UNIT 1

Introduction
Knowing and understanding oneself is critical to being an effective team member as well as
being successful in life, work, and relationships. It is one of the most important factor to define
your whole personality because it influences everything you do, and it changes and evolves over
time.

The purpose of this module is to help you deepen your understanding and appreciation for who
you are as a person. You will explore how you see yourself through the lenses of personal
identity, your skills and talents, roles, values, personal core, and how you meet your
psychological needs. You will also examine how you respond to the pressures of changes and
transitions in your life.
You will have an opportunity to examine how your personal identity has been shaped by a
variety of people and experiences. You will also have opportunities to think about and discuss
your values, interests, hopes for the future, as well as, your strengths and challenges. You will
learn about how your psychological needs are the primary source that motivates and drives your
behavior. You will also learn critical knowledge about change and how important it is in today’s
workplace to be adaptive and to embrace change as a personal and professional growth
experience.

As we progress in our lessons, you will be invited and encouraged to take risks, to step outside
your comfort zone, and to challenge your thinking and the thinking of others. You will be
engaged in reflection, partner activities, storytelling, discussion groups, self-assessment, and
giving and receiving feedback.

Learning Outcomes
A. Exemplify awareness, understanding, appreciation and acceptance of the Self;
B. Explain the fundamental concepts of the Self and the basic dynamics of self-
development;
C. Identify values that perfectly fit with self-change and acceptance;
D. Model the imbibed values as part of self-acceptance

Activating Prior Knowledge

Think about this:

Do I know myself as others know me?

Am I aware of my characteristics as others are aware of?

Are my characteristics that I know also known to others?

Are there characteristics (about me) that others know that I am not aware of?

Now, you probably are a little bit confused about who you are now. Our lessons

will unearth many excellent qualities about you that you may have overlooked
over the years.

Topic 1. KNOWING ONESELF

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

A. Identify characteristics as selling points about you;

B. Emulate values from parents’ lessons checking on your character;
C. Exemplify awareness, understanding, appreciation and acceptance of the Self;
D. Explain the fundamental concepts of the Self and the basic dynamics of self-
development.

Presentation of Content

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Understanding the self is the awareness of and the ability to understand one’s own thoughts and
actions. It entails the ability to attain insights into one’s attitudes, motives, defences, reactions,
together with the weaknesses and strengths. It is subjective sense of the self and a complex
mixture of conscious and unconscious thoughts, attitudes and perceptions.

Understanding self represents the sum total of people’s conscious perception of their identity as
distinct from others. The self is not a static phenomenon but continues to develop and change
throughout lives—(George Herbert Mead)

Self-understanding has been recognized as a competency for individuals to function efficiently in

any group of organization. It influences the individual’s ability to make key decisions about self
and other people around him. Understanding self equips individuals with making more effective
career and life choice, the ability to lead, guide and inspire with authenticity.

SELF-CONCEPT

It is the set of beliefs that would hold about who we are. It is the sum total of an individual’s
beliefs about his or her own personal attributes. It is basically the individual’s image of the kind
of person he or she is which includes the awareness of being (what I am) and awareness of
function (what I can do). Self-concept includes not only our perceptions of what we are but also
of what we think, we ought to be and would like to be. The latter component of the self is called
the ideal self that represents the self-concept that an individual would ideally want to possess.
Source: Slideshare.net produced by: Sabnam Basu

Our self-concept is “what we perceive ourselves to be,” and involves aspects of image and
esteem. How we see ourselves and how we feel about ourselves influences how we communicate
with others. What you are thinking now and how you communicate impacts and influences how
others treat you. Charles Cooley calls this concept the looking-glass self. We look at how others
treat us, what they say and how they say it, for clues about how they view us to gain insight into
our own identity. Leon Festinger added that we engage in social comparisons, evaluating
ourselves in relation to our peers of similar status, similar characteristics, or similar qualities.

The ability to think about how, what, and when we think, and why, is critical to intrapersonal
communication. Animals may use language and tools, but can they reflect on their own thinking?
Self-reflection is a trait that allows us to adapt and change to our context or environment, to
accept or reject messages, to examine our concept of ourselves and choose to improve.

2. 3.
known to others not known to or to
but not to me others

1. 4.
known to me and known to me but to
to others others

In the first quadrant of the figure, information is known to you and others, such as your height or
weight. The second quadrant represents things others observe about us that we are unaware of,
like how many times we say “umm” in the space of five minutes. The third quadrant involves
information that you know, but do not reveal to others. It may involve actively hiding or
withholding information, or may involve social tact, such as thanking your Aunt Martha for the
large purple hat she’s given you that you know you will never wear. Finally, the fourth quadrant
involves information that is unknown to you and your conversational partners. For example, a
childhood experience that has been long forgotten or repressed may still motivate you. As
another example, how will you handle an emergency after you’ve received first aid training? No
one knows because it has not happened.
Source:https://courses.lumenlearning.com/

Topic 2. TWO WAYS IN WHICH WE PERCEIVE OURSELVES

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

A. Identify the different concepts about self;

B. Give examples of negatives thoughts that most likely to ruin plans;
C. Explain how negative thoughts may be turned into positive motivations

Presentation of Content

POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPT:

People with positive self-concept believe in themselves are confident about their ability to deal
with problems, make decisions and feel equal with others, have respect for themselves and
expect it from others. These are the people who are realistic in the assessment of themselves and
can admit to a wide range of feelings, behaviours and needs.

