UTS Module 1 Lesson 3

Surigao Del Sur State University-Bilsig

GE 2- UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

MODULE 1: DEFINING THE SELF: PERSONAL AND DEVELOMENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AND IDENTITY
3
Module 1

Lesson
THE SELF AS COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to :

1. identify the different ideas in psychology about the “self”;
2. create your own self schema diagram based on your personal
definition of the ‘self”; and
3. analyze the effects of various factors identified in psychology
in the formation of the “self”.
INTRODUCTION
As discussed in the previous lessons, every field of study, at least in the

social sciences, have their own research, definition, and conceptualization of the
self and identity. Some are similar while some specific only in their field. Each
field also has thousands of research on self and identity as well as related or
synonymous terms. The trend of the lessons also seems to define the concept of
the self from a larger context down to the individual. This lesson provides an
overview of the themes of psychology regarding the said concept.
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ACTIVITY 1:
“You” through Other’s Eyes

This activity has two parts that try to compare how we look at ourselves against
how people perceive us depending on how we present ourselves to them. For the
first part, list ten (10) qualities or things that you think define who you are
around the human figure representing you.
On the second part, in a clean sheet of paper, write “I am _______________ (state

your name). Who do you think I am based on what you see me do or hear me say?”
Let somebody fill out the paper (anybody around you). As they fill out the paper,
tell them to write (x) those that they observe about you and (/) those words they
thought about you. Do not use any bad words and do not write their names. After
the allotted period, get back the paper.
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ANALYSIS:
Compare what you wrote about yourself to those written by other person/s or
friends. What aspects are similar and which are not? What aspects are always
true to you? What aspects are sometimes true or circumstantial? What aspects do
you think are not really part of your personality? Write your answers below.
Always True Sometime True Not really True
Processing:
1. How do you find the activity?
2. What made it difficult for you?
3. What do you feel about those words written for you?
4. Do those words describe you in reality as a person?
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ABSTRACTION:
In an attempt to avoid further analytical discussions, a lot of people say, “I

am who I am.” Yet, this statement still begs the question “if you are who you
are, then who are you that makes you who you are?”
As mentioned earlier, there are various definitions of the “self” and other
similar or interchangeable concepts in psychology. Simply put, “self” is “the
sense of personal identity and of who we are as individuals (Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014).”
Williams James (1890) was one of the earliest psychologists to study the
self and conceptualized the self as having two aspects – the “I” and the “me”.
The “I” is the thinking, acting, and feeling self (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg
2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010). The “me” on the other hand, is the physical
characteristics as well as psychological capabilities that makes who you are
(Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010). Carl Rogers’
(1959) theory of personality also used the same terms, the “I” as the one who
acts and decides while the me” is what you think or feel about yourself as an
object (Gleitman, Gros, and Reisberg 2011).
Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-conceopt. Identity

composed of personal characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as well
as affiliations that define who one is (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).
Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind when you are asked about
who you are.
Self, identity, and self-concept are not fixed in one-time frame. For
example, when you are asked about who you are, you can say “I was a varsity
in our college” which pertains to the past, “a college student” which may be
the present and “a future politician” which is the future. They are not also
fixed for life nor are they ever-changing at every moment.
Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or our

organized system or collection of knowledge about who we are (Gleitman,
Gross, and Reisberg 2011) Imagine an organized list or a diagram similar to
the one below:
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Hobbies
Family
Self Religion
Nationality
The schema is not limited to the example above. It may also include your
interests, work, course, age, name, and physical characteristics, among
others.
Several psychologists, especially during the field’s earlier development,

followed this trend of though, looking deeper into the mind or the person to
theorize about the self, identity, self-concept, and in turn, one’s personality.
The most influential of them is Sigmund Freud. Basically, Freud saw the self,
its mental processes, and one’s behavior as the results of the interaction
between the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
Id – the pleasure principle

Ego – the reality principle
Superego – the Moral principle
However as mentioned earlier, one cannot fully discount the effects of

society and culture on the information of the self, identity, and self-concept.
Under the theory of symbolic interactionism, G.H. Mead (1934) argued that
the self is created and developed through human interaction (Hogg and
Vaughan 2010). Basically, there are three reasons why self and identity are
social products (Oyerman, Elmore, and Smith 2012):
1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society helped in creating the
foundations of who ae are and even if we make our choices, we will still
operate in our social and historical contexts in one way or the other.
2. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need others to affirm and
reinforce who we think we are.
3. What we think is important to us may also have been influenced by what
is important in our social or historical context.
Social interaction and group affiliation, therefore are vital factors in creating
our self-concept especially in the aspect of providing us with our social
identity or our perception of who we are based on our membership to certain
group.
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Social comparison also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance

theory, which states that we can feel threatened when someone out-performed
us, especially when that person is close to us (i.e., a friend or family) (Tesser
1988 in Jhangiani and Tarry 2014). In this case we usually react in three ways:
1. We distance ourselves from that person or redefine our relationship
with them
2. We may also reconsider the importance of the aspect or skill in which
you were outperformed
3. We may also strengthen our resolve to improve that certain aspect of
ourselves. Instead of quitting you look for ways to enhance your skill by
joining a seminar, schooling, etc.)
However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, some people

become narcissistic. Narcissism is a trait characterized by overly high self-
esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness. There is a thin line between
high self-0esteem and narcissism, and there are a lot of tests to measure this.
And though self-esteem is a very important concept related to the self, studies
have shown that it only has a correlation, not causality, to positive outputs and
outlook. It can be argued that high or healthy self-esteem may result to an
overall good personality but it is not, and should not be the only source of a
person’s healthy perspective or herself.
Source: Alata, EJ, et al, 2018: Understanding the Self, 1st ed. REX Bookstore, Manila,
Philippines.
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APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT:
Create your own diagram of self-schema based on how you

understand and claim about yourself. Then describe and explain it with 150
to 200 words.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Rubrics:
50 points - clearly presented, realistic, and well explained with
correct grammar and sound ideas
30 points - clearly presented, realistic but the explanation has
challenges in grammar and has thoughts in ideas
15 points - clear presentation, challenged grammar and unrealistic
ideas.
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Research and List ten(10) things to boost your self-esteem or

improve your self-concept. Cite your sources.
Rubrics:
50 points - complete or more things listed, doable and cited
sources
30 points - complete or more things listed, doable and sources not
cited; less than 10, not doable
15 points - less than 10, not doable, no source
Congratulation. You have just finished Lesson 3 of Module 1.

In this lesson, you learned about different ideas in psychology about self. In the next lesson, you
will learn about the self in western and eastern thoughts.
Resources:
Alata, EJP, Bernardo, NCJr., et al. (2018), Understanding the self. REX Book Store,
Manila, Philippines.
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Surigao Del Sur State University-Bilsig

GE 2- UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to :

As discussed in the previous lessons, every field of study, at least in the

“You” through Other’s Eyes

On the second part, in a clean sheet of paper, write “I am _______________ (state

Always True Sometime True Not really True

In an attempt to avoid further analytical discussions, a lot of people say, “I

Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-conceopt. Identity

Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or our

Several psychologists, especially during the field’s earlier development,

Id – the pleasure principle

However as mentioned earlier, one cannot fully discount the effects of

Social comparison also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance

However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, some people

APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT:

Create your own diagram of self-schema based on how you

Research and List ten(10) things to boost your self-esteem or

Congratulation. You have just finished Lesson 3 of Module 1.

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