UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

SESSION 6

Lesson Title Psychological Perspective of Self

Lesson Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will:
1. Be able to understand Self in Psychological Perspective.
2. To explore and discuss the three level of consciousness proposed by Freud.
3. Be able to understand the psychic apparatus.
Learning Targets:

1. I can identify the features and functions of mind.

2. I can differentiate the topographical model of the mind
3. I can tell if the personality is Id, Ego, Superego.

Concept Notes (6 points)

The Self and the Unconscious Mind

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) the most influential and controversial

psychologist of all time developed a topographical model of the
mind. Freud used an analogy of iceberg to describe the levels of the
mind as well as their features and functions.

At the tip of the iceberg is the Conscious part of the mind, which
consists of our thoughts that focuses on our attention now. Next, is
the preconscious consists of all things that can be retrieved from
memory. The third region is the most significant part of the mind.
Here lie the processes that are the real cause of most behavior. Like
an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part of you
cannot see.

The Psyche
According to Freud (1923) the ID function and behave at an unconscious level according to the
pleasure principle. The ID is completely unconscious, irrational component of personality that seeks
immediate satisfaction of instinctual urges and dies. The Id comprises two kinds of biological instincts (or
drives) which Freud called Eros (life instinct) and Thanatos (destructive).
The Superego that operates on the morality principle and develops during early childhood. The
goal of superego is to ensure that we follow moral standards and behave in a socially responsible and
acceptable manner. While, the Ego, develops during the infancy stage, it follows the reality principle that
operates in both conscious and unconscious mind. Inner conflict is inevitable, the Ego must act as a referee
and mediate the conflict between Id and Superego. If the Ego cannot compromise the two, the ego itself
can deploy various defense mechanism to prevent it from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety.

SESSION 7

Lesson Title: The Self as Pro-active and Agentic

Lesson Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will:
1. Understand Self as proactive and agentic.
2. Create an action plan for self.
Lesson Targets:
1. I can understand the function of Human Agency
2. I can tell what mode of human agency is being used

Concept Notes (5 points)

Bandura (2009) defined human agency as “the human capability to exert

influence over one’s functioning and the course of events by one’s actions”.
“Through cognitive self-guidance, humans can visualize futures that act on
the present; construct, evaluate, and modify alternative courses of action
to gain valued outcomes; and override environmental influences”. “To be
an agent is to influence intentionally one’s functioning and life
circumstances”.

There are four functions through which human agency is exercised. One
such function is intentionality. People form intentions that include action plans and strategies
for realizing them. The second function involves temporal extension of agency through
forethought. People set themselves goals and foresee likely outcomes of prospective actions to
guide and motivate their efforts anticipatorily. The third agentic function is self-reactiveness.
Agents are not only planners and forethinkers. They are also self-regulators. The fourth agentic
function is self-reflectiveness. People are not only agents; they are self-examiners of their own
functioning. Through functional self-awareness, they reflect on their personal efficacy, the
soundness of their thoughts and actions, the meaning of their pursuits, and make corrective
adjustments if necessary.

Pre-Printed Notes
Bandura has discussed the topic of agency several times in recent years from perspectives such
as an agentic perspective of social cognitive theory (2001), the exercise of human agency(2000),
the psychology of human agency (2006b), an agentic perspective on positive psychology(2008),
the reconstrual of free will from an agentic perspective (2008b), and an agentic theory of the
self (2008).

Three Modes of Human Agency

Personal Agency is exercised individually and is the process by which an individual affect what
he or she can control directly. In some cases, however, direct influence is not possible.
Proxy Agency is the indirect influence a person can exert on circumstances beyond their
immediate control, by acting through others: In many spheres of functioning, people do not have
direct control over conditions that affect their lives. In such cases, they exercise proxy agency.
They do so by influencing others who have the resources, knowledge, and means to act on their
behalf to secure the outcomes they desire. For example, children work through parents to get
what they want, marital partners through spouses, employees through labor unions, and the
general public through their elected officials.
Collective Agency is an interdependence of human functioning that is enacted when people who
share common beliefs act as a group to produce effects by collective action. “A group’s
attainments are the product not only of shared knowledge and skills of its different members,
but also of the interactive, coordinative, and synergistic dynamics of their transactions”.

Beliefs of personal and collective efficacy are the most central and pervasive mechanisms of
human agency. “Unless people believe they can produce desired effects and forestall undesired
ones by their actions, they have little incentive to act or to persevere in the face of difficulties”
(Bandura, 2009a, p. 9).

SESSION 8

Lesson Title: The Fully Functioning Self

Lesson Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will:
1. To understand the meaning of Self-Actualization
2. Explore every tendency of fully functioning person
Lesson Targets:
1. I can understand the self as a whole
2. I can define the concept of self-actualization

Concept Notes
Carl Rogers (1959) believed that humans have one basic motive, that is the tendency to self-
actualize - i.e., to fulfill one's potential and achieve the highest level of 'human-beingness' we
can. Like a flower that will grow to its full potential if the conditions are right, but which is
constrained by its environment, so people will flourish and reach their potential if their
environment is good enough.

Rogers rejected the deterministic nature of both psychoanalysis and behaviorism and
maintained that we behave as we do because of the way we perceive our situation. "As no one
else can know how we perceive, we are the best experts on ourselves."

However, unlike a flower, the potential of the individual human is unique, and we are meant to
develop in different ways according to our personality. Rogers believed that people are
inherently good and creative.

They become destructive only when a poor self-concept or external constraints override the
valuing process. Carl Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must
be in a state of congruence.

