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.

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
It embraces all his physical and corporeal possessions and extends man as he sees himself, each man as the
even to the non-physical or intangible aspects. As such, our sense other person sees him, and each man as
of self pertains to all entities which we consider ours and which he really is.” - William James
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 is said to be
the self in action or as subject; it is that aspect of the self that does the acting, thinking, and
feeling. It 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 “The curious paradox is that when I
have difficulties changing our self-concept and thus, we are accept myself just as I am, then I can
change.” -Carl Rogers
likely to deny or distort them whenever there are incongruences. Rogers posited two essential
components of the self: the real self and the ideal self. According to him, the real self speaks of
how we genuinely appraise ourselves. It is the self that feels most true 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 such behavior is worth emulating
or if such can help us become better individuals. One of the
fundamental concepts espoused by social cognitive theory is “Self-belief does not necessarily ensure
self-efficacy, which is defined as one’s conviction or belief success, but self-disbelief assuredly
spawns failure.” -Albert Bandura
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).

On a more personal level, differentiation involves the

ability to make clear boundaries between our thoughts
“We all have an infant inside of us, but the
and feelings, and to choose which of the two will guide infant doesn’t have to run the show.” -
our behavior. Highly differentiated individuals are able Murray Bowen
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).

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, “With games, and only with games, can the
child or the adult create, and use their whole
the false self, which may also referred to as a fake self or personalities, and the individual only discovers
superficial self, is our defense against the vulnerabilities his personality when he becomes a creator.”

-Donald Woods Winnicott

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 up these flaws and act “as if”
we do not have them.

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 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.