Self-Concept & Psychology Essay PDF

## Self-Concept Rogers contended that self-concept is composed of three elements: ### 1. Self-Image Your self-image is how you see yourself based on your strengths and weaknesses. How you think and feel about your appearance, your task performance, and your social relationships consistently affec...

## Self-Concept Rogers contended that self-concept is composed of three elements: ### 1. Self-Image Your self-image is how you see yourself based on your strengths and weaknesses. How you think and feel about your appearance, your task performance, and your social relationships consistently affect your self-image. ### 2. Self-Esteem Self-esteem refers to the positive and negative feelings you have about yourself. When you feel that you are good, then your self-esteem is high. Overly high self-esteem, however, can have a negative effect. Possible links to high self-esteem are bullying, increased social comparisons, and prejudice or racism (Jhangiani 2022). However, when you feel that you are a failure and unworthy, you experience low self-esteem. Low self-esteem has its downside. It has been linked to psychological suffering, including anxiety, depression, and suicide. **Self-esteem helps us to:** * Identify our own strength * Distinguish between our inner beauty and outer beauty * Focus on the good rather than the bad * Understand more about what makes good friendships * Create a habit of positive realism ### 3. Ideal Self Ideal self is based on one's hopes and wishes based on how a person would like to become. If there is a big gap between how you see yourself and what you would like to become, it will somehow affect how you value yourself. ## Self-Description Essay Write an essay about anything that you wish to share about yourself. You may use these suggested topics: * Me as I see me * How other people see me * How I would like other people to see me ## Psychology Is the science of behavior. It originates from the Greek word; psyche (soul) and logos (study). It literally means the study of the soul/mind. Today, Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. The self has many aspects that help make an integral part of oneself. Example of these are self-concept, self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-perception. The psychology of self, either cognitive or affective, represents one's identity. ## Sigmund Freud Freud (1856-1929) was an Austrian neurologist. He is considered as the founder of Psychoanalysis. ### Provinces of the mind, Psychosexual development, and the defense mechanisms. Freud contented that the self is the outcome of the interaction between the three structures of the mind; the id, ego, and superego. #### Characteristics of the Id, Ego, and Supergo. | | | | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- | | **Id** | Pleasure principle - seeks immediate gratification of impulses | ignores society's moral standards | | **Ego** | Reality principle - responsible for rational and thoughtful | "I HAVE A PLAN" | | **Super Ego** | Morality principle - guilty if rules disobeyed | "IT'S NOT RIGHT TO DO" | Id and superego are frequently in conflict, and the role of the ego is to satisfy both. According to Freud, when the id's desires, and the superego's rules cannot be satisfied, humans feel anxiety, and to cope with this, people habitually and unconsciously distort reality using defense mechanisms (Feist 2021). ### Psychosexual Development Theory According to Freud, children are born with powerful sexual and aggressive urges. His theory explores the five psychosexual stages in which the person seeks pleasure from body parts that are sexual in nature. He also emphasized that a child's first five years are the most critical developmental stage for social and personality development (Cherry 2016). #### Psychosexual Stages of Development | Stage | Age | Erogenous Zone | Successful Resolution | Fixation | | ---------- | -------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------------- | | Oral | Birth up to 12 months | Mouth (feeding) | Weaning | Infant's fixation | | Anal | 1 to 3 years old | Anus (bowel and bladder control) | Toilet training | Toddler's fixation | | Phallic | 3 to 5 years old | Genitals | Mama's boy, son's fixation | | ## The Anima and Animus The anima and animus are the masculine and feminine aspects of personality that all people have. ## The Self The self symbolizes the psyche. For Jung, self-realization is the process of attaining selfhood. Selfhood means enabling all the psychological components to work in unity and harmony. People who have achieved this state have been able to acquire a balance between and among the archetypes. ## Erik Erikson German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst. He was a professor at Harvard, University of California, and Erikson is famous for psychosocial development theory and has been recognized for creating the phrase identity crisis (Vom Orde 2016). Erik Erikson's psychosocial developmental theory claims that self-identity progresses in eight stages, each facing a specific psychosocial dilemma or “crisis” throughout the lifetime. In every life stage, there is an interaction of conflicts, the harmonious (syntonic) element, and the disruptive (dystonic) element. Moreover, Erikson emphasized the point that in order to have a balanced output, each stage should experience not only one element but both conflicting elements (Carson-Arenas 2011). ## Carl Jung Jung emphasized the influences of archetypes on one's personality. ## Major Jungian Archetypes Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. According to Jung, archetypes represent universal, inherited patterns of thought and behavior. Some of the major Jungian archetypes include: | Archetype | Description | | ----------- | -------------------------------------------- | | The Persona | The social mask we present to the world. | | The Shadow | The dark side of our personality. | | The Anima | The feminine aspect of the male psyche. | | The Animus | The masculine aspect of the female psyche. | | The Self | The center of the personality. | ## Carl Rogers Carl Rogers was an American humanistic psychologist. He is one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy. Rogers emphasizes that the self is divided into two categories: REAL SELF and IDEAL SELF. ### Real Self This is our true self. This is who and what we really are. This self may be an imperfect one, but certainly, it is the most real part. ### Ideal Self This is the self we wish to be, we strive to be, and what we feel we are expected to be. We tend to accommodate other expectations because we believe that we will be more liked and loved if we do. Conversely, if there is a big difference between these two categories, then personality problems may occur. When discrepancy between the real self and ideal self is huge, this can lead to psychological burdens like stress and anxiety because we feel that the real self seems not to be sufficient while the ideal seems impossible to reach (Feist 2021).