science

Psychology of self

Psychology of self is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Psychology of self rather than just read about it. In short: The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive, conative or affective representation of one's identity, or the subject of experience. The earliest form of the self in modern psychology saw the emergence of two elements, I and me, with I referring to the self as the subjective knower and me referring to the self as a subject that is known.

Key takeaways

Psychology of self belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Psychology of self to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Psychology of self from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive, conative or affective representation of one's identity, or the subject of experience. The earliest form of the self in modern psychology saw the emergence of two elements, I and me, with I referring to the self as the subjective knower and me referring to the self as a subject that is known. Current views of the self in psychology position it as playing an integral part in human motivation, cognition, affect, and social identity. Over time, different theorists from multiple schools of thought in psychology have created theories of the self.

In clinical psychology

Jungian's Self archetype

In classical Jungian analysis, the Self (typically capitalized in Jungian literature) is the culmination of several archetypes, which are predispositions of how a person responds to the world. The Self signifies the coherent whole, unifying both the conscious and unconscious mind of a person. The Self, according to Jung, is the most important and difficult archetype to understand. It is fully realized as the product of individuation, which is defined by Jung as the rebirth of the ego back to the original self. The Self, besides the center of the psyche, is also autonomous, meaning that it exists outside of time and space. Jung also called the Self an imago Dei. The Self is the source of dreams and often appears as an authority figure in dreams with the ability to perceive events not yet occurred or guide one in the present.

Kohut's formulation

Kohut followed Freud's line of thinking regard the self. However, he deviates from Freud by theorizing that the self puts energy into the idea of narcissism (See Cathexis). The system is then broken over time into initially two systems of narcissistic perfection: 1) a system of ambitions (the grandiose self) and 2) a system of ideals (the idealized parent imago). According to Kohut, these two systems represent the poles within Kohut's bipolar self. These poles work with each other to maintain a balance that is referred to as the self

Winnicott's selves

Donald Winnicott distinguished what he called the "true self" from the "false self" in the human personality, considering the true self as one based on the individual's sense of being, not doing, something which was rooted in the experiencing body. Nevertheless, Winnicott did not undervalue the role of the false self in the human personality, regarding it as a necessary form of defensive organization similar to that of a caretaker that protects the true self hides behind so that it may continue to exist. Five levels of false self-organization were identified by Winnicott, running along a kind of continuum.

In the most severe instance, the false self completely replaces and ousts the true self, leaving the latter a mere possibility. Less severely, the false self protects the true self, which remains unactualized. Closer to health, the false self supports the individual's search for conditions that will allow the true self to recover its own identity. Even closer to health, we find the false self "... established on the basis of identifications". Finally, in a healthy person, the false self is composed of that which facilitates social behavior, the manners and courtesy that allows for a smooth social life, with emotions expressed in socially acceptable forms. As for the true self, Winnicott linked it to playing "hide and seek"' designed to protect one's real self against exploitation, without entirely forfeiting the ability to relate to others.

Berne's transactional analysis

In his transactional analysis theory Eric Berne distinguished the personality's ego states – Parent, Adult and Child – from what he called 'the real self, the one that can move from one ego state to another'.

The Parent ego consists of borrowed behaviors and feelings from previous caregivers. The parent ego can consist of either the Nurturing or Critical Parent. Both types of parents offer information to the child that can be either beneficial or detrimental to their development. The Adult ego is otherwise known as our data-processing center. This ego state is able to judge information based on facts, rather than emotions or preconceived beliefs. The Child ego is identified as the state that holds all of a person's memories, emotions, and feelings. People carry this ego state with them all the time and can reflect on it at any time. This state can also be divided into two segments: the Free (or Natural) child and the Adapted (and/or Rebellious) child. Berne considered that "the feeling of 'Self' is a mobile one. It can reside in any of the three ego states at any given moment, and can jump from one to the other as occasion arises." A person's tone, gestures, choice of words, posture, and emotional state can portray which ego state they are currently in. By knowing about their own ego states, a person can use each one in particular situations in order to enhance their experience or make new social connections. Berne saw the self as the most valuable part of the personality: "when people get to know each other well, they penetrate into the depths where this real Self resides, and that is the part of the other person they respect and love".

In social psychology Social psychology acknowledges that "one of the most important life tasks each a person faces is understanding who they are and how they feel about themselves". This allows us to better understand ourselves, abilities, and preferences so that a person can make choices and decisions that suit them the best. However, rather than absolute knowledge, it would seem that "a healthy sense of self calls for both accurate self-knowledge and protective self-enhancement, in just the right amounts at just the right times." Other schools of thought look at the self from a social psychology perspective. Some are listed below. The self is an automatic part of every human being that enables them to relate to others. The self is made up of three main parts that allow for the self to maintain its function: self-knowledge, the interpersonal self, and the agent self.

Self-knowledge

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Psychology of self

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Psychology of self claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Psychology of self before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Psychology of self ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Psychology of self

In research: Psychology of self appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Psychology of self in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Psychology of self is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Conceptions of self, Ego psychology, Personal development, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Psychology of self outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Psychology of self in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Psychology of self means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Psychology of self out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psychology of self in simple terms?

Why does Psychology of self matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Psychology of self?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Psychology of self.