Knowing Oneself

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key philosophical and psychological concepts related to self-perception, personality components, and self-efficacy based on the lecture notes.

Socrates

The Ancient Greek philosopher famous for the line, "An unexamined life is not worth living."

Know Thyself

An old maxim or aphorism used in varied literature and recorded in the Greek encyclopedia of knowledge called "The Suda."

Self-concept

An individual's general and abstract perception of themselves, including their personality and self-perception of their set of beliefs, attitudes, and conduct.

Rene Descartes

The Father of Modern Philosophy who presented the idea that consciousness resides in the mind and that a person's perception determines whether they exist.

Sigmund Freud

The Father of Psychoanalysis who identified the three components of personality: the Id, Ego, and Superego.

Id

The part of personality driven by basic needs and desires that works on the "want it now" principle without thinking about rules or consequences.

Ego

The part of personality that helps make realistic decisions, deals with the real world, and provides socially accepted means of getting desires.

Superego

The part of personality acting as an inner voice of morals and values, guiding us on what is right or wrong and encompassing moral judgments shaped by family and environment.

Adolescence

The transition from childhood to adulthood characterized by changes in physical appearance, social roles, decision-making autonomy, and self-perception.

Self-esteem

An individual's evaluation of their own worth, which can be positive (pleasing and acceptable) or negative (feeling distraught or unaccepted).

Self-efficacy

An individual's beliefs about what they can do with their abilities and their self-belief to effectively achieve their most important goal.

Performance Experiences

A factor influencing self-efficacy where achieving a specific goal leads to thinking it will be achieved again, while failure often leads to thinking one will fail again.

Vicarious Performances

A factor influencing self-efficacy where observing others achieve their goals leads an individual to believe they will also achieve theirs.

Verbal Persuasion

A factor of self-efficacy where the effect depends on how much the person telling you what you can or cannot do matters to you.

Imaginal Performances

The process of imagining oneself doing well in order to make it happen.

The Affective States & Physical Sensations

A factor influencing self-efficacy where the connection between mood/emotion and physical state dictates a positive or negative result.

William James

A psychologist who defined the self as "what happens when I reflect upon ME."

Reflective Project

The term used by Taylor (1989) to describe how the self is geared toward improvement depending on various factors.

Self as Social Actor

A category of self-reflection where people portray different roles and behave for social acceptance based on what people think of them.

Self as Motivated Agent

A category of self-reflection where people act based on their purpose, dreams, desires, and planned goals for the future.

Self as Autobiographical Author

A category of self-reflection where the individual is the creator of their own entire life story from the past through the present and into the future.