Various concepts of the self are present in many social psychological topics. Research studies related to self-identity, self-concept, self-esteem and other core social constructs regarding self are abundant, and there is plenty of evidence suggesting the self can be described and compared to a plethora of social motives that are researched and reviewed throughout social psychology. However, for counseling psychologists, how do we make sense and make use of the phenomena learned through social psychological research to help our work in the practice of counseling? It is important to take what the field of psychology has learned from science and apply it to psychological practice in order to make full use of the quality of information that has been gathered over the years. The following is a discussion of the self in social psychology, and the implications of this core psychological construct on the practice of counseling.
The wealth of knowledge written on the topic of self in social psychology presents important and useful constructs that help us to understand ourselves in relation to interactions with others. For example, there are topics written on escaping the self, self-esteem and failure, self as a stressor, and the loss of self in relation to spiritual bliss or ecstasy (Baumeister, 1991). Other “self” topics in social psychology include understanding the self in terms of cognitive, affective, and behavioral constructs (Fiske, 2004). Further, Fiske (2004) identifies several conceptual definitions of self, such as inner self and social self, and defines the core social motives of self as understanding, enhancing, and belonging. However, many researchers have investigated more specific understandings of the self in relat...
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As children we start off with believing that the world is good and our parents are perfect. As we grow we realize that our parents can and will make mistakes and everything is not as good as it seems. According to Freud we then need something to compensate for the anxieties of o...
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People may believe it is relatively easy to predict what would make them happiest in certain circumstances. It should be a simple task given that one spends their whole life learning what makes them happy. However, in the essay, “Immune to Reality,” Daniel Gilbert demonstrates that people often fail to correctly predict one’s own happiness. Daniel Gilbert gives various examples expressing when people make incorrect predictions about their life and how that affects their knowledge, understanding, and behaviors. That is because the unconscious mind picks up factors that influence a person’s happiness, knowledge, and understanding. These influences cause the human mind to quickly produce inaccurate reasons for why they do what they do.
Feldman, Fred (2010), ‘What is This Thing Called Happiness? Empirical Research; Philosophical Conclusions’ in What Is This Thing Called Happiness? Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 252-270.
There are many different causes of PTSD such as sexual abuse, sudden death of a loved one, and war. Trauma affects people in different ways, some can develop it from watching a fellow soldier being killed, and some can develop it from losing their jobs or a divorce. Being diagnosed with PTSD is a difficult process because there are many other psychological disorders whose symptoms can overlap and are very similar. An important fact to remember is that PTSD doesn’t just affect the person suffering; it can also have secondhand effects on their spouses, children, parents, friends, co-workers, and other loved ones. Although there is no direct cure, there are many treatment and alternative treatment options to assist them in moving forward after a trauma.
The first unit on our textbook Interactions by Ann Moseley and Jeanette Harris talks about the self-concept. It is hard to find a definition for the self-concept because it is certain beliefs about ethnicity, religion, and personalities combined. This unit has a number of readings by various authors where it shows struggles with the self. Self-identity, ethnic backgrounds, and self-esteem are the major aspects of those readings. After reading their writings I found that I could relate to their experiences. The three readings that got my attention were “Zero” By Paul Logan, “I’m Just Me” by Lylah Alphonse, and “The Jacket” by Gary Soto.
"The Futile Pursuit of Happiness" by Jon Gertner was published in September of 2003. It is an essay that discusses the difference between how happy we believe we will be with a particular outcome or decision, and how happy we actually are with the outcome. The essay is based on experiments done by two professors: Daniel Gilbert and George Loewenstein. The experiments show that humans are never as happy as we think we will be with an outcome because affective forecasting and miswanting cause false excitement and disappointment in our search for true happiness.
Self-concept can be described as “who we are” in our own mind’s eye. It is the broadest recognition of self, deriving from all the knowledge and information we have about ourselves. It refers to what we “know” about ourselves; our strengths, weakness, attributes and qualities. These can be emotional, physical, psychological, intellectual, to name a few. It is the sum total of all the knowledge we have about ourselves innately as well as from the responses others have to us (Aron, Paris, Aron, 1995). Thus relationships in which we experience new activities, thoughts and beliefs and where we receive feedback can broaden our self-concept. People who have the ability to broaden their self-concept tend to have greater self-esteem and can resolve problems more easily (Aron et al.,
Due to self-depreciating attitudes and beliefs, the individual tends to have a low internal self-esteem. The individual perceives the physical and cultural characteristics identified
broad range of clients. Awareness and respect for diversity and multicultural values facilitates good communication and therapeutic relationship.
This, and the fact that psychotherapy is introspective and a self-reflexive process for both client and therapist indicates that the different distinctions in each school of psychotherapy of the definition of the ‘self’ are fundamental to the psychotherapy; “All psychotherapies are psychotherapies of the self". (Mahoney, quoted in Counseling Directory, 1991) The self is at the core of psychotherapy.
I guess the easiest thing that we have learned since we arrive in this world is interacting with other people. As we grow and develop, we get to see and interact with different types of people and we try to understand them through social psychology. We understand why people act the way they do and why some judge others and social psychology made us understand why we tend to decide with others and g with their judgment rather than have our own minds about the matter. Social psychology introduces as to our self and to our group or the people we belong with.
The theory of the True Self and the False Self, developed by D.W. Winnicott, allows people to understand that these two entities live within all people, allowing them to display and cover themselves depending on environmental factors (Yoshino 554). The shadow that covers the True Self is the False Self. This entity that lives within us, sharing its existence with the True Self, is brought to light according to environmental circumstances. These environmental circumstances may include normative gender roles, religious expectations, traditions and even mainstream logic. The ideal health of a person, according to Winnicott, is of a dominant True Self and a recessive False Self. Unlike genes, these two can be controlled gradually by one’s choice of how much and how little exposure of the True S...
Reinkraunt, R., Motulsky, L. S., & Ritchie, J. (2009). Developing a Competent Practioner. Use of Self in Counseling Psychology Training, 16, 1, 7-29.