Understanding the Self

Identity and the Self

What is Identity?
Your understanding of who you are, and how
you stand out from everyone else.
Self-Image.

What is Self?
The self is you. It is the observer, the
thinker, the judge and the prime mover.
Your physical and mental being.
Over time, your concept of self changes as
your experience in life increases.

Activity: Defining the self through

others Joharis Window
Aggressive

Careless

Energetic

Hard

Religious

Ambitious

Caring

Efficient

Imaginativ
e

Responsib
le

Anxious

Clever

Funny

Modest

Rebellious

Authoritative

Confiden
t

Friendly

Negative

Sensitive

Bold

Disciplin
ed

Giving

Outgoing

Sensible

Calm

Demandi
ng

Happy

Proud

Serious

Carefree

Dreamy

Helpful

Quiet

Wise

What is Joharis Window?

Johari is taken from the name of two
American Psychologists:
Joseph Luft & Harrington Ingham

 Open Area- What you know about

yourself and what others know about
you.
Blind Area- What others know about
you that you dont.
Hidden Area- What you know about
yourself that others dont.
Unknown Area- What you dont know
about yourself and what others dont
know as well.

 Take your paper and fold it so it has four quadrants like the window.
Fill in the Open and Hidden quadrants with adjectives that describe
you, both known and unknown to others, respectively.
Fold your paper so that the Blind Area is out while the other areas are
hidden.
Pass the paper around your group, asking members to put down at least
one or two words that can describe you.
Fold the paper again so that the Unknown area is out while the other
areas are hidden
Put down words that you didnt use in the Unknown area and pass it to
your group members, asking them to do the same.

Discussion Questions
Are the impressions positive or
negative?
Do you agree or disagree with what
was put down in the blind area?
How much of the Blind area
intersected with the Open area?
How well do you know yourself and
your group mates after the exercise?

Self-Concept and SelfEsteem

Self-Concept
an idea of the self constructed from the
beliefs one holds about oneself and the
responses of others.

Self-Esteem
a person's overall sense of self-worth or
personal value

The Self Concept

Existential Self
Your sense of being separate from the
other person and your environment.

Categorical Self
How you begin to categorize yourself
based on your surroundings and the
other peoples in it with you.
These categories change and build up
as you grow older.

Why Self-esteem is
important
Self-image
Your self-image may or may not reflect your actual state of being.
You can consider your self image being composed of your
physical traits, social roles, personal traits, and abstract ideas
you have of yourself.

Having high self-esteem makes you feel more confident

about yourself and content in understanding what you are
and are not capable of.
Having low self-esteem can make you feel less confident
about who you are and more dependent on what others
may think of you.

 What influences your self-Esteem?

Others perception/s of you.
Comparison with others.
Social roles.
Identification.

How can you value yourself

more?
What methods do you use to keep a
positive self-image of yourself, and
have high self-esteem?

 Self-Regulation
Controlling ones behavior.
According to the ego depletion model,
people have a limited amount of selfcontrol.
For example, if you successfully resist
temptation to indulge yourself with
sweets today, it is more difficult to do
so tomorrow.

 Self-efficacy ones belief about

ones ability to perform behaviors that
should lead to expected outcomes is
very important to healthy adjustment.
Fortunately, self-efficacy can be
learned and changed.
This is important to adjustment
because increasing self-efficacy is
beneficial to ones physical and
mental health.

 Self-efficacy can be developed and

usually comes from four sources.
1.Mastery experiences
Learning new skills increases selfefficacy.
It is especially important to persist
in the face of mistakes or failure.

2.Vicarious experiences watching

others to learn a new skill.
3.Persuasion and encouragement
4.Interpretation of emotional
arousal
When we try new things, we may
become nervous.
It is important to attribute this to
normal arousal needed to do well,
rather than fear.

 Self-defeating behaviors,
seemingly intentional actions that
thwart a persons self-interest, come in
three categories:
1.Deliberate self-destruction.
2.Trade-offs engaging in short-term,
potentially harmful behaviors, in
order to pursue healthy long-term
goals.
3.Counterproductive strategies
persisting in ineffective strategies to
achieve a goal.

 Seven guidelines for building self-esteem:

1. Recognize that you control your self-image.
You can change your self-image to a
more positive one.
2. Learn more about yourself.
People with low self-esteem dont know
as much about themselves as do those
with high self-esteem.

3. Dont let others set your goals.

4. Recognize unrealistic goals.
5. Modify negative self-talk.
Remember to use an optimistic
explanatory style when confronting
successes and failures.
6. Emphasize your strengths.
7. Approach others with a positive outlook