Self (psychology)
The
self is a key construct in several schools of
psychology. Usages differ between theorists and fields of study, but in general the self refers to the conscious, reflective
personality of an individual. The study of the self involves significant methodological problems, especially concerning
consciousness. Some of these are taken up in
philosophy of mind and
metaphysics.
A psychological school of thought focused on the self was originally proposed by
Heinz Kohut (1913-1981).
Major conceptualizations within the theory of the self include:
*
Laing's "divided self" theory of
schizophrenia*
organismic self and/or real or ideal selves.
*
self-actualization*
self-awareness*
self-concept*
self-confidence*
self control*
self development*
self disclosure*
self-efficacy*
self esteem*
self harm*
self help*
self-identity*
self image*
self monitoring*
self-perception theory of attitude change
*
self-realization*
self-regulated learning*
self talk*
self-worthSelf schemas should be added
'Selfhood' or complete autonomy is a uniquely Western approach to psychology and models of self are employed constantly in areas such as
psychotherapy and
self help.
Edward E. Sampson (
1989) argues that the preoccupation with independence is harmful in that it creates racial, sexual and national divides and does not allow for observation of the self-in-
other and other-in-self.
The very notion of selfhood is an attacked idea because it is seen as necessary for the mechanisms of advanced capitalism to function. In
Inventing our selves: Psychology, power, and personhood,
Nikolas Rose (1998) proposes that psychology is now employed as a technology that allows humans to buy into an invented and arguably false sense of self. Rose sees that freedom assists governments and exploitation.
It is said by some that for an individual to talk about, explain, understand or judge oneself is linguistically impossible, since it requires the self to understand its
self. This is seen as philosophically invalid, being self-referential, or
reification, also known as a
Circular argument. Thus, if actions arise so that the self attempts self-explanation, confusion may well occur within linguistic mental pathways and processes.
*
Identity (social science)*
Self (philosophy)*
Definitions of Various Self Constructs - Self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-confidence & self-concept
*
Theory of Self - Proposed by an autistic to explain autism
