home; the self as a student; the self as a
sibling; the self as a friend; the self as a parent; the self as a classmate, the self as a member of a
group and so on. In this task you will look unto your own self perceptions and that of others’
perceptions of you taking into account the different facets of yourself.

a. On a sheet of paper, draw a human caricature, paste your real picture on its face. (NB:
The facilitator may require the students to bring with them a cut-out of their picture to
be pasted on the caricature).
b. Complete the statement Who do I say I am? by listing down your characteristics taking
into consideration the different facets of the self:
Who do I say I am
...as a daughter/son...

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...as a sibling...
...as a student...
...as a friend...
...as a classmate; etc.
c. Complete such based on your own appraisal of who you are. Place your responses on
paper strips, which is to be pasted around your human caricature.
d. Consider how you are viewed by others by soliciting the observations/perceptions of
your significant others about you. Preferably, include the perceptions of the following:
Parents (mother and father or any of them)
At least one of your siblings if there’s any
At least one of your friends
At least one of your teachers (previous teachers may do so)
At least three of your classmates

e. Ask them to complete the same statements as you did, on paper strips (Who do You say
I am...as a daughter/son...as a sibling...as a student...as a friend...as a classmate; etc.).
(NB: The facilitator instructs the students to ask beforehand others’ perceptions of them:
i.e. if the statement requires for the parents’ perception towards them, then they should
have asked their parents).
f. After which, paste the paper strips where others’ perceptions of you were written beside
the same statements in the caricature.
Note: Below is an illustration of sample output.

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You can now readily compare whether or not you and the other perceivers have the same view of
you. Reflect on the following and write your insights in your Journal:
a. Which of your characteristics were similarly perceived by others and which are not?
b. Considering the different facets of the self, were the feedbacks given show
consistency? Which of those do you think were real? How about the ideal?
c. Do you agree to those aspects which were not consistent? Which of those were true?
And which were false? What about those who are at times true or circumstantial?
d. What are your reflections after the activity?

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ABOUT THE SELF

As you responded on the activity, you were able to contemplate on all the possible characteristics
and attributes you have, taking into account your different selves. You had the chance too to have
a grasp and figure out how you are perceived by others. More importantly, you were able to
validate your own self-concept with that of your identity based on how others view you. Then
perhaps you can say, “this is the real me” or you may claim, “I am who I am”. If so, what is it that
makes you “you”?

The ontology of the self has been one of the most immensely researched foci of psychology.
Established as a scientific discipline in 1879, psychology in its attempt to broaden theoretical
explanations on the self has been so fascinated in looking unto indispensable phenomena like
social interactions and individual difference variables which include personality, behavior and
mental processes. Postmodern psychologists also expounded on the multiplicity of the self by
exploring its subselves. These will all be tackled as we discuss each of the psychological
perspectives about the self.

1. William James’s Me-Self and I-Self

American philosopher and psychologist, William James

(1842-1910), extensively explained the self and its aspects on
his 1890 publication The Principles of Psychology.
According to James, a man's self is the “sum total of all that
he can call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but
his clothes and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors
and friends, his reputation and works, his lands and horses,
and yacht and bank-account.” This suggests that the self is
comprise of everything the person has.
“Whenever two people meet, there are
really six people present. There is each man
It embraces all his physical and corporeal possessions and as he sees himself, each man as the other
extends even to the non-physical or intangible aspects. As person sees him, and each man as he really
such, our sense of self pertains to all entities which we is.” - William James
consider ours and which we value as they are deemed
extensions of us.

James proposed that the self has two facets: the I-Self and the Me-Self. The I-Self-isDada said to be the
Bhagwan
self in action or as subject; it is that aspect of the self that does the acting, thinking, and feeling. It

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is also known as the self as the knower or perceiver. The Me-Self on the other hand refers to the
self as an object; it is that facet of the self which is the known or the perceived. Also termed by
James as the Empirical Self, the me is one’s accumulated understanding of one’s self. Further,
James suggests that the Me-Self or the Empirical Self has three components: the Material Self
which encompasses all of our important possessions as well as the people we treasure; the. Social
Self involved how we think we are viewed and
regarded by others and also our instinctive desire to be recognized; and the Spiritual Self contains
our subjective dispositions like our self-appraised abilities, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, etc. For
William James, these facets of the Me-Self help people define us; and aid us too in defining and
understanding ourselves. These may further bring about positive or negative self-feelings that will
motivate and direct our efforts to maintain, change, or improve ourselves.

