THE SELF

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  • THE SELF
    • concept of the self and self-concept
      • existential self
        • most basic part of the self-concept
        • realisation that we exist as a separate entity from others
        • according to Lewis (1990) infants as young as 3 months old begin to understand their relationship with the world
        • realisation that we exist as a separate entity from others
        • Carl Rogers (1995) and the self
          • Rogers views the individual as having the greatest knowledge about themselves and that they are the best person to judge their own feelings
          • self concept
            • self image - the view you have of your self
              • how you see yourself in the present moment
              • own perception and has no real basis in reality
              • affected by parental influences, friends, social ect...
            • self-esteem/worth - how much value you place on yourself
              • invovles a degree of evaluation could be either positive or negative
              • high self-esteem - have positive view leads to confidence in own abilities, being optimistic and self acceptence
              • if lack self-esteem will have negative view of self and leads to lack of confidence, being pessimistic and wanting to be like others
                • reaction of others
                • comparison with others
                • social role
                • social roles
                • identification
                • reaction of others
            • ideal self - what you wish you were really like
              • sometimes the way we see ourselves does not match what we would like to look like
              • if there is a mismatch between the two this is likely to affect how we value ourselves
      • categorical self
        • refers to how the child becomes aware that they are an object in the world
        • just as other objects including people have properties that can be experiences (big,small ect.) the child also becomes aware of this
        • in early childhood, the categories cchildren apply to themselves are very concrete (hair colour, gender)
      • Carl Rogers (1995) and the self
        • Rogers views the individual as having the greatest knowledge about themselves and that they are the best person to judge their own feelings
        • self concept
          • self image - the view you have of your self
            • how you see yourself in the present moment
            • own perception and has no real basis in reality
            • affected by parental influences, friends, social ect...
          • self-esteem/worth - how much value you place on yourself
            • invovles a degree of evaluation could be either positive or negative
            • high self-esteem - have positive view leads to confidence in own abilities, being optimistic and self acceptence
            • if lack self-esteem will have negative view of self and leads to lack of confidence, being pessimistic and wanting to be like others
              • reaction of others
              • comparison with others
              • social role
              • social roles
              • identification
              • reaction of others
          • ideal self - what you wish you were really like
            • sometimes the way we see ourselves does not match what we would like to look like
            • if there is a mismatch between the two this is likely to affect how we value ourselves
      • congruence and in-congruence
        • incongruence - there is a difference between a persons ideal self and actual experiences.
        • congruence - where a persons ideal self and their actual experiences are consistent or very similar.
        • Rogers believed that..
          • unconditional postitive regard - helps increase congruence as no matter what - they will be loved
          • conditional postitive regard - does not help because the child believes that it needs to earn love and everything else in life so its earliest roots start in childhood
      • Self-actualisation
        • is the process of reaching our potential in life, becoming all that we can
        • Rogers believed we are born with it
    • The role of identity and free will in the development of the self
      • free will is the idea that we are able to have some choice in how we act and free to chose our behaviour
      • Erikson (1959) and the eight stages of identity development
        • during each stage, the person experiences a psychological crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for personality development
        • describes how personality develops and changes thourghout the course of an entire lifespan
        • according to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality
        • failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages resulting in unhealth personality and sense of self
        • while each stage builds on the experiences of earlier stages, Erikson did not believe that mastering each stage was necessary to move on to the next stage
        • THE 8 STAGES
          • TRUST OR MISTRUST - 0-2 hope
            • successful -develop a sense of trust
            • unsuccessful - leads to sense of distrust and doesnt want to depend on others
          • AUTONOMY OR SHAME AND DOUBT - 2-4 Will
            • successful - develop a sense of independence and personal control
            • unsuccessful - left with feelings of doubt and shame over own abilities
          • INITIATIVE OR GUILT - 4-5 Purpose
            • successful - develp a sense of purpose and a motive
            • unsuccessful - feelings of guilt and a lack of initiative
          • INDUSTRY OR INFERIORITY - 5-12 Competence
            • successful - leads to feelings of competence
            • unsuccessful - leads to feelings of inferiority
          • IDENTITY OR ROLE CONFUSION - 12-19 Fidelity
            • successful - teens develop a strong sense of self
            • teens may emerge from the stage not sure who they are
          • INTIMACY OR ISOLATION - 20-40 Love
            • successful - form loving and lasting relationships
            • unsuccessful - lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation
          • GENERATIVITY OR STAGNATION - 40-65 Care
            • successful - sense of accomplishment
            • unsuccessful - feel uninvolved in the world
          • INTEGRITY OR DESPAIR - 65-Death Wisdom
            • successful - look back in satisfaction on life
            • unsuccessful - look back on life with regret sorrow and bitterness
        • strengths and weaknesses
          • Strengths
            • its ability to tie together important psychological development across an entire lifespan
