Personal Reflection on the Self

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Personal Reflection On The Self Joseph Bradley PSY/N400 March 20, 2012 Dr. Kenneth Farenick Personal Reflection On The Self There is value in knowing one’s self. People make life changing decisions, every day, in an attempt to answer an age-old question: “Who am I?” People get married, go back to school, join the military, pursue multiple degrees, buy a new house or car, etc. all in an attempt to find themselves (Zukav, 1999). Many people attend a religious service of some kind, with the understanding that “we will understand it better by and by.” Perhaps the hope for a better understanding someday helps to ease the difficulties of not knowing today. It does not require belief in God, however, or participation in any type of religious activity, for a person to earnestly desire to know “Who am I?” Resting at the cross roads of the objective reality and the innumerable perceptions, schemas and representations that comprise human thought is the self. The self is a system that brings together the possible self, self concept, and social self. The self can be better understood with a full examination of the various parts within context of two events in my own personal life. Self Concept In The Social World There are thousands of reality shows that attempt to define the concept of self in the social world. At the core of the idea the concept of self is the answer to the question, “Who am I?” There are many ways in which this question can be, and usually is, answered; however, it is the piecing together of the potential ways that human beings answer the question (Myers, 2010). Throughout life span, the answers to this question continuously change because a person’s beliefs about themselves, using relevant information, changes: self schemas (Zukav, 1999). Schemas are the templates that people use to organize their worlds (Myers, 2010). The way people see themselves
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