MODULE 1-Unit 4-Psychological Perspectives of the Self PDF Lecture Notes

Unit 4: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF This unit aims to discuss how the self is defined and understood in the psychological perspective. The action and make-up of man is heavily influenced by numerous factors - heredity, environment and the...

Unit 4: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF This unit aims to discuss how the self is defined and understood in the psychological perspective. The action and make-up of man is heavily influenced by numerous factors - heredity, environment and their psychological makeup. In this unit, we are going to discuss five people: William James, Karen Horney, Carl Rogers, and Albert Bandura. ENGAGE and EXPLORE By now, you probably have a more comprehensive answer to the question “Who am I?”. This time, reflect on your answer to these questions: ARE YOU FOR REAL? ARE YOU TRUE TO YOURSELF? What can you do to either maintain or ensure this? How would being real and true to yourself affect your future as a professional? As a husband/wife? As a father or mother? EXPLAIN To enable further understanding about yourself, let’s take a look at several psychological perspectives. Try and see which is most relevant to how you understand and know yourself. WILLIAM JAMES According to William James, the self is both the “knower” and the “known”. It is partly object and partly subject. It is divided into the me-self and the I-self. ME-SELF - this is the empirical self - the object of a thought 3 Dimensions of Me-self: 1. Material Self - pertains to the things you own 2. Social Self - significant interpersonal relations 3. Spiritual Self - one’s personality, character and defining values I-SELF - “pure ego” - provides the thread of continuity between our past, present, and future selves Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 1  - this component of the self is consciousness itself - self-awareness (the act of thinking about ourselves) - referred to as the soul (or mind) - involves subjective experiential features such as life history and experience 3 Dimensions of I-self: 1. Individual Self 2. Relational Self 3. Collective Self KAREN HORNEY “To search for truth about the self is as valuable as to search for truth in other areas of life” According to Horney, the foundation of a healthy development stems from our childhood experiences. People need to meet certain conditions to grow. Parents need to provide feelings of safety and security to the child in order for them to become psychologically healthy individuals. Unfortunately, parents may fail to provide such conditions at some point. Parents are not perfect, after all. Parents’ inability, unwillingness or indifference may interfere with their capacity to provide safety and security to the child. As a result, the child will develop basic hostility - anger/aggression - towards the parents. However, such feelings are unacceptable and are repressed. These feelings of unexpressed hostility would result in the child developing basic anxiety - a feeling of inadequacy and helplessness in a perceived hostile world. The presence of basic anxiety can lead to the development of what Horney calls the Idealized Self - an overly positive, and perfect image of the self. Idealized self contains numerous beliefs including: (1) they are better than others, (2) the world owes them, and (3) they should be perfect, should be the best, etc. HORNEY’S THEORY OF THE SELF IDEALIZED SELF - an imaginary picture of the self as the possessor of unlimited powers and superlative qualities - developed when people feel inferior and have the need to be loved - one’s view of perfection ACTUALIZED SELF - the person one is in everyday life - the person one actually is regardless of other people’s perceptions Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 2  - often despised because it fails to fulfill the requirement of the idealized image DESPISED SELF - negative view of the self - based on the lack of love and acceptance by others - consists of feelings of inferiority and shortcomings - the feeling that one is hated; it is assumed that it is one’s true self is the one hated REAL SELF - revealed only as a person begins to shed the various techniques developed to deal with basic anxiety - a “force” that impels growth and self-realization - the inner core of personality, one’s potential - the need to be who one truly is ***REFLECTION: Is having an idealized self - good or bad? Why? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be perfect. However, we have to accept that we cannot be perfect. We can be better, but NOT perfect. Basic hostility, basic anxiety and the idealized self are said to be normal since the precipitating factor (parents’ failure to provide safety and security) is a reality. Again, parents are not perfect. They will always have their shortcomings. However, one’s Idealized self becomes unhealthy if it is already incongruent with one’s Real self - who you really are, including your strengths, weaknesses and imperfections. If there is a huge gap between your idealized self and real self, this leads to neurotic behaviors. CARL ROGERS According to Carl Rogers, there are two types of tendencies: Formative and Actualizing. 