TOPIC student.

Since you belong to a college or

The Journey Towards Oneself institution, it is important to know and learn
EXPECTED COMPETENCIES how to
At the end of the lesson, you must have: interact with your fellow students. Learn to
1. explored the concept of the self live together in peace and harmony with
from the different philosophical yourself
perspective; and whole school community (Brawner &
2. appreciated the contribution of Arcega, 2018).
each perspective to a better In this module, you will have the
understanding ofthe opportunity to find the answer to the
self; and question, “Who
3. made a personal philosophy of am I?” Brace yourself, pack your bag, and
the self. get ready to journey inward. You are going
CONTENT to
The longest journey is towards self- explore the different concepts about the self.
discovery. To define oneself, many You will understand the self by looking into
stumbled upon what
circumstances that would test their philosophy say to explain the self.
cognition, affection and ability to gauge the
The Self from Various
true essence of
Philosophical Perspectives
the self. Some may compromise their
Socrates: …wisest is she who
beliefs, values, and characters only to find
knows she does not know…
out that the
more they seek for the answer, the more
they are lost for words. Various
philosophers attempted
to define the self, but they have not come up
to a complete and unison definition of it. But
one
thing is clear, understanding the self by
journeying inward, gives us more Socrates (470-399 B.C.) is possibly
opportunity to the most enigmatic figure
understand, appreciate, and love it. Afterall, in the entire history of philosophy.
who would love thyself, if not you? He never wrote a single line. Yet he
College life is said to be the most is one of the philosophers who had
challenging and exciting phase of a student’s the greatest influence on European
life thought, not least because of the
(Brawner & Arcega, 2018). It is an entirely dramatic manner of his death
new adventure that everyone looks forward (Gardner, 1996).
to. It Socrates is principally concerned
is a world different from your primary, with man. He considers man
junior and senior high schools. Since you are from the point of his inner life. The
in your famous line of Socrates, “Know
freshman year, everything – including the thyself,” tells each man to bring his
subject Understanding the Self – is new to inner self to light. A bad man is
the
not virtuous through ignorance; the destiny. In practical terms, this
man who does not follow the good means that man in this life should
fails to do so because he does not imitate his former self; more
recognize (Brawner & Arcega, specifically, he should live a life of
2018). virtue
The core of Socratic ethics is the in which true human perfection
concept of virtue and exists. Happiness, which in the fruit
knowledge. Virtue is the deepest of virtue, is attained by constant
and most basic propensity of man. imitation of the divine exemplar of
Knowing one’s own virtue is
necessary and can be learned. virtue, embodied in man’s former
Since perfect self (Brawner & Arcega,
virtue is innate in the mind and 2018).
self- knowledge is the source of all Plato defines the self into three:
wisdom, an individual may gain the rational soul, appetitive soul
possession of oneself and be one’s The rational soul (intellect) is the
own master through knowledge thinking portion within each of us,
(Brawner & Arcega, 2018). which discerns what is real and
not, judges what is true and what
Plato: …a longing to return to is
the realm of the soul… false, and makes the rational
decisions.
The spirited soul is the active
portion; its function is to carry out
the dictates of reason. Finally, the
appetitive soul (emotion or desire)
is the portion of each of us that
According to Plato, man was wants and feels many things, most
omniscient or all-knowing before of
he came to be born into his world. which must be deferred if we are
With his separation from the to achieve self-control.
paradise of truth and truth and
Immanuel Kant: Respect for
knowledge and his long exile on
Self
earth,
he forgot most of the knowledge
he had. However, by constant
remembering through
contemplation and doing good, he
can regain
his former perfections (Brawner &
Man is the only creature who
Arcega, 2018)
governs and directs himself and
Man who is now an exile on earth
his actions, who sets up ends
has a guiding star, a model,
himself and his purpose, and who
or divine exemplar which he must
freely
follow to reach and attain his
orders means for the attainment of John Locke: Personal Identity
his aims. Every man is thus an end
in himself and should never treated
merely as a means--- as per the
order of the Creator and the
natural order of things. This rule is
plain
dictum of reason and justice.
Respect others as you would
respect John Locke holds that personal
yourself. A person should not be identity (the self) is a
used as a tool, instrument, or matter of psychological continuity.
device For him, personal identity is
to accomplish another’s private founded on consciousness
ends. Thus, all men are persons (memory), and not on the
gifted substance
with the same basic rights and of either the soul or the body
should treat each other equal (Brawner & Arcega, 2018).
