Psychology

• Psychology is the study of the human mind and its functions.
• Psychology came from the two Greek words: Psyche (mind or soul) and Logos (study of)
• Literally, psychology means the study of souls but now it is the study of mind.
• Psychology primarily studies who and what we are, why we act and think in a particular manner and what is our potential as an individual.
• Psychology is specifically concerned with specific study of behavior and mental process.
• Psychology focuses on the individual, cognitive functions and other possible factors that affect the individual.
• Self is the "sense of personal identity and who we are as individuals."
• Identity is the concept of an individual about himself and often referred to as self-identity.
• Self-identity is the belief of what the individuals thinks and feels about him. this can also be influenced by how others perceive an individual.
• Self-development is a continuous process throughout the lifespan of an individual, in which one's sense of self may change.
• Self-representation has important implications for socio-emotional functioning throughout the lifespan.
• William 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."
• Both I and me are first person singular pronoun, which means that they are used by one person to refer to himself; the differece is that "me" is the object pronoun, while "I" is the subject pronoun.
• The "Me" is the social self and the "I" is the response to the "Me." In other words, the "I" is the response of an individual to the attitudes of others, while "Me" is the organized set of attitudes of others which an individual assumes.
• According to James, the "I" is the thinking, acting, feeling self, while the "Me" is the physical characteristics as psychological capabilities that make who you are.
• The "I" is the self in action. It is the self in the process, in the moment. The impulsive, spontaneous, and indetermindate part of the self. It is non-reflective. It is the part of the self that produces individuality.
• The "Me" is the self as an object in the world. It is the strututred and determinate part of the self. It is a product of interactions and conscious reflection. We know "I" only through "Me."
• Attitudinal change is a change or alteration on one’s attitude.
• William James stated that “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of the mind.”
• Carl Rogers is the creator of person-centered counseling, and is also one of the many founders of humanistic therap.
• "When I look at the world I'm pessimistic, but when I look at people I am optimistic."
• According to Rogers' theory of personality, the "I" is the one who acts and decides, while the "Me" is what you think or feel about yourself as an object.
• According to Rogers, the I self reflects what people see or perceive themselves doing in the physical world.
• According to Rogers, the Me self is a more subjective and psychological phenomenon, referring to individual's reflections about themselves.
• Self-schema is a system or collection of organized knowledge about who we are. As we grow older, we adapt to the changes around us, self-schema also changes.
• Self-schema may include interests, work, course, age, name, and physical characteristics.
• Uncoditional Positive Regard (UPR) is a term attributed to Carl Rogers. It refers to accepting and supporting another exactly as they are, without judging or evaluating them.
• Identity is composed physical characteristics, social roles and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that define who one is.
• Self-concept is how someone thinks about and perceive themselves, "the individual's belief about themselves, including the person's attribute and who and what the self is."
• Roles are also part of one's identity. We different roles/responsibilities for different social groups.
• The self-concept includes two different experiences of the self: 1) The existential self; and, 2) The categorical self
• The existential self is the concept that you are unique/different others (Persian poet RUMI pondered, "Who am I in the midst of all this thought traffic?"). Subjective (I).
• The catergorical self is concept (and the concept of others) tends to focus on his or her own visible characteristics. Objective (Me).
• The real self is who we actually are. It is how we think, feel. look, and act. The real self is our self-image.
• Self-schema/Self-concept is composed of three things: 1) Self-image (real self); 2) Ideal Self; and, 3) Ought Self (Self-esteem/Self-worth).
• Self-image is who you are at the moment. This includes: Physical descriptions, Social roles, Personal Traits, and Existential statements.
• Ideal self is who you like to be. It is an idealized image that we have developed over time, based on what we have learned and experienced. This could include components of what our parents have taught us, what we admire in others, what our society promotes, and what we think is in our best interest.
• Ought self is who you think you should be. Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our self-esteem — one of the most common concepts associated with the self. It is defined as our own positive and negative perception or evaluation of ourselves.
• A person's ideal self may not be consistent with their actual experience (real self), or what is even possible — this is called incongruence.
• Self-actualization is the need for personal growth and development throughout one's life. It is the highest level of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Once you are self-actualized, you've met your full potential as an individual.