SELF IDENTITY

 

THE CONCEPT OF SELF

Self is defined as the whole being of an individual taking into consideration his or her physical and psychological nature, as well as ability. It includes the individual’s perceptions, actions, beliefs and behaviours.

 

Types of self

1.      Real self: This refers to the true nature or self of a person at any moment in time. It embodies the true character or behaviour that an individual possesses.

2.      Real other self: This refers to how other people see a person or how they feel about him or her.

3.      Other self: This is how a person would like to be. The image you create in your mind about the kind of person you want to be in the future. For instance, if you want to be a nurse, banker, teacher etc in the future you are looking at your other self. Other self can be attained through determination, hard work and emulating good role models or mentors.

4.      Ideal other self: This is the way an individual thinks other people would like him or her to be. The ideal other self is the kind of person whose actions and behaviours are mostly influenced by the people around him or her. For example, if you feel others expect you to be a great writer because you can write well then you are looking at your ideal other self.

 

SELF-IDENTITY

This refers to how a person see, understand, know and feels about himself or herself. That is, the knowledge a person has about himself or herself taking into account his or her physical and psychological make-up, strengths and weaknesses as well as potentials.

SELF-CONCEPT

Self-concept can be defined as the mental picture a person has about himself or herself. It deals with how an individual perceives himself or herself with regards to his or her beliefs, attitudes, and opinions etc.

 

Reasons why the individual needs to know himself or herself:

o   to build self-confidence

o   to identify one’s positive qualities or potentials

o   to discover one’s weakness and strengths

o   to enable the individual take right decisions or make right choices

o   to respect others for what they are

o   to understand and accept himself or herself within his or her social environment

o   to help the individual to relate well with others

 

CAPABILITIES

Capabilities or potentials refers to what a person can do. These include the ability to create, invent, think, remember, solve problem and control things

 

Ways by which an individual can develop his or her capabilities

o   taking personal initiative and being self-motivated

o   having a vision or goal

o   through education and training

o   through self-determination

o   through guidance and counselling

o   through encouragement from parents, teachers and friends

o   having a good and conducive home environment

o   availability of enabling environment.

• Role taking
• Appreciation of other people's view and perceptions
• Maintaining good health
• Positive peer influence
• Self-awareness and knowledge of capabilities
• Taking a role model or Role modelling
• Taking good decisions

 

Factors which hinder the development of capabilities

o   Lack of personal initiative and self-motivation.

o   Lack of encouragement from parents, teachers and friends

o   Financial problems or poverty

o   Inability to take risks.

o   Lack of good health

o   Bad peer group influence

o   Lack of guidance and counselling.

• Lack of education 
• Lack of training.
• Poor government policies.
• Lack of facilities.
• Religious beliefs
• Cultural factors.
• Low self-esteem

 

 

PERSONALITY

It refers to those qualities which an individual possesses that make him or her unique from all other individuals. It includes the character, emotions, temperaments, intelligence, interest, appearance etc. There are two factors that influences the personality of an individual. These are:

a.       In-born traits or heredity

b.      The environment

The qualities which make the personality of the individual include the following:

o   The name of the individual

o   The physical appearance of the individual

o   The intelligence of the individual

o   The interest

o   Character

o   

How the individual relate with others (social relationship)

Types of personality

o   Sanguine (optimistic and social)

o   Choleric (short tempered or irritable)

o   Melancholic (analytical and quiet)

o   Phlegmatic (relaxed and peaceful)

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE

It refers to the trust that an individual has in himself or herself that he or she is capable of doing some things very well.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF-CONFIDENT PEOPLE

• A confident person accepts disappointment and understands that it is a necessary part of success.
• A confident person is willing to try as many times and many ways to achieve a goal.
• They have a positive outlook about life.

IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONFIDENCE

• It provides the individual with the strength to pursue their goal until they succeed.
• It gives the individual the courage to take risks and achieve more in life.
• Self-confidence provides the individual with the ability to handle all aspects of your life and be less independent on other people.
• It helps people to be more productive

 

How the individual can build his or her self-confidence:

o   Through self-determination and hardwork

o   Provision of conducive home environment

o   Through education and training

o   Through encouragement from other people

o   Through guidance and counselling

o   Role taking

ASSERTIVENESS

Assertiveness can be defined as the ability to honestly express one’s opinions, feelings, attitudes, and rights without undue anxiety as social identity. An individual can be classified as being assertive when he or she is able to stand up for his or her right in a calm and positive way. Assertiveness is a skill we develop.

How to be Assertive

o   Learn to communicate effectively

o   Using appropriate language

o   Saying ‘No’ when appropriate

o   Accepting responsibility and to delegate to others when necessary.

o   Being tolerant of divergent views

o   Admitting mistakes and apologising

o   Maintaining self-control

oBe open in expressing your thoughts, feelings and also encourage others to do likewise

 

FALSE IDENTITY

False identity refers to a situation whereby a person pretend to be what he or she is not. That is, the individual hide his or her true nature and pretend to be what he or she is not. They live a dishonest life. This situation is often common among students and the youth. They create wrong impressions about who they really are to their friends.

 

Identifying individuals with false identity

o   They show off that they come from a well-to-do family whilst they are not.

o   They portray that they live in plush areas like Trasaco, East Legon whilst in actual fact they live in a slum

o   They portray that they possess expensive things like mobile phones, wrist watches etc while in actual fact they stole them or borrowed them from friends.

 

Implications or effects of false identity

o   It leads to hatred and mistrust.

o   loss of concentration or low academic achievement

o   loss of respect and disgrace

o   It leads to failure in life.

o   It leads to loss of opportunities or help

o   It may also lead to imprisonment

Actions that can be taken to discourage false identity

o   Showing apathy to what they say or ignoring them

o   Provision of guidance and counselling

o   Using songs of ridicule to shame them

o   Educating the individual to be content with what they have

o   Taking legal actions against the individual

 

 

 

ABRAHAM MASLOW’S THEORY OF NEEDS

The theory of human needs was made popular by Abraham Maslow, an American Psychologist in 1943. This was contained in his psychological review paper ‘A theory of human motivation’. According to Abraham Maslow, every individual has five (5) needs which are arranged in a hierarchical order or a pyramid.

Physiological or physical needs:

Physiological needs or physical needs are the basic needs that an individual require for survival or to sustain life. Examples of this needs include water, air, food, shelter, sleep etc. According to Abraham Maslow, this needs when it is satisfied will motivate the individual to pursue higher needs.

 

Safety or Security needs:

Safety or security needs are those needs which protect the individual from any lawlessness, emotional, and physical harm. These needs include, environmental safety, legal and economic protection, assurance from arbitrary dismissal from the workplace, access to medical care or health insurance. The safety needs differs according to age and gender.

 

Social or love needs:

Social needs are also referred to as love and belongingness needs. Social needs are those needs which deals with the individual’s social interactions with others. They include affection, love, sense of belonging and acceptance, relationships within the individual’s social group.

 

Self-esteem or Ego needs:

According to Abraham Maslow, after individuals have secured their social needs they begin to crave for self-esteem needs. Self-esteem needs refers to the desire to be recognised, valued, honoured and respected by others. It also deals the desire to be praised after one’s accomplishment.

 

Self-actualization needs:

Self-actualization needs are also known as self-fulfilment needs. This is at the apex of the hierarchy. This level explains that the individual has reached his or her full potentials. That is, the individual has been able to achieve what he desired to achieve in life. Abraham Maslow described this as “what a man can be, he must be”. It takes determination, focus and hard work to reach this level and according to Maslow, only a small percentage of the human population ever reaches the level of self-actualization.

