Understanding The Self Lesson 4 PDF

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Technological University of the PhilippinesCOLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTSUnderstanding the SelfLesson Pack (4)The Self f rom Vari ous Perspective: PsychologyLearning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - Discuss the different representation and conceptualization of the self from...

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Technological University of the Philippines COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Unde Understanding rstanding the Sel Selff Lesson Pack (4)

The Self from VVarious arious Perspecti Perspective ve: Psychology Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: • Discuss the different representation and conceptualization of the self from various disciplinal perspective. • Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across different disciplines and perspectives. • Examine the different influences, factors, and forces that shape the self. • Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and identity by developing a theory of the self. “The self thus becomes aware of itself, at least in its practical action, and discovers itself as a cause among other causes and as an object subject to the same laws as other objects.” – Jean Piaget

The Self as a Cognitive Construction What is Psychology? How can Psychology help you understand yourself and know who you really are? Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think, and feel. It includes topics, such as how the brain works, how our memory is organized, how people interact in groups, and how children learn about the world. In fact, everything that concerns the human being is a concern of Psychology. From the basic workings of the human brain to consciousness, memory, reasoning and language, to personality and mental health, and everything about human experience. Psychology will scrutinize it so that you as a human being will understand how it is to be “you.” Online dictionaries define the term cognitive as “of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity, such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering” (WEB). Self-theorists argue that it is natural for humans to form theories about themselves, both as a single entity and as a group, to make meaning of one’s existence and experience.

Psychologist Jean Piaget was a Swiss Clinical Psychologist known for his pioneering work in child development. He pioneered the “Theory of Cognitive Development,” a comprehensive theory about the development of human intelligence. The theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself; and how humans gradually come to acquire, construct, and use it (Torres & Ash, 2007). According to Piaget, cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of a mental process resulting from biological maturation and environmental experience. He believes that children construct an understanding of the world around them, experience inconsistencies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment, and then adjust their ideas accordingly (McLeod, 2009). Moreover, Piaget claims that cognitive development is at the center of the human organism. For example, language is dependent on knowledge and understanding, and the capacity to speak and express oneself through language can only be acquired through the development of intelligence, conscious thought, and problem-solving ability that begins in infancy (Baldwin, 2005). Piaget (1952) observed how children processed and made sense of the world around them and eventually developed a four-stage model of how the mind processes new information encountered. There are three basic components to Piaget’s cognitive theory. These are: 1. Schemas/Schemes – These are the building blocks of knowledge. Schemes are mental organizations that individuals use to understand their environments and designate action. 2. Adaptation – It involves the child’s learning processes to meet situational demands. 3. Stages of Cognitive Development – They reflect the increasing sophistication of the child’s thought process. According to Piaget, the knowledge children acquire is organized into schemas (schemes) or groupings of similar actions or thoughts. Over time, these schemes may change, but they provide an important base level of information about particular events, object, and information. Furthermore, he describes two processes used by the individual in his/her attempt to adapt – assimilation and accommodation. The individual uses both these processes to adjust to his or her environment in an increasingly complex manner. Assimilation is the application of previous concepts to new concepts. For example, a child who was just learned the word “fish,” shouts “fish!” upon seeing one. Meanwhile, Accommodation happens when people encounter completely new information or when existing ideas are challenged. For example, a child knows dogs and cats. At school, he/she learns the word “animals.” The child will then adjust her understanding that dogs and cats are both animals. People often have to form a new schema or alter existing mental categories to accommodate new information. In the “Stages of Cognitive Development,” Piaget theorize that children progress through 4 stages and that they all do so in the same order. A brief summary of Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development appears below. Table 1 Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

STAGE

AGE

CHARACTERISTIC OF STAGE

0-2

The child learns by doing; looking, touching, sucking. The child also has a primitive understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. Object permanence appears around 9 months.

2-7

The child uses language and symbols, including letters and numbers. Egocentrism is also evident. Conservation marks the end of the preoperational stage and the beginning of concrete operations.

Concrete Operations

7-11

The child demonstrates conservation, reversibility, serial ordering, and a mature understanding of causeand-effect relationship. Thinking at this stage is still concrete.

Formal Operations

12+

The individual demonstrates abstract thinking at this stage is still concrete.

Sensorimotor

Preoperational

Harter’s Self-Development Concept Psychologist, author, and professor, Dr. Susan Harter (1999) detailed the emergence of self-concept and asserted that the broad developmental changes observed across early childhood, later childhood, adolescence could be interpreted within Piagetian framework. Additionally, Harter expanded her self-development concept until adulthood. The development of self-concept according to Harter is as follows: •

