is there any difference between the self and the identity? If yes what are they?

-- ivo englemann (ivo_englemann@hotmail.com), April 27, 2002

Answers

You'll have to narrow or focus your question a lot. The self has had many meanings in different psychologies. Historically, for example, Mary Whiton Calkins was famous for a "self psychology" that was part of a larger movement of personalist philosophy. You'll find other definitions of self in Gordon Allport and such early personality theorists. Jung provides still a different definition of the self, as do eastern philosophies such as kundalini yoga. Then there is the contemporary self psychology of Kohut. I'd approach this by looking up both "self" and "identity" in some good encyclopedias of psychology, then follow up the leads by looking at more detailed treatments in personality and development texts. I think you'll find that "self" is generally an aspect of personality psychology, while "identity" is regarded as a developmental issue (as it is, for example, in Erik Erikson's development stage of "identity vs shame and doubt").

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), April 27, 2002.

Hi, Ivo......SELF is what we're born with, i.e. gender, physical characteristics, and the nervous system that determines the general direction of our psychological tendencies.

IDENTITY is created by the development of the "self" and is therefore greatly influenced by family, society, and the many circumstances of existence.

If all goes well, self and identity merge to form the PERSONALITY that interacts with the world.

If, however, LEARNED IDENTITY is in conflict with the needs of INNATE SELF, mild to severe psychological problems will present themselves in an attempt to correct this schism.

Your insightful question points to the central origin of psychological dissonance (or confusion:-)

-- visualize me (visualizeme@webtv.net), May 03, 2002.