 

Relevance or importance of Abraham Maslow’s Theory to the individual

o   Parents have obligation to be responsible towards the basic needs of their children. This will enable them to grow and to learn well to achieve their potentials.

o   With the needed protection, safety, and security in the environment, the individual would be able to realise his or her career goals, objectives and self-fulfilment.

o   The theory suggest that, affection, love and sympathy are necessary for the individual to realize his or her potentials or capabilities.

o   The theory encourages individuals not to give or rest but work hard to achieve their highest goals.

o   The theory suggest that the society should be an enabling environment for the individual to achieve self-actualization.

o   The theory creates awareness that individual who strive to develop their talents to the fullest can be an asset to himself, family and the country at large.

o   It shows that before individuals are motivated to learn in order to realise their potentials their basic needs must first be met. This will motivate them to fully and participate in the learning process.  

 

 

 

Trial Questions

1.       Self-confidence can be built through

a.       Self-medication

b.      Self-determination

c.       Self-defence

d.      Self-humiliation

2.       A person who fails to appreciate himself is said to a poor

a.       Family background

b.      Education

c.       Self-image

d.      Social environment

3.       What a person is at any moment in time is called?

a.       Other self

b.      Real other self

c.       Real self

d.      Ideal other self

4.       The term personality means a person’s

a.       Talent

b.      Total make-up

c.       Physical appearance

d.      Character

5.       An individual is best identified in the society by the

a.       Name

b.      Dress

c.       Language

d.      Family

6.       According to Abraham Maslow, the needs of an individual has been arranged in

a.       Vertical order

b.      Hierarchical order

c.       Horizontal order

d.      Alphabetical order

7.       Knowledge of oneself leads to the individual

a.       Becoming rich

b.      Rising to fame

c.       Becoming widely accepted

d.      Taking right decision

8.       A person’s perceptions, beliefs, abilities, feelings constitute his/her

a.       Conduct

b.      Image

c.       Physique

d.      Self

9.       A situation where a person hides his/her identity and pretends to be what he/she is not is referred to as

a.       False identity

b.      False order

c.       Image hiding

d.      Second image

10.   Individual difference among children are mainly influenced by

a.       Marriage and divorce

b.      Heredity and environment

c.       School and home

d.      Drug abuse and loss of weight

11.   An individual’s unique characteristic is collectively called

a.       The ego

b.      The ideal self

c.       Personality

d.      Heredity

12.   Which of the following influences one’s personality?

a.       Capability

b.      Environment

c.       Self-identity

d.      Traits

13.   The basic level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need Theory is

a.       Esteem needs

b.      Physiological needs

c.       Safety needs

d.      Social needs

14.   A person with a positive self-image

a.       Believes in himself/herself

b.      Does his/her work

c.       Loves to argue with others

d.      Takes delight to compete

15.   The ultimate goal of Maslow’s theory of needs is the

a.       Desire of self-actualization

b.      Needs of security

c.       Needs to satisfy hunger and shelter

d.      Needs to self-esteem

16.   Self-identity implies personal

a.       Physical appearance

b.      Acquisition of skills

c.       Hereditary traits

d.      Awareness and consciousness

17.   A person can develop his/her potentials through the following except

a.       Imitating others

b.      Solving problems

c.       Self-determination

d.      Ability to think

18.   According to Maslow’s theory of needs, freedom from fear and anxiety is classified under

a.       Social needs

b.      Safety needs

c.       Physiological needs

d.      Self-actualization needs

19.   The most  useful aspect of Maslow’s Theory of Needs for an individual worker in Ghana is

a.       Esteem needs

b.      Security needs

c.       Self-actualization needs

d.      Social needs

20.   The believe in one’s own capability is

a.       Self-actualization

b.      Self-confidence

c.       Self-determination

d.      Self-esteem

21.   A person’s unique character is his or her

a.       Ego

b.      Ideal

c.       Other-self

d.      Personality

22.   The home environment can contribute positively to the building of the child’s self-confidence by

a.       Being over sympathetic to him or her

b.      Providing him or her with entertainment needs

c.       Providing him or her with learning needs

d.      Punishing all his or her offences

23.   The expression inferiority complex implies

a.       Being poor

b.      Feeling neglected by society

c.       Being isolated

d.      Having low self-image

24.   The main motivating factors for achieving personal higher goals are

a.       Education and skills

b.      Desire and determination

c.       Honesty and loyalty

d.      Humility and faithfulness