Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
Functions of the Self
Ernisha Bennett
Liberty University
Psych 312: Social Psychology
Author’s Note
All correspondence regarding this paper should be addressed to Ernisha C. Bennett
Psychology 312: Social Psychology Liberty University
Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
Introduction
This paper will touch basis on what the four functions of the “Functions of the Self” are,
it will provide a background of why this psychology concept is so important and a biblical
standpoint of what the bible has to say about this specific concept. In addition, I will be adding
some personal information with an example of my experience with “Functions of the Self”.
Now, Throughout the body of this paper I will provide significant evidence to back up my
information. This will include but is not limited to two academic, peer reviewed articles, a few
examples from the textbook and two scripture verses.
What is “Functions of the Self”?
How can we define functions of the self? Well there are four parts to this concept, the
first one is self-knowledge, the second being self-control, the third is impression management
and lastly, the fourth one is self-esteem. Now that we know all four aspects lets break them down
as well. To start of self-knowledge is knowing oneself and who they truly are, self-knowledge is
extremely important because no one should know you better than you right? Next is self-control
which means handling one’s emotions or thoughts and keeping them under control. This one is
also significantly important because without self-control one will be all over the play and
obviously out of control. Then we have impression management which is how we present
ourselves or show others how we want them to view us. In regards to this aspect it is important
because how we present ourselves to others reflects on how they will view us. Finally, self-
esteem is how we view ourselves. Self esteem to me is the most important because I believe it
effects all three of the other elements. Self-esteem is extremely important because high self-
esteem results in someone thinking highly or good about themselves. Now that we have went
Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
over all four of the elements that fall under “Functions of the Self” I would like to share my own
personal experience.
Personal Experiences
I have had many experiences with all four of the functions of self. First, I would like to
begin with self-knowledge. I have much experience with this aspect of the concept because I
have been recently studying myself and my behaviors over the past few years to gain better
knowledge of who I am. An example of me gaining said knowledge would be going back to
school. In order to start school, I had to research things about myself and what I actually like, in
order to decide on the best degree for me. Therefore, I had to explore my personality and
discovery who I really am. The second experience deals with self-control, I have had
experience this concept many times in my life due to working at call centers. My job consists of
talking to multiple people every day. Some of said people call in extremely angry sometimes
and I must illustrate self-control by keeping my attitude together and presenting great customer
service despite what the customers may be saying. This brings us to my third experience which
is impression management., which is my favorite because impressions are everything. I had to
express impression management when being interviewed for my current career. I illustrated this
by convincing the employer that I was a great candidate for the job by expressing my best
characteristics that matched the job. Thus, meaning I did well with my impression management.
Finally, the fourth experience deals with self-esteem. This consist of my most recent experience
with this concept. Last year when I first began taking classes at Liberty I was working on my
self-esteem. Being around the wrong people and in the wrong environment can affect your self-
esteem significantly. By moving to a new city and a different environment I gain more self-
esteem. I am still experiencing this change now and it is the most wonderful experience I have
Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
ever had in my life. Now we will move along to the two research article examples that I will be
discussing.
Article 1
The first article example is in the journal article Self-esteem and subjective well-being
revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem. This article presents
amazing information regarding self-esteem. As stated in the text “Researchers have found that
self-esteem—defined as a person's sense of self-worth—is closely associated with well-being
and a number of other adaptive outcomes”( Du, H., King, R. B., & Chi, P. 2017). This
example clearly defines what self esteem is. In addition,
Article 2
The second article example is self-concept structure and the quality of self-knowledge. This
article demonstrates great examples
Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
Biblical Standpoint
This brings many of us to an even bigger question what does the bible have to say about
“Functions of the Self”? This part of the paper holds a significant amount of important
information about this concept because as we know everything should be done through the will
of God. There are two scriptures that stood out to me regarding my topics. The first scripture
verse is Roman 12:3 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to
the measure of faith that God has assigned.” In this scripture the bible illustrates that’s God does
want us to demonstrate all four aspects of the “Functions of the Self” but he wants us to do so
humbly. God does not want us to think we are better than anyone, but he does not want us to
down ourselves. He elaborates more on this through the second scripture examples which is 1
Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion, seeking someone to devour.” This scripture provides an extension on Gods viewpoint of
this concept, it reevaluates how God wants us to be mindful of how highly we think of ourselves.
God does not approve of arrogance or putting others down because we think we are better.
Basically, the bible says to know you are wonderful how you are and apricate the person you are
but to do so without the judgement or downing of others. These two verses illustrated Gods
view of “Functions of the Self” very well because they state exactly how God views the concept
itself as well as provides extra information on what he does not want us to do also. The bible
gives us magnificent information and examples of the topic presented in this paper. It is also one
of the best references to use when discussing said topic because everything reverts to what God
believes we should do and how we should act.
Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
Overview
What exactly does the self do? There are four main functions: self-knowledge is the way
we understand who we are and formulate and organize this information; self-control is the way
we make plans and execute decisions, such as your decision to read this book right now
instead of going out for ice cream; impression management is the way we present ourselves to
other people and get them to see us the way we want to be seen; and self-esteem is the way in
which we try to maintain positive views of ourselves. (Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers,
S. R. 2019). The functions of the self has four parts: one’s self-knowledge, self-control,
impression management and self-esteem. We discussed all four of the factors of the “Functions
of the Self” concept, the definition and its importance, my personal experience with them and a
biblical standpoint on what the bible has to say about it.
Running head: FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF
References
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.).
New York, NY: Pearson.
Du, H., King, R. B., & Chi, P. (2017). Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited:
The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem. PloS One, 12(8), e0183958.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183958
Showers, C. J., Ditzfeld, C. P., & Zeigler‐Hill, V. (2015). Self‐Concept structure and the
quality of Self‐Knowledge. Journal of Personality, 83(5), 535-551. doi:10.1111/jopy.12130
Scriptural Reference 1: Roman 12:3 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone
among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober
judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Scriptural Reference 2: 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
