SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT • THE PRIVATE SELF – Your internal standards and

private thoughts and feelings.

There are various definitions of the self and other
similar or interchangeable concepts in psychology. • PUBLIC SELF – Your public image is commonly
Simply put, the self in psychology is the sense of personal geared toward having a good representation of yourself to
identity and of who we are as individuals. others.

WILLIAM JAMES was one of the earliest Self-awareness also presents us with at least three
psychologists to study the self, he conceptualized the self other Self – Schema:
as having two aspects: the “I” and “Me”.
• ACTUAL SELF – Who you are at the moment.
• “I” is the thinking, acting, and feeling of self.
• IDEAL SELF – Whom you like to be
• “Me” is the physical characteristics as well as
psychological capabilities that make who you are. • OUGHT SELF – Whom we think we should be.

CARL ROGERS used the same terms, Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending
on the circumstances and our next course of action. It can
• “I” is the one who acts and decides. keep you doing something dangerous. In other instances,
self-awareness can be too much that we are concerned
• “Me” is what you think or feel about yourself as an about being observed and criticized by others, also known
object. as self-consciousness. At other times, we may experience
individualization or the loss of individual self-awareness
Other concepts similar to self are identity and self- and individual accountability in groups. A lot of people
concept. will attune themselves to the emotions of their group
because the large crowd also provides some kind of
• Identity is composed of one’s personal characteristics, anonymity. Our group identity and self-awareness also
social roles, and responsibilities. have a great impact on our self-esteem. Self-esteem is our
own positive or negative perception or evaluation of
• Self-concept is basically what comes to your mind when ourselves. One of the ways in which our social
you are asked about who you are. relationships affect our self-esteem is through social
comparison.
CARL ROGERS captures this idea in his concept of
self-schema or our own organized system or collection of 1. DOWNWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON –
knowledge about who we are. It may include your Comparing ourselves with those people who are worse off
interest, work, course, age, name, and physical than us.
characteristics, among others. And as you grow and adapt
to the changes around you, they also change, but they are 2. UPWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON – Comparing
not passive receivers, they actively shape and affect how ourselves with those people who are better off than us.
you see, think, and feel about things. Theories generally Social comparison entails what is called self-evaluation
see the self and identity as mental constructs. Current maintenance theory which states that we can feel
researches point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the threatened when someone out-performs us. In this case,
specific area of the brain associated with processes we react in three ways:
concerning the self. Sigmund Freud saw the self, its
mental processes, and one’s behavior as the results of the • We distance ourselves from the person or redefine our
interaction between the structures of personality. relationship with them.

