What is Self?

MODULE-IV
Self and Personality

Notes

16

WHAT IS SELF?

Self is focus of our everyday behaviour and all of us do have a set of perceptions
and beliefs about ourselves. This kind of self concept plays important role in
motivating us and organizing our behaviours. It starts evolving early in life. A sense
of self awareness grows among us when we grow. In fact, all of us engage in
experiences which enhance our sense of self. As Rogers said we want positive
regard from others. In other words we have a strong need of being loved and
valued by other people. The study of self and its functioning is a fascinating topic.
In this lesson you are going to learn about the way self is conceptualized and the
different aspects of self are related to human behaviour.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this lesson, you will be able to:
• explain the concept of self;
• explain the different levels of self as conceived in Indian thought;
• describe the different aspect of self;
• appreciate the value of self awareness;
• describe the relationship of self with other processes.

16.1 CONCEPT OF SELF

If some one asks: who are you? We often describe that physical features, traits,
goals, motives etc. The self concept is a collection of diverse information. It

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constitutes a central aspect of psychological functioning. However, its definition

has been approached from many angles. A close scrutiny of these views indicates
that self is subject as well as object. The self as a subject includes the person’s
experience of self as thinker, feeler and actor. Thus, when I feel anger or think
Notes about the idea of freedom, it is “I” – the self as subject. On the other hand, the self
as object is the other person’s view of the self or “me”. In recent years researchers
have tried to understand the representations or mental models of self.

The experience of self is very common but complex phenomenon. Its structure
and contents are shaped by the society and culture in which people live. Based on
the cultural context people divide the world into the categories of “self” and “non
self”. In the individualistic cultures people prefer independent self construal
while people in collectivist cultures prefer an interdependent mode of self
construal. The independent self construal considers self in terms of a bounded,
separate and individual entity which is central to all the activities of a person. In
contrast, the interdependent self construal emphasizes on connectivity,
interdependence and sharing. In this case the boundaries between self and non
self are over lapping. It may, however, be noted that the two modes of self construal
are broad trends and within a given culture people may display both kinds of self
construal in different degrees.

Some researchers think that the idea of self emerges and shaped in social interaction.
In particular when a child is addressed by some one s/he starts thinking about self.
Thus, self originates in social experience. Gradually people internalize a particular
view of self which becomes a powerful source that influences behaviour. Some
part of our self is private to us and only we know about that. Another part is public
which is known to others. Also, there is a part of self which comes from our
membership of a group. This kind of self is called collective self or social identity.

16.2 LEVELS OF SELF

Self is experienced at different levels, William James, who started serious study of
Self talked about material self, social self and spiritual self. More recently
Neisser has talked about ecological self. Let us try to learn more about these
types. The ecological self refers to the self in the embodied form that can be
physically identified in time and space. The inter personal self involves the self
which exists in the social relations when we interact with others. The extended
self is the self which is in our memory. It is personal and private. Finally, there
is conceptual self which is the idea of self that a person holds. All of us have
acquired a set of ideas about what can be included within the category of self. This
kind of conceptualization is nurtured in each culture in a given way. It is a
comprehensive network of ideas about self. In order to illustrate this point we may

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consider the concept of Panch Koshas as developed in the Indian thought. Here
the term Kosh means layers or sheath like the sheath of an onion. The Jiva consists
of five such Koshas and self should be considered in terms of a multi layered
structure of hierarchically organized sheaths. A brief description of these sheaths
is as follows: Notes

1. Annamaya Kosh: This involves the gross physical body. This is the outermost
layer of existence. It is called annamaya because it is grounded in the food
that we eat and consume.

2. Pranamaya Kosha: This layer deals with life (Prana) and represents the
functions of breathing and metabolic processes. The five effectors are also
included in it.

3. Manomaya Kosha: It consists of sense organs. It is the seat of ego and

leads to personal involvements which bind people with the desires and activities.

4. Vigyanamaya Kosha: It consists of five sense organs and intellect. It regulates

the worldly life. The feeling of “I-ness” present in it relates Jiva to past
actions. Also, the feelings of pride take place.

5. Anandmaya Kosha: It is the joyous sheath. The experience of bliss is has

spiritual basis also, the pleasure that one gets from obtaining the desired objects
is part of it.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 16.1

Fill in the blanks with suitable words:

1. In individualistic culture people prefer ___________ while in collectivist culture

they prefer___________.
2. _______________ has talked about material self, social self and spiritual
self.
3. According to theory of Panch Koshas, as described in Indian thought,
Annamaya Kosh involves the _____________.