(Brawner Personal identity is the concept
& Arcega, 2018). about oneself that
evolves over the course of an
individual’s life. It may include
aspects of life that man has no
Rene Descartes: “I think, control over, such as where he
therefore I am” grew up or the color of his skin, as
well as the choices he
makes, like how he spends his time
and what he believes
(Brawner & Arcega, 2018).

Descartes states that self is a David Hume: The Self is the

thinking entity distinct from the Bundle Theory of Mind
body. His
first famous principle was “Cogito,
ergo sum,” which means “I think,
therefore I am.” Although the
mind and the body are
independent
from each other and serve their
own function, man must use his Hume is skeptical about the
own existence of the self, specifically,
mind and thinking abilities to on whether there is simple, unified
investigate, analyze, experiment, self that exists over time.
and For him, man has no “clear and
develop himself (Brawner & intelligible” idea of the self.
Arcega, 2018).
He posits that no single impression 24 And God said, “Let the land
of the self exists; rather, the produce living creatures according
self is just that the thing to which to their kinds: the
all perceptions of a man is livestock, the creatures that move
ascribed. Moreover, even if there along the ground, and the wild
were such an impression of animals, each
the self, it would have to remain according to its kind.” And it was
constant over time to so. 25 God made the wild animals
constitute identity. according to their
Hoverer, man’s impressions vary kinds, the livestock according to
and always change. their kinds, and all the creatures
Even attempts to have impressions that move along the
of the self must fail for all ground according to their kinds.
these attempts are really just And God saw that it was good.
occasions for one to notice 26 Then God said, “Let us make
perceptions. Put simply, a person mankind in our image, in our
can never observe oneself likeness, so that they may
without some other perceptions. rule over the fish in the sea and
Thus, Hume asserts that what the birds in the sky, over the
we call “self” is really just “a livestock and all the wild
bundle or collection of different animals,[a] and over all the
perceptions which succeed each creatures that move along the
other with an inconceivable ground.”
rapidity” (Brawner & Arcega, 27 So God created mankind in his
2018). own image,
in the image of God he created
them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to
them, “Be fruitful and increase in
number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule over the
fish in the sea and the birds in the
sky and over every
living creature that moves on the
ground.”
Genesis 1:24-28
According to the Holy Writ, man,
following his redemption by the
Savior from eternal
bondage, now shares in the infinite
Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, from the merits of his Redeemer and has
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, become not only the
Rome, 1508-1512, fresco inheritor of the new earth but also
the heir of heavenly kingdom.
Thus, it is appropriate tothink of
the “self” as the multi-bejeweled Loving God means loving one’s
crown of creation---the many gems fellowmen; and loving one’s
thereof representing and radiating fellowmen denotes never doing
the glorious facets of man’s self any harm to another or, as the
that include the physical, golden principle of justice states,
intellectual, moral, religious, social, doing unto others as you
would have them do unto you
political, economic, emotional,
(Brawner & Arcega, 2018).
sentient, aesthetic, sensual, and
sexual aspects. The Psychological View of Self
Sigmund Freud: The
This imagery is shown in Figure
Psychoanalytical Theory of Self
1(Brawner and Arcega, 2018).
Figure 1. The Self as a Crown of
Creation

Sigmund Freud is considered to be

the father of
psychiatry. Among his many
accomplishments is, arguably, the
most far-reaching personality
schema in psychology:
the Freudian theory of personality.
Freud’s asserts that human
psyche (personality) is structured
into three parts (tripartite).
These structures ---the id, ego,
superego--- all develop at the
St. Augustine: Love and Justice different stages in a person’s life.
as the foundation of the These three structures are systems
Individual Self and not physical parts of the brain.
Although each
part compromises unique features
and contributes to an individual’s
behavior, they interact
to form a whole (Brawner &
St. Augustine believes that a Arcega, 2018).
virtuous life is a dynamism Structures of Personality
of love. It is a constant following 1. Id (internal desires). Also called
and turning towards love internal drives or instinctive drives,
while a wicked life is a constant it consists of the
turning away from love. body’s primitive biological drives
and urges which are concerned
only with achieving
pleasure and self-satisfaction. Id developing healthy toilet training
lives completely in the habits.
unconscious.
2. Ego (reality). It is the “I” part of
the individual that gives him/her
the sense of his/her
own identity. The ego is the
rational part of the personality.