As in the abovementioned definitions of the self, social • We may reconsider the importance of the aspect or skill
interaction always has a part to play in whom we think we in which you out performed.
are. Under the theory of symbolic interactionism, Mead
argued that the self is created and developed through • We may also strengthen or resolve to improve that
human interaction. There are three reasons why self and certain aspect of ourselves. However, in an attempt to
identity are social products: increase or maintain self-esteem, some people become
narcissistic. Narcissism is a trait characterized by overly
1. We do not create ourselves out of anything. high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness.
Sometimes, there is a thin line between high self-esteem
2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need and narcissism and there are a lot of tests and
others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are. measurements for self-esteem but the issue is that the
result can be affected by the desire of the person to portray
3. What we think is important to us may also have been herself in a positive or advantageous way.
influenced by what is important in our social or historical
context. Social interaction and group affiliation are vital SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
factors in creating our self-concept, especially in the
aspect of providing us with social identity. However, ABSTRACTION
there are times when we are aware of our self-concepts,
also called self-awareness. Carver and Scheier identified In confidence or in an attempt to avoid further analytical
two types of self that we can be aware of: discussions, a lot of people say, "I am who I am." Yet, this
statement still begs the question "if you are who you are, Theories generally see the self and identity as mental
then who are you that makes you who you are?" constructs, created and recreated in memory (Oyserman,
Elmore, and Smith 2012). Current researches point to the
As mentioned earlier, there are various definitions of frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the brain
the "self" and other similar or interchangeable concepts in associated with the processes concerning the self
psychology. Simply put, "self" is "the sense of personal (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).
identity and of who we are as individuals (Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014)." Several psychologists, especially during the field's
earlier development, followed this trend of thought,
WILLIAM JAMES (1890) was one of the earliest looking deeper into the mind of the person to theorize
psychologists to study the self and conceptualized the self about the self, identity, self-concept, and in turn, one's
as having two aspects-the "I" and the "me." The "I" is the personality. The most influential of them is Sigmund
thinking, acting, and feeling self (Gleitman, Gross, and Freud. Basically, Freud saw the self, its mental processes,
Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010). The "me" on and one's behavior as the results of the interaction
the other hand, is the physical characteristics, as well as between the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
psychological capabilities that makes who you are
(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and However, as mentioned earlier, one cannot fully
Vaughan 2010). CARL ROGERS'S (1959) theory of discount the effects of society and culture on the
personality also used the same terms, the "I" as the one formation of the self, identity, and self-concept. Even as
who acts and decides while the "me" is what you think or Freud and other theories and researchers try to understand
feel about yourself as an object (Gleitman, Gross, and the person by digging deeper into the mind, they cannot
Reisberg 2011). fully discount the huge and important effects of the
environment. As in the abovementioned definitions of the
Other concepts similar to self are identity and self- self, social interaction always has a part to play in who we
concept. Identity is composed of personal characteristics, think we are. This is not nature vs. nurture but instead a
social roles, and responsibilities, as well as affiliations nature-and-nurture perspective.
that define who one is (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith
2012). Self. concept is what basically comes to your mind Under the theory of symbolic interactionism, G.H.
when you are asked about who you are (Oyserman, Mead (1934) argued that the self is created and developed
Elmore, and Smith 2012). through human interaction (Hogg and Vaughan 2010).
Basically, there are three reasons why self and identity are
Self, identity, and self-concept are not fixed in one time social products (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012):
frame. For example when you are asked about who you
are, you can say "I was a varsity player in 5th Grade" 1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society
which pertains to the past, "a college student" which may helped in creating the foundations of who we are and even
be the present, and "a future politician" which is the if we make our choices, we will still operate in our social
future. They are not also fixed for life nor are they ever- and historical contexts in one way or the other. You may,
changing at every moment. Think of a malleable metal, of course, transfer from one culture to another, but parts
strong and hard but can be bent and molded in other of who you were will still affect you and you will also
shapes. Think about water. It can take any shape of the have to adapt to the new social context. Try looking at
container, but at its core, it is still the same element. your definition of who you are and see where society had
affected you.
CARL ROGERS captured this idea in his concept of
self-schema or our organized system or collection of 2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually
knowledge about who we are (Gleitman, Gross, and need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are.
Reisberg 2011; Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). Imagine an We also need them as reference points about our identity.
organized list or a diagram similar to the one below: One interesting example is the social media interactions
we have. In the case of Facebook, there are those who will
SELF consciously or unconsciously try to garner more "likes"
Family Hobbies Religion Nationality and/or positive "reactions" and that can and will reinforce
their self-concept. It is almost like a battle between who
The schema is not limited to the example above. It may got more friends, more views, and trending topics. If one
also include your interests, work, course, age, name, and says he is a good singer but his performance and the
physical characteristics, among others. As you grow and evaluation of his audience says otherwise, that will have
adapt to the changes around you, they also change. But an effect on that person's idea of himself, one way or
they are not passive receivers, they actively shape and another.
affect how you see, think, and feel about things
(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Jhangiani and 3. What we think is important to us may also have
Tarry 2014). been influenced by what is important in our social or
historical context. Education might be an important thing
For example, when someone states your first name even to your self-concept because you grew up in a family that
if they are not talking about you, your attention is drawn valued education. Money might be important to some
to them. If you have a provincial language and you hear because they may have grown in a low-income family and
someone using it, it catches your attention. If you consider realized how important money is in addressing certain
yourself a book-lover, a bookstore may always entice you needs like medical emergencies. Being a nurse or a lawyer
out of all the other stores in a mall. can be priority in your self- schema because it is the in-
demand course during your time.
 Social interaction and group affiliation, therefore, are to the social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves,
vital factors in creating our self-concept especially in the the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as our social
aspect of providing us with our social identity or our status by comparing aspects of ourselves with other
perception of who we are based on our membership to people (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014; Hogg and Vaughan
certain groups (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). It is also 2010).
inevitable that we can have several social identities, that
those identities can overlap, and that we automatically The downward social comparison is the more common
play the roles as we interact with our groups. For example, type of comparing ourselves with others. As the name
you are a student who is also part of a certain group of implies, we create a positive self-concept by comparing
friends. You study because it is your role as a student but ourselves with those who are worse off than us (Jhangiani
you prefer to study with your friends and your study and Tarry 2014). By having the advantage, we can raise
pattern changes when you are with your friends than when our self-esteem. Another comparison is the upward social
you do it alone. comparison which is comparing ourselves with those who
are better off than us (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). While
There are times, however, when we are aware of our it can be a form of motivation for some, a lot of those who
self-concepts; this is also called self-awareness. Carver do this actually felt lower self-esteem as they highlight
and Scheier (1981) identified two types of self that we can more of their weakness or inequities.
be aware of: (1) The private self or your internal standards
and private thoughts and feelings, and (2) The public self Take note that this occurs not only between individuals
or your public image commonly geared toward having a but also groups. Thus, if a person's group is performing
good presentation of yourself to others (Hogg and better and is acknowledged more than the other group,
Vaughan 2010). then his self-esteem may also be heightened.

Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other Social comparison also entails what is called self-
Self – Schema: the actual, ideal, and ought self. The evaluation maintenance theory, which states that we can
"actual" self is who you are at the moment, the "ideal" self feel threatened when someone out-performs us, especially
is who you like to be, and the "ought" self is who you when that person is close to us (ie., a friend or family)
think you should be (Higgins 1997 in Hogg and Vaughn (Tesser 1988 in Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). In this case,
2010). An example is that you are a student interested in we usually react in three ways First, we distance ourselves
basketball but is also academically challenged in most of from that person or redefine our relationship with them
your subject. Your ideal self might be to practice more (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). Some will resort to the silent
and play with the varsity team but ought to pass your treatment, change of friends, while some may also
subjects as a responsible student. One has to find a redefine by being closer to that person, hoping that some
solution to such discrepancies to avoid agitation, association may give him a certain kind of
dejection, or other negative emotions. In some instances, acknowledgment also Second, we may also reconsider the
however, all three may be in line with one another. importance of the aspect or skill in which you were
outperformed (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). If you got
Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending beaten in a drawing competition, you might think that
on the circumstances and our next course of action. Self- drawing is not really for you and you will find a hobby
awareness can keep you from doing something where you could excel, thus preserving your self-esteem.
dangerous; it can help remind you that there is an exam Lastly, we may also strengthen our resolve to improve
tomorrow in one of your subjects when you are about to that certain aspect of ourselves (Jhangiani and Tarry
spend time playing computer games with your cousins, 2014). Instead of quitting drawing, you might join
among others. In other instances, self-awareness can be seminars, practice more often, read books about it, and
too much that we are concerned about being observed and add some elements in your drawing that makes it unique,
criticized by others, also known as self-consciousness among others. Achieving your goal through hard work
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). At other times, especially may increase your self-esteem, too.
with large crowds, we may experience deindividuation or
"the loss of individual self- awareness and individual However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-
accountability in groups" (Festinger, Pepitone, and esteem, some people become narcissistic. Narcissism is a
Newcomb 1952; Zimbardo 1969 in Jhangiani and Tarry "trait characterized by overly high self- esteem, self-
2014). A lot of people will attune themselves with the admiration, and self-centeredness" (Jhangiani and Tarry
emotions of their group and because the large crowd also 2014). They are often charismatic because of how they
provides some kind of anonymity, we may lessen our self- take care of their image. Taking care of that image
control and act in ways that we will not do when we are includes their interpersonal relationships thus they will try
alone. A common example is a mass demonstration to look for better partners, better acquaintances, as well as
erupting into a riot. people who will appreciate them a lot. This makes them a
bad romantic partner or friend since they engage in
Our group identity and self-awareness also had a great relationships only to serve themselves (Jhangiani and
impact on our self- esteem, one of the common concepts Tarry 2014).
associated with the "self." It is defined as our own positive
or negative perception or evaluation of ourselves Sometimes, there is a thin line between high self-
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014; Gleitman, Gross, and esteem and narcissism and there are a lot of tests and
Reisberg 2011). measurements for self-esteem like the Rosenberg scale
but the issue is that the result can be affected by the desire
One of the ways in which our social relationship affects of the person to portray herself in a positive or
our self-esteem is through social comparison. According advantageous way (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). In case
you want to take a test and find a numerical value or level The second philosophy is Taoism. Taoism is living in
of your self- esteem, try to be honest and objective about the way of the Tao or the universe. However, Taoism
what you feel and see about yourself. And though self- rejects having one definition of what the Tao is, and one
esteem is a very important concept related to the self, can only state clues of what it is as they adopt a free-
studies have shown that it only has a correlation, not flowing, relative, unitary, as well as paradoxical view of
causality, to positive outputs and outlook (Jhangiani and almost everything. Taoism rejects the hierarchy and
Tarry 2014). It can be argued that high or healthy self- strictness brought by Confucianism and would prefer a
esteem may result to an overall good personality but it is simple lifestyle and its teachings thus aim to describe how