NEGATIVE SELF-CONCEPT:

These are the people who see themselves as failures and have negative, pessimistic image of
themselves who begin to act their part. These negative feelings feed on themselves and become
a downward spiral, gradually encompassing all of the people’s thoughts, actions and
relationships. People with negative self-concept tend to complain constantly and find it difficult
to accept criticisms.
Source: Slideshare.net produced by: Sabnam Basu

Topic 3. ASPECTS OF SELF-CONCEPT

Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

A. Identify the different aspects of self-concept;

B. Give examples of cognitive aspects which are important in the intellectual development;
C. Explain how behavioural aspects may interfere with the cognitive development

Presentation of Content
1. COGNITIVE ASPECT: SELF SCHEMA
Self-schemas are cognitive generalizations about the self, derived from past experience, that
organize and guide the processing of self related information.

2. AFFECTIVE/EVALUATIVE ASPECT: SEL-ESTEEM

The self-esteem reflects the perceived the difference between an individual’s actual self-concept
(who I think I really am) and some ideal self-image (who I would really like to be).

3. BEHAVIORAL ASPECT: SELF PERCEPTION

In Darn Bem (1972) influential self-perception theory reflects, we observe our behaviour and our
situation in which it took place make attributions about why the behaviour occurred and draw
conclusions about our won characteristic and disposition. In other words, we understand
ourselves the same way we perceive and understand others.

COMPONENTS OF SELF-CONCEPT

BODY IMAGE

SELF- ROLE
SELF-ESTEEM
CONCEPT PERFORMANCE

PERSONAL
IDENTITY

SELF-IDENTITY
A sense of personal identity is what sets one person apart as a unique individual that includes a
person’s name, gender ethnic identity, family status, occupation and roles. One’s personal
identity begins to develop during childhood and is constantly reinforced and modified throughout
life.

BODY IMAGE

Body image is an attitude about one’s physical attributes and characteristics, appearance and
performance. It is dynamic because any change in the body structure or function, including the
normal changes of growth and development can affect it.

In simple terms, body image is:

“…the perception that a person has of their physical self and the thoughts and feelings that
result from that perception.” (National Eating Disorders Collaboration)

As this definition shows, body image isn’t just one unidimensional construct. It’s made up of
four aspects:

1. Perceptual body image: how you see your body

2. Affective body image: how you feel about your body
3. Cognitive body image: how you think about your body
4. Behavioral body image: the way you behave as a result of your perceptual, affective, and
cognitive body image (NEDC, 2017)

When your body image is positive, you are able to accept, appreciate, and respect your body
(NEDC, n.d.). You won’t necessarily avoid feeling any insecurities or think your body is perfect,
but you will be able to acknowledge any insecurities for what they are and believe that your body
is perfect for you.
https://positivepsychology.com/

SELF-ESTEEM

Self-esteem if the judgement of personal performance compared with the self-ideal. It is derived
from a sense of receiving and giving love and being respected by others.

Self-esteem refers to a person's beliefs about their own worth and value. It also has to do with the
feelings people experience that follow from their sense of worthiness or unworthiness. Self-
esteem is important because it heavily influences people's choices and decisions. In other words,
self-esteem serves a motivational function by making it more or less likely that people will take
care of themselves and explore their full potential. People with high self-esteem are also people
who are motivated to take care of themselves and to persistently strive towards the fulfilment of
personal goals and aspirations. People with lower self-esteem don't tend to regard themselves as
worthy of happy outcomes or capable of achieving them and so tend to let important things slide
and to be less persistent and resilient in terms of overcoming adversity. They may have the same
kinds of goals as people with higher self-esteem, but they are generally less motivated to pursue
them to their conclusion.
https://www.mentalhelp.net/

COMPONENTS OF SELF-ESTEEM
https://www.teljeunes.com/

Self-confidence (feeling of security)

This is the foundation of self-esteem. If we feel secure with our family, if we feel
loved and our needs are met, our self-esteem develops. That’s when we try to take
our place and dare to try new things and new experiences. For example, when we
learn to walk, we fall down the first few times, but with encouragement, we develop
our confidence and try again!

Identity
This is the knowledge we have of ourselves. By experimenting, learning, and
getting feedback from the people around us, we come to identify our characteristics,
abilities, needs, and feelings.
 Identity can be divided into several parts: including physical (the representation that
each person has of their own body) and social (how I come into contact with other
people, the groups I associate with, my economic situation, my place as a student,
worker, teen, how I act with my girlfriend or boyfriend, which sex attracts me, etc.).

Feeling of belonging
We all belong to several groups: family, friends, school, sports team, etc. We also
define ourselves by belonging to these groups, by the relationships we have with
other people and the experiences we have in these groups: feeling like part of a
group, feeling solidarity, seeking out the other group members, communicating
well, sharing, etc. The various groups we belong to allow us to feel understood and
know that there are people who are like us.

Feeling of competence
To feel competent, we need to have different experiences, succeed and fail, and
learn new things. The feeling of competence is related to motivation: a person is
motivated when they face challenges that they are able to meet. Success results in a
feeling of efficacy and pride that promotes self-esteem and pushes the person to
accept new challenges.

Self-esteem is not carved in stone. It changes and stabilizes based on the people we
meet and our life experiences. Although it can be a challenge during adolescence,
one thing is certain: the more different situations we face, the more we learn about
ourselves and the better we know who we are and who we want to identify with,
what we don’t want to repeat, and what we want for our lives.

ROLE PERFORMANCE

Role refers to a set of expected behaviours determined by familial, cultural and social norms.
The level of self-esteem is dependent upon the self-perception of adequate role performance in
these various social roles.
Source: Slideshare.net produced by: Sabnam Basu