Understanding the Self
Social, Environmental, and other Life Factors (S.E.L.F)
NATURE vs. NURTURE
The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest philosophical issues within
psychology that tend to explain one’s development.
• Nature refers to all the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are -
from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics.
• Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including
our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and
our surrounding culture.
For example, when a person achieves tremendous academic success, did they do so
because they are genetically predisposed to be successful or is it a result of an enriched
environment? If a man abuses his wife and kids, is it because he was born with violent
tendencies or is it something he learned by observing his own parent's behavior?
However, in recent years there has been a growing realization that the question of “how
much” behavior is due to heredity and “how much” to the environment may itself be the
wrong question.
Take intelligence as an example. Like almost all types of human behavior, it is a complex,
many-sided phenomenon which reveals itself (or not!) in a great variety of ways. The
“how much” question assumes that psychological traits can all be expressed numerically
and that the issue can be resolved in a quantitative manner. Heritability statistics
revealed by behavioral genetic studies have been criticized as meaningless, mainly
because biologists have established that genes cannot influence development
independently of environmental factors; genetic and nongenetic factors always
cooperate to build traits. The reality is that nature and culture interact in a host of
qualitatively different ways (Gottlieb, 2007; Johnston & Edwards, 2002).
Instead of defending extreme nativist or nurturist views, most psychological researchers
are now interested in investigating how nature and nurture interact. For example, in
psychopathology, this means that both a genetic predisposition and an appropriate
environmental trigger are required for a mental disorder to develop.
IDENTITY vs. SELF
Identities are the traits and characteristics, social relations, roles, and social group
memberships that define who one is. Identities can be focused on the past-what used to
be true of one, the present-what is true of one now, or the future-the person one expects
or wishes to become, the person one feels obligated to try to become, or the person one
fears may become.
Prepared by: Mr. Hans Christian F. Delos Reyes, RPm 1|Page
Understanding the Self
While on the other hand, in common discourse the term self often refers to a warm sense
or a warm feeling that something is "about me" or "about us." The central psychological
question of selfhood, then, is this: How does a person apprehend and understand who
he or she is? Moreover, there are three central metaphors for the self. First, the self may
be seen as a social actor, who enacts roles and displays traits by performing behaviors in
the presence of others. Second, the self is a motivated agent, who acts upon inner desires
and formulates goals, values, and plans to guide behavior in the future. Third, the self
eventually becomes an autobiographical author, too, who takes stock of life — past,
present, and future — to create a story about who he/she is, how he/she came to be,
and where his/her life may be going.
DIMENSIONALITIES OF THE SELF/IDENTITY
There are four different dimensionalities of self, namely social factor, environmental
factor, hereditary factor, and person-volition factor. Social factors are the factors in the
development of a person which includes all the person around him/her, like his/her family
members, relatives, friends, teachers or professors, and even strangers, that might create
an impression to him/her or affects his/her actions and thoughts in life. Environmental
factors are the factors in the development of a person that includes the environmental
structure, events, and such, which might give an impact on how a person could grow in
all the aspects of his/her life. Hereditary factors are the factors in the development of the
person that includes biological changes and events, such as growth in height, puberty
(growing of pubic hair, deeper voices for male, broadening of hips and start of
menstruation for female, etc.) that usually affects the physical characteristics of a person.
Lastly, the Person-volition factors are the inclination of a person creates a social construct
which sets him apart to others.
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Understanding the Self
Bibliography
McLeod, S. A. (2018, December 20). Nature vs nurture in psychology. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html
Cherry, K. (2020, June 03). The age old debate of nature vs. nurture. Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-nature-versus-nurture-2795392
McAdams, D. P. (n.d). Self and Identity. NOBA. https://nobaproject.com/modules/self-
and-identity#content
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