Understanding the Self: Comprehensive Notes (Psychology)

What is congruence?

Alignment between ideal self and real self.

What is the ideal self?

Who we want to be.

What is incongruence?

Misalignment between ideal self and real self.

What is the real self?

Who we really are.

What is self-concept?

An organized, consistent set of perceptions of and beliefs about oneself.

What is self-efficacy?

How one performs or believes one can perform tasks.

What is self-esteem?

One’s overall assessment of worth as a person.

What are self-schemas?

Perceptions and beliefs that comprise our self-concept.

Self-efficacy

How one performs or believes one can perform tasks.

Self-esteem

One’s overall assessment of worth as a person.

Self-schemas

Perceptions and beliefs that comprise our self-concept.

Material Self (Me-Self Subcategory)

Includes things that belong to us or that we belong to: family, clothes, body, money, possessions, and physical attributes.

Social Self (Me-Self Subcategory)

How the self is expressed in social contexts; changes depending on social situations and interactions with society.

Spiritual Self (Me-Self Subcategory)

The subjective, most intimate self; the inner core, including personality, core values, and conscience.

Multiple Selves (David Lester)

The different identities and roles we play (e.g., student, son/daughter, friend), varying across different roles and relationships.

Unified Self (David Lester)

The composite persona or the self that contains all other personas within an interactional style; an integration of multiple selves.

Function of the False Self (Winnicott)

To hide and protect the True Self, allowing the person to function in the social world.