Understanding the Self Lectures 1-9

• The course deals with the nature of identity and the factors and forces that affect the development and maintenance of personal identity
• Intended to facilitate the exploration of issues and concerns regarding self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of one’s self
• Importance of self-concept and its dimensions in our development
• Develop a positive/healthy self-concept
• Focuses on the basic concepts and principles of the self
• Explores different factors contributing to one's being, philosophical and theoretical perspectives on the self across generations, and explanations from various research domains about the self and identity
• The self is a knowledge structure, an interpersonal being, and an agent with executive function
• Scholars from various disciplines have attempted to explain questions and conflicts concerning the nature, existence, and dimensionality of the self
• Common self-related concerns are nature vs. nurture, identity vs. self, and dimensions of the self
• The natural basis of the self is anchored on biology and explains that human traits are passed from one generation to another
• Heredity causes both similarities and differences in people
• Everything in your surrounding is part of your environment
• You have two different types of environments that have a significant impact on your personal growth: Psychological and Physical Environments
• Psychological Environment is composed of attitudes expressed by people around you
• Includes feelings and beliefs of your family members, teachers, classmates, and friends
• Physical Environment includes factors like where you live (farm, city, small town)
• Social Factor refers to the impact of important persons in one's life
• Factors affecting the self: Hereditary Factor, Environmental Factor, Social Factor, Cultural Heritage Factor, Ethnic Group Factor
• Social factors refer to the impact of important persons in one's life
• Social factors largely comprise the family, which shapes the majority of an individual's basic attitudes and behaviors
• Many social scientists refer to social factors as the "nursery of human nature"
• In the social group, an individual acquires both biological characteristics (through heredity) and learns certain behaviors and characters
• Cultural heritage consists of acquired behaviors, beliefs, and languages passed down from generation to generation
• Culture is defined by the foods you eat, the festivals you celebrate, and the traditions you follow
• An ethnic group is made up of individuals who share racial and/or cultural features such as racial background, language, religion, and customs
• Self-concept is one's description and evaluation of oneself, including psychological and physical characteristics, qualities, skills, roles, and more
• Self-concepts contribute to the individual's sense of identity over time
• The conscious representation of self-concept is dependent in part on non-conscious schematization of the self
• Factors that can affect self-concept include age, sexual orientation, gender, and religion
• The self-concept is also made up of a combination of self-esteem and self-image
• Rogers' three parts of self-concept are Ideal Self, Self-image, and Self-esteem
• The Ideal Self is the person you aspire to be, possessing the characteristics or traits you are striving for or desire to have
• Your self-image is influenced by physical qualities, psychological traits, and social roles
• Self-concept is not always aligned with reality; it can be congruent or incongruent
• Improving self-concept involves liking and feeling good about yourself, being realistic about your expectations, looking for balance in your life, developing your talents and abilities, and taking on tasks that allow you to learn new skills
• Empiricism states that sense experience is the only authentic source of knowledge about the world
• Knowledge is not innate, but gained through experience
• The mind before experience is a tabula rasa, a blank slate
• Philosopher: Socrates

  • Dualistic view: every man is composed of body and soul
  • Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue, leading to ultimate happiness
  • Believed that once the soul enters the material world, it forgets everything
• Philosopher: Plato

  • Founded the Academy (prototype of today's University)
  • Believed that man is composed of body and soul
  • Introduced the dichotomy between the ideal world of Forms and the material world
  • Soul is the most divine aspect of the self, with three components: rational, spirited, and appetitive
  • Moral virtue is rooted in intellect and leads to happiness