Year 11 Revision
The Self
1) Key Concepts
Fill in the missing words.
Psychologists such as ……………………………… and Maslow believe that our ‘self’ is our inner being, or who we come to
believe we are. They believe that everyone is…………………………………... Psychologists insist that we not like the Daleks
from ‘Doctor Who’ – we are not pre-programmed ………………………………………… that are only able to process
information. Every single one of us is a unique package that comes and goes as they please. One of the things that
makes us unique is our ability to exercise………………………………….. Psychologists argue that we are not completely
governed by external factors (e.g. the…………………………………………… ), nor internal factors (e.g………………………………..).
In other words, we make choices about what we want to do and how we think about things this means that we are
products of ourselves and the self is unique.
Unique
genes
machines
environment
free will
Rogers
2) Core Theory AO1 – The Humanist Theory
The main humanist ideas include:
1. Each of us always has the power to decide our on our actions.
2. The present is what we should focus on rather than past experiences.
3. We are all motivated to become the best that we can be, to fulfil our potential.
Match up the key terms to their correct definitions:
Key Term
Self Concept
Self Esteem
Ideal Self
Self
Actualisation
Definition
This is a measure of how much we value ourselves. According to the humanistic theory it is the
difference between the self-concept and the ideal self that determines someone’s self-esteem. If
the self-concept and ideal self are incongruent, it means there is a big gap between them. This
leads to low self-esteem.
This is basically how we perceive ourselves. How we see ourselves depends on how others reflect
back to us. For example, if someone keeps telling you that you are a ‘good laugh’ you will see
yourself as being fun.
This refers to the development of your unique human potential to become your ‘best possible’
person. Rogers believed that we all have a tendency to work towards our ideal self, but we need
help from others to do this.
This is the person we would ideally like to be.
3) Core Theory AO2 – The Humanist Theory
Colour code the boxes to create PEELs.
Subtitle
Many of the ideas
presented by the
theory are vague and
difficult to measure
objectively
Point
P: One weakness of
the humanistic
theory of self is that
it is too subjective
Example
E: This is because the
theory is largely
based on Roger’s
own research and
the ideas are difficult
to test and to
measure.
Explanation
E: As a result, any
consideration of
genetic factors being
responsible for the
self is ignored. Other
psychologists believe
that 20 to 60 per
cent of a person’s
Link
L: This therefore
weakens the
explanatory power of
the humanistic
theory of self.
It is not scientific
enough and not
representative
P: A criticism of the
humanistic theory of
self is that it ignore
possible genetic
factors.
E: This is because by
its very nature, the
humanistic theory is
all about the self and
is too vague and
difficult to measure
objectively.
The humanistic
theory of self ignores
genetic evidence.
P: A further issue
with the humanistic
theory of self is that
the theory is not very
scientific and not
representative.
E: For example, there
is a heavy focus on
influence from our
environment
(nurture). The
theory believes that
it is only the
influence of others
that allows us to be
able to fully selfactualise.
intellectual,
emotional and social
development comes
from genetic factors.
E: This is an issue
because although
Rogers and other
humanists would not
want to be seen as
scientific as they do
not believe people
should be studied
scientifically, we
cannot generalise
any of the ideas to
everybody because
there is too much
focus on
individuality.
E: This is an issue
because people
cannot easily study
‘yourself’ so it
becomes difficult to
establish what a
person’s ‘ideal self’ is
or how much they
have ‘self-actualised.
It is not a very
scientific theory.
L: This therefore
reduces the
explanatory power of
the humanistic
theory of self.
L: This therefore
reduces the
credibility of the
humanistic theory of
self and Roger’s
research as it is not
representative of
every individual.
4) Alternative Theory – Eysenck’s Trait Theory
Rather than believing personality and the self are influenced by others and the environment (nurture), Eysenck
believed that personality has:


A genetic basis – we’ve been born that way
A biological explanation – our personality is shaped by the activity of part of the mid-brain.
This alternative ‘trait theory’ provides the following:



A more scientific approach to try and measure personality more reliably
Make more generalisations about people by recognising that we have traits in common with others
Believe that our personality is more a product of genes than how others respond to us
Fill in the diagram:
…………………………………………..
the degree to which someone is outgoing and
sociable
…………………………………………..
…………………………………………..
being anxious or prone to mood
swings, worried all the time
being emotionally stable
…………………………………………..
someone who is typically quiet and
reserved
5) Core Theory AO1 – Van Houtte and Jarvis (1995)
True or False?
a. Van Houtte and Jarvis investigated the effect of playing sport on self esteem.
b. They used a questionnaire
c. They only used children from Scotland
d. The children were ages 0-5
e. The participants were matched on marital status of their parents, socio economic status of the parents
and number of siblings they had.
f. They found that in general lower self-esteem was reported in pet owners than in non-pet owners.
g. They also found that for 11 year olds, pets were found to positively influence self-concept
h. Higher autonomy was reported by all pet owners across the age groups tested
i. They concluded that pets may have the greatest impact on children’s lives as they move into adolescence.
6) Core Theory AO2 – Van Houtte and Jarvis (1995)
Fill in the gaps using your own words
Low internal validity
P: A weakness of the study is that it may lack ………………………………………. validity.
E: This is because Van Houtte and Jarvis used a self-report questionnaire method to investigate whether pet
owners had higher self-esteem than non-pet owners. Pupils were asked to
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
E: Consequently it may be difficult for children to have
…………………………………………………………………………………………………. into aspects such as their self-esteem and
self-concept and therefore the questionnaire might not measure what it set out to measure.
L: Therefore, this weakens the ………………………………………………… of this research to support the notion of pets
influencing the development of our self-esteem.
Low population validity
P: Another limitation of Van Houtte and Jarvis’ research into ‘The Self’ is that the research lacks
………………………………………………. validity.
E: For example the …………………………………………… was only given to teenage pupils between the ages of 8-13.
E: Although the sample size was actually fairly large (71 boys and 59 girls) we cannot generalise the findings
from Van Houtte and Jarvis’ research to the …………………………………………… population. This is an issue
because it might be that …………………………………………………………………… have different ideas of concepts such
as self-esteem and autonomy.
L: Consequently, this further questions the ………………………………………………. of the research into whether pets
are good for self-esteem.
Over-simplifies difficult concepts
P: A weakness of the study is that it ……………………………………………………………………...
E: This is because the participants are asked to score difficult concepts such as ……………………………………….
and ………………………………………….. on a scale, in turn ignoring the depth of these important aspects of the self.
E: Therefore, the study uses a lot of …………………………………….. data that may not be appropriate when dealing
with complex emotional views. This suggests that the way Van Houtte and Jarvis chose to measure the
dependent variable may not be valid enough to draw conclusions from.
L: As a consequence, this reduces the ……………………………………… of Van Houtte and Jarvis’ research and casts
into doubt whether there really is a difference in self-esteem levels in pet owners and non-pet owners.
7) Real life Application – Counselling
Circle the areas where counselling can be used:
Relationships
Military
Name four aspects of counselling:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Prison
Hospitals
Depression
Careers