7.8.20 Multiple selves:
‘a psychoanalytic concept of the self as composed of many different self-states with different affective, perceptual, and cognitive features. In normal development, the self-states are thought to be sufficiently compatible to allow for internal conflicts of wishes and desires within the person. In pathological development, or as a result of trauma, the self-states are thought to become defensively dissociated from each other, sometimes resulting in dissociative identity disorder. Also called multiple self-states.’ APA Dictionary of Psychology (no date)
‘(W)hat does the ‘self’ consist of?... the human self as consisting of three related, but also separable domains. The first domain is the experiential self. This is the ‘theater of consciousness’ and the first person felt experience of being. In this context, it includes the felt consistency of being across periods of time. In that sense, it is tied very closely to memory. This is the part of you that “disappears” when you enter a deep sleep, flickers on and off as you dream, and then comes back on line as you wake up…. it is a portion that relates very directly to experiential consciousness, it also relates deeply to your core drives/needs and emotionally organized feeling states. This level of self is a mental capacity we share with other animals, and it presumably forever disappears when we die (at least from a naturalistic perspective).
A second portion of the human self is called the private self-consciousness system. In more common parlance, we can call this the “narrator” (or interpreter), because is the portion of your being that verbally narrates what is happening and why and tries to make sense of what is going on. As you read this blog and think about what it means, this is your verbal narrator working. It is also the part that includes your reportable self-concept and explicit beliefs and values about the way the world works (e.g., your religious and political beliefs). This portion of the self is what Damasio calls the “autobiographical self.”
The final portion of the self is the public self or persona. It refers to the public image that you attempt to project others, which in turn interacts with how other people actually see you.’ (Henriques, 2014)
Henriques maintains that there are 3 basic selves, which are related, but separable :
‘Although we often think about the self as a “thing,” it is also the case that one can think of the self as a pattern of behavior through time. In this view, the “I” is synonymous with what I feel, think, and do feel across time….the idea that there are multiple self-states becomes clear in the sense that we do very different things across time. This basic insight frees us to think about the self in a much more dynamic way, as opposed to attempting to characterize it as a specific, fixed, and unchanging object.’ (ibid)
He then goes on to talk about ‘a multiplicity of self-states’…’we should consider ourselves as really a collection of “subselves” that have different perceptual-motivational-emotional structures designed to solve the following adaptive problems: 1) self-protection/injury avoidance; 2) disease avoidance; 3) affiliation; 4) status seeking; 5) mate acquisition; 6) mate retention; and 7) kin care. Importantly, because these different subselves have different goals, they may often be in conflict and different situations will activate them in different ways.’ (Ibid)
The idea of my multiple selves being in conflict fits well with the videos and images of me wrestling inside my Body cocoons.
He also talks about ‘The present versus future self. One of the most common conflicts between self-states that people experience is the conflict between their present and their future self (here is a TedTalk on this). Our current self wants the piece of cake, but our future self wants to be fit and trim. Our current self wants to be relaxed by a cool drag on a cigarette, but our future self does not want lung cancer. Our current self wants to take the day off and go on a vacation, but our future self does not want to face an annoyed boss or depleted bank account….the mind (of which the self as we are thinking about it is a part) is an action selection system that consists of many different subsystems that operate on different time scales.’
He goes on to describe 3 of these different subsystems: ‘The most basic is the reflex system, which operates almost instantaneously. Another quick acting/reacting system is the emotional-Pavlovian response system. There is also, however, a deliberative system that extends the animal/human in time, simulating future situations and future costs and benefits. Because these systems compute action selection differently, then it is not at all uncommon to experience very different and conflicting self-states as a consequence. And, as any addict can attest, these systems can produce very different and highly conflicted self-states.’
And interesting that these 3 systems can produce highly conflicted self-states!