2. Carl Rogers’s Real Self and Ideal Self

Known for being one of the pillars of humanistic theory,

American psychologist Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987), posited
about self-concept. Self-concept simply speaks of how we think
and view of ourselves. It includes the entire schema and the
knowledge that we have or that we are aware of about ourselves.

As we come to interact with others, we may come across

feedbacks or may be subjected to experiences which will
challenge our self-concept. Once established however, we may
have difficulties changing our self-concept and thus, we are
likely to deny or distort them whenever there are incongruences.
Rogers posited two essential components of the self: the real self “The curious paradox is that when I
and the ideal self. According to him, the real self speaks of how accept myself just as I am, then I can
we genuinely appraise ourselves. It is the self that feels most true change.” -Carl Rogers
to what and who we really are. It may not be perfect but it is the
part of us that feel most real. The ideal self on the other hand, denotes one’s view of self as one
wishes to be. It contains attributes, usually positive, that people aspire to possess. Further, Rogers
suggests that a discrepancy between our ideal and real selves redounds to non-equilibrium,
indicating an unhealthy personality.

3. Albert Bandura’s Proactive and Agentic Self

Albert Bandura (1925 – present) is a renowned psychologist

who advocated the social cognitive theory of learning. This
learning perspective contends that human behavior results from
vicarious learning, through the experiences of other people.

Bandura viewed people as agents or originators of experience.

We don’t just merely observe and imitate behavior; we have
cognitive faculties that enable us to discern unto whether or not “Self-belief does not necessarily ensure
such behavior is worth emulating or if such can help us become success, but self-disbelief assuredly
spawns failure.” -Albert Bandura

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better individuals. One of the fundamental concepts espoused by social cognitive theory is self-
efficacy, which is defined as one’s conviction or belief that he or she can take on a certain task
successfully. With these emerged the concept of the self as proactive and agentic. The self as
proactive is constructive; it is optimistic that it can get through whatever adversities it may
encounter. Being proactive means having the capacity to recognize and take advantage of
opportunities that may be beneficial to our selves and to better our lives in general. An agentic self
is one who takes charge of his choices and actions; it is self-reflective and self-regulating. Bandura
views people as being more than just mere planners and fore thinkers. We are agents of change;
we can be actively involved in shaping our own lives because we are equipped with the cognitive
faculty and capacity to do so. We can be highly motivated and not easily discouraged when he
faced with challenges. An agentic and proactive self believes that no matter how big the problem
may seem to be, he or she can overcome it.

4. Murray Bowen’s Differentiated Self

Known for being one of the forerunners of family therapy and

notable for having developed a family systems theory, American
psychiatrist Dr. Murray Bowen (1913 – 1990), posited on the
differentiation of selves.

Differentiation of selves refers to the degree to which one is able

to balance: (a) emotional and intellectual functioning, and (b)
intimacy and autonomy in relationship (Skowron & Friedlander,
1998).
“We all have an infant inside of us, but the infant
On a more personal level, differentiation involves the ability to doesn’t have to run the show.” -
make clear boundaries between our thoughts and feelings, and to Murray Bowen
choose which of the two will guide our behavior. Highly
differentiated individuals are able to balance autonomy and intimacy in their relationship. This
means that one is able to establish connection with others without losing one’s self in the process.
For instance, a highly differentiated person may be able to assert one’s self despite the influence
of peers.

