UNIT 9: PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL COGNITION
Meaning of personality –
self-concept, self-acceptance, self-actualization, self-confidence,
self-interest, self-disclosure, self-development, self-help– symbols of self
–culture and the self –self discrepancies – threats to self-esteem –social
Cognition.
9.1
DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY
Personality is a dynamic organization within
the individual of those psycho-physical systems that determines his/her unique
adjustment to his environment. (Allport, 1948)
9.1.1
THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
There are five classifications in the
‘Theories of Personality’. They
are:
(A) Type theories (Hippocrates,
Kretchmer, Sheldon and Jung),
(B) Trait theories (Allport and
Cattell),
(C)Type-cum-Trait theories (Eysenck),
(D) Psycho-analytic theory (Freud),
(E) Social Learning theory (Bandura)
and
(F) Humanistic theory (Maslow and
Carl Roger)
9.2 SELF
SELF is the retrospective view of
himself/herself. Self is of two parts (a) Self-esteem and (b) Self-Identity.
(a) Self-esteem
refers to an individual’s overall view of himself/ herself.
Self-esteem refers
to the way we see and think about ourselves. Our Self-esteem is made up of all the experiences and interpersonal
relationships that we have had in our life. People, who feel good about
themselves, do have more confidence to try new health behaviors. Building
esteem is a first step towards your happiness and a better life. High
self-esteem increases your confidence.
People
with high Self-esteem are (i) More
ambitious in what one hopes to experience in life, (ii) Seeks
the challenge of worthwhile and
demanding goals, (iii) Self-confident –wants to be with other self-confident people, (iv) More capable of having open, honest and appropriate communications with others, (v) Accept
failure, (vi) Believes in self, (vii) Willing to try new things and (viii)
Appreciate life.
People
with low Self-esteem are (i) Fearful of
change –seeks the safety of the
familiar and undemanding, (ii)
Uncertain of own thoughts
and feelings, (iii) Feels anxious
about the listener’s response, (iv) People with low self-esteem are often drawn to each other – these relationships are often destructive – hurtful rather than helpful, (v) postponing decision,
(vi) Set unrealistic goals and (vii)
Exaggerated sense of self. These forms the threats to Self-esteem.
Reward
yourself - Stop comparing yourself to others - Laugh more - Take care of
yourself - Do something for someone - Keep a diary of all the good things you
notice about yourself are the six golden rules to build Self-esteem.
(b) Self-Identity:
Self Identity is extent of an individual’s exploration and commitment of an
individual provides Self-identity. Exploration involves examining meaningful
alternative identities. Commitment means showing a personal investment in an
identity and staying with whatever that identity implies. It is encompassed with four kinds of Identity
status.
(i) Identity Diffusion: Identity
Diffusion is a way of diffused state of self.
It occurs when individuals have not explored the meaningful alternatives
or made any commitments. (No Exploration
and No Commitment)
(ii) Identity Foreclosure:
Identity Foreclosure is a commitment without facing a crisis. It occurs when
individuals have made a commitment but have not experienced any kind of
crisis. (Commitment without Crisis)
(iii) Identity Moratorium: Identity
Moratorium is meant for the absence of commitment when crisis occurs. It occurs
when individuals are in the midst of a crisis, but their commitments are either
absent or only vaguely defined. (No Commitment even in crisis).
(iv)
Identity Achievement: Identity Achievement is meant for
the presence of commitment when crisis occurs. It occurs when individuals have undergone a
crisis and have made a commitment. (Commitment when crisis occurs).
9.2.1 NEED FOR SELF
c To have a more positive self-awareness
c To see yourself honestly and to like or at least
accept yourself
c To remove the internal barriers that keep you from
doing your best.
9.2.2 STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SELF
Self starts only at the starting of fourth month. There are four stages in the Development of
Self of an individual namely, (i) Self-awareness (from 4 to twelve months),
(ii) Self-recognition (from 13 to 18 months), (iii) Self-definition (from 18 to
36 months) and (iv) Self-concept (above 36 months).
9.3 SELF AND RELATED VARIABLES
Psychologists refer ‘I’ as the SELF. It possess different
variables namely,
(i) Concept of an
individual by the same individual –retrospective self, called as SELF-CONCEPT.
(ii)
Acceptance of Self – called as SELF-ACCEPTANCE.
(iii)
Motivation to develop an individual’s overall potential – SELF-ACTUALIZATION.
(iv)
A positive belief and feeling on himself/herself – SELF-CONFIDENCE.
(v) Individual’s
desires and needs –SELF-INTEREST.
(vi)
Sharing with someone on certain information of himself/herself and at the same
time disclosing certain information – SELF-DISCLOSURE
(vii) Improvement of Self-awareness and
Knowledge on Self of an individual – SELF-DEVELOPMENT
(viii) A guided improvement economically,
intellectually, or emotionally, confronted with substantial psychological basis
in the individual – SELF-HELP
9.3.1 SELF-CONCEPT
Self-concept
is
an individual’s perception of self and is what helps make each individual
unique. Positive and negative self-assessments in the physical, emotional,
intellectual, and functional dimensions change over time. Self-concept affects the ability to function
and greatly influences health status. It
evolves throughout life and depends to an extent on an individual’s
developmental level.
9.3.1.1 FORMATION OF SELF-CONCEPT
At first stage, Infant learns physical self different
from environment. If basic needs are met, the child has positive feelings of
self. The Child internalizes other people’s attitudes toward their self and
internalizes with the standards of the society.
There
are different factors that affect Self-concept.
They are (i) Altered Health Status, (ii) Experience, (iii) Developmental
considerations, (iv) Culture, (v) Internal and external resources, (vi) History
of success and failure, (vii) Crisis or life stressors and (viii) Aging,
illness, or trauma.
9.3.1.2INTERRELATIONSHIP OF COMPONENTS OF
SELF-CONCEPT (SYMBOLS OF SELF)
(A) IDENTITY: A sense
of personal identity is what sets one person apart as a unique
individual. Identity includes a person’s name, gender, ethnic identity,
family status, occupation, and roles. One’s personal identity begins to develop
during childhood and is constantly reinforced and modified throughout life.
(B) BODY IMAGE: Body
image is an attitude about one’s physical attributes and
characteristics, appearance, and performance. It is dynamic because any change
in body structure or function, including the normal changes of growth and
development, can affect it. Self-Ideal is the perception of behavior
based on personal standards and self-expectations. Self-ideal serves as
an internal regulator to support self-respect and self-esteem.
(C) SELF-ESTEEM: Self-esteem
is the judgment of personal performance compared with the self-ideal.
It is derived from a sense of giving and receiving love, and being
respected by others.
(D) ROLE PERFORMANCE: Role
refers to a set of expected behaviors determined by familial, cultural, and
social norms. The level of self-esteem is dependent upon the self-perception of
adequate role performance in these various social roles.
9.3.1.3 BUILDING OF
SELF-CONCEPT
An individual can build his/her
Self-concept, by means of the following hierarchical ways introspectively:
(i)
List and
develop the personal strengths and abilities,
(ii)
Set attainable
goals based on the individual’s wants and needs,
(iii)
Search for the positive relationships with
others and
(iv)
Recognize what
the individual has to accomplish.
9.3.2
SELF-ACCEPTANCE
Self-acceptance is acceptance of Self. It is an individual's satisfaction or happiness with
oneself, and is thought to be necessary for good mental health. Self-acceptance
involves self-understanding, a realistic, subjective, awareness of one's
strengths and weaknesses. It results in an individual's feeling about oneself
that they are of unique worth.
9.3.3
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Humanistic Psychology, the so-called third force in
Psychology (the other two being behaviourism and psychoanalysis) reflects a
humanistic trend in dealing with and understanding human behaviour. It believes in the goodness of man and
reposes optimistic confidence in man’s positive nature. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are notable to
this school.
Abraham Maslow adopts humanistic
approach for studying human behaviour and personality. According to this theory, human beings are
basically good rather than evil and there lies in every one an impulse or
craving towards growth or the fulfillment of one’s potentials. The goal is to seek self-actualization. The personality of a human being depends upon
his/her style of striving towards the ultimate goal of self-realization. His
theory of Self-Actualization suggests a hierarchy of needs. The pattern of
behaviour is always governed by the satisfaction of our needs from the lower,
base level to the upper top level. (From
biological needs to till self-actualization)
That is, the realization of one’s basic human potential to the maximum
extent and as effectively as possible.
According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
individuals’ needs must be satisfied in this sequence.
·
Physiological: Hunger, thirst, sleep
·
Safety: Ensuring survival, such as
protection from war and crime
·
Love and belongingness: Security,
affection, and attention from others.
·
Esteem: Feeling good about oneself
·
Self-actualization: Realization of one’s
potential
Carl Roger’s Personality theory
stresses the importance of an individual’s self for determining the process of
his growth, development and appropriate adjustments to his environment. There are two basic systems underlying his
personality theory-the organism and the self.
Rogers considers them as systems operating in one’s phenomenological
field. The organism is an individual’s
entire frame of reference. It represents
the totality of his experience – both conscious and unconscious. The second
system, the ‘self’ is the accepted, aware part of experience. The self as a system of one’s phenomenal
field can perhaps be best understood in terms of our concept of oneself. Also he propagated that one’s personality is
the interaction between the organism and the self or the inner-world and the
experiences.
Roger stresses the Self-actualizing
tendency. He introduced the terms
Congruence and Incongruence. A high degree of congruence means that
communication (what one expresses), experience (what is occurring in the field)
and awareness (what one is noticing) are all similar. Incongruence takes place when there are
discrepancies between awareness, experience and communication of
experience. At that time, the individual
does not express what he is actually feeling, thinking or experiencing. This
kind of incongruence is perceived as defensiveness.
The cognitive perspective proposed the concept
competence motivation. It is the idea
that people are motivated to be effectively with their environment, to master
their world, and to process information efficiently. The social perspective proposed the need for
affiliation it is the motive to be securely connected with other people. This involves establishing, maintaining and
restoring warm, close personal relationships.
Students’ need for affiliation or relatedness is reflected in their
motivation to spend time with peers, their close friendships, their attachment
to their parents, and their desire to have a positive relationship with their
teachers.
The characteristics of matured
Personality are as follows: (i) Ability to perceive reality accurately, (ii) Willingness
to accept reality readily, (iii) Naturalness and spontaneity, (iv) Ability to
focus on problems rather than on themselves, (v) Need for privacy, (vi) Self-sufficiency
and independence, (vii) Capacity for fresh, spontaneous, non-stereotyped
appreciation of objects, events and people that they encounter,(viii) Ability
to attain transcendence, (ix) Identification with humankind and shared social
bonds with other people, (x) They may have few friends but have deep
relationships with at least some of these friends, (xi) A democratic,
egalitarian attitude, (xii) Strongly held values and a clear distinction
between means and ends, (xii) A broad, tolerant sense of humours,(xiii) Inventiveness
and creativity with the ability to see things in new ways, (xiv) Resistance to
conform to social pressures and (xv) Ability to go beyond dichotomies and bring
together opposites.
Self-actualization
is the motivation to develop one’s full potential as a human being. It is
possible only after the lower needs namely, physiological needs, safety needs,
love and belongingness needs, esteem needs and to reach self
actualization. According Maslow, self
actualized individuals include being spontaneous, problem-centered rather than
self centered and are creative.
9.3.4 SELF-CONFIDENCE
Self-confidence
is a collection of positive beliefs and feelings that your child has about him
or herself. It is the belief in one’s own capability to accomplish a task and
select an effective approach to solve a problem. It includes confidence in
one’s ability as expressed in increasingly challenging circumstances and
confidence in one’s decisions or opinions
People with
high Self-confidence: (i) Are tend to trust their opinion even
in the face of opposition, (ii) Are decisive, (iii) Take risks and try new
things and (iv) Have a presence in all aspects.
People with
low Self-confidence: (i) Avoid confrontation with people, (ii) Do
not trust their judgment, (iii) Hesitate to try new things (iv) Avoid
challenges and (v) Unable to stand up for their rights.
Self-confidence (i) Arouses positive
emotions, (ii) Facilitate concentration, (iii) Affects the setting and pursuit of
challenging goals, (iv) Increases effort, (v) Affects individual’s strategies
and (vi) Affects psychological momentum.
9.3.5
SELF-INTEREST
Self-interest refers
to a focus on the needs or desires (interests)
of the self. A number of (a) Philosophical and (b) Psychological theories
examine the role of self-interest in motivating human action.
(a)
With respect to Philosophy, Self-interest includes:
(i) Enlightened
Self-interest: Enlightened Self-interest is a philosophy which states that
acting to further the interests of others also serves one's own self-interest,
(ii) Ethical Egoism:
Ethical Egoism is the ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their
own self-interest,
(iii) Hedonism:
Hedonism is the school of ethics which argues that pleasure is the only
intrinsic good,
(iv) Epicureanism:
Epicureanism is a philosophical system related to hedonism,
(v)
Individualism: Individualism is a philosophy stressing the worth of
individual selves and
(vi)
Rational Egoism: Rational Egoism is the position that all rational
actions that are done in one's self-interest.
(b) With respect to Psychology,
Self-interest includes:
(i)
Psychological Egoism: Psychological Egoism is the view that humans are
always motivated by Self-interest and
(ii) Narcissism:
Narcissism is an unhealthy self-absorption due to a disturbance in the sense of
self.
9.3.6 SELF-DISCLOSURE-
AN EXPLANATION FOR SELF-DISCREPANCY
Self-disclosure is sharing with someone information
which helps him/her to understand oneself.
It is most revealing when the
sharing is in the present and least revealing when the sharing is about the
past. It is a process of communication by which one person
reveals information about himself or herself to another. The information can be
descriptive or evaluative, and can include thoughts, feelings, aspirations,
goals, failures, successes, fears, and dreams, as well as one's likes,
dislikes, and favorites.
Ability to cope up with others, to maintain meaningful relationships with
others, to maintain psychological health and to stabilize the knowledge of Self
every individual is to move for Self-disclosing.
For
better control over emotions, preserving mental and physical self, to maintain
better relationships and more likely to get help from others in times of
necessity, Self-disclosure occurs in individuals.
Personality, Culture, Gender and
Emotions are the factors affecting Self-disclosure.
JOHARI WINDOW
Self disclosure is transferring information from the
hidden self to the open self. Carl Roger beliefs an individual’s for
determining the process of growth, development and appropriate adjustment to
environment. There are two basic systems
underlying the personality, the organism and the self. Self-discrepancy is
the gap between two of these self-representations.
9.3.7
SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Self/Personal Development is a lifelong process. It's a way for people to
assess their skills and qualities, consider their aims in life and set goals in
order to realize and maximize their potential.
Personal Development covers
activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential,
build human capital and facilitate employability, enhance quality of life and
contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. Not limited to
self-help, the concept involves formal and informal activities for developing others
in roles such as teacher, guide, counselor, manager, life coach or mentor. When
personal development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to
the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and assessment systems that support
human development at the individual level in organizations
9.3.7.1
ACTIVITIES OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Personal development may
include the following activities:
·
improving self-awareness
· improving self-knowledge
· improving skills or learning new ones
· building or renewing identity/self-esteem
· developing strengths or talents
· improving wealth
· spiritual development
· identifying or improving potential
· building employability or (alternatively) human capital
· enhancing lifestyle or the quality of life
· improving health
· fulfilling aspirations
· initiating a life enterprise or (alternatively) personal autonomy
· defining and executing personal development plans (PDPs)
· improving social abilities
· improving self-knowledge
· improving skills or learning new ones
· building or renewing identity/self-esteem
· developing strengths or talents
· improving wealth
· spiritual development
· identifying or improving potential
· building employability or (alternatively) human capital
· enhancing lifestyle or the quality of life
· improving health
· fulfilling aspirations
· initiating a life enterprise or (alternatively) personal autonomy
· defining and executing personal development plans (PDPs)
· improving social abilities
Children
learn to use what they have learned in previous circumstances to adapt their
responses to a new situation. This is
called as Self-modification. Self-efficacy is the
belief that one can master a situation and produce positive outcomes.
Personal development
can also include developing other people. This may take place through roles
such as those of a teacher or mentor, either through a personal competency
(such as the skill of certain managers in developing the potential of
employees) or through a professional service (such as providing training,
assessment or coaching).
Imagine you are in your car waiting for another driver to
pull out of a parking space. The car pulls out of the space, but before you can
pull in, another car whips around the corner and takes it. You lay on your
horn, roll down your window, and yell, “Can’t you see I was waiting for that
parking space!” The driver gets out of his car, laughs, and walks away. You get
out of your car and yell, “How dare you! Come back here!” YOUR INTENSE RESPONSE
IN THIS SITUATION could be considered a loss of self-control or a breakdown in
emotional regulation.
Self regulation:
Shonkoff and Phillips
(2000) define self-regulation as a child’s ability to gain control of bodily
functions, manage powerful emotions, and maintain focus and attention. The
growth of self-regulation is a cornerstone of early childhood development and
is visible in all areas of behavior (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000). When caring
for an infant or toddler, parents and caregivers act as extensions of or
supports for the child’s internal ability to regulate.
The most
of the important developmental tasks is
moving from external regulation to self-regulation (Shonkoff
& Phillips 2000; Perry 2005).
9.3.8 SELF-HELP
Self-help or self-improvement
is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often
with a substantial psychological basis such as recovery, dysfunctional
families, co-dependency, friendship, emotional support, experiential knowledge,
identity, meaningful roles, and a sense of belonging.