Pre-Printed Notes
Rogers believed that every person could achieve their goal. This means that the person is in
touch with the here and now, his or her subjective experiences and feelings, continually
growing and changing.
In many ways, Rogers regarded the fully functioning person as an ideal and one that people do
not ultimately achieve. It is wrong to think of this as an end or completion of life’s journey;
rather it is a process of always becoming and changing.

Five Characteristics of Fully Functioning Person

1. Open to experience: both positive and negative emotions accepted. Negative feelings are
not denied but worked through (rather than resorting to ego defense mechanisms).

2. Existential living: in touch with different experiences as they occur in life, avoiding
prejudging and preconceptions. Being able to live and fully appreciate the present, not always
looking back to the past or forward to the future (i.e., living for the moment).

3. Trust feelings: feeling, instincts, and gut-reactions are paid attention to and trusted. People’s
own decisions are the right ones, and we should trust ourselves to make the right choices.

4. Creativity: creative thinking and risk-taking are features of a person’s life. A person does not
play safe all the time. This involves the ability to adjust and change and seek new experiences.

5. Fulfilled life: a person is happy and satisfied with life, and always looking for new challenges
and experiences.

For Rogers, fully functioning people are well adjusted, well balanced and interesting to know.
Often such people are high achievers in society.
SESSION 9

Lesson Title: Western and Eastern Thought of the Self

Lesson Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will:
1. Understand the Self as Individualist
2. Understand the Self as Collective and be able to differentiate the Individualist Self from
Collectivist Self
3. Knowing Oneself in the context of Eastern/Oriental Thought.
Learning Targets:

1. I can differentiate collectivism and individualism.

I can identify if someone is collectivist or individualist.

Concept Notes
Western and Eastern Thought of the Self

The concept of the self in Western psychology derives primarily from the work of Freud, Jung,
and Rogers. To some extent Western formulations of the self-evidence a homunculus-like quality
lacking in some Eastern conceptions, especially those derived from the Vijayawada and Zen
Buddhist traditions. The Buddhist notion of self-circumvents reification, being an impermanent
gestalt formed by the interaction of five skandhas or aggregates (form, feelings, perceptions,
impulses, consciousness).
 Western
Eternal reality of the universal truth: self-
liberation through getting rid of the false
"Me" and discovering the true "Me
Searching INSIDE YOURSELF – by becoming
a part of the universe
through meditation and right living
"Though he should live a hundred years, not pleasantest to believe." ~ H.L.Mencken
seeing the Truth Sublime; yet better, indeed, is
the single day's life of one who sees the Truth
Sublime." ~ Buddha
HOLISTIC approach – all events in the
universe are interconnected
Eastern
"Me" is here and now. The true “Me” in every
human being is a part of the Divine that need
to become apparent. True “Me” is given
and doesn’t have to be cognizable.
Searching outside yourself - through
research and analysis
"The truth that survives is simply the lie that is
More focused on INDIVIDUAL EVENTS and
the role of the person

The true key is INSIDE. The inner world of a The main values
human being and his or her ability to control are success and achievement. These that
and develop it is of the highest value. The can be achieved in many ways, but rarely
way to the top is inside yourself, through through developing inner strength. The
self-development. majority of success and
achievement criteria have an external
nature (money, faith, popularity, etc.). The
way to the top is through
active OUTSIDE intervention.

"The superior man understands what is right; "Happiness lies in virtuous activity,
the inferior man understands what will sell." and perfect happiness lies in the best activity,
~ Confucius which is contemplative." ~ Aristotle
COLLECTIVISM is stronger INDIVIDUALISM is stronger

Pre-Printed Notes
Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an
inalienable right to live it as he sees fit, to act on his own judgment, to keep and use the product
of his effort, and to pursue the values of his choosing. It’s the idea that the individual is sovereign,
an end in himself, and the fundamental unit of moral concern. This is the ideal that the American
Founders set forth and sought to establish when they drafted the Declaration and the
Constitution and created a country in which the individual’s rights to life, liberty, property, and
the pursuit of happiness were to be recognized and protected.
Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence
and self-reliance and advocate that interests of the individual should achieve precedence over
the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one's own interests
by society or institutions such as the government.

The Social Construction of the Self in Western Thought

Arguments:
1. The self is nothing but a bundle of perceptions, thoughts, and interactions, which our
environment molds into an identity.
2. Our identities are defined by our culture and the society in which we are raised.
3. A social construct is the intended or unintended product of social practices and cultural
paradigms.
4. Therefore, the Self must be nothing but a social construct.

Collectivism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or
society of which he is merely a part, that he has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values
and goals for the group’s “greater good.” According to collectivism, the group or society is the
basic unit of moral concern, and the individual is of value only insofar as he serves the group. As
one advocate of this idea puts it: “Man has no rights except those which society permits him to
enjoy. From the day of his birth until the day of his death society allows him to enjoy certain so-
called rights and deprives him of others; not . . . because society desires specially to favor or
oppress the individual, but because its own preservation, welfare, and happiness are the prime
considerations.”

Arguments of Confucius:
1. Personality (self) as such is not seen as inherently existing, but as something that is being
formed through upbringing and environment.
2. Every person is born with four beginnings, which do not encapsulate a concept of self yet,
but which together, if put in the western framework of thinking, may be called ‘pre-self’, or
‘potential-self’:
a. heart of compassion – leads to Jen
b. heart of righteousness – leads to Yi
c. heart of propriety – leads to Li
d. heart of wisdom – leads to Chi
A Self as such would develop out of these, and develop through practice of the corresponding
virtues
3. Personality (self), in the Confucian perception, is an achieved state of moral excellence rather
than a given human condition.
4. The concept of self also is deeply embedded within the family and society, and it is only in
that context that the self comes to be what it is.