NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self?

NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self? Solutions to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse throughout different chapters NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self? and select need one. NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self? Question Answers Download PDF. NIOS Study Material of Class 12 Psychology Notes Paper 328.

NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self?

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Also, you can read the NIOS book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Book guidelines. NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self? These solutions are part of NIOS All Subject Solutions. Here we have given NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 16 What is Self?, NIOS Senior Secondary Course Psychology Solutions for All Chapter, You can practice these here.

What is Self?

Chapter: 16

PSYCHOLOGY

Intext Questions & Answers

Q. 1. Fill in the blanks with suitable words: 

1. In individualistic culture people prefer _____________  while in collectivist culture they prefer_____________.

Ans. Independent, interdependent.

2. _____________  has talked about material self, social self and spiritual self.

Ans. William James.

3. According to the theory of Panch Koshas, as described in Indian thought, Annamaya Kosh involves the _____________.

Ans. Gross physical body.

Q. 2. Match the terms of column A with the appropriate description given in the column B.

Ans.

Terminal Exercises

1. Describe the concept of self.

Ans. If someone asks: who are you? We often describe physical features, traits, goals, motives etc. The self concept is a collection of diverse information. It constitutes a central aspect of psychological functioning. However, its definition has been approached from many angles. A close scrutiny of these views indicates that self is subject as well as object. The self as a subject includes the person’s experience of self as thinker, feeler and actor. Thus, when I feel anger or think about the idea of freedom, it is “I”- the self as subject. On the other hand, the self as object is the other person’s view of the self or “me”. In recent years researchers have tried to understand the representations or mental models of self.

The experience of self is a very common but complex phenomenon. Its structure and contents are shaped by the society and culture in which people live. Based on the cultural context people divide the world into the categories of “self” and “non self”. In the individualistic cultures people prefer independent self construal while people in collectivist cultures prefer an interdependent mode of self construal. The independent self construct considers self in terms of a bounded, separate and individual entity which is central to all the activities of a person. In contrast, the interdependent self construal emphasises connectivity, interdependence and sharing. In this case the boundaries between self and nonself are overlapping. It may, however, be noted that the two modes of self construal are broad trends and within a given culture people may display both kinds of self construal to different degrees.

Some researchers think that the idea of self emerges and is shaped in social interaction. In particular when a child is addressed by someone s/he starts thinking about himself. Thus, self originates in social experience. Gradually people internalise a particular view of self which becomes a powerful source that influences behaviour. Some part of ourselves is private to us and only we know about that. Another part is public which is known to others. Also, there is a part of self which comes from our membership of a group. This kind of self is called collective self or social identity.

2. Name five koshas discussed in Indian thought.

Ans. Self is experienced at different levels, William James, who started serious study of Self talked about material self, social self and spiritual self. More recently Neisser has talked about ecological self. Let us try to learn more about these types.

The ecological self refers to the self in the embodied form that can be physically identified in time and space. The inter personal self involves the self which exists in the social relations when we interact with others. The extended self is the self which is in our memory. It is personal and private. Finally, there is conceptual self which is the idea of self that a person holds. All of us have acquired a set of ideas about what can be included within the category of self. This kind of conceptualization is nurtured in each culture in a given way. It is a comprehensive network of ideas about self. In order to illustrate this point we may consider the concept of Panch Koshas as developed in Indian thought. Here the term Kosh means layers or sheath like the sheath of an onion. The Jiva consists of five such Koshas and self should be considered in terms of a multi layered structure of hierarchically organized sheaths. A brief description of these sheaths is as follows:

1. Annamaya Kosh: 

This involves the gross physical body. This is the outermost layer of existence. It is called annamayya because it is grounded in the food that we eat and consume.

2. Pranamaya Kosha: 

This layer deals with life (Prana) and represents the functions of breathing and metabolic processes. The five effectors are also included in it.

3. Manomaya Kosha: 

It consists of sense organs. It is the seat of ego and leads to personal involvements which bind people with the desires and activities.

