DEFINITION:
APA Dictionary of Clinical Psychology defines “Self” as, “the totality of the individual, consisting of all characteristic attributes… mental and physical” Furthermore, it’s the, “basic reference to personal identity, being, and experience.”
This definition covers the meaning of this wide and complex concept. On one hand, “self” is how a person identifies with him/herself as a unique and individual human being having a distinct life experience. On the other hand, it is the sum of all mental and physical qualities that one identifies as possessing. “Self” according to this definition is the awareness that one has of all these ideas. In my opinion, Rene’ Descartes’ famous philosophy, “I think, therefore I am” sheds light on this concept. A person has to think and reflect in order to understand what “I am” means.
“I” AND “ME”:
According to theories of William James and George Mead the self consists of “both subjective and objective components”. (Piotrowksi, 2005) This means that we see ourselves both in terms of “I” as well as “Me”. “I” being the active perceiver or knower as well as the active initiator and regulator of action. “Me” is the sum of all the knowledge one has about oneself.
SCHEMA:
To better understand this concept, another term “Schema” needs to be defined. It is “a collection of basic knowledge about a concept or entity that serves as a guide to perception, interpretation, imagination, or problem solving” (APA, 2013). When applied to the concept of “self” this would mean the knowledge or understanding individuals have about themselves and hence acts as a guide to one’s experience and relationship with others. In other words, it is what one uses to perceive and evaluate one’s personal as well as social experience. In the context of the subject under discussion, schemas would be labelled as “self-schemas” and they form the “components of one’s self-concept” (Wittig, 2001). They are the collective “beliefs” that an individual has about one’s self. These beliefs then form the basis for a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
SELF-CONCEPT:
The term Self-concept can be summarized by one’s answer to the eternal question, “who am I?” The answer to this question would describe how a person thinks who he/she is and how he/she views and describes him/herself as a person. As defined by Aronson et al. (2019) it is the, “overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal attributes”. They further explain that this concept of self evolves with age. It starts to develop around “18-24 months of age.” Neuorologically speaking, Self-concept is developed owing to the, “organizational capacity of the prefrontal cortex to self-observe and construct cognitive schemas” (Piotrowksi, 2005). During childhood, self-concept evolves to consist of concrete ideas like “physical attributes and social relations”. With age and maturity, the focus turns to “psychological states and on considerations of how other people judge us” (Aronson et al. 2019).
Hence, as we grow up we start to see ourselves as someone with unique personal attributes e.g. being smart, funny, etc, but also start identifying to a social group e.g. race or religion. So in this regard, our sense of who we identify as has to do with which group we belong to.
CONCLUSION:
Self is an important idea which helps us to know about who we are, what qualities we possess, what is important to us and how we relate to and behave around other people. This concept guides us both individually as well in social settings, both privately and publicly. Therefore, investing time and effort into understanding the “self” can bring insights into what we do and why how we do it. This can then act as an important first step of change.
References:
1) Aronoson, E., Wilson, T. D & Sommers, S. R, (2019). Social psychology (tenth edition). New York: Pearson.
2) Piotrowski, N. A (ed). (2005). Psychology basics. California: Salem Press.
3) VandenBos, G. R. (ed.). (2013). APA dictionary of clincial psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association.
4) Witting, A. F. (2001). Theory and problems of introduction to psychology. New York: Schaum.
5) Virtual University, Social Psychology (PSY403) Handouts.
