Binalonan, Pangasinan

College of Teacher Education

Second Semester, A.Y. 2023-2024

MODULE 4: The Self from the Psychological Perspective

Course Title: Understanding the Self

Course Code: GE 1

Introduction
This module entitled The Self from the Psychological Perspective explains various basic
psychological theories and foundations in shaping one’s persona and self-development.

I. Objectives
At the end of the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. Differentiate the different provinces of the human psyche
2. Discuss the different levels of psychosexual stages.
3. Compare and contrast the different Eriksonian psychosocial stages
[Link] ideal self from real self

II. Lectures
The self can be defined in many ways, in different contexts. In the context of psychology,
the self can be defined as a reflexive psychological process that starts when one identifies
himself or herself as an object, followed by describing oneself as a self-concept or self-feeling,
and ends with saying that the self is manifested in how one acts and presents himself or herself
to others. (Zhao, 2014). In this process, the self is perceived through how one sees and
understands himself or herself.

Sigmund Freud: The Psychoanalytic Theory of Self

Sigmund Freud - an Austrian Neurologist by which his theories are deterministic in nature. He
is the originator of Psychoanalysis and focuses on the individual’s abnormal functioning.

Freud asserts that the human psyche (personality) is structured into three parts (tripartite).
These structures – the id, ego, and superego – all develop at different stages in a person’s life.
These three structures are systems and not physical parts of the brain. Although each part
comprises unique features and contributes to an individual’s behavior and they interact to form a
whole.
Parts of Personality

1. Id (internal desires). Also called internal drives or instinctive drives, it consists of the

body’s primitive biological drives and urges, which are concerned only with achieving

pleasure and self-satisfaction. Id lives completely in the unconscious.

 2. Ego (reality). It is the “I” part of the individual that gives him/her the sense of his/her

own identity. The ego is the rational part of the personality.

3. Superego (conscience). It is the part of the personality concerned with morals, precepts,

standards, and ideas. The superego is also the critical faculty of the personality.

Freudian Stages of Psychosexual Development

Freud also argues that the development of an individual can be divided into distinct

stages characterized by sexual drives. As a person grows, certain areas become sources of

pleasure, frustration or both. Fixation is a persistent focus of the id’s pleasure seeking energies

at an early stage of psychosexual development.

1. Oral. From birth to the end of the first year, the mouth becomes part of the body through

which gratification is secured.

2. Anal (expulsive phase). From the age of 1 to 3 years, the child derives the feelings of

pleasure or pain from defecating. It covers the toilet-training period. Anal retentive

personality is stingy, with a compulsive seeking of order and tidiness. The person is

generally stubborn and perfectionist. The anal expulsive on the other hand, has a lack

of self-control, being generally messy and careless.

3. Phallic. From the age of 3-6 years, the child gets curious about his/her genitals and

becomes attached to the parent of the opposite sex. The attraction or the unconscious

desire of a boy to his mother is called Oedipus complex, while that of a girl to her father

is called Electra complex.

4. Latency. From the age of 7-11 years, sexual motivations presumably recede in

importance as the child becomes preoccupied with developing skills and other activities.

5. Genital. After puberty, the deepest feelings of pleasure presumably come from

heterosexual relations. In this stage, the teenagers have overcome latency, made

associations with one gender of the other, and now seek out pleasure through sexual

contact with others.

Erik Erikson: The Psychosocial Stages of Self-development
Erikson was primarily concerned with how both psychological and social factors affect
the development of individuals. He has formulated eight stages of development, each posing a
unique developmental task and simultaneously presenting the individual with a crisis that he/she
must overcome. According to Erikson, a person passes through eight developmental stages that
build on each other. At each stage we face a crisis. By resolving the crisis, we develop
psychological strengths or character traits that help us become confident and healthy people.
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development gives us a way to view the development of a
person through an entire lifespan. But like all theories, it has its limitations: Erikson doesn’t
describe the exact way that conflicts are resolved. Neither does he detail how you move from
one stage to the next.

St
Important
ag Conflict Age Desired outcome
events
e

Trust vs. Birth to 18 A sense of trust and security

1 Feeding
mistrust months (Hope)

Autonomy Feelings of independence lead

18 months
2 vs. shame & Potty training to belief in yourself and your
to 3 years
doubt abilities (Will)

Self-confidence; the ability to

Initiative vs.
3 3 to 5 years Exploration take the initiative and make
guilt
decisions (Purpose)

Industry vs. 5 to 13 Feelings of pride and

4 School
inferiority years accomplishment (Confidence)

Identity vs. A strong sense of identity; a

13 to 21 Social
5 role clear picture of your future
years relationships
confusion (Fidelity)

Intimacy vs. 21 to 39 Safe relationships filled with

6 Relationships
isolation years commitment and love (Love)

Generativity The desire to give to family and

40 to 65 Work and
7 vs. community, and to succeed at
years parenthood
stagnation work (Care)
 Pride in what you’ve achieved
Integrity vs. Over 65 Reflection on
8 leads to feelings of satisfaction
despair years life
(Wisdom)

