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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Instructional Module in Understanding the Self
Preliminaries
I. Lesson Number 3
II. Lesson Title The Self as a Cognitive Construct
III. Brief Introduction One way to be successful in life is to possess the
of the Lesson characteristics of intelligence. Persevere every day to be the
best you can be, however hard it may be at times.
This module examined how a person understand one’s
behavior, motivation, feelings, interest, emotions, thinking and
personality so that he/she can adjust feasibly with other people.
IV. Lesson Objectives At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
a. Enumerate the various psychological perspective and
concepts about the “self”;
b. Analyze the effects of various psychological factors in the
formation of the “self”; and
c. Examine one’s “self” against the different perspective in this
lesson and various experiences of your classmates.
Lesson Proper
I. Getting Started
Think of one of your closest friends. Make a table divided into two columns. In the first
column write down your first impression to that friend. On the second column write down
his/her quality that will show how your first impression changed)
HOW MY FIRST IMPRESSION
MY FIRST IMPRESSION
CHANGED
When I eventually get to know him/her
At first, I thought…
better, I found out that…
II. Discussion
Psychology is a rather new field in the social sciences compared to the those
mentioned in the earlier lessons. Unlike sociology and anthropology that investigate the
structures of society as a whole and the culture of a large group of people, psychology
mainly focuses on the individual. It is interested in the functions and processes of the brain,
the mind, as well as the behaviors related to the mental functions of a person.
Using experimental and clinical observations and other scientific techniques,
psychology have contributed to a lot of perspectives about the self. Theories about the self
and the personality takes at least one semester for psychology students, but we take some
time to study the common concepts and theories.
The concept of “self” in psychology is at times interchangeable with other similar
terms. Sometimes a framework or school of thought would look at what we can describe as
one aspect of the self as its focus. An overview of significant terms is therefore necessary.
For a working definition in this lesson, let us look at the “self” as “the sense of personal
identity and of who we are as individuals” (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
On Self Within
William James was one of the earliest psychologists to study the self, and he
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conceptualized the self as having two aspects—the “I” and the “me.” The “I” is the thinking,
acting, and feeling self (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010).
The "me," on the other hand, is the physical characteristics as well as psychological
capabilities that makes who you are (Gleitman, Gross, ang Reisberg 2011; Hogg and
Vaughan 2010).
Carl Rogers’ theory of personality algo used the same terms, the “I” as the one who acts
and decides, while the “me?” is what you think or feel about yourself as an object (Gieitman,
Gross, and Reisberg 2011).
Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-concept. Identity’ is composed of one’s
personal characteristics, roles and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that define who one
is (Elmore, Oyserman, and Smith 2012). Self-concept is basically what comes to your mind
when you are asked about yourself (Elmore, Oyserman, and Smith 2012).
Self, identity, and self-concept are not fixed. For example, when asked about who you are,
you can say, “I was a varsity player in Grade 5” which pertains to the past, “a college
student” which may be the present, and “a future politician” which is the future.
While they are not fixed, they are also not very fluid. Think of a malleable metal, strong and
hard, that can be heated and hammered to any shape yet retain its core elements.
Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema—our own organized system
or collection of knowledge about who we are (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011;
Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). Imagine an-organized list or a diagram similar to the one below:
The schema is not limited to the aforementioned example. It may also include our interests,
your work, your course, your age, your name, and your physical characteristics among
others. As you grow and adapt to the changes around you, they also change. But they are
not passive receivers as they actively shape and affect how you see, think, and fee! about
other things or the people around you (Glietman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014).
For example, when someone states your first name, even if not talking about your attention
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is drawn. If you have a provincial language and you hear someone using it, it catches your
attention. If you consider yourself a booklover, a bookstore may always entice you out of all
the other stores in a mall. These are all part of your schema working on your behavior and
attitudes.
Theories generally see these concepts of self and identity as mental constructs, created
and recreated in memory (Elmore, Oyserman, and Smith 2012). Current research points to
the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the brain related with the processes of the
self (Elmore, Oyserman, and Smith 2012).
Several psychologists, especially during the field's earlier development, followed this trend
of thought by looking deeper into what they think was the mind. The most influential of them
is Sigmund Freud. Basically, Freud conceptualized the processes, construct, and behavior
of the “self” as the results of the interaction between the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
Sigmund Freud proposed many theories that talk about one’ internal mental processes, His
Psychoanalysis has three subsystems that is, the ID (pleasure-oriented), EGO (balance
between ID and Superego reality principle) and the Superego (conscience-driven) which
may influence the way one thinks of himself/herself.
1. ID (pleasure-oriented) is the seat of basic biological drives and needs which Freud
believed to be primarily bound up with sexual energy. The ID lacks the real
perception of reality. It operates on the pleasure principle, with the objective of
seeking pleasure and avoidance of pain, and doing what one wants to do, The
processes that come into play are primary processes like hunger, thirst etc. It is
contained in the unconscious part of one’s memory.
2. EGO (balance between ID and superego) is the self, the core of what is regarded as
a person’s unique personality: The Ego is aware of reality and operates via the
reality principle, where it recognizes what is rea} and understands that behavior has
consequences. The processes that come into play are secondary processes, like
learning and memory, perception etc. It also includes the impact that socialization
has to play in the life of an individual; it recognizes the existence of social rules that
are necessary in order to live and socialize with other people, and thus, plans to
satisfy ones’ needs within the social values and rules.