            • generally accepted that people do develop and show significant psychological changes through life
          • weaknesses
            • does not say much about the underlying cause of each development crisis
            • somewhat vague about each stage
            • lacks any objective way to determine if a person has passed or failed
            • Neugarten (1975) found men - 30 - wed older
    • Baumeister (2008) and the consequences of belief in free will
      • the deterministic position leaves no room for free human choice - inevitable
      • however, Sartre argued passionately in favour of human freedom
      • baumeister wanted to find evidence explaining the difference between free and unfree actions
      • claims a belief in free will can help an individuals self-control - having multiple benefits
      • those with self-control and willpower use inner strength to fend off strong temptations and cope with crises
      • strengths and weaknesses of Baumeister
        • Vohs and Schooler (2008) found that participants who were lead to disbelieve in free will were subsequently more likely that a control to cheat on a test
        • Baumeister et al. (2006) found causing participants to disbelieve in free will made them more aggressive and less helpfull towards others
        • to expect moral responsibility, one must accept the concept of free will
        • if an individuals behaviour is determined by forces beyond an individuals control, then the individual cannot be held responsible
        • Skinner argued that free will is an illusion and that our behavior is in fact environmentally determined
        • many psychologists do not favour a deterministic point of view. if behaviour is determined by outside forces, that provides a  potential excuse for criminal acts
      • Deterministic - opposite of free will - unavoidable
    • The Humanistic Theory of Self
      • people are responsible for their lives and actions and have the freedom and will to change their attitudes and behaviour
      • assumption that people have free will
      • our self-esteem and personality ae consequences of free choice made by us
      • Rogers (1951): humanistic theory
        • his theory is based off the premise that people are basically good
        • viewed the child as having two basic needs :
          • positive regard from others
            • conditional
              • where approval and praise depends on the child
              • loved on conditions
            • unconditional
              • where parents and significant others accept and love you for who you are
              • not withdrawn if something goes wrong
              • more able to self-actualise
          • self-worth
            • high self worth
              • has confident and positive feelings
              • accepts failure and unhappiness at times
              • faces challenges in life
              • open with people
            • low self worth
              • avoid challenges in life
              • not accept that life can be painful and unhappy at times
              • defensive and guarded with other people
            • developed in early childhood
            • interactions with the world affect our self-worth
        • strengths and weaknesses
          • gave us better insight into an individuals behaviour
          • helped provide a more holistic view of human behaviour
          • real-life application
          • lack of precision and unscientific approach
          • some terms and concepts are too subjective
          • according to this theory psychopathy does not make sense
    • Maslow (1943): Hierarchy of needs
      • He stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and some take prioety over others
      • made up of 5 needs:
        • 1) Biological and physiological needs
        • 2) safety needs
        • 3) love and belonging
        • 4) esteem needs
        • self-actualisation
      • rather that focusing on whats wrong, maslow formulated a more positive account
      • interested in human potential and how we fulfill it
      • specified that human motivation is based on personal growth present throughout life
      • self-actualised peopel are those who have fulfilled potential and doing all they are capable of
      • Maslow believed that only 2% of everyone in the world would reach self-actualisation
      • strengths and weaknesses
        • focuses on awareness of emotions
        • applied universally
        • extremely subjective as it is based on opinion of reseacher entirely
        • not scientific fact but subjective opinion
        • Maslow states that lower needs before being able to achieve potential. this is nont always the case
    • How personality can be measured
      • psychologists seek to measure personality through many methods
      • the most common of which are scales that determine someones personality trait
      • personality scales
        • rating scale - present users with an item and ask them to select from many choices
          • its options represent degrees of a characteristic
        • used by observers and by inderviduals for self-reporting
      • personaity types
        • openness - being honest, as in you try not to hide anything
        • conscientiousness - being careful, such as wanting to do well ina task
        • extraversion - someone who is sociable
        • agreeableness - being warm, friendly and gets along well with others
        • neuroticism - having anxiety, fear, anger, frustration and loneliness
        • sensing and intuition refer to how people prefer to gather information about the world
      • use of trait theory as a measure of personality
        • this approach assumes that behaviour is determined by traits
        • Allport (1936): cardinal, central and secondary personality traits
          • categorised 4,000 words for personality into three groups
            • cardinial - traits that dominate an individuals life
            • central - general characteristic that form basic foundations of personality
            • secondary - sometimes related to attitudes or preferences
        • Cattell (1946): 16PF personality factor assessment
          • used factor analysis to publish his findings known as the 16PF
          • factor analysis - statistical  technique which allows you to take raw data and determine patterns of data
          • strengths and weaknesses
            • biggest strength is its reliance on statistical or objective data
            • no interpretation needed and they are observable and measured making it more valid
            • easy-to-understand continuum
            • poor predictors of behaviour
            • based on statistics not theory

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