3. Superego (conscience). It is 3. Phallic (3 – 5 year of age): The
the part of personality concerned development of healthy substitutes
with morals, precepts, standards, for the sexual attraction boys and
and ideas. The superego is also the girls have toward a parent of the
critical faculty of the personality. opposite gender. The
Freudian Stages of attraction of a boy to his mother is
Psychosexual Development called Oedipus complex, while
Believing that most human suffering that a girl to
is determined during childhood her father is called Electra
development, Freud placed emphasis on complex.
the five stages of psychosexual
development. As a child passes through
these stages unresolved conflicts between 4.Latency (5 – 12 years of age):
physical drives and social expectation may The development of healthy
arise (Brawner & Arcega, 2018). dormant sexual feelings for the
opposite sex. Sexual motivations
recede in Importance as the child
becomes preoccupied with
These stages are: developing skills and other
activities.
1. Oral (0 – 1.5 years of age):
Fixation on all things oral. If not
satisfactorily met there is the
likelihood of developing negative
oral
habits or behaviors. The mouth
becomes the part of the body
through 5. Genital (12 – adulthood): All
which gratification is secured. tasks from the previous four stages
are integrated into the mind
allowing for the onset of healthy
sexual feelings and behaviors.
After puberty, the deeper feelings
of pleasure presumably come from
heterosexual relations.
2.Anal (1.5 to 3 years of age): As
indicated this stage is primarily
related to
 adulthood. During each stage, the
person experiences a psychosocial
crisis which could have
a positive or negative outcome for
personality development.
For Erikson (1958, 1963), these
crises are of a psychosocial nature
It is during these stages of because they involve
development that the experiences psychological needs of the
are filtered through the individual (i.e., psycho) conflicting
three levels of the human mind. It with the needs of society (i.e.,
is from these structures and the social).
inherent conflicts that arise According to the theory, successful
in the mind that personality is completion of each stage results in
shaped. According to Freud while a healthy
there is an interdependence personality and the acquisition of
among these three levels, each basic virtues. Basic virtues are
level also serves a purpose in characteristic strengths
personality development. Within which the ego can use to resolve
this theory the ability of a person subsequent crises.
to resolve internal conflicts at
specific stages of their Failure to successfully complete a
development determines future stage can result in a reduced
coping and functioning ability as a ability to complete
fully matured adult. further stages and therefore a
Erik Erickson: The Psychosocial more unhealthy personality and
Stages of Self – development sense of self. These stages,
According to Cherry and Susman however, can be resolved
(2020) Erik Erikson was an ego successfully at a later time.
psychologist who
developed one of the most popular
and influential theories of
development. While his theory
was impacted by psychoanalyst
Sigmund Freud's work, Erikson's
theory centered on
psychosocial development rather
than Psychosexual
Development.
Mcleod (2018) he states that
Erikson maintained that personality
develops in a
predetermined order through eight
stages of psychosocial
development, from infancy to
 Pag-ibig sa iba’t-ibang panahon.
Based from the photo below, write
a reflection letter
on how love changes over time.
Type your answer on a one whole
short bond paper.
Cultural anthropology is the study of human
culture. It is the study of people - their
origin,
their developmental, and contemporary
variations, wherever and whenever those
have been
found (Ferraro, 2008). Culture on the other
hand, is “an organization of learned
behavior which,
together with tangible products, is shared by
and transmitted among the members of
society. It
is design for living (Colon, 2010). It
includes human behavior and ideas that are
learned rather
than genetically transmitted, as well as the
material objects produced by a group of
people
(Nanda and Warren, 2007).16
This module is a property of Technological
University of the Philippines Visayas intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT
FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
Anthropologist Clifford Geertz in the
LEARNING GUIDE “Impact of Concept of Culture on the
Week No.: 2 Concept of
TOPIC Man” states that “…culture provides the link
The Self from the between what men are intrinsically capable
Anthropological Perspective: of
The Self Embedded in Culture becoming and what they actually, one by
EXPECTED COMPETENCIES one, in fact become.”
At the end of the lesson, you must have: This leads us to the importance of culture in
1. explored the self from the perspectives of understanding who we are as human beings.
Anthropology; Man acquires his knowledge, beliefs,
2. examined the cultural influences in morals, customs, and other habits and
shaping one’s self; capacities from his
3. analyzed how these influences are interactions with others in the society where
manifested in real situation. he belongs. We learn our cultural practices
CONTENT and
Activity 1: Reflection traditions by listening, talking, and
interacting with other people.
