THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SELF you do.

Ultimately, the more you know about your

habits, the easier it is to improve your habits.
Why Self is important?
Example
1. Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher and one of
the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment. Creating a healthy daily routine is a simple yet effective
Philosophers look at Self as very important in several way to build consistency when it comes to your health.
ways. According to Kant, by knowing ourselves, that we
Not only does your daily routine impact your overall
are free and that our actions and choices matter, we can
health, but it has a direct impact on your stress levels,
make good on these commitments without fear of
sleep habits and eating patterns.
being contradicted by theory. In other words, we can
be responsible to ourselves. Everything from what you do first thing in the morning
to what you do last at night plays a role in your overall
2. By knowing the self, we are able to examine what
health.
type of object the self is and how it is constituted
(created) Although it can be tempting to change everything at
once, focusing on small habits and doing them on a
daily basis is the best way to make a healthy daily
routine and healthy daily habits last for the long-term.

Check your daily routine

1. Eat healthy food

2. Read Something
- Reading has benefits to both your physical and mental
health and those benefits can last a lifetime. Not only
can reading stimulate growth, but it can help to reduce
stress, prevent age-related cognitive decline and
promote a good night’s sleep. Reading is the workout
for your mental health and, the same way you take care
of your body, it’s important to take care of your brain.

The Constitution of The Self

The self is an automatic part of every human being

3. According to Thorin Klosowski, by knowing the self, which enables people to relate to others.
we are able to develop self- awareness and The self is constituted or made up of three main parts
introspection (self –analysis) which are the starting that incorporated, allow for the self to maintain its
point to every improvement. This improvement relates functions.
to understanding your own needs, desires, and failings,
habits and everything else, the more you know about These parts are
yourself, the better you are at adopting life changes. 1. Self –knowledge
4. Understanding the self is a very important basis of 2. Interpersonal –self
quantified (measured) self-movement which means that 3. The agent-self
if a person collects data about himself, he can make
improvements based on the data (New York Times
report)

5. Knowing the self requires more than intellectual self

–examination for it demands knowing something about
your feelings and emotions and how you work on them,
the better you will understand why you do the things
1. Self -knowledge C. Social Comparison

 This is sometimes referred to as Self-Concept. What does social comparison?

 Self-knowledge – allows for people to gather to
 Social comparison refers to a behavior where we
information and beliefs about themselves
compare certain aspects of ourselves (e.g., our
It involves
behavior, opinions, status, and success) to other
1.1 self-awareness,
people so that we have a better assessment of
1.2 self-esteem
ourselves (Buunk & Gibbons, 2007).
1.3 self-deception
 Is the manner in which we compare ourselves to
How we can learn about ourselves? other people around us.
We can learn about ourselves in four ways;  By looking to other people, we can rate our work
a. looking glass self of Charles Cooley and behaviors as good, neutral or bad
b. Introspection  The most beneficial or useful comparisons are those
c. Social Comparisons of people that are in the same category as
d. Self-perception ourselves.

What are examples of social comparisons?

A. LOOKING GLASS SELF OF CHARLES COOLEY
 The theory that people learn about themselves For example, a music student might compare herself to
through other people. the star student of the class. If she finds that her
 A person visualizes how he appears to others. abilities do not measure up to her peer's talents, she
 The person imagines how other people will judge might be driven to achieve more and improve her
him and then develops a response to the judgement abilities
he received from other people.
Why is social comparison important?
 The response will likely be something viewed as
pride or shame about themselves. Social comparison can motivate people to improve, but
 It is proven to be partially accurate and inaccurate it can also promote judgmental, biased, and overly
 A people can view himself as friendly; however, he competitive or superior attitude
may appear to be quiet and uptight to another
person who may not know him very well. An upward social comparison- refers to a person
comparing himself to a person that is perceived as
B. Introspection better than him in a particular area.
 Is a manner in which a person gathers information This can be either motivational or discouraging to the
about himself through the use of mental functions person comparing himself to a person who is perceived
and emotions. as worse than him, which can make a person feel better
 Although the person might not know why he is about himself.
thinking or feeling in such a way, he is able to know
what he is feeling. D. Self – Perception
 However developmental stages in life might affect  Aspect of self –knowledge is a process of which a
introspection person infers (assumes) about himself through his
 In Rosenberg study, children up to a certain stage in behavior.
development showed that they knew that their  His behavior can give him insight as how his feelings
parents usually knew them better than they knew and emotions truly are.
themselves.  If a person regards himself as a being smart,
 By Nisbett and Wilson uncovered the fact that however, he continuously receives bad grades over
people might not usually know what children are the years, that person might rearrange his thinking
thinking at all time. that he is not smart as he previously thought.
 Introspection is a way of gaining knowledge about  This helps re adjust a person’s thoughts in order to
yourself through your inner emotions and thinking, match his behavior better
however it is a conscious part of the brain.
  how we compare to ourselves,
 social roles and
1.Self- Knowledge
 our identification.
 is a desire for the majority of human beings.
 In knowing about themselves, we are more capable  Our social roles can be stigmatized (marked out) as
of knowing how to be socially acceptable and being negative, such as a criminal or homeless
desirable. person.
 We seek out self-knowledge due to the appraisal  People with high self –esteem tend to be confident,
motive, self- enhancement motive and consistency gain self-acceptance, do not worry as much about
motive what others think about them, and think
optimistically.
The appraisal motive describes the desire to learn the
 In contrast, people with self-esteem view their
truth about oneself in general.
selves as containing negative traits.
The self- enhancement motive is the desire to learn
People with low self-esteem
about one’s good qualities only.
 Are less successful in their work
The consistency motive is the desire to receive
 Are less confident in their success rate
reinforcement of those preconceived notions that a
 Have confused and diverged notions about their self
person has about himself. The feedback will verify the
(self –concept confusion)
thoughts and beliefs they already had relating to
 Focus on self –protection more than self-
himself.
enhancement
1.1 Self- awareness  Are more prone to emotional imbalances
 Are less confident about their success than high-
 Is divided into two categories: private self-
self-esteemed people
awareness and public self-awareness.
 Worry what others think them consistency
 Private self- awareness - is defined as the self-
 Have more pessimistic thinking
looking inward at oneself, including emotions,
 Desire to resemble others more than high self-
thoughts, beliefs and feelings. All of these cannot be
esteemed people (Sedikides ,2007)
discovered by anyone else.
 Public self-awareness - is defined by gathering 1.3 Self –deception
information about yourself through the perception
strategies are mental tricks of a person’s mind that hide
of others.
the truth and constitute false beliefs
 The actions and behaviors that other show towards
a person will help that person establish a sense of 2. Interpersonal self
how others perceive him.
 It can be referred to as your public self.
For example  This feature allows for social connection to others.
If a person likes to sing, however, many discourage him  With the interpersonal self, a person is able to
singing, that person may conclude that he might not be display himself to others around him.
the best in singing.  Interpersonal self is apparent in situations of self-
presentations, being a group member or partner in
In this situation, he is gaining public awareness about an relationship, person’s social roles and his
aspect of himself (Watts,2009) reputations.
 Example, a person might show confidence and
1.2 Self – Esteem
determination in his work atmosphere, whereas, he
 Examines how a person evaluates himself positively shows more emotional and nurturing side in his
or negatively. romantic relationship
 Four factors that contribute to self- esteem;  The interpersonal self (or public self) is the
 are the reactions we get from people, component of the self-concept that is tied to a
 variety of relational and social contexts (Baumeister cosmos towards its final trans- worldly goal- a loving
1986). union with the God’s as the infinite fullness of all
 The aspects tied to the interpersonal self are the goodness (Ariola, 2016)
characteristics that a person expresses when in the
For Aristotle
presence of others.
 What does interpersonal mean in psychology?  The self is an embodied spirit – one in which it is
 adj. pertaining to actions, events, and feelings expressed fully shining for all the world to see.
between two or more individuals.  It is the right and responsibility of the self to give
 For example, interpersonal skill is an aptitude the spirit its fullest expression in this body.
enabling a person to carry on effective interactions  The opportunity to become embodied and whole
and relationships with others, such as the ability to begins at birth and continues throughout life (Ariola
communicate thought and feeling or to assume 2016)
appropriate social responsibilities
Meaning of “embodied spirit”
Social rules
When we say “embodied spirit” we mean that the body
are defined as the parts that a person plays in different is not separate from the soul, just as the soul is not
situations and with other people. separate from the body.
Our roles change in order to fit the “expected
“behaviors in various scenarios.

For example;

A person may be a mother, a doctor, a wife and a

daughter.

Her behavior would most likely change in her transition

from being a doctor in coming home to her daughter.

3. Agent self

 The agent self is known as the executive function

that allows for actions.
 This is how we, as individuals, make choices and
utilize our control in situations and actions.
 The agent self resides over everything that involves
decisions making, self- control, taking charge in
situations and actively responding.
 A person might desire to eat unhealthy foods;
however, it is his agent self that allows that person
to choose to avoid eating them and make a
healthier food choice

The Constitution of the self-according to Aquinas and

Aristotle

The self is an embodied spirit

For St. Thomas Aquinas

The Self is by nature a finite embodied spirit in search of

the Infinite, in social solidarity with its fellow human
beings, on a historical journal through this material