● SYNTONIC - for the first listed “positive” disposition in each crisis

● DYSTONIC - for the second listed “negative” disposition in each crisis.
● MALIGNANCY - it involves too little of the positive and too much of the negative aspects
of the tasks.
● MALADAPTATION - is not quite as bad and involves too much of the positive and too
little of the negative aspects of the task.
●
St
a
Conflict Age Maladaptation Malignancy
g
e

Birth to
Trust vs. Sensory
1 18 Withdrawal
mistrust distortion
months

Autonomy 18
2 vs. shame months to Impulsiveness Compulsiveness
& doubt 3 years

Initiative 3 to 5
3 Ruthlessness Inhibition
vs. guilt years

Industry
5 to 13
4 vs. Narrow virtuosity Inertia
years
inferiority

Identity
13 to 21
5 vs. role Fanaticism Repudiation
years
confusion

Intimacy
21 to 39
6 vs. Promiscuity Exclusivity
years
isolation

Generativi
ty vs. 40 to 65
7 Overextension Rejectivity
stagnatio years
n
 Integrity
Over 65
8 vs. Presumption Disdain
years
despair

Carl Roger’s Self Theory

Carl Rogers proposed that by means of free choice and action, one can shape himself or
herself based on what he or she wants to be. Rogers considers the self as the center of
experience. According to him, the self is one’s ongoing sense of who and what he or she is and
how and why he or she responds to the environment. The choices an individual makes are
based on his or her set of values. Roger’s theory focuses on the nature of the self and the
conditions that allows the self to freely develop (Rathus, 2014)

Real Self and Ideal Self

The real self is who an individual actually is, intrinsically. It is the self that feels close to
how one identifies with. It is how one thinks, feels, looks, and acts. It is the self that feels most
natural, comfortable, and true to what and who one really is. It is the self that one continuously
needs to accept, takes care of, and improves. Despite the difficulty of an individual to truly know
how others see him or her, his or her real self can still be possibly seen. One’s significant other
may tell almost exactly his or her real self. The real self is one’s self-image.

The ideal self, on the other hand, is the perception of what a person would like to be or
thinks he or she would be. It is an idealized image that has developed over time based on the
influence of the environment and the people one interacts with. It is the self that one thinks he or
she should be, and that one feels others thinks he or she should be. This self is product of
expectations and pressures from other people and arises from the need to be love and
accepted by others. It is dynamic and forever changing.

For instance, someone who is not a good singer (real self) desires to be someone who
can sing well (ideal self), the greater the discrepancy between the real self and the ideal self,
the greater the frustration and distress one will experience. Hence, one should strive to reduce
the discrepancy by either addressing the issue or accepting the issue if it cannot be resolved.
Self-Concept

The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about,
evaluates or perceives themselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of
oneself.
Baumeister (1999) provides the following self-concept definition: “The individual's belief
about himself or herself, including the person's attributes and who and what the self is”.
The self-concept is an important term for both social and humanistic psychology. Carl
Rogers (1959) believes that the self-concept has three different components:
1. Self-worth or self-esteem is what one thinks about oneself. This develops in
early childhood stages resulting from the interaction of the child with his or her
mother and father.
2. Self-image is how one sees himself or herself, which is important for good
psychological health. Self-image includes the influence of body image on inner
personality. At a simple level one might look at oneself as either good or bad,
beautiful of ugly, self-image has an effect on how a person thinks, feels, and
behaves in the world.
3. Ideal self is the person one wants to be. It consists of one’s dreams and goals in
life, and it is continuously changing. To illustrate, the ideal self during childhood is
not the same ideal during adulthood.

IV. REFERENCES:
Ariola, Marciano, Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person, 2016, Unlimited Books
Library Services and Publishing Inc., Intramuros, Manila
 Ariola, Marciano, Sociology and Anthropology with Family Planning, 2016, Purely Books Trading
and Publishing Corp., Intramuros, Manila
Brawner &Arcega, Understanding the Self, 2018, C&E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City.
Corpuz, R., Estoque, Ronan S., Tabotabo, Claudio V., Understanding The Self, 2019, C&E
Publishing, Inc., Quezon City
Galotti, Kathleen, 2011, Cognitive Development Infancy through Adolescence, Library of
Congress Cataloging in Publication Data, Canada.
Levine and Munsch, Child Development, 2011, Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication
Data, Canada
McNamara, Valverde et al. Science, Technology & Society,2018, C &E Publishing, Inc.
Pasco, Suarez and Rodriguez, Ethics, 2018, C&E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City.
Peer & Reid Special Educational Educational Needs, 2012, Sage Publication. Ltd, London
Peñaflor and Peñaflor, Values Education Legal and Ethical Perspective (1st edition), 2016,
Unlimited Books Library Services and Publishing Inc., Intramuros, Manila

Prepared by:
Hannani P. Tara, CHRA
Faculty, CTE

Checked by:

Dr. Raymond N. Claro

Department Dean, CTE