The Self

What The Self covers

The Self is examined in Paper 2, optional (two of five are studied). It covers self-concept and influences on self-esteem, Erikson's identity stages and belief in free will, Rogers' and Maslow's humanistic theory, Measuring personality and trait theory and Vohs and Schooler's cheating study and Van Houtte and Jarvis's pet study.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Self-concept and influences on self-esteemThe self and self-concept, Lewis's existential and categorical self and the rouge test, self-image, ideal self and congruence, and temperament and experience as influences on self-esteem.Open →
• Erikson's identity stages and belief in free willErikson's eight psychosocial stages and the search for identity in adolescence, free will and determinism, and Baumeister's argument about believing in free will.Open →
• Rogers' and Maslow's humanistic theoryUnconditional and conditional positive regard, conditions of worth and incongruence, client-centred therapy, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation.Open →
• Measuring personality and trait theoryPersonality scales and types, Type A and Type B, self-report problems, Allport's cardinal, central and secondary traits, and Cattell's 16PF.Open →
• Vohs and Schooler's cheating study and Van Houtte and Jarvis's pet studyVohs and Schooler's experiments on reading about determinism and cheating, and Van Houtte and Jarvis's study of pet ownership and children's self-esteem.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take The Self further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Existential self vs Categorical self

  Existential self: the basic awareness of being a separate person who continues over time. Categorical self: describing one's own features such as age, size and gender.

• Self-image vs Ideal self

  Self-image: the way a person currently sees who they are. Ideal self: the person someone would like to become.

• Conditional positive regard vs Unconditional positive regard

  Conditional positive regard: approval given only when others' standards are met. Unconditional positive regard: acceptance given whatever a person does or says.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the self?

   Model answer

   The self is a person's sense of who they are as an individual, separate from other people. The self includes a person's thoughts, feelings and memories about themselves.

2. 2

   What is self-concept?

   Model answer

   Self-concept is the set of beliefs and ideas a person holds about themselves. Self-concept covers their abilities, personality, appearance and roles.

3. 3

   What is the existential self, according to Lewis (1990)?

   Model answer

   The existential self is the basic awareness of being a separate person who exists and continues over time. Lewis said it begins at two to three months, as infants learn that their actions affect the world.

4. 4

   What is the categorical self, according to Lewis (1990)?

   Model answer

   The categorical self is the awareness of oneself as an object with properties that can be described. Children place themselves in categories such as age, gender and size.

5. 5

   How does the categorical self change as children get older?

   Model answer

   Young children describe themselves in concrete terms such as age, gender and possessions. Older children add psychological traits and compare themselves with others.

6. 6

   What did the rouge test show about the development of the self?

   Model answer

   Infants had red make-up put on their nose and were placed in front of a mirror. Most infants of about two years touched their own nose, but few younger than a year did.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

The Self revision questions

What does The Self cover in Edexcel GCSE Psychology?

5 subtopics: self-concept and influences on self-esteem, erikson's identity stages and belief in free will, rogers' and maslow's humanistic theory, measuring personality and trait theory and vohs and schooler's cheating study and van houtte and jarvis's pet study. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is The Self organised?

By the Edexcel 1PS0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.