PSYCHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE OF Chapter 4
THE SELF
Define and describe the different
psychological concepts of the self;
Differentiate the various concepts of the
self and identify their interrelationships;
Objectives
Explain how the concepts of the self
influence behavior;
Apply the concepts of the self in one’s life
to develop self-awareness and self-
understanding.
“For a young person, it is almost a sin,
or at least a danger to be too
preoccupied with himself; but for the
ageing person, it is a duty and a
necessity to devote serious attention
to himself.”
Carl Jung
EXPLANATION
The development of self-understanding in adolescence involves a
number of theories about the self, identity, and personality.
This chapter outlines the psychological theories that influence the
way people understand the self.
An important aspect of understanding the self is awareness – how
much an adolescent is aware of his/her own psychological makeup,
what makes him him/her unique as a person, as well as his/her
strengths and weaknesses.
WILLIAM JAMES’ CONCEPT
OF SELF:
THE ME-SELF AND THE I-SELF
I – self
Refers to the self that knows who he/she
is, which is also called the thinking self.
It reflects the soul of a person or the mind,
which is also called the pure ego.
Me – self
Is the empirical self which refers to a
person’s personal experiences and is
divided into subcategories.
Me-self subcategories:
1. Material self
Individual’s physical attributes and material
possessions that contribute to one’s self-image.
Example: Body, clothes, school
2. Social self
Refers to who a person is and how he/she acts in
social situations.
Example: A student may act differently in school and
at home with his/her family.
3. Spiritual self
Refers to the most intimate and important part of the
self, which includes the person’s purpose, core values,
conscience, and moral behavior.
Example: Beliefs, morals, inner strengths
CARL ROGERS’S SELF
THEORY: THE REAL AND
IDEAL SELF
Self – concept:
This refers to the image of oneself.
Rogers defines the self as a flexible
and changing perception of
personal identity.
The self develops from interactions
with significant people and
awareness of one’s own
characteristics and level of
functioning.
2
Real self
COMPONENTS
OF SELF- •Consists of all the ideas, including
CONCEPT: the awareness of what one is
and what one can do.
Ideal self
•Is the person’s conception of
what one should be or what one
aspires to be, which includes
one’s goals and ambitions in life.
Neurotic Normal
MULTIPLE VS UNIFIED SELF (Donald Winnicott)
Multiple Self Unified Self
Refers to the idea Refers to the idea
that an individual that an individual
has multiple selves has a single,
Definition or identities that integrated self that
can vary remains consistent
depending on the across different
situation or context. situations.
False self
Fake self, inauthentic self, idealized self, superficial self, or
pseudo self are also interchangeable terms. They refer to
TRUE VS a defensive disguise or façade we put behind a mere
appearance of being real.
FALSE SELF
True Self
(Donald A sense of self based on spontaneous authentic
experience and a feeling of being alive, having a real
Winnicott) self.
The functions of the false self is to hide and protect
the true self.
Adolescents are more likely to show their false self during
dating situations and are likely to show their true self
when they are with their family and close friends.
Meaning, they display a false self to impress others.
THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND
AGENTIC (Albert Bandura)
Agency
Embodies the endowments, belief systems, self-regulatory
capabilities, and distributed structures and functions
through which personal influence is exercised, rather
than reside as a discrete entity.
The core features of agency enable people to play a
part in their self-development, adaptation, and self-
renewal.
The main features of human agency are:
Intentionality
Forethought
Self-reactiveness
Self-reflectiveness
Intentionally
Refers to acts done intentionally.
Intentions center on plans of action with the anticipation of possible outcomes
Forethought
Enables the person to anticipate the likely the consequences of prospective
actions.
Through this, people are guided in their actions in the anticipation of future
events.
Self-reactiveness
Involves making choices and choosing appropriate courses of action, as well as
motivating and regulating them.
Self-reflectiveness
Gives person the ability to reflect upon, and the adequacy of his/her thoughts
and actions.
THE SELF AS THE CENTRAL
ARCHETYPE (Carl Jung)
Archetypes
Are the universal models after which roles are patterned.
It represents the hidden potentialities of the psyche or total
personality.
4 major archetypes:
1. Persona
Refers to the social roles that individuals present to others.
2. Shadow
Refers to the repressed thoughts that are socially
unacceptable.
Dark side of the psyche
3. Animus/anima
Anima – feminine side of male psyche
Animus – Masculine side of female psyche
4. Self
The central archetype that unites all parts of the psyche.
Ego is the individual’s conscious perception of the self.
SIGMUND FREUD’S
CONSTRUCTION
OF SELF AND
PERSONALITY
Id
Refers to components of the personality characterized by its need
to satisfy basic urges and desires.
Pleasure-seeking, impulsive, child-like, and demands instant
gratifications.
Ego
Refers to the I and operates on the reality principle and controls
the id.
Conforms with existing societal considerations.
Superego
The conscience and the moral judge.
The feeling of guilt when violating some rules.
Strives for perfection than pleasure.
Psychosexual Stages of Development
STAGES ORAL STAGE ANAL STAGE PHALLIC STAGE LATENCY STAGE GENITAL STAGE
Pleasure is from
examining,
Child derives from Pleasure is from the
touching, fondling, Sexual energy is
the elimination of genital area and
Babies derive or displaying of repressed because
body wastes. Child individuals seek to
DEFINITION pleasure from oral genitals. Parents or children become
learns the basic satisfy their sexual
activities. teachers need to preoccupied with
rules of society thru drives from sexual
properly educate school.
toilet training. relationships
children regarding
sexuality
Adolescence to
AGE 0 – 1 year old 2 years old 3 – 6 years old 7 – 12 years old
adulthood
Sexual problems
Overeating, smoking, Obsession with may result as
PROBLEMS / Abnormal sexual
alcoholism, sarcastic, cleanliness, and consequence of
FIXATIONS behaviors
and tactlessness. clumsiness. inappropriate
sexual behaviors.
THE ROLE OF ERIK ERIKSON’S THEORY IN
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF