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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The current criteria for assessment of PTSD is only suitable if criterion A is met. Every symptom must be bound to the traumatic event through temporal and/or contextual evidence. The DSM-5 stipulates that to qualify, the symptoms must begin (criterion B or C) or worsen (symptom D and E) after the traumatic event. Even though symptoms must be linked to a traumatic event, this linking does not imply causality or etiology (Pai, 2017, p.4). The changes made with the DSM-5 included increasing the number of symptom groups from three to four and the number of symptoms from 17 to 20. The symptom groups are intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and
Giordano, Nathan. "Illusions, Delusions." Ode to Friendship & Other Essays. Ed. Connie Bellamy Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1996. 55-58.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
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.
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.
Boone, Katherine. "The Paradox of PTSD." Wilson Quarterly. 35.4 (2011): 18-22. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
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.
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.,
¬When considering what my own personal philosophy of counseling would be, it was eye opening to consider who I was a person and how much I have grown. The self analysis was new to me because I never thought about how I do that on a day to day basis. Reviewing the questions I found that a lot of my focus surrounded family, my significant other, and close friends. Constantly living in a diverse population and having that as my surrounding also made its mark in my answers. I also noted that both past and present influences, but primarily the present, play a large role in my own perspective. By following the prompt, I was made to understand that my thought process makes me think of what is occurring in the present and how I can alter these happenings to help shape the future that I want.
The relationship between the self and others affects self-awareness while influencing how the self responds and adapts to specific situations (Myers, 2010). Social relationships provoke an evolving definition of self as these associations continue to force self re-identification and redefinition. The self has a deeply rooted capacity for self-protection and self-preservation, and uses cognitive abilities to support and maintain stability to...
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
"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 esteem, as stated earlier, is a very popular term which seems to be studied a lot. In reviewing many journal articles on the topic it was found that, indeed their was a lot of research on self esteem but not ...
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...