not, and should not be, the only source of a person's to attain that life (Ho 1995).
healthy perspective of herself.
The self is not just an extension of the family or the
And though self-esteem is a very important concept community; it is part of the universe, one of the forms and
related to the self, studies have shown that it only has a manifestations of the Tao (Ho 1995). The ideal self is
correlation, not causality, to positive outputs and outlook selflessness but this is not forgetting about the self, it is
(Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). It can be argued that high or living a balanced- life with society and nature, being open
healthy self- esteem may result to an overall good and accepting to change, forgetting about prejudices and
personality but it is not, and should not be, the only source egocentric ideas and thinking about equality as well as
of a person's healthy perspective of herself. complementarity among humans as well as other beings
(Ho 1995). In this way, you will be able to act
People with high self-esteem are commonly described spontaneously because you will not be restricted by some
as outgoing, adventurous, and adaptable in a lot of legalistic standards but because you are in harmony with
situations. They also initiate activities and building everything.
relationship with people. However, they may also dismiss
other activities that do not conform to their self-concept The self or the individual is not the focus of the
or boost their self-esteem. They may also be bullies and abovementioned Asian or Eastern philosophies or beliefs.
experiment on abusive behaviors with drugs, alcohol, and Even with extended discussions about how the self should
sex (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). work, Confucianism and Taoism still situate the self
within a bigger context. In striving to become a better
This duality in the behavior and attitudes only proves person, one does not create a self above other people or
the above-mentioned correlation. Baumeister, Smart, and nature but a self that is beneficial to his community as
Boden (1996) in their research on self-esteem concluded well as in order and harmony with everything else. As for
that programs, activities, and parenting styles to boost Buddhism, the self, with all its connections and selfish
self-esteem should only be for rewarding good behavior ideas, is taken not just out of the center of the picture, but
and other achievements and not for the purpose of merely from the whole picture entirely.
trying to make children feel better about themselves or to
appease them when they get angry or sad (Jhangiani and As previously discussed, Western perspective does
Tarry 2014). not discount the role of environment and society in the
formation of the self but the focus is always looking
SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHTS toward the self. You compare yourself in order to be
better; you create associations and bask in the glory of that
ABSTRACTION group for your self-esteem; you put primacy in
developing yourself.
There are actually a lot of sources in which you can
analyze the perspective of each culture and country about One can also describe that the Western thought looks
the concept of "self." You can see it in their literature like at the world dualities wherein you are distinct from the
how one culture depicts a hero or a villain in their stories. other person, the creator is separate from the object he
You can see it in their social organization like how they created, in which the self is distinguished and
see their boss or their subordinate. Artworks, dances, even acknowledge (Wolter 2012). On the other hand, the
clothing may show you clues about the "self." Eastern perspective sees the other person as part of
yourself as well as the things you may create, a drama in
In this lesson, we will look at religious beliefs and which everyone is interconnected with their specific roles
political philosophies that greatly influenced the mindset (Wolter 2012).
of each nation or culture. Since almost all the theories
about the self, which were discussed in the previous Several studies showed that Americans, for example,
lessons, also came from the Western scientific research, talk more about their personal attributes when describing
we will highlight the Eastern thoughts in this lesson. themselves while Asians in general talk about their social
roles or the social situations that invoked certain traits that
Self-cultivation is seen as the ultimate purpose of life they deem positive for their selves (Gleitman, Gross, and
but the characteristics of a chun-tzu, a man of virtue or Reisberg 2011). Evaluation of the self also differs as
noble character, is still embedded in his social Americans would highlight their personal achievements
relationships (Ho 1995). The cultivated self in while Asians would rather keep a low profile as
Confucianism is what some scholars call a "subdued self" promoting the self can be seen as boastfulness that
wherein personal needs are repressed (subdued) for the disrupts social relationships (Gleitman, Gross, and
good of many, making Confucian society also hierarchal Reisberg 2011).
for the purpose of maintaining order and balance in
society (Ho 1995). The Western culture is what we would call an
individualistic culture since their focus is on the person.
Asian culture, on the other hand, is called a collectivistic
culture as the group and social relations that is given more
importance than individual needs and wants.

