GEC 1 Understanding the Self (Module 3: Psychological Perspectives, Eastern and Western Thought) - General Education subject - CHED-based (for College level)

1. GEC 1 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
Module 3 (Week 5 to Week 6)
 Psychological Perspective
 Western and Eastern Thought
Prepared by: Nancy Jane D. Victorino, RPm, LPT

2. DISCUSSION
CILO (Course Intended Learning Outcome/s):
 Identify and define the concepts of the Self as a cognitive
construction.
 Outline the concepts of the Self in Western and Eastern thought.
 Recognize how the different psychological concepts and western
and eastern perspectives influenced one’s own personality
development.

3. I. Selfhood and Personality: The
Psychology of Identity
Philosophy tries to answer the question ‘Who
am I?’ from a general point of view of
metaphysics and epistemology. Psychology
relates the same question to people with
thoughts and emotions who are growing up
and living in a specific place, entertaining
basic values, relating to other members of
society, and having to position themselves
in it. As they grow up, they become competent
members of their society by forming an
individual identity recognized by others and
themselves.
https://www.online-psychology-degrees.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/10/shutterstock_258980774.jpg

4. A Deeper View on Sigmund Freud’s Theory
of Personality & Defense Mechanisms
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https://www.simplypsychology.org/Freudian-Unconscious.gif

5. A Deeper View on Sigmund Freud’s Theory
of Personality & Defense Mechanisms
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Mechanisms.jpg

6. Freud’s Topographical Model of the
Mind
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Freudian-Unconscious.gif
On the surface is consciousness,
which consists of those thoughts that
are the focus of our attention now,
and this is seen as the tip of the
iceberg. The preconscious consists of
all which can be retrieved from
memory.
The third and most significant region
is the unconscious. Here lie the
processes that are the real cause of
most behaviour. Like an iceberg, the
most important part of the mind is the
part you cannot see.

10. William James’ “Me-Self” and “I-Self”
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(“Me”) corresponds to the self as an
object of experience (self as object),
while the latter (“I”) reflects the self as a
subject of experience (self as subject)
The “Me” is a separate individual a person
refers to when talking about their personal
experiences.
The “I” is the pure ego – it is what provides
continuity between past, present, and
future, allowing us to view ourselves to have
a consistent, individual identity, one brought
about by the stream of consciousness that
James first defined (Hunt, 1920).

11. William James’ “Me-Self” and “I-Self”
Although the “I” self cannot be further divided, the “Me” can be further broken
down into three sub-categories: a material, social, and spiritual self.
The material self consists of what belongs to a person, such as the body,
family, clothes, or money.
Finally, our spiritual self is who we are at our core, including our personality,
values, and conscience. Our spiritual self typically remains relatively stable
throughout our lifetime (Green, 1997).
The social self marks who you are in a specific social situation. We tend to
change our actions, thoughts, emotions, words, and mannerisms based on the
current social situation or the people with whom we are interacting.

12. Psychological Differentiation
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content/uploads/2013/02/differen
tiation-psychology.jpg
Psychological differentiation is an
important aspect of self-development. As
Dr. Robert Firestone writes in his book The
Self-Under Siege: A Therapeutic Model for
Differentiation, “In order for people to live
their own own lives and fulfill their destinies,
they must differentiate from destructive
environmental influences.”
So, you should ask yourself:
Whose life am I really living?
Am I basing my life on my own personal
beliefs, values and desires?
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content/uploads/2015/11/Differe
ntiation.jpg

13. The Four Steps of Differentiation
Breaking with destructive thoughts and attitudes towards
ourselves that we internalize based on painful early life
experiences.
Recognizing and changing negative personality traits in
ourselves that are an incorporation of the negative traits of our
parents, caregivers, or other influential figures.
Looking into the psychological defenses we developed as an
adaptation to the pain and distress we experienced growing up.
Developing our own values, ideals, and beliefs rather than
automatically accepting the beliefs that we grew up with or
those of our culture.

14. Self-Concept and School Performance
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Self-concept is generally thought of as our
individual perceptions of our behavior, abilities, and
unique characteristics—a mental picture of who
you are as a person.
In psychology, the term self-esteem is used to
describe a person's overall subjective sense of
personal worth or value—in other words, how
much you appreciate and like yourself.
According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is "the
belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute
the courses of action required to manage
prospective situations."

15. Multiple vs. Unified Selves by David Lester
The unified self is a means of referring to the "composite" persona, or to the
"self" that contains all of the other personas that exist within a person's
interactional style.
Multiple selves (or multiple personas) refer to the different ways that
individuals interact with the different situations and circumstances in their
lives.
https://www.incimages.com/uploaded_files/image/1920x1080/getty_1095325490_2000112720009280198_382890.jpg

16. True vs. False Selves
This psychological theory of the True and the False Self is the work of one of
the twentieth century’s greatest thinkers, the English psychoanalyst and child
psychiatrist Donald Winnicott.
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The healthy false self is described as one which allows someone to be
functional in society.
The unhealthy false self comes from the same origins as the healthy false self.
However, for our long-term well-being, the effects of the unhealthy false self
are quite different to those of its counterpart.

