The Role Of Self As The Organizer Of Personality

In the field of psychology, the self and personality are closely related, but the relationship between them is rather complicated. Psychologists maintain that the self plays an important role in personality, but they seldom mention the function that the self plays in organizing personality. The reasons for the self being regarded as an organizer lie in the following three aspects:The self is an integral part of personality and a major system of self-adjustment. Self-awareness is closely related to social experience;The self is the core of personality system, which takes the initiative in personal identity and personality development. The orientation and nature of the self is closely connected with characteristics of personality;Some characteristics of personality are also closely connected with the state of self-awareness. From the viewpoint of ordinary life and phenomenal experience, the self is the promoting force in the formation of unique character of personality. Personality is unique because the self has the psychological tendency toward uniqueness; From the cognitive point of view, the self is the foundation of self-integrity and stability. The self itself is an organized conceptual system, and always tends to maintain and perpetuate the consistency and integrity of the system; In the process of development, self-awareness acts as an intermediary in the socializing process of personality and also a key variable of socialization of personality; From its influence upon behaviors, self-awareness has a directional effect on personality. A person's self-awareness to a great extent determines his behaviors and fate, which better exhibits the organizing function of the self upon personality.Understanding its role as an organizer of personality helps us to know the exact relationship between the self and personality and also to highlight its motive power and creative ability.The reciprocal relationship between the self and personality reminds us of the fact that the self-awareness predicts and forecasts personality development. Personality is self-formed rather than simply "being modeled."...