16.3 ASPECTS OF SELF

In the psychological studies of self the researchers have explored many aspects of
self. They show that self is multi-faceted. As you will find in the following description

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our ideas about self, its evaluation, its presentation and its monitoring vary among
the people and shape behaviour in important ways. In fact the ideas held by the
people about self shape and organize our personal lives and allow participation in
group life.
Notes
Self Esteem
It is the evaluative component of self concept. It basically deals with internalized
social judgments and ideas about how worthwhile a personal quality is. Self esteem
is an important factor in one’s psychological health. People who feel good about
themselves or have high self esteem are found to be more active, motivated,
persistent, and happy than the people with low self esteem. It has been noted that
unhappiness, and dispair are related to low self esteem. Thus our affective evaluation
of ourselves, positive and negative both, have important consequences for the
way we are going to conduct ourselves in future. Research has shown that low self
esteem is related to depression, and self doubt.
Self Efficacy
Self efficacy refers to our belief about what we are capable of achieving. In other
words it refers to perceived competencies of a person. They determine how we
interact with our environment and other people. High self efficacy children solve
problems more quickly than those who had low self efficacy beliefs. According to
Bandura self efficacy beliefs have power of four major influences as given below:
(a) Cognitive: It refers to the effect on thought patterns. Self efficacy influences
evaluation of capability and preparation to make an attempt.
(b) Motivational: It influences how long we will keep trying.
(c) Affective: It deals with stress, anxiety, and feeling of control.
(d) Selection: It includes choosing challenging activities.
Self Presentation

This deals with the behavioural expression of self. We are often concerned with
the images we present to others. The growing importance of cosmetic and fashion
industry clearly shows the degree to which we are preoccupied with our physical
appearance. We are often quite concerned with the impression what we convey in
public. The term self-presentation technically means the strategies people use to
shape what others think of them. If life is viewed as theater, we act out certain lines
as they are taken out from a script. Researchers have tried to study the process
through which we attempt to shape what others think about us. The process of
self-presentation can take many forms. It can be conscious or unconscious, accurate
or misleading, and intended for real audience or for ourselves. In general two main

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motives have been identified for self-presentation. They include strategic self-
presentation and self-verification. The strategic self presentation is our effort to
shape other’s impression to gain power, influence or sympathy. Ingratiation and
self promotion often make us liked and respected by others. The goal of self –
verification help people to affirm their existing self concept. Notes

Self Monitoring
Self monitoring means the extent to which external situation and the reactions of
others help one to regulate behaviour. Thus politicians, sales persons and artists
are high self monitoring persons. The people who are low self monitors regulate
their behaviours on the basis of internal factors such as beliefs, attitudes and interests.
It has been found that high self monitors pay attention to others and low self
monitors pay attention to themselves. Also, the high self monitors select a companion
on the basis of how well the others perform and low self monitors choose a
companion on the basis of liking. People who are high on self monitoring seem to
have a repertoire of selves from which to draw. They are quite sensitive to the
concerns of strategic self-presentation.
Self Consciousness
If we examine our daily life we find ourselves busy with many activities. During
these activities we are often away from ourselves. We think very little about
ourselves. In other words we are not always self-focused. However, certain events
do compel us to turn to our own selves. Thus when we glance into a mirror, talk to
ourselves, stand before an audience or a camera or occupy an important position
in a group we become self aware. When we become self aware we start comparing
our behaviour with internal standards. Such a comparison reveals negative
discrepancy. Under these conditions our self esteem decreases. In order to deal
with this situation we may attempt to reduce self discrepancy or withdraw from
the state of self awareness. It has been found that some people have tendency to
introspect the inner thoughts and feelings (private self consciousness) while others
have tendency to be aware of outer public image (public self consciousness).

16.6 AWARENESS OF SELF: HOW ACCURATE ARE

WE IN SELF APPRAISAL?
It is often taken for granted that we know ourselves very well. However, in reality
this is not true. Studies show that there are many aspects of our self concept which
are known to us and others also know about that. In other words it is public. But
there are three other possibilities as given below:
1. there are attributes of self that are known to the person but unknown to others.