1. FORMATIVE TENDENCY: The ability to grow from simple to complex organisms 2. ACTUALIZING TENDENCY: The ability to reach one’s fullest potential Experiences can help us grow and develop. That is why Carl Rogers gave emphasis on the subjective experience of a person. As the individual goes through life experiences, he/she becomes a separate individual from others. This is the SELF or SELF-CONCEPT defined by the words I, my, myself and me. Similar to Horney, the self is also divided into two: Real self and Ideal self. Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 3  REAL SELF (Self-concept): Refers to the aspects of one’s being and experiences that are perceived in awareness. IDEAL SELF: This pertains to who you want to become in the future. According to Rogers, everyone has an ideal self and it is perfectly “healthy” to have one - unlike for Horney’s concept of Idealized Self-image. The Real self and Ideal self should overlap and co-occur in order for us to become “psychologically healthy individuals”. Problems and difficulties may arise once there is little to no overlap between the two. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE IDEAL SELF AND REAL SELF TO OVERLAP: 1. Congruence/Genuineness - being real; accepting the self 2. Empathy -ability to recognize and understand others’ feelings 3. Unconditional Positive Regard -no conditions of worth; unconditional acceptance ELABORATE Before we continue with more psychological perspectives, take a break and do this activity: Real Self VS Ideal Self Reflect using the idea of the Real VS Ideal Self by Carl Rogers In a one short bond paper, identify the similarities and/or difference between your Real self and Ideal self through a venn diagram. For example, in terms of physical characteristics: real - short, dark, thin; ideal - tall, fair, with curves. Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 4  Look into your real and ideal selves for the following: physical characteristics, talent/skill, career goal, social life, and achievements. You have the freedom to use words or pictures to depict your real vs ideal self. Ready for more? Let’s continue. THE SELF AS PROACTIVE AND AGENTIC PROACTIVE - acting in advance of a future situation, rather than just reacting - taking control and making things happen rather than just adjusting to a situation or waiting for something to happen AGENTIC - self-organizing, proactive, self-reflective and self-regulating as times change - agentic perspective states that we are NOT merely reactive organisms shaped by environmental forces or driven by inner impulses ALBERT BANDURA HUMAN AGENCY: Essence of humanness; People are self- regulating, proactive, self-organizing and self-reflective. In addition, people have the power to influence their own actions and produce the desired consequences. CORE FEATURES OF HUMAN AGENCY: 1. Intentionality - This pertains to the idea that people are continually changing their plans and are aware of the consequences of their actions. 2. Forethought - This pertains to the idea that people are able to anticipate the possible outcomes of their actions and select behaviors that will produce the desired outcome. 3. Self-reactiveness - This pertains to the ability to motivate themselves and regulate their actions. 4. Self-reflectiveness - This pertains to the idea that people have the ability to examine themselves. Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 5  SELF-EFFICACY: Feelings of adequacy, efficiency and competence in coping with life. HIGH LEVELS: Belief that they can deal effectively with events and situations LOW LEVELS: Belief that they are unable to exercise control over events and situations Sources of Self-efficacy: 1. Performance Attainment ü Previous successful attempts and experiences provide clear indications of one’s level of mastery and competence. ü Prior achievements demonstrate our capabilities and may increase one’s level of self-efficacy. 2. Vicarious Experience ü Observing and witnessing others perform successfully strengthen self-efficacy, particularly if the people being observed are similar in abilities. 3. Verbal Persuasions ü Verbal feedback and encouraging words may help strengthen levels of selfefficacy. ü The “WHO” is also an important factor. 4. Physiological and Emotional Arousal ü The more composed we are, the greater one’s self-efficacy is. References: Bandura, A. (1999). Social Cognitive Theory of Personality. In Pervin and John (eds) Handbook of Personality Theory and Research. 2™ ed. Guilford Press 134 — 194. (For the topic, The Self from Various Perspectives - The Self in Western and Oriental/Eastern Thought) Chafee, J. (2013) Who are you? Consciousness, Identity and the Self. In the Philosopher's Way: Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas. Pearson. 106 — 169. Villafuerte, S. Quillope, A. Tunac, R. Borja, E. Understanding the Self, NIEME Publishing House Inc., Quezon City 2018 Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited. 6