APA Dictionary of Psychology (no date) Multiple selves Available at: https://dictionary.apa.org/multiple-selves (Accessed 7 August 2020)
Henriques, G (2014) One Self or Many Selves? Understanding why we have a multiplicity of self-states Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/theory-knowledge/201404/one-self-or-many-selves (Accessed 7 August 2020)
‘a psychoanalytic concept of the self as composed of many different self-states with different affective, perceptual, and cognitive features. In normal development, the self-states are thought to be sufficiently compatible to allow for internal conflicts of wishes and desires within the person. In pathological development, or as a result of trauma, the self-states are thought to become defensively dissociated from each other, sometimes resulting in dissociative identity disorder. Also called multiple self-states.’ APA Dictionary of Psychology (no date)
‘(W)hat does the ‘self’ consist of?... the human self as consisting of three related, but also separable domains. The first domain is the experiential self. This is the ‘theater of consciousness’ and the first person felt experience of being. In this context, it includes the felt consistency of being across periods of time. In that sense, it is tied very closely to memory. This is the part of you that “disappears” when you enter a deep sleep, flickers on and off as you dream, and then comes back on line as you wake up…. it is a portion that relates very directly to experiential consciousness, it also relates deeply to your core drives/needs and emotionally organized feeling states. This level of self is a mental capacity we share with other animals, and it presumably forever disappears when we die (at least from a naturalistic perspective).
A second portion of the human self is called the private self-consciousness system. In more common parlance, we can call this the “narrator” (or interpreter), because is the portion of your being that verbally narrates what is happening and why and tries to make sense of what is going on. As you read this blog and think about what it means, this is your verbal narrator working. It is also the part that includes your reportable self-concept and explicit beliefs and values about the way the world works (e.g., your religious and political beliefs). This portion of the self is what Damasio calls the “autobiographical self.”
The final portion of the self is the public self or persona. It refers to the public image that you attempt to project others, which in turn interacts with how other people actually see you.’ (Henriques, 2014)
Henriques maintains that there are 3 basic selves, which are related, but separable :
- The experiential self, linked to consciousness
- the private self-consciousness system, the “narrator” (or interpreter) or “autobiographical self
- the public self or persona
‘Although we often think about the self as a “thing,” it is also the case that one can think of the self as a pattern of behavior through time. In this view, the “I” is synonymous with what I feel, think, and do feel across time….the idea that there are multiple self-states becomes clear in the sense that we do very different things across time. This basic insight frees us to think about the self in a much more dynamic way, as opposed to attempting to characterize it as a specific, fixed, and unchanging object.’ (ibid)
He then goes on to talk about ‘a multiplicity of self-states’…’we should consider ourselves as really a collection of “subselves” that have different perceptual-motivational-emotional structures designed to solve the following adaptive problems: 1) self-protection/injury avoidance; 2) disease avoidance; 3) affiliation; 4) status seeking; 5) mate acquisition; 6) mate retention; and 7) kin care. Importantly, because these different subselves have different goals, they may often be in conflict and different situations will activate them in different ways.’ (Ibid)
The idea of my multiple selves being in conflict fits well with the videos and images of me wrestling inside my Body cocoons.
He also talks about ‘The present versus future self. One of the most common conflicts between self-states that people experience is the conflict between their present and their future self (here is a TedTalk on this). Our current self wants the piece of cake, but our future self wants to be fit and trim. Our current self wants to be relaxed by a cool drag on a cigarette, but our future self does not want lung cancer. Our current self wants to take the day off and go on a vacation, but our future self does not want to face an annoyed boss or depleted bank account….the mind (of which the self as we are thinking about it is a part) is an action selection system that consists of many different subsystems that operate on different time scales.’
He goes on to describe 3 of these different subsystems: ‘The most basic is the reflex system, which operates almost instantaneously. Another quick acting/reacting system is the emotional-Pavlovian response system. There is also, however, a deliberative system that extends the animal/human in time, simulating future situations and future costs and benefits. Because these systems compute action selection differently, then it is not at all uncommon to experience very different and conflicting self-states as a consequence. And, as any addict can attest, these systems can produce very different and highly conflicted self-states.’
And interesting that these 3 systems can produce highly conflicted self-states!
APA Dictionary of Psychology (no date) Multiple selves Available at: https://dictionary.apa.org/multiple-selves (Accessed 7 August 2020)
Henriques, G (2014) One Self or Many Selves? Understanding why we have a multiplicity of self-states Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/theory-knowledge/201404/one-self-or-many-selves (Accessed 7 August 2020)