•

•

Early Childhood – The child describes the “self” in terms of concrete, observable characteristics, such as physical attributes (“I’m pretty/ugly/strong”), material possessions (“I have lots of toys”), behaviors (“I love playing with my toys”), and preferences (“I like candies”). Middle to Later Childhood – The self is described in terms of trait like constructs (e.g., smart, honest, friendly, shy) that would require the type of hierarchical organizational skills characteristics of logical thought development. Adolescence – According to Harter, this is the emergence of more abstract self – definitions, such as inner thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and motives. For example one 15year old girl in a study on self-conceptions described herself as follows: “What am I like as a person? Complicated! I’m sensitive, friendly, outgoing, popular, and tolerant though I can also be shy, self-conscious even obnoxious…I’m a pretty, cheerful person, especially with my friends… At home, I’m more likely to be anxious around my parents” (Harter 1990b, p. 352) The use of the abstract words sensitive, outgoing, cheerful, and anxious as

•

a self-portrait is consistent with Piaget’s findings on the adolescent’s ability to construct higher-order abstraction and the capacity for introspection (Harter , 1999). Emerging Adults – The marked characteristic of “self” for emerging adults is having a vision of a “possible self.” It is the “age of possibilities” (Amett, 2004a). In one Australian study (Whitty, 2002) early emerging adulthood (ages 17-22) was found to be a time of “grand dreams,” of being wealthy and having a glamorous occupation, but beyond emerging adulthood (ages 28-33) the visions of a possible-self became more realistic, if still optimistic.

William James and the Me-Self; I-self “The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook,” wrote William James in his ground breaking masterpiece, The Principles of Psychology, written in 1890. A figure commonly known as “the Father of American Psychology,” philosopher, psychologist, and university professor, William James gave one of the earliest self-theory psychological analyses. According to James (1950), the “self” has two elements; the I – Self and the Me – Self. I – Self is the pure ego. It is the “self” that is aware of its own actions. The I-Self characteristically has four features. These are: 1. A sense of being the agent or initiator of behavior. I believe my actions have an impact; that I cause an effect in my environment. 2. A sense of being unique. This is how I am different from everything in my environment; I perceive there is only one Me. 3. A sense of continuity. I am the same person from day to day 4. A sense of awareness about being aware. I understand what is going on in me and around me; and I know I understand it. (James, 1950; Newman, 2017; Pomerleau, 2017; Damon & Hart, 1982) The Me-Self is the self that is the object. It is the “self” that you can describe, such as your physical characteristics, personalities, social role, or relationships, thoughts feelings (Newman, 2017; James, 1950; Pomerleau, 2017). James called it the empirical self. Empirical is defined as “based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic” (WEB). The dimensions of the me-self include: 1. Material – physical appearance and extensions of it such as clothing, immediate family, and home; 2. Social – social skills and significant interpersonal relationships; and 3. Spiritual – personality, character, defining values. (James, 1950; Newman, 2017; Pomerleau, 2017; Damon & Hart, 1982) Real and Ideal Self-Concepts

Assessment Test of self-concept can be answered through this website: https://childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/092008-32Self-Concept.pdf Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology (Capuzzi, 2016). Humanistic psychology is a psychology perspective that rose to prominence in the mid-20th century. This approach highlighted the individual’s innate drive toward self-actualization and the process of realizing and expressing of one’s own capabilities and creativity (Hansen, 2014). Humanistic psychology emphasized the active role of the individual in shaping their internal and external worlds. Rogers stressed that a person is an active, creative, experiencing being who lives in the present and who thinks, feels and responds to his or her environment. He coined the term actualizing tendency, which refers to a person’s basic instinct to succeed at his or her highest capacity. Through person-centered counseling and scientific therapy research, Rogers formed his theory of personality development, which highlighted free will and the great reservoir of human potential for goodness (McLeod, S.A. 2014). Personality development and the self-concept Rogers based his theories of personality development on humanistic psychology and theories of subjective experience. According to Rogers, all behavior is motivated by selfactualizing tendencies and these tendencies drives you to reach your full potential. He believes that the world a person exists in is the center of constant changes, and the person reacts to these changes. As a result of this constant interaction with the environment and others, an individual forms a structure of the self or self-concept an organized, fluid, conceptual pattern of concepts and values related to the self. If the person holds a positive self-concept, he or she would tend to feel good about himself or herself, and would generally see the world as a safe and positive place. If the person holds a negative self-concept, the he or she may feel unhappy with who he/she is (Kirschenbaum & Henderson, 1989). Ideal self vs. Real self Rogers further divided the self into two categories: the ideal self and the real self. The ideal self is the person that you would like yourself to be; it is your concept of the “best me” who is worthy of admiration. It is idealized image of self that the individual has developed based on what you have has learned experienced. For example, your parents are medical doctors who are respected and admired in your community. Observing your parents, you conclude that to be happy, you need to be smart and have a high paying job. Your ideal self may be someone who excels in science subjects, spends a lot of time studying, and does not get queasy easily. The ideal self could include: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Notions influenced by your parents; What you admire in others; What the society sees as acceptable; and What you think is in your best interest.