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2. there are attributes of self that are not known to the person but known to
others.
3. there are attributes of self that are neither known to the person nor known to
others.
Notes
You can easily imagine the situations where there is discrepancy of any kind in
terms of the attributes known to the person and known or not known to others. In
order to live a healthy life proper appreciation of one’s attributes is necessary.
Also, it must be a realistic appraisal. It is on the basis of an impartial knowledge
and understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of oneself that proper course
of action can be planned.
While discussing self it should be pointed out that people often show self serving
bias. This implies that they try to defend themselves and view things in a way that
positive attributes of self are enhanced. For instance people explain success on
any task to their ability and effort and attribute failure to external factors like chance
or luck. Also, every body likes positive appreciation from others, whether it is
correct or incorrect. This may lead to building false self images and a number of
related problems.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 16.2

Match the terms of column A with the appropriate description given in the column
B.
Column A Column B
(a) Self esteem (i) behavioural expression of self
(b) Self efficacy (ii) the extent to which external situation and the reactions
of others help one to regulate behaviour
(c) Self presentation (iii) evaluative component of self concept
(d) Self monitoring (iv) thinking about oneself
(e) Self consciousness (v) belief about one’s competency

16.5 RELATIONSHIP OF SELF WITH OTHER

PROCESSES
A moment’s reflection will make it clear that self is involved in almost all kinds of
psychological processes. Our learning, perception, motivation, memory, all are
shaped by the nature and state of self. One must recognize the fact that these and
other psychological processes are not mechanical. They are activities or functions
of self. For instance, when some one finds self at stake, he or she may put in

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maximum efforts. Similarly, we attend and perceive objects and people in a manner
which is compatible with one’s self.

In recent years researchers have become interested in relating self construal or

one’s idea about self with various psychological processes. In this connection Notes
attention has been paid to the cultural differences in self construal and its implications
for various processes. In an earlier section it was pointed out that these are two
main types of self construal i.e., independent and interdependent. Let us examine
how these two types of construal are related to cognition, motivation and emotion.

Self and Cognition : The effects of self construal on cognition are found in a
variety of ways. It has been found that people with independent self construal
emphasize on their internal attributes as important features. In contrast, the people
with interdependent self think more about relationships and contexts. Similarly
while explaining behaviours of other persons, people with interdependent self
recognize the significance of situational factors. Research has shown that situational
and context dependent explanations are used more frequently by the Indian people
as compared with Americans.

Self and Emotion: Some emotions emphasize inner attributes. For example, pride
or feelings of superiority are often found when some one has accomplished
something. Similarly frustration occurs when the personal goals or desires (internal
attributes) are blocked. In these situations the emotional experience tends to separate
or disengage the self from one’s social relationships. On the other hand, there are
certain positive emotions like friendly feelings or feelings of gratitude and respect.
Such emotions occur when one is in close or congenial relationship with others.
Experiencing such emotions promotes an interpersonal bond. The same is true in
case of negative emotions such as feelings of indebtedness or guilt. They occur
because of failure in maintaining relationship with others. This set of emotions
reflects socially engaged emotions. It has been found that persons with
interdependent self construal with tend to experience socially engaged emotions
more frequently than the people with independent self.

Self and Motivation: It has generally been thought that the issue of motivation
deals with internal processes pertaining to a person. The ideas of needs and motives
deal with these processes. This view is very close to the independent self construal.
All of them refer to the motivation related to the person or “me”. In case of
interdependent self, it is noted that behaviours are directed or guided by the
expectations of significant others (e.g., parents, teachers, other family members),
obligations and duties toward others. In this context studies of achievement motive
provide a useful illustration.

Achievement motivation deals with the “desire to excel”. This desire is present in
all cultures. However, it is conceptualized in different ways in different cultures. In

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cultures where independent self is predominant this need is personally based while
in the cultures emphasizing interdependent self, this need is interpersonally and
socially structured. In the Indian context where collectivism and interdependent
self dominate social concern emerges to be an important aspect of thinking about
Notes achievement.

TERMINAL EXERCISE
1. Describe the concept of self.
2. Name five koshas discussed in the Indian thought.
3. Describe the possible ways of self appraisal.
4. Discuss the relationship of self construal with emotion and motivation.

ANSWER TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

16.1
(1) Independent, interdependent.
(2) William James
(3) Gross physical body
16.2
(a) (iii) (b) (v) (c) (i)
(d) (ii) (e) (iv)

HINTS TO TERMINAL EXERCISE

(1) Refer to section 16.1
(2) Refer to section 16.2
(3) Refer to section 16.4
(4) Refer to section 16.5

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