An Alternative View On Self, Identity, And Personality

In contrast to TP’s focus on individuals, CP holds a different ontological position as it is based on relativism and critical theory through critical examination of society and culture (Rogers, 2003). The aim of CP is to promote social change by being inquiry based and start with the problem rather than focusing solely on the individual (Fletcher, 1996). This is because it is believed that the individual is always and already located in society where we can’t separate from the social world, and social embeddedness of thinking and behaviour. CP approach contributes a qualitative different critical space and alternative research that breaks from the traditional positivist approach by the critiques of psychology and the politics of research raised

The importance of locating identity within the social arena is expressed as it is believed that people conform to expectations placed on them by various social forces (Stryker, 1968). The self is distributed across different social arenas and the notion of people playing roles can feel uncomfortable as it can be seen as autonomic and manipulating (Stryker, 1994). Although, the individual would still have a strong basis of sense of self, there are a variability in behaviour in which side of self the individual would show depending on what’s appropriate and adaptable to the situation or setting (Turner, 1987). This alternative view contributes a better understanding in the notion of competing roles, as it is useful for individuals to have competing traits where we change within different relationships or situations to suit the needs of different aspects in life. The CP approach see the self as de-centred, where identity is claimed to be more prominent and tied to social and cultural ideals (Freeman, 1993). The sense of identity is constructed in talk and occurs through the social world, based on how we talk about it (Gough, & McFadden, 2001). Goffman (1959) claims the self as a process where it is constantly constructed in negotiations of relationships and practices though social interaction. Therefore, this contributes to the understanding on self as a collection of subject positions which are moulded by our cultural perspectives and cultural expectations of the notion of self on social identity. The way we talk about the sense of self is done through the language used to talk about