The real self is the person you actually are. It is how you behave right at the moment of a situation. It is who are in reality – how you think, feel, or act at present. (Rogers, C. 1959; Gale, C. L. 2015; Eysenck, M.W., 2004; Brouwer, I. B., 2014)

The importance of alignment Rogers accentuated the need to achieve consistency between the ideal self and the real self. According to Rogers, “If the way that I am (the real self) is aligned with the way that I want to be (the ideal self), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or peace of mind. In other words, when you’re real self and ideal self are very similar you experience congruence. High congruence leads to a greater sense of self-worth and a healthy, productive life” (Rogers, C. 1950, 2000). When there is a great inconsistency between your Ideal and real selves or if the way you are is not aligned with what you want to be, then you experience a state Rogers called incongruence. He added that incongruence could lead to maladjustment. Maladjustment is defined as the inability to react successfully and satisfactorily to the demands of one’s environment (Rogers, C. 1950, 2000).

Multiple vs. Unified Selves William James (1890) said, “Properly speaking, a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image of him in their head.” On the other hand, social psychologist Roy Baumeister (2010) said, “But the concept of the self loses its meaning if a person has multiple selves…the essence of self involves integration of diverse experiences into a unity…In short, unity is one of the defining feature of selfhood and identity. ” These two statements represent one of the oldest puzzles for psychologists in their study of the “self.” The question is not just “What is a “self?” but “Is there just one self or there are many selves?” Most likely you would say, “of course there’s just one self. There’s just me. I am the one reading this book. ” True. This observation is justified since there is only one physical body reading the text. However, let us reflect deeper. When you talk about “self” you are not just talking about your physical body. There is something in you that cannot be reduced to biology, chemistry, or physics. Thus, the question “Who am I (really)?” remains relevant then and now.

The Unity of Consciousness The human experience is always that of unity. For example, you dropped a hot pot because forgot the potholder. The experience of feeling pain and dropping the pot displays striking unity. It was you who experience both pain and the act, rather than a string of consciousness where one

part felt the pain and the other dropped the pot. It was experienced by “you” – a single, distinct, conscious entity in the situation. The unity of consciousness was a central topic for classical modern philosophers (from 1600s to 1900s). This idea was pushed by Descartes, the mind (that is the thinking, experiencing being) is not made up of parts; thus, it cannot be a physical substance because anything material has parts (Skirry, 2005). Descartes claimed that this “being” is of unified consciousness and not composed of merged fragments (Brook, 2016).

One Self or Many Selves? Contemporary psychological studies challenged the notion of a single, district, “only one” notion of self. Several major personality theorists proposed that the mind is made up of several sub-selves.

Allport’s Personality Theory Psychologists Gordon Allport (1961) proposed his “personality trait” theory asserting that every person possesses “traits”. According to Allport, a “trait” is your essential characteristic that never, ever changes and sticks with all your life. Moreover, these traits shape who you are (how you think, feel, or behave, etc.) in any given day (Hall, & Lindsay, 1957; Morris, et al., 2002).

The Ego States In 1960 psychiatrist Eric Berne began to develop his transactional analysis model as basis for understanding behavior. Transactional analysis is anchored on two notions: 1. Every person has three parts called “ego states” in his or her personality. 2. People communicate with one another assuming roles of any of these ego states. Berne presented the ego states as: 1. Parent

2. Adult

3. Child

The parent ego state is the voice of authority. It could be comporting “nurturing parent” voice or a “controlling/critical parent” voice that tells what you should or should not do. The Adult ego state is the rational person. It is the voice that speaks reasonably and know how to assert himself or herself. There are Three child ego states. First is the natural child who loves to play but is sensitive and vulnerable. The little professor is the curious child who wants to try everything. The adaptive child is the one who reacts to the world. He or she trying to fit in or is rebelling against authority (Berne, 2016 edition).

Domains of the Self University professor and author Gregg Henriques proposed that the human self has three related, but separable, domains. These domains are: 1. Experiential self; 2. Private self-conscious; and 3. Public self/persona. Henriques (2014) described the “experiential self” as the theater of consciousness because it is the first to experience its beingness (the states or fact existing). He added that the experiential self is closely tied to memory. The “private self-conscious” can be described as the narrator interpreter. It is the self that narrates the unfolding events and at the same time tries to make sense of the experience. The “public self or persona” is the image you project to the public. This is the image that interacts with others and will influence how others see you.

True vs. False Selves Imagine that people are like onions. The center of the onion needs to be protected by the layers to be able to survive. At the center of the onion lies our true self, surrounded by layers we have developed through our lives as protection. These layers are our false self. Most of us needs our false selves as protection to survive childhood, and we carry these layers with us through our adult lives because these protective layers helps us endure. In 1960, an English pediatrician and psychoanalyst, D. W. Winnicott introduced his concept of “False Self” and “True Self.” According to Winnicott the “self” is simply “the person who is me” (1960; 1965). Winnicott also proposed that the healthy core of a healthy person’s self is hidden from the outside world, influenced by the external (harsh) realities. The false self is put up to depend the core from these realities and prevent it from any changes.

False Self Winnicott expressed that the false self is the product of early experience. It is a defensive organization formed by the infant because of inadequate mothering or failures in empathy. He added that the false self is developed as the infant is repeatedly subjected to maternal care that intrudes upon, rejects or abandons his or her experience (Daehnert, 1998). The false self is also based on being completely obedient to the parent’s wishes. Wi...