17. II. The Self in Western and Eastern
Thought
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An individualist is motivated by
personal rewards and benefits.
Individualist persons set personal goals
and objectives based on self.
Individualistic workers are very
comfortable working with autonomy and
not part of a team.
The collectivist is motivated by group
goals. Long-term relationships are very
important. Collectivistic persons easily
sacrifice individual benefit or praise to
recognize and honor the team’s
success. In fact, being singled out and
honored as an individual from the rest of
the team may be embarrassing to the
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18. II. The Western Thought (Cartesian)
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is
regarded as one of the founders of
modern epistemology. In his method,
the first reality discovered is the thinking
self. His view of the thinking self
("thinking thing") is that of a separate
and individual self with a rational mind.
He argues that "an objective, ego-
oriented world of meaning" allows the
individual to be rational. His view on an
atomistic view of the self does not
include a person's social, or relational,
nature.
https://quotefancy.com/media/wallpaper/3840x2160/1746498-Ren-Descartes-Quote-I-think-therefore-
am.jpg

19. II. The Eastern Thought (Confucius,
Buddha/Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism)
Confucius explained that there are six virtues and six accompanying
failures:
First, there is the mere love of morality: that alone, without culture, degenerates
into fatuity.
Secondly, there is the mere love of knowledge; that alone, without culture, tends
to dilettantism.
Thirdly, there is the mere love of honesty: that alone, without culture, produces
heartlessness.
Fourthly, there is the mere love of uprightness: that alone, without culture, leads
to tyranny.
Fifthly, there is the mere love of courage: that alone, without culture, produces
recklessness.
Sixthly, there is the mere love of strength of character: that alone, without
culture, produces eccentricity. (The Analects of Confucius, XVII, p. 8).

20. II. The Eastern Thought (Confucius,
Buddha/Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism)
Buddha's doctrine is derived from "experience in the transformations of
consciousness and the stages of meditation," not from sense perception or
logical operations.
The implications of Buddhism are to emphasize compassion for others and
conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility
https://cdn.britannica.com/w:1100/05/168805-131-
E093AF38/Buddha-Temple-mural-founder-
Thailand-religions.jpg
https://www.diamondway-buddhism.org/images/buddhism.jpg

21. II. The Eastern Thought (Confucius,
Buddha/Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism)
Hindus believe that an individual's
action (Karma)? the bad or good
actions that the individual performed in
a previous life? determines his or her
caste.
Hinduism is concerned with the spiritual
essence of the self.
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content/uploads/2014/06/Religions_Hinduism.jpg
This transcendence of self is seen as
essential to spiritual liberation.

22. II. The Eastern Thought (Confucius,
Buddha/Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism)
In Taoism, the relativity of opposites is
present in other aspects of the universe,
such as yin and yang: yin is all that is
feminine, gentle, dark, and meek; yang is all
that is masculine, forceful, light, and active.
Yin and yang exist in a mutual relationship
and reinforce each other. Life arises from
death and vice versa
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/psychology/images/1/17/Yin_yang.svg
/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20061130232403
In Taoism, self does not exist without the
existence of the other; self as a separate
identity is supported by the "equal and
opposite sensation of otherness" such as
the dialectical relationship between yin and
yang (Watts, 1997, p. 68).

23. References:
 Coulmas, F. (2019). Identity: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. (available for download at b-ok.asia)
 Sigmund Freud’s Theories; https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html; 03/09/21
 Defense Mechanisms; https://www.simplypsychology.org/defense-mechanisms.html; 03/09/21
 “I” and “Me”: The Self in the Context of Consciousness; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6131638/;
03/09/21
 William James Biography and Contributions to Psychology; https://www.simplypsychology.org/william-
james.html#self; 03/09/21
 Psychological Differentiation; https://www.psychalive.org/psychological-differentiation/; 03/09/21
 What is Self-Concept; https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-concept-2795865; 03/09/21
 What is Self-Esteem?; https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868; 03/09/21
 Self-Efficacy and Why Believing in Yourself Matters; https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868;
03/09/21
 Self-Concept and School Performance; http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/selfconcept.pdf; 03/09/21
 Who am I Really? True Self vs. False Self; https://growththruchange.com/2018/03/06/really-true-self-vs-false-self/;
03/09/21
 Individualism vs. Collectivism; https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/develop-cultural-intelligence/0/steps/49772;
03/09/21

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