As a child we learn appropriate behavior by 2. Edwards B. Taylor, a famous English
observing and copying the behavior of anthropologist, defined culture as,”… that
adults. We express our feelings and make complex
judgments for what is right and wrong based whole which includes knowledge , belief,
on our art, morals, law, custom, and any other
interpretation of adult’s behavior. capabilities
This serves as guide to our own behavior and habits acquired by man as a member of
and perceptions throughout life. Thus, our society.”
shared beliefs, values, memories and 3. Robert Bierstadt stated that,” Culture is
expectations bind us together who grow up the complex whole that consists of all the
in the same ways we
culture. think and do and everything we have as
Table 1 shows different concepts about culture members of society.”
and its definitions. Kalsekar (2015) Characteristics Culture
1. Culture is socially learned; it is not
biologically inherited. There is no cultural
instinct that
it is an inborn tendency. It is often called
‘learned ways of behaviour’
2. Culture issocial; it does not exist in
isolation nor as an individual phenomenon.
It is a product
ofsociety that originated and developed
through social interactions. It isshared by the
members
of society. 3. Culture is shared; the
sociological sense, it is not something that
an individual can possess.
4. Culture is transmissive; it could be
transmitted from one generation to the next,
Parents pass
culture traits to their children, who in turn,
pass it to their children. Culture is
transmitted, not
through genes, but through language.
5. Culture is continuous and cumulative; it
exists as a continuous process. It tends to
become
Culture
cumulative in its historical growth. It is a
1. B. Malinowski defined cultures asthe ‘growing whole’ which includes the
‘cumulative creation of man’. He also achievements of
regarded culture the past and the present and makes provision
as the handiwork of man and the medium for the future achievement of mankind.
through which he achieves his ends. 6. Culture is consistent and integrated; it
tends to be consistent. At the same time,
different
parts of culture are interconnected. for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT
FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
7. Culture is dynamic and adaptive; it is B. Culture Contents
relatively stable. It is subject to slow and Pestaῆo and Wong (2018) statesthat every
constant society has a culture of its own, Thus,
changes. Change, growth, and latent in people
culture. in different societies have different cultures.
Components of Culture These cultures are diverse and unequal.
A. Elements of Culture Along
1. Cognitive elements: Cultures of with cultural diversities and disparities
all societies, whether pre-illiterate or literate, found in societies throughout the world, we
include a vast observe
amount of knowledge about the physical and certain cultural similarities. People may
social world. The possession of this worship different Gods in many ways, but
knowledge they all
is referred to as the cognitive element. follow a religion. They may pursue various
2. Beliefs: Beliefs constitute another occupations, but they all earn a living.
element of culture. Beliefs is empirical Details of
terms are their rituals, ceremonies, and customs may
neither true nor false. differ, nevertheless, they have all same of
3. Values and norms: It is very these.
difficult to enlist values and norms for they Every culture consists of such non-material
are numerous and things. Similarly, people of every society
diverse. They are inseparable from attitudes, possess
except perhaps, analytically. Values may be different material things. This may be
defined as measures of goodness of primitive, modern, simple, or complex.
desirability. They are the conceptions of These material
relative and non-material components of culture are
desirability of things. One way to often referred to as “the content of culture.”
understand the values and their C. Cultural Lag
interconnections is to It means maladjustment in culture. The
approach them through four functional concept was first introduced by W.F.
subsystems; government, family, economy, Ogburn
and in 1922 in his book “Social Change”. The
religion. proposition was that various parts of modern
4. Signs: Signs includes signals and culture
symbols. A signal (or signs) indicates do not change at the same rate; some parts
existences- past change more rapidly than others. Since was
present and future- or an event or conditions. a
5. Non-normative ways of correlation and interdependence of parts,
behaving: Certain ways of behaving are rapid changes is one part of culture requires
not compulsory and are immediate readjustment in other parts of the
often unconscious, such as patterns do exist. same culture.
Non-normative behaviour shades over into The extent of lag varies according to the
normative behaviour and symbolic nature of cultural material and may exist for
behaviour.19 a
This module is a property of Technological
University of the Philippines Visayas intended
considerable number of years. A sudden culture. On the other hand, cultural
change is one part of culture is evident due relativism is the belief that activities should
to some be
discovery, invention etc. The maladjustment understood based on a person’s own culture.
is the result of strain as the balance of the
ordered
structure breaks down for the time being
(Pestaῆo and Wong, 2018).