By valuing the individual, Westerners may seem to

have loose associations or even loyalty to their groups.
Competition is the name of the game and they are more
likely straightforward and forceful in their
communication as well as decision- making. Eastern or
oriental persons look after the welfare of their groups and
values cooperation. They would also be more
compromising and they tend to go around the bush in
explaining things, hoping that the other person would
"feel" what they really want to say (Qingxue 2003).

Westerners also emphasize more on the value of

equality even if they see that the individual can rise above
everything else. Because everyone is on their own in the
competition, one can say that they also promote ideals
that create "fair" competition and protect the individual.
Asians, with their collectivistic culture, put more
emphasis on hierarchy as the culture wants to keep things
in harmony and order (Qingxue 2003). For example,
Westerners would most likely call their bosses, parents,
or other seniors by their first name. The boss can also be
approached head-on when conflicts or problems about
him arises. For Asians, we have respectful terms for our
seniors and a lot of workers would not dare go against the
high-ranking officials (Qingxue 2003).

It must be emphasized, however, that these are

general commonalities among Western cultures as
compared to Asian or Oriental cultures. In the case of the
Philippines, we can also consider the colonization
experience for differences and similarities with our Asian
neighbors. We might also find variation among provinces
and regions due to geographical conditions.

With the social media, migration, and intermarriages,

variety between the Western and Asian perceptions may
either be blurred or highlighted. Whereas conflict is
inevitable in diversity, peace is also possible through the
understanding of where each of us is coming from.