3. SUPEREGO (conscience-driven) consists of the values and norms of the society, as
they are internalized by the individual. The Superego has two components the
conscience and the ego-ideal the conscience prevents a person from doing morally
bad things while the ego-ideal inspires a person to do morally proper. It appears that
the superego together with the ID works through the Ego system. The Superego
pushes the person towards better virtues that if not checked the person may become
perfectionist who cannot balance the demand that life requires. In the same manner
an unchecked ID would create in the person primitive pleasure-seeking and selfish
desire seeking immediate fulfillment. It is the EGO that must compromise the
demand of the Superego and the ID.
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[Link]
superego-configuration-be-understood-in-te
However, one cannot fully discount the effects of society and culture to the formation of the
self, identity, and self-concept. Even as Freud and other theories and researchers try to
understand the person by digging deeper into the mind, they cannot fully discount the huge
and important effects of the environment. This is not nature versus nurture, instead a
nature-and-nurture perspective.
Internal and External
George Herbert Mead of the symbolic interactionism argued that human interaction
helps develop the self (Hogg and Vaughan 2010). The result of this interaction between
who we think we are and how others see us is what others call “self-concept.” Sometimes
we are aware about these things, a Lot of times, we do not know that we are actually doing
what is expected of us.
Carver and Scheier identified two types of self that we can be aware of: 1) the private
self or a person’s internal thoughts and feelings, and 2) the public self or what a person
commonly shows to the others, specifically for creating a good public image (Hogg and
Vaughan 2010).
Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self-schemas: the actual, the
ideal, and the ought self. The “actual” self is who we are at the present: the “ideal” self is
who we like to be, especially in the future: and the “ought” self is who we think we should
be in contrast to the actual self (Higgins 1997 in Hogg and Vaughn 2010). Example is that
you are a student interested in basketball but are also academically challenged in most of
your subject. Your ideal self might be to practice more and play with the varsity team, but
ought to pass your subjects as a responsible student. One has to find solutions to such
discrepancies in order to avoid agitation, dejection, or other negative emotions. In some
instances, however, all three may be in line with one another.
Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our next
course of action. Self-awareness can keep you from doing something dangerous, it can
help remind you that there is an exam tomorrow in one of your subjects when you are about
to spend time playing computer games with your cousins, among others. In other instances,
self-awareness can be too much that we are concerned about being observed and criticized
by others, also known as self-consciousness (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). At other times,
especially with large crowds, we may experience deindividuation or “the loss of individual
self-awareness and individual accountability in groups (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). A lot of
people will attune themselves with the emotions of their group, and because the large crowd
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also provides some kind of anonymity, they may lessen their self-control and act in ways
that they will not do when they are alone. A common example is a mass demonstration
erupting into a riot.
On Self-Esteem
Group identity and self-awareness also affect our self-esteem, which is defined as our
personal 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 statuses by comparing aspects of
ourselves with other people (Jhangiani and Tarry 9014; Hogg and Vaughan 2010).
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
are able to raise our self-esteem. Another comparison is the upward social comparison
which is comparing ourselves with those who are better off than us (Jnangiani and Tarry
2014). While it can be a form of motivation for some, a lot of those who do this actually felt
lower self-esteem as we highlight more of our weakness or inequities.
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 other group, then
his or her self-esteem may also be heightened.
Social comparison also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance theory, which
states that we can feel threatened when someone outperforms us, especially when that
person is close to us, that is, a friend or family (Tesser 1988 in Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
In this case, we usually react in three ways.
First, we distance ourselves from that person or redefine our relationship with them
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). Some will resort to silent treatment or change of friends, while
some may also redefine by being closer to that person, hoping that some association may
give him or her a certain kind of acknowledgement also. second, we may reconsider the
importance of the aspect or skill in which we were outperformed (Jhangiani and Tarry
2014). If we got beaten in drawing, we might think that drawing is not really for us and we
will find a hobby where we could excel, thus preserving our self-esteem. Lastly, we may
also strengthen our resolve to improve that certain aspect of ourselves (Jhangiani and Tarry
2014). Instead of quitting drawing, we might join seminars, practice more often, read books
about it, add some elements in our drawing that makes it unique, and so on. Achieving your
goal through hard work may increase your self-esteem, too.
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III. Application/Assessment
Directions: List five things that will help to boost your self-esteem or improve your self-
concept. Analyze the positive and the negative sides of those tips.
How to boost Self-
Advantage Disadvantage
esteem/Self-Concept
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
V. References
Brawner, D.G. & Arcega, A.F.(2018). Understanding the [Link] City, Philippines: C &
E Publishing, Inc.
Gutierrez-Ang, J. (2018). Understanding the Self. Manila, Philippines: Mindshapers Co., Inc.
Otig, V.S., Gallinero W.B., Bataga, N.U., Salado, F.B. & Visande, J.C.(2018) A Holistic
Approach in Understanding THE SELF. Malabon City, Philippines: Mutya Publishing
House Inc.
Prepared by:
LYNNEL L. NIEGAS, LPT
Instructor
Reviewed by:
JOHN MARC R. MENDOZA, PhD, MLIS
Program Head, School of Teacher Education