D. Material and Non- Material
Culture
1. Material Culture Identity is the identification of self, by self
Material culture consists of man- made and others (Erikson, 1950). It came to the
objects such as tools, implements, furniture, understood as the historically and culturally
automobiles, building, dams, roads, bridges, rooted self-image of a group that was
and other physical substances that was predominantly sketched and sharpened in
changed contact vis-à-vis other groups of people. His
and used by man. It is concerned with the meaning
external, mechanical, and utilitarian objects. of identity relates to other anthropological
It concepts, such as world view, values, ethos,
includes technical and material equipment. It and
is referred to as civilization. culture, all which suggests a kind of
2. Non – Material Culture homogeneity among members of a
The term ‘culture’ means ‘non-material community (Van
culture’. It is internally and intrinsically Meilil, 2008).
valuable and reflects the inward nature of As mentioned, the identity of individuals
man. Non-material culture consists of words was supposed to be identical o the identity
the of
people use, the language they speak, they the group he/she belongs to. This is
hold, values and virtues they cherish, habits consistent with anthropological theories
they about the relation
follow, rituals and practices they do, and the between person and group or community
ceremonies they observe. It also includes (La Fontaine, 1985). Another important
customs, tastes attitudes outlook, ways of aspect of
acting, feeling and thinking.20 identity is concerned with presupposition of
This module is a property of Technological stability and permanence.
University of the Philippines Visayas intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT Morris (1994) emphasized that the self is not
FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION. an entity, but that orchestrates an
E. Function of Culture individual’s experience. As a result, he or
 Culture is the treasury of knowledge she becomes self-aware and self-reflective
 Culture defines situations. about his
 Culture defines attitudes, values, and or her place in the surrounding world. The
goals concept of the Self may be defined as an
 Culture decides our career. individual’s
 Culture provide behaviour pattern. mental representation of self between others
 Culture molds personality. seems to be universal (Spiro, 1993). But
Ethnocentrism is the belief in the inherent this21
superiority of one’s own ethnic group or
This module is a property of Technological templates for interpreting behaviors of
University of the Philippines Visayas intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT others as well. Those with independent
FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION. selves assume
distinction varies from person to person. At other people are the same; there is bias in
the same time, it seems obvious that wanting to explain other’s behavior in terms
relationship of one’s
between self and others is also a function of own construal ofself.
culture (Shweder & Bourne, 1984). Cultural tasks are chosen and pursued as an
Indeed the most crucial form of interaction important part of the construction of self
and exchange takes place between the self narrative, a story, or the ‘stream of
and his or her cultural environment as consciousness’ of that defines the current –
mediated in social practices (Morris, 1994 self based on
his or her previous experiences while projecting it to
own person, as a self –representation, while the future (McAdams, 2006. This narrative
the concept of others refer to the mental solidly
representation of other persons. As word anchors the self in the culture and society,
identity refers to “selfsameness”, disposition thereby affording the person to construct a
of basic stable
personality features acquired mostly during identity22
childhood as much as “ethnic identity” or This module is a property of Technological
University of the Philippines Visayas intended
selfsameness with others made up the group for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT
identity. FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
Independent and (https://unsplash.com/photos/NPmR0RblyhQ)
(https://www.pexels.com/photo/lonely-african-oldman-thinking-
Interdependent Construal of 1310317/
the Self The Self and Social
Markus and Kitayama (1991) defined The Connotation of Emotion
Self in terms of internal attributes such as Socially disengaged emotions separate the
traits, abilities, values, and preferences self from social relationships while the
which are descriptive of the independent social
construal of engaged emotions further assimilate the self
The Self. On the other hand, the in the relationship.
interdependent construal of The Self is
defined in terms of Key Concept of the Individual,
relationships with others. Self, Person in Anthropology
Independent construal of The Self is the  Individual as member of humankind
quest for excellence as motivated by (biologistic)
achievement and linked to one’s tendency to  Self as locus of experience
push ahead and see success. The motivation (psychologistic)
for  Person as agent-in-society (sociologistic)
excellence among people with the
interdependent construal is geared towards
achieving
broader social goals. It is motivated by
group achievement. Self –construal serves as
cognitive
 loyalty to companyor country,
specialized skills.
TOPIC This also applies on a personal level like one
The Self in Western and person can personally be collectivist while
Eastern Thought his or her culture is individualist. There is
EXPECTED COMPETENCIES also an issue of cooperation versus
At the end of the lesson, you must have: competition and
1. distinguished the characteristics of the emphasis of the importance of in-group
individualistic self and collective self; and and out-group members.