Poorly differentiated individuals, on the other hand, may engage in fusion in their relationships.
This means that they become much attached to the roles they play in a relationship, they have few
firmly held beliefs, they are more likely to be compliant, and seek approval from others before
making major decision. Moreover, highly differentiated individuals are flexible and are better able
to adapt to stressful situations. Since they can set clear boundaries between their thoughts and
feelings, they can shift of being emotional to being rational (or vice versa) depending on what the
situation and may make impulsive decisions based on their current emotional states. Thus
differentiation of self is the capacity to achieve a clear, coherent sense of self along with emotional
relationships with important others. According to Bowen, differentiation is a salient trait foe
attaining mature development and psychological well-being (Skowron & Friedlander, 1998).

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5. Donald Woods Winnicott’s True and False Selves

Donald Woods Winnicott (1896-1971 was an English

psychoanalyst who conceptualized the true and false selves.
According to him the true self is based on our authentic
experiences as a person. This is somehow similar to Roger’s
concept of the real self. The feeling of being alive, doing the
things you want to do, and just being yourself comprise the true
self. On the other hand, the false self, which may also referred
to as a fake self or superficial self, is our defense against the
vulnerabilities or imperfections of our real self. Our true self
may have its own share of blemishes and weakness that
sometimes lowers our self-esteem. As a result, we try to cover “With games, and only with games, can the child
or the adult create, and use their whole
up these flaws and act “as if” we do not have them. personalities, and the individual only discovers
his personality when he becomes a creator.”
The false self may start to surface as early as infancy, when we
are put under the control of our parents or early caregivers. As -Donald Woods Winnicott
we grow old, we are taught different rules imposed by our families, the school, or the society.

At times, we may have to put our true selves aside, just to abide by the demands of other people.
We do this to maintain harmony in social relationship. There are instances when it is necessary for
the false self to take over a certain situation. For instance, we need to follow norms of conduct in
various social setting and if we show the false self because of forced compliance to others, then
this may be unhealthy.

Continually suppressing our true selves may inhibit us from truly expressing who we are, which
may negatively impact our wellbeing.

LET’S PRACTICE

Try This! Describe Me

1. Create a conceptual matrix showing how the various psychological perspectives described
the self.

2. Describe yourself using William James’s facets of the Me-Self. You may consider the
following questions:
a. Which among your possessions do you consider is most central to who you really are?
b. What do you think are the perceptions of other people (those whom you have not asked
of feedback in the human caricature activity; i.e. boyfriend, neighbor, grandparents,
acquaintance, etc.)
c. What are the beliefs you have in life which you consider central to who you really are?

3. Reflect on who you are and who you want to be. Imagine yourself 15 years from now. On
the left side of a sheet of paper, write down your thoughts on the following:
a. Where do they want to be?

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b. How do you want to be living?
c. What do you want to be doing?
d. What kind of person do you want to be? What qualities do you think
you possess?
d. How do you want to be viewed by other people?

4. On the other side of the same paper, ponder on the following:

a. Who are you at the moment? What kind of person do you think you are?
b. How do you currently view yourself?

5. Now, compare whether you see discrepancies between your ideal self and your real self.

LET’S ASSESS

Check This! Let’s Learn as we Argue

Divide the class into two groups. Through an informal debate, probe on whether or not we only
have one self. One group will take the proposition that we only have one self and the other will
defend on the proposition we have a multiplicity of selves. Ground your defenses by integrating
your personal conceptualizations about the self as inspired by the perspectives discussed above.

Rubrics

Exceeds Meets Approaches

Criterion Expectations Expectations Expectations
Comments
3 2 1
Claims/ The group’s The group’s The group’s
Opinions claim/opinion claim/opinion claim/opinion
is very clear. is unclear is unclear and
It is disorganized
convincing
and easy to
understand.

Reasons/ The group The group The group did

Evidence provided only provided not provide
many some convincing
convincing convincing examples/
and relevant examples/ reasons/facts
examples/ reasons/facts
reasons/facts

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Behavior/ All of the Most of the Only a few
Teamwork members of members of members of
the group the group the group
participated participated participated
and were and were and were
engaged by engaged engaged
taking turns
in building
their claims

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