Self Flashcards
The concept of self
The core of our being
Something that is continuous over time
The totality of our personal experience
Includes our thought processes, physical body, the experience that we are separate and unique from others
Erik Erikson 1968
Theory in identity formation
One’s identity becomes fixed during the development stage of adolescence when one experiences the pressure of one’s transition from being a dependent child to an autonomous adult
Identity is a solid sense of one’s ideologies, philosophies, values and beliefs, thus it looks as though we are delivered to our circumstances
Our selves develop as we try make the best of the situations in which we find ourselves
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
The ultimate goal of personal development is self-actualisation
The double self
When I talk about myself, I am self talking about itself
I am real and the thoughts I have about myself makes a mental picture
Jacques Lacan
Says that we need the interplay between the subjective self and objective self to form an understanding about ourselves
Self-construction
A process characterised by moments of ambivalence and the dynamic way in which we construct ourselves due to these moments
Dimension of self construction
Self insight vs self desception
Self regard vs self disregard
Self identity vs self alienation
Autonomous self vs collective self
Self insight vs self deception
The tension between what we should be and what we turn out to be
Self insight
Refers to how much insight one has about oneself
Whether one really knows who one is
Self deception
Not have self insight
Johari window
A technique that helps people understand their relationship with themselves and others
Self- regard
General feeling we have about our self worth
Self identity
Refers to the identification of and with the self
Strong self identification means knowing who one is and being satisfied with this
Has a cognitive and emotional component
A process of reflection
No absolute self-identification
Self alienation
Occurs when you do not really know who you are
Having a feeling of estrangement to oneself
No absolute self alienation
Lacan’s mirror stage theory
The development of identity in terms of the reflection of one’s image in the mirror
When the child recognises itself in the mirror it looks from inside itself and sees its exterior form in the mirror
The child identifies itself but it is not the interior form that appears in front of it
In the moment that the child identifies itself it is already alienated from itself in the sense that it sees the outside of itself
An example of a process that happens throughout our lives
Self autonomy
Focuses on the self as an individual entity
A healthy self is autonomous and independent from others
Self collectivity
Considers the self in relation to others
The self should be inclusive of others and find its worth in relation to others
Markus and Kitayama (1991) and Triandis (1989)
Ascribe the divergent notions of the self to cultural differences
A picture of self
We are not stuck at particular points on the dimensions of self-construction but we do display characteristic dynamics in particular situations and thus we tend to hover close to particular points on the dimensions of self construction
Foundations of the self
Physical domain
Intrapersonal domain
Interpersonal doman
Physical domain
Describes the self as the product of biological processes
Intrapersonal doman
Describes the self as the product of a process of consciousness
Interpersonal domain
Describes the self as a product of a process of symbolic interaction
The process of reflection
The self is a process of reflection
It is the process that occurs when we think about ourselves
The self is not a source of the process, but is the product of the process
The self grows out of this process
Kinds of reflection
Biological
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Biological foundation of self
The self emerges through a process of self-organisation in the neural system
This is the auto-genesis of self
Foundation of self in consciousness
This kind of self reflection is called introspection
The self is formed and shaped through a process of introspection in which I pitch my current state against my potential state
