My Self Understanding and the Field of Psychology, Lecture notes of Moral Psychology

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UNDERSTANDING

THE SELF

BY:

PROF. BAUTISTA, JUNO C., MP-CP, RPM

LESSON 4: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF

PSYCHOLOGY

• (^) The mind-body problem of philosophy is one issue in the field of knowledge.
• (^) Another, specifically for psychology is the famous Nature-Nurture Controversy. Over the years, experts in the field of human behavior have sought for ways to best explain the causes of human behavior only to discover that both nature and nurture influence behavior, each one to a greater or lesser degree.
• (^) Connected to the study of human behavior is the concept of the self. Psychologists for many generations have provided their own explanations of the self for want of a clearer, better understanding of the individual in particular and human behavior in general.

WILLIAM JAMES

• (^) William James (1842-1910) was an American Philosopher and Psychologist.
• (^) He was professor of psychology and philosophy at Harvard University and was known for being one of the great pragmatists.
• (^) He is also known for his Theory of the Self. He wrote many articles on both philosophy and psychology and published several books, one of which is The Principles of Psychology in 1890. It is in this book where his theory of the self is explained

• (^) As mentioned in the list of thought characteristics above, thoughts are associated with the existence of the self. Further, James believed that the self is made up of two parts: the ME self and the I self. The ME self can be considered as a separate object or individual that the person refers to when discussing or describing their personal experiences. For example: The gifts were sent to ME. The person is smiling at ME.

• (^) The I self is the self that knows and recognizes who they are and what they have done. For example: I borrowed the book from the library. I won the game.

• (^) the more attached and identified the person is to his material things, the more he will be affected if any of them changes. For example, a death in the family or being a victim of fire would cause changes in the material self.

2. The Social self refers to who the person is in a particular social situation.

• (^) Changes in behavior usually result from the different social situation, the person finds himself in.
• (^) James believed that people have many social selves because of the many social situations they find themselves in.

• (^) For example the person changes how he presents himself when he is at home, in school or with his friends. The person chooses the self that would smoothly adapt to the social situation in order for him to fit in.

• (^) The I self is what William James called the Pure Ego.
• (^) The Pure Ego is similar to the person's soul or mind. Since this is considered to be a non -substance, the I self cannot be studied objectively.
• (^) The Pure Ego comprises the totality of the person's identity.
• (^) It takes into account the past, present and future selves of the individual.
• (^) This perception of identity arises from a continuous stream of human consciousness

OTHER SELVES IN PSYCHOLOGY

• (^) The field of psychology is rich in concepts and ideas about human behavior.
• (^) The concept that is the self has been studied quite extensively. As such, psychologists and other scientists in the social sciences presented their versions and ideas about the self.

• (^) Murray Bowen (1913 - 1990) was an American Psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry. He was among those who developed the Family Therapy and Systemic Therapy. In his observations of the family (particularly his own) he came up with the concept of a differentiated self. In his theory, he observed that there are two forces affecting the person; the first is togetherness and the second is individuality.
• (^) A balance should be maintained between these two forces for: too much togetherness creates friction and conflict and prevents the development of the person's sense of self; too much individuality on the other hand results in distant and estrange feelings towards family and other people

• (^) A differentiated self , though still affected by the presence of others, has the ability to separate feelings and thoughts.
• (^) The person recognizes that he has his own personality and therefore endowed with unique characteristics not found in other members of the group.
• (^) With this knowledge he realizes that for him to attain self-fulfillment, he should have the will to separate himself from the group, live his own life and fulfill his destiny. Being able to free himself from the influence of others allows him to define himself.

REAL AND IDEAL SELF- CONCEPTS

• (^) Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was an American psychologists who proposed the personality theory known as the Person-Centered Theory. He stated that the term s elf- concept is to refer to how a person thinks about or perceives himself.
• (^) There are two types of self-concept: the real self-concept and the ideal self-concept.

• (^) The real self-concept r efers to all information and perception the person has about himself.
• (^) This is who he actually is and answers the question, “Who am!?”.
• (^) The ideal self-concept is the model version the person has of himself.
• (^) This idealized view was borne out of his experiences, standards and demands of society and the heroes and models which he chooses to imitate.
• (^) In short, the ideal self is what the person aims for himself to be. It answers the question of who he wants to become or "Who do I want to be?"