4. Vigyanamaya Kosha: 

It consists of five senses organs and intellect. It regulates worldly life. The feeling of “I ness” present in it relates Jiva to past actions. Also, the feelings of pride take place.

5. Anandmaya Kosha: 

It is the joyous sheath. The experience of bliss has a spiritual basis also, the pleasure that one gets from obtaining the desired objects is part of it. 

3. Describe the possible ways of self appraisal.

Ans. It is often taken for granted that we know ourselves very well. However, in reality this is not true. Studies show that there are many aspects of our self concept which are known to us and others also know about that. In other words it is public. But there are three other possibilities as given below: 

(a) There are attributes of self that are known to the person but unknown to others.

(b) There are attributes of self that are not known to the person but known to others. 

(c) There are attributes of self that are neither known to the person nor known to others.

You can easily imagine the situations where there is discrepancy of any kind in terms of the attributes known to the person and known or not known to others. In order to live a healthy life proper appreciation of one’s attributes is necessary. Also, it must be a realistic appraisal. It is on the basis of an impartial knowledge and understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of oneself that a proper course of action can be planned.

While discussing self it should be pointed out that people often show self serving bias. This implies that they try to defend themselves and view things in a way that positive attributes of self are enhanced. For instance people explain success on any task to their ability and effort and attribute failure to external factors like chance or luck. Also, everybody likes positive appreciation from others, whether it is correct or incorrect. This may lead to building false self images and a number of related problems. 

4. Discuss the relationship of self construal with emotion and motivation.

Ans. A moment’s reflection will make it clear that self is involved in almost all kinds of psychological processes. Our learning, perception, motivation, memory, all are shaped by the nature and state of self. One must recognize the fact that these and other psychological processes are not mechanical. They are activities or functions of self. For instance, when someone finds himself at stake, he or she may put in maximum effort. Similarly, we attend and perceive objects and people in a manner which is compatible with one’s self.

In recent years researchers have become interested in relating self construal or one’s idea about self with various psychological processes. In this connection attention has been paid to the cultural differences in self construal and its implications for various processes. In an earlier section it was pointed out that these are two main types of self construal i.e., independent and interdependent. Let us examine how these two types of construal are related to cognition, motivation and emotion.

Self and Cognition: 

The effects of self construal on cognition are found in a variety of ways. It has been found that people with independent self construal emphasise on their internal attributes as important features. In contrast, the people with interdependent self think more about relationships and contexts. Similarly while explaining behaviours of other persons, people with interdependent self recognize the significance of situational factors. Research has shown that situational and context dependent explanations are used more frequently by the Indian people as compared with Americans.

Self and Emotion: 

Some emotions emphasise inner attributes. For example, pride or feelings of superiority are often found when someone has accomplished something. Similarly frustration occurs when the personal goals or desires (internal attributes) are blocked. In these situations the emotional experience tends to separate or disengage the self from one’s social relationships. On the other hand, there are certain positive emotions like friendly feelings or feelings of gratitude and respect. Such emotions occur when one is in close or congenial relationship with others. Experiencing such emotions promotes an interpersonal bond. The same is true in case of negative emotions such as feelings of indebtedness or guilt. They occur because of failure in maintaining relationships with others. This set of emotions reflects socially engaged emotions. It has been found that persons with interdependent self construal with tend to experience socially engaged emotions more frequently than the people with independent self.

Self and Motivation: 

It has generally been thought that the issue of motivation deals with internal processes pertaining to a person. The ideas of needs and motives deal with these processes. This view is very close to the independent self construal. All of them refer to the motivation related to the person or “me”. In case of interdependent self, it is noted that behaviours are directed or guided by the expectations of significant others (e.g., parents, teachers, other family members), obligations and duties toward others. In this context studies of achievement motive provide a useful illustration.

Achievement motivation deals with the “desire to excel”.

This desire is present in all cultures. However, it is conceptualized in different ways in different cultures. In cultures where independent self is predominant this need is personally based while in the cultures emphasizing interdependent self, this need is interpersonally and socially structured. In the Indian context where collectivism and interdependent self dominate social concern emerges to be an important aspect of thinking about achievement.