THE SELF AS A

COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
WILLIAM JAMES

Prepared by: Jasper Ann StaMaria, RPm

Intended Learning Objectives
Identify the different ideas in psychology
about the “self’
Create their own definition of the ‘self”
based on the definitions from psychology
Analyze the effects of various factors
identified in psychology in the formation of
the “self”
SELF
 Refers to an individual person of the object of his or
her own reflective consciousness.

 A person’s essential being that distinguishes them

from others, especially considered as the object of
introspection or reflexive action.
 JAMES WILLIAM (1842-1910)
- Father of AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGY
Two aspects of the self:
“I SELF” – reflects what people see or
perceive themselves doing in the
physical world. (e.g., recognizing that
one is walking, eating, writing)
“ME SELF” – an individual’s reflections
about themselves (e.g., characterizing
oneself as athletic, smart, cooperative)
“I SELF”
For James, the “I” part of self was the thinking self,
which could not be further divided. He linked this
part of the self to the soul of the person, or what is
now thought of as the mind.
It is the PURE EGO. It provides the thread of
continuity between our past, present, and future
selves,
Three Components of ME SELF:
MATERIAL SELF – the tangible objects
or possessions we collect for ourselves
SOCIAL SELF – how we interact and
portray ourselves within different
groups, situations, or persons
SPIRITUAL SELF – internal
dispositions
MATERIAL SELF
It is consists of things that belong to a person or
entities that a person belongs to (e.g., body, family,
clothes, money.

BODY – core of the material self.

SOCIAL SELF
It is who we are in a given social
situation. For James, people change
how they act on the social situation
that they are in. He believed that
people had as many social selves as
they did social situations they
participated in.
SPIRITUAL SELF
It is our internal dispositions, it is who
we are at our core. Aspects of spiritual
self include things like personality, core
values, and conscience that do not
typically change throughout an
individual’s lifetime.
IDENTITY
One’s personal characteristics, social roles and
responsibilities, as well as affiliations that defines who
one is.

SELF - ESTEEM
Refers to overall assessment of one’s worth as a
person or one’s self worth.

SELF - EFFICACY
Refers to how one performs. Ou feeling of
adequacy, efficiency and competence in coping
with life.
CARL ROGERS
SELF-CONCEPT
Refers to an individual’s overall perceptions of his
or her abilities, behavior, and personality.
REAL SELF is the self as a result of
experiences
IDEAL SELF is the self the person would like
to be
 SELF-CONCEPT
COGNITIVE
Self-schemes are cognitive
generalizations about the
self, derived from past
experiences, that organize
and guide the processing of
self-related information.
BEHAVIORAL AFFECTIVE
COMPONENT
We observe our behavior Self-esteem reflects
and the situation in which difference between an
it took place, make individual’s self-concept
attributions about why the and some ideal image
behavior occurred, and expressed the relationship
draw conclusions about this way.
our own characteristics
and disposition.
SELF-CONCEPT
It is an organized, consistent set of perceptions and
beliefs about oneself. What comes to your mind when
you are asked about who you are.

INCONGRUENT CONGRUENT

SELF- IDEAL SELF- IDEAL

IMAGE SELF IMAGE SELF
INCONGRUITY
“ The greatest discovery of my generation is that a
human being can alter his life by altering his
attitudes.”
-William James

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as

I am, then I can change.”
- Carl Rogers
Thank you!!!