03. Psychological Perspectives

• William James (1842–1910) was one of the first to postulate a theory of the self in The Principles of Psychology.
• William James described two aspects of the self that he termed the “I Self” and “Me Self.
• The I Self reflects what people see or perceive themselves doing in the physical world (e.g., recognizing that one is walking, eating, writing).
• The Me Self is a more subjective and psychological phenomenon, referring to individuals’ reflections about themselves (e.g. Characterizing oneself as athletic, smart, and cooperative)
• 3 components of the Me Self

  > The material self (e.g., tangible objects or possessions we collect for ourselves)

  > The social self (e.g., how we interact and portray ourselves within different groups, situations, or persons)

  > The spiritual self (e.g., internal dispositions
• The "I" is the thinking, acting, and feeling self. [ W.J ]
• The "Me" is the physical characteristics as well as psychological capabilities that makes you who you are. [ William James ]
• Carl Rogers 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.
• Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema, or our own organized system or collection of knowledge about who we are.
• Self-concept is basically what comes to your mind when you are asked about who you are.
• The definition of the self, social interaction always has a part to play in who we are.
• Self-awareness: Carver and Scheier 1981 identified two types of self that we can be aware of:

  1. The PRIVATE SELF or your internal standards and private thoughts and feelings.
  2. The PUBLIC SELF or your public image commonly geared towards having a good representation of yourself to others.
• The "actual self" is who you are at the moment.
• The "ideal self" is who you like to be.
• The "ought self" is who you think you should be
• Self, identity, and self-concept are NOT FIXED in one time frame.
• Schema may include your interest, your work, your course, your age, your physical characteristics.
• Theories generally see the self and identity as mental constructs created and re-created in memory.
• Current researchers point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the brain associated with processes concerning the self.
• Under the theory of SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM, G.H. Mead argued that the SELF is CREATED and DEVELOPED through HUMAN INTERACTION.
• 3 REASONS AS SELF AND IDENTITY AS SOCIAL PRODUCTS:

  1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing.
  2. We need others to affirm and reinforce who we think we are.
  3. What we think as important to us may also have been influenced by what is important in our social or historical context.