There are several theories about the self that have tried to define this concept. Since Williams James in the late 19th century, who distinguished between?Me, as an object of experience and him?as an observer, even the most orthodox psychoanalysis. The ego is the self-referential part of our being. It represents the meaning of our identity and depends on our perception of ourselves as protagonists of our life experiences.
Although the human being has a unique essence, it is not formed by a single self, within each person there are countless roles and facets, the present, the past and the future.
- A good way to maintain good self-esteem is to be aware that there are all these roles.
- To value them.
- To accept them.
- But not to merge them.
- Not to merge into a role implies that the person understands that none of them start and complete their definition at the same time.
This means that if in my life, from different experiences, one of my roles is diminished in a sense, I do not have to feel completely unhappy, the rest of the yoes that have not been damaged can compensate for this pain. .
However, if I merge too much with one of mine and encounter disturbing circumstances for this role, my whole being will be threatened, so it will be more difficult to act in my daily life.
Next, we’ll introduce some of the psychological theories that are interested in defining the self and its relationship to affection and self-esteem.
Higgins’ theory of self-discordance focuses on the issue of self-guides, this author says that the self is not a unitary concept, so that to define the different components of the self it refers to two parameters: the domains of the self. and the views of the self.
In the last criterion, we find the person’s perspective on themselves, as well as what he believes important people have about him.
Based on the theory of self-discord, different areas of the self can be found according to the point of view itself and others.
Higgins’ real self would be our self-concept: what we know about ourselves, as well as what others know. The rest of me would be the guides of the self, or how far I go or want to go.
Self-esteem would remain at an excellent level until there was a lot of divergence between oneself. Also, if we pay more attention or merge more with each other, we’re likely to feel certain emotions.
For example, if the self I must be is very relevant and I feel fused with it, when a circumstance interrupts it, I will feel very guilty, if I become obsessed with my ideal self and it is very difficult to achieve the goals that guide me. to me, he may end up frustrated.
Self-guided people are positive and help us grow in life, but the key is not to focus too much on one of them, keeping their current self-concept at an optimal level: the real self.
Linville formulated a model that links the multiplicity of the self or the complexity of the self with the emotional variability and consists of four hypotheses:
The first assumes that the self is represented cognitively by multiple aspects, which depend on the number of social roles a person has in his life (p. E. g. , Wife, Mother, Lawyer), but also of the type of interpersonal relationships she establishes (university). , rivalry, support, maternal), activities they perform (cards, swimming, writing) or personality traits (ambitious, creative).
Each of these aspects of the self organizes a set of propositions and characteristics about itself (personality traits, physical characteristics, skills, preferences, goals, autobiographical memories), so that aspects of the self differ from each other because they encompass separate sets of features.
On the other hand, Linville defines self-completeness from two elements: the number of aspects of the self and the degree of differentiation between these aspects. People with high personal complexity organize their knowledge of themselves in terms of a greater number of aspects of the self. and maintain greater distinctions between them.
In this sense, it is normal for people to feel good about certain roles they play and don’t feel good about others, for example, a person may be proud of themselves as a mother, but can be ashamed of the way they play their role. as a worker.
If I maintain a self-complexity, that is, many differentiated me, my emotional reactions will be less extreme when one of me is “punished”. What affects me as a mother doesn’t have to influence me as a worker, daughter, sister or friend.
It is healthy that, throughout our experience, we keep certain guides, as Proposed by Higgins, that allow us to define goals or life goals.
They can also help us stay constant and work for what we deserve and want to become. On the other hand, as Linville argued, it is desirable to have several selfies without merging with any of them, this maintains a high complexity.
To ensure self-esteem as well as a stable mood, it would be advisable to be aware of all the yoes you have, work to maintain them, improve them, but without considering you globally as one of them.
In this way, the swings of life would affect us much less, it’s not about putting all the eggs in a basket.
Whatever happens that may affect some of our roles, there will always be a self that will remain intact and that can mitigate the consequences on mood and self-esteem. In Linville’s words, “a great complexity of the self protects us in difficult times, but it also keeps us anchored in the good times. “