LESSON 3: The Self as Cognitive and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and

Construct Vaughan 2010).

Carl Rogers’s (1959)
- Every field of the study, at least in - Theory pf personality also used the
the social sciences, have their own same terms.
research, definition, and - The “I” as the one who acts and
conceptualization of self and identity. decides while the “me” is what you
PSYCHOLOGY - May focus on the think or feel about yourself as an
individual and the cognitive object (Gleitman, Gross, and
functions, but it does not discount Reisberg 2011).
the context and other possible Identity and Self-concept
factors that affect individual. - Other concepts similar to self.
-“I am who I am” “if you are who you - Identity is composed of personal
are, then who are you that makes characteristics, social roles, and
you who you are?” responsibilities, as well as affiliations
- “self” is “the sense of personal that defines who one is (Oyserman,
identity and of who we are as Elmore, and Smith 2012).
individuals (Jhangiani and Tarry - Self-concept Is what basically
2014 ).” comes to your mind when you are
William James (1890) asked about who you are
- Was one of the earliest (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith
psychologists to study the self and 2012).
conceptualized the self as having - Self, Identity, and self-concept are
two aspects. not fixed in one frame. They are not
- The “I” and the “me” also fixed for life nor are they ever-
- The “I” is the thinking, acting, and changing at every moment.
feeling self(Gleitman, Gross, and - Carl Rogers captured this idea in
Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan his concepts of self schema or our
2010). organized system or collection of
- The “me” is the physical knowledge about who we are
characteristics as well as (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg
psychological capabilities that makes 2011; Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
you who you are (Gleitman, Gross, - Self (Hobbies, Religion, Nationality,
and Family).
- The schema is not limited to the developed through human
example above. It may also include interaction.
your interests, work, course, age, - There are three reasons why self
name, and physical characteristics and identity are social products.
among others. - We do not create ourselves out of
- Theories generally see the self and nothing, Whether we like it or not, we
identity as mental constructs, actually need others to affirm and
created and recreated in memory. reinforce who we think we are, What
- Several psychologists, especially we think is important to us may also
during the field’s earlier have been influenced by what is
development, followed this trend of important in our social or historical
thought, looking deeper into the context.
mind of the person to theorize about -Social interaction and group
the self, identity, self-concept, and in affiliation are vital factors in creating
turn, one’s personality. our self-concept especially in the
- The most influential to them is aspect of providing us with our social
Sigmund Freud. identity or our perception of who we
- Freud saw the self, its mental are based on our membership to
processes, and one’s behavior as certain groups.
the result of the interaction between - When we are aware of our self-
the ID, the EGO, and the concepts; this is also called self-
SUPEREGO. awareness.
- One cannot fully discount the -CARVER AND SCHEIER (1981)
effects of society and culture on the identified two types of the self that
formation of the self, identity and the we can be aware of.
self-concept. - The private self or your internal
- Social interaction always has a part standards and private thoughts and
to play in who we think we are. feelings.
- This is not nature vs. Nurture but - The public self or your public
instead a nature-and-nurture image commonly geared towards
perspective. having a good presentation of
- Under the theory of symbolic yourself to others.
interactionism, G.H. Mead (1934)
argued that the self is created and
- Self-awareness also presents us - Eastern-vs-Western dichotomy.
with at least three other self-schema: - Eastern represents Asia.
the actual, ideal, and ought self. - Western represents Europe and
- The “actual” self is who you are at Northern America.
the moment. - In the Philippines alone, each
- The “ideal” self is who you like to region may have similar or varying
be. perception regarding the “self.”
- The “ought” self is who you think - Three Philosophy
you should be(Higgins 1997 in Hogg - Confucianism can be seen as a
and Vaughan 2010). code of ethical conduct, of how one
- Self-awareness may be positive or should properly act according to their
negative depending on the relationship with other people.
circumstances and our next course - It is also focused on having a
of action. harmonious life.
- Self-esteem is defined as our own - The identity and self-concept of the
positive or negative perception or individual are interwoven with the
evaluation of ourselves. identity and status of his/her
- One of the ways in which our social community or culture, sharing its
relationship affects our self-esteem pride as well as its failure.
is through social comparison.
- The downward social comparison
is the more common type of
comparing ourselves with others.
- 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.
- Narcissism is a “trait characterized
by overly high self-esteem, self-
admiration, and self-centeredness”.
LESSON 4: The Self in Western
and Eastern Thoughts