LECTURE 3: THE SELF as a COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
constructs, created and recreated in memory. Current researches
THIS LESSON PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE THEM ES OF
PSYCHOLOGY REGARDING THE CONCEPT OF “SELF”.
Cognitive psychology - concerned with mental processes (as
perception, thinking, learning, and memory) especially with respect
to the internal events occurring between sensing and the
expression of behavior.
Cognition - the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge &
comprehension. It includes thinking, knowing, remembering,
judging and problem-solving.
These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass
language, imagination, perception, and planning.
In psychology, the self is defined as: “the sense of personal identity
and of who we are as individuals.”
William James (1890) conceptualized the self as:
“I” – the thinking, acting, and feeling self.
“Me” – the physical characteristics; capabilities
In Carl Rogers’ (1959) theory of personality:
“I” – the one who acts and decides
“Me” – what you think or feel about yourself
Another concept of the self is IDENTITY /SELF-CONCEPT:
Identity/Self-concept – composed of personal characteristics, social
roles, responsibilities.
- it is what comes to your mind when asked about who you are.
- it is not fixed in one time frame
Rogers captured this idea in his concept of SELF-SCHEMA, our
organized system or collection of knowledge about who we are.
The self-schema includes your hobbies, family, religion, nationality,
interests, work, course, age name, etc,
As you grow and adapt to the changes around you, they also
change.
They actively shape and affect how you see, think, and feel about
things.
Psychological theories see the self and identity as mental
At other times, we may experience “loss of individual self-
point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the area associated with
processes concerning the self.
One influential psychologist of our generation is Sigmund Freud, he
sees the self and the mind as a result of interaction between these 3
parts:
Id - the instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and
aggressive drives and hidden memories. It is selfish and wishful in
nature. Illogical and fantasy oriented.
Ego - the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id
and the super-ego. Modified by the direct influence of the external
world. The decision-making component of personality.
Superego - operates as a moral conscience. Applies the values of
society which are learned from one's parents and others.
The theory of symbolic interactionism (G.H. Mead) argues that the
self is created & developed through human interaction. We are
social products because:
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.
2. We need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are.
3. What’s important to us is influenced by our social/historical
context.
When we are aware of our self-concepts, that is called SELF-
AWARENESS. The 2 types of self we can be aware of are:
1. The private self – your internal private thoughts and feelings
2. The public self/image – geared to having a good presentation of
yourself to others.
- Carver & Scheier (1981)
Self-awareness presents us three other self-schema:
1. Actual self – who you are at the moment
2. Ideal self – who you like to be
3.Ought self – who you think you should be (responsibilities, etc)
Self-awareness may be positive or negative.
awareness and accountability in groups. A lot of people attune
themselves with the emotions of their group. Being in a large crowd
may lessen our self-control.
Social relationships affect or self-esteem through social
comparison. In this theory, we learn about ourselves, the
appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as our status, by
comparing ourselves to other people.
Downward social comparison – is a common type of comparing
ourselves to others. We create a POSITIVE self-concept by
comparing ourselves with those who are WORSE than us.
Upward social comparison – is comparing ourselves with those who
are better than us. It can be MOTIVATION for some, but it could
also LOWER YOUR SELF-ESTEEM because it shows your weaknesses.
These also occur not only in individuals but also in groups.
Social comparison is connected to the self-evaluation maintenance
theory, which states that we feel THREATENED when someone out-
performs us, or does better than us. Especially when that person is
a close peer/partner/friend.
We usually act in 3 ways in these situations:
1. we distance ourselves from the person.
2. we reconsider the aspect or skill you were outperformed in.
3. we try to improve that aspect of ourselves.
But then, sometimes to increase or maintain self-esteem, some may
become NARCISSISTIC. Meaning: overly high self-esteem, self-
admiration, self-centeredness.
There is a difference between self-esteem and narcissism. People
with high self-esteem are usually outgoing, adventurous, adaptable
in a lot of situations. But they could also be bullies and experiment
on abusive behavior, drugs, alcohol, etc.
Source: Understanding the Self (Alata, Caslib, Serafica, Pawilen, 2018.)