Self What Is the Self?

¶ … Self

what is the self?

The concept or idea of the self is one of the most controversial and debated subjects across many disciplines. From a sociological and socio-psychological point-of-view the dominant trend in the contemporary literature is that the self is primarily a social construct. This means that the self is something that has no actual existence outside the process of social and cultural responses and socialization.

However, this view is contrasted with the more psychological and even religious views which see the self as having an existence that is independent of society and social norms and persuasion. This view or stance tends to see the human self as a combination of innate and internal psychological forces developing in conjunction with the demands and requirements of the society and culture. It is the interface between the sociological and psychological views that presents the most interesting and convincing perspective on the complex problem of the self. This paper will explore the concept of the self, taking into account both these perspectives.

2. Definitions

Defining the self is notoriously difficult. In chapter five of Social Beings, Fiske points out that the self is a dynamic concept that changes in relation to the environment, culture and social setting, as well as in relation to the affective needs of the moment. In other words, "The dynamic self is not a simple fixed entity" (Fiske, 2004, p.170).

On a more formal theoretical level there are a number of definitions that approach the complexity of understanding of what constitutes the self. William James for example, attempted to define the self as an extension of the material body (Fiske, 2004, p. 171). James also distinguished between the material self and a deeper more complex spiritual self. This deeper self is what most people refer to as the 'real' self (Fiske, 2004, p. 171). However, one also has to extend this definition or view of the self and include aspects such as emotions and behavior patterns as well as attitudes and abilities.

In attempting to understand the nature of the self, account should also be taken of the distinction between the private and the public or social sense of self. The social self is extremely important facet of the self and often means that a single individual has a number of different personae or 'selves' that have to be incorporated into the concept of identity. For example, the person may have a self 'schema' or set of presentation variables to meet various social and personal demands; such as the individual person as a parent and businessman as well as other roles.

Taking the above points into account we could tentatively describe the human self as a composite of many different aspects and attributes that are combined to create a unique human self. At the same time we have to distinguish who we are and how we and others perceive us. These aspects will be discussed in the sections below

2. The development of a self-concept

A self-concept is defined as a "… cognitive representation of the self" (Fiske, 2004, p.172). The word cognition is derived from the Latin word 'cognoscere', which means "to know" or "to recognize." Therefore, the aim of a self-concept refers to how we know or recognize our self. In this regard psychologists refer to the difference between identity and self -- concept. Identity is almost completely determined by social factors, such as social roles and responsibilities ( Fiske, 2004, p.180). However, the development of a concept of self, who and what one is, involves both a social and a psychological component and these two aspects are often inextricably intertwined. As Fiske states, "…both are critical parts of people's multifaceted self-concept" (Fiske, 2004, p.180). In other words the development of a self-concept is a combination of an internal self 'schema' as well as the various social roles and responsibilities that add to the composite self.

The social creation of self and identity is an aspect that plays a very important role in the construction of the self -concept. The cognition of whom and what one is, is heavily influenced by the social roles and views about self. In this regard one can refer to the way that the social construction of Black identity has changed over time and how this view of a Black person in society can be seen to impact on the way that a Black person might view him or her self.

There are therefore two general ways that an individual develops a sense of self. The first is the reaction and input about one's self that one receives from friends and family, which is more internal and intimate. The second general way in which a conception of self is developed is through social relationships and interaction. These two aspects therefore roughly correspond to the psychological and sociological modes of understanding the self.

In term of self- perception theory, one develops a concept of self by observing what one does. This also refers to inner experience and the self-perception of internal feelings and nuances about events. As a study by Klein ( 1995) notes, self-perception plays a vital role in the emotional and behavioral aspects of the development of the self. "Positive self-perception, or high self-esteem, is a desired outcome of the developmental process. It has been linked to long-term mental health & #8230; Self-perception has been shown to reflect developing cognitive abilities and social circumstances" (Klein, 1995. p.579). Self-perception is also linked to the important aspect of self-esteem, as will be referred to below.

However, is suggested by some expert that the most significant way that we experience and develop our concept of self is through interaction and relationships and by social comparison with others. In essence this means that our sense of self and the way that we perceive ourselves is largely determining by social interaction.

3. Emotion, presentation and self-esteem

Social identity theory posits a link between the person's feeling and self-esteem and the social reality that he or she interacts with. This relates to the issue of the social construction of the self in that the self-concept is related to membership in ethnic and other social groups. For example, Bornman ( 1999) states that "…membership in high-status groups contributes toward a positive self-image, whereas the opposite is true of membership in minority or low-status group"(Bornman, 1999, p. 411). This refers to the important aspect of self-esteem, which in turn refers to presentation and behavior patterns.

The relationship between self and emotions or feelings about oneself can be understood in terms of the above discussion in how a person views him or her self. Fiske summarizes this relationship between self-conception, emotion and self-esteem as follows: "people develop their self -- concepts from self-perception of their own behavior, from introspection about their own thoughts and feelings, from caparison to other people and from appraisals provided by others." ( Fiske, 2004, p.196). In essence this means that the concept that we have of ourselves is related to the way that we feel about ourselves; and consequently is linked to the issue of self-esteem. The degree of self-esteem we have also impacts positively or negatively on the way we present or re-present ourselves to the world and in the way that we act and behave.

Self-esteem has been recognized in the literature as playing a cardinal role in the individual's concept of self and in his self-perception and behavior patterns. To reiterate, self-esteem refers to the way we perceive ourselves and affects the way we respond to others in society. In the process of the development of a concept of self the individual has to deal with the interaction between feelings about one's self and the perceptions of others and this has a concomitant impact on the issue of self -- esteem.

A study that sheds light on the relationship of self-esteem to the concept of self is The Influence of Societal Factors on Female Body Image by Monteath and McCabe (1997). This study found the influence of society mediates the relationship between body image and self-concept. The authors found that there is a strong correlation between the concept of self and the way that society views the female body. It was found that in the light of societal ideals of the female body, "About two fifths of the women expressed moderate to strong negative feelings about both individual body parts and their bodies as a whole" (Monteath and McCabe, 1997, p.708). Many women have a negative self-image as a result of the social stereotypes that are projected about the female self. This relation between society's view of the female self or identity and the individual's self-perception clearly indicates the interaction and the potential conflict between the social self and the individual's concept of self. As Monteath and McCabe explain;

Stereotypes are influential, especially when they are the only information that an observer has about a particular person. Women quickly learn that their social opportunities are affected by their beauty, and consequently their sense of their own attractiveness may become an integral part of women's self-concepts

(Monteath & McCabe, 1997, p. 711).

It therefore follows that if a young woman has a poor sense of self-esteem as a result of prescribed ideals about body image, then this will also affect self-representation and even behavior patterns; for example, the woman may react negatively in an attempt to meet social norms about self-image and become Anorexic.