2. differentiated the concept of self- Individualistic doers are self-assured and
according to Western thought againstEastern very independent people. They are quiet and
or Oriental perspectives; realistic, very rational, extremely matter of
CONTENT fact people. They strongly cultivate their
Different cultures and varying environment individualism and enjoy applying their
tend to create different perceptions of the abilities to new tasks. But they are also very
“self” and one of the most common spontaneous and impulsive persons who like
distinctions between cultures and people is to follow their sudden inspirations.
the eastern vs. Meanwhile, collectivist sees the group as the
western dichotomy wherein eastern important element, and individuals are
represents Asia and western represents just members of the group. The group has its
Europe and own values somehow different from those of
Northern America. Oftentimes we associate the
western thought with individualism and individual members.
eastern/oriental with collectivism. Both collectivist self and individualistic self
Individualism vs. Collectivism may have their downside. Individualistic
Individualist culture is a culture in which the people are susceptible to loneliness, and
goals of the individual take precedence collectivist people can have a strong fear of
over the goals of the group. Collectivist rejection.
culture is a culture in which the goals of the
group take
precedence over the goals of the individual.
In other words, in an individualist culture,
members are responsible for themselves and,
perhaps, their immediate families. In a
collectivist culture, members are responsible
for the
group.
In an individualist culture, success is
measured by how far one stands out from
the
crowd. For example, the self-made
millionaires, employees of the month,
standing out. In a
collectivist culture, success is measured by
one’s contributions to the group. For
example, the
TOPIC:
The Psychology of the Self
EXPECTED COMPETENCIES
At the end of the lesson, you must have:
1. identified oneself based on William James
Theory of Self
2. differentiated one’s real self and ideal self
3. valued the importance of alignment of
oneself
CONTENT
William James Theory of Self
The SELF is divided into two main
categories: “ME” Self refers to the aspects
of
someone that come from that person's
experiences or known as the “empirical
self”.‘I’ Self
classified as the thinking self.
James broke the “ME" self-down into three
sections: the material self, the social self
and the spiritual self. The material self is
consists of things that belong to us or that
we
belong to. Things like family, clothes, our
body, and money are some of what makes
up our
material selves. The material self refers to
tangible objects, people, or places that carry
the
designation my or mine. Two subclasses of
the material self can be distinguished: The
bodily
self and the extracorporeal (beyond the
body) self. Rosenberg (1979) has referred to
the
extracorporeal self as the extended self.
The bodily component of the material self
requires little explanation. A person speaks
of my arms or my legs. These entities are
clearly an intimate part of who we are. But
our
sense of self is not limited to our bodies. It
includes other people (my children), pets
(my
dog), possessions (my car), places (my can be seen by others, but because we have
hometown), and the products of our labors no way of truly knowing how others view
(my us, the
painting). real self becomes our self-image.
It is not the physical entities themselves, The ideal self is how we want to be. It is an
however, that comprise the material self. idealized image that we have developed
Rather, it is our psychological ownership of over time, based on what we have learned
them (Scheibe, 1985). For example, a person and experienced. May include components
may have a favorite chair she likes to sit in. of what
The chair itself is not part of the self. our parents have taught us, what we admire
Instead, it is in others, what our society promotes, and
the sense of appropriation represented by the what we
phrase “my favorite chair.” This is what we think is in our best interest.
mean when we talk about the extended self. IMPORTANCE OF ALIGNMENT OF THE
It includes all of the people, places, and REAL SELF TO THE IDEAL SELF
things If the way that I am (the real self) is aligned
that we regard as “ours.” with the way that I want to be (the ideal
Meanwhile, the social self refers to how we self), then I will feel a sense of mental well-
are regarded and recognized by others. being or peace of mind.
Our social selves are who we are in a given If the way that I am is not aligned with how
social situation. For James, people change I want to be, the incongruence, or lack of
how they act depending on the social alignment, will result in mental distress or
situation that they are in. James believed that anxiety. The greater the level of
people incongruence
had as many social selves as they did social between the ideal self and real self, the
situations they participated in. greater the level of resulting distress.
For James, the spiritual self was who we are
at our core. The spiritual self is more
concrete or permanent than the other two
selves. The spiritual self is our subjective
and most
intimate self. Aspects of an individual's
spiritual self include things like their
personality,
core values, and conscience that do not
typically change throughout their lifetime.
The spiritual self is our inner self or our
psychological self. It is comprised of our
self
perceived abilities, attitudes, emotions,
interests, values, motives, opinions, traits,
and wishes.
REAL SELF VS. IDEAL SELF
The real self is who we actually are. It is
how we think, how we feel, look, and act. It