Conceptions of self

thumb|Depiction of the soul leaving the body at the moment of death: The Grave (poem)|The Grave, illustrated by [[William Blake, engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti, 1808]]

Personality describes the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional patterns that make up a person’s unique adjustment to life. Personality is relatively stable, but can change over time due to experiences and developmental processes. Although there is no consensus definition of personality, most theories in personality focus on traits, motivation, skills, and identity.

person's private sense of, and subjective experience of, their own gender

Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie define it by saying "The self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, is the positive or negative evaluations of the self, as in how we feel about it (see self)."

The '''' ( , ; ) is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itself. The represents a shift from otherworldly Christian values and manifests the grounded human ideal. Zarathustra proclaims the will of the to give meaning to life on planet Earth, and admonishes his audience to ignore those who promise other-worldly fulfillment.

Hindu concept for inner self or essence as mere consciousness

Latin phrase; alternate self

psychologist concepts by Sigmund Freud

philosophical idea of a person having a unique existence

Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of the human person. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleiermacher first used the term personalism () in print in 1799. One can trace the concept back to earlier thinkers in various parts of the world.

philosophical, psychological and anthropological concept that refers to the opposite of one's own identity

thumb|upright=1.3|A 1921 cartoon representation of a person's self-image compared to their reality.

In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question "Who am I?".

thumb|upright=1.3|Svetlana reflects herself in the mirror (painting by [[Karl Briullov, 1836).]]

thumb|A visual rendition of the Islamic model of the soul showing the position of "nafs" relative to other concepts, based on a consensus of 18 surveyed academic and religious experts Nafs () is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran, literally meaning "self", and has been translated as "psyche", "ego" or "soul". The term is cognate with the Hebrew word nephesh, נֶפֶשׁ. In the Quran, the word nafs is used in both the individualistic (verse 2:48) and collective sense (verse 4:1), indicating that although humanity is united in possessing the positive qualities of a nafs, they are individually res

Buddhist concept

psychological concepts

psychological concept

defines, among other things, the conditions of identity that make one subject of experience distinct from all others

Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller of one's own body and life. Self-ownership is a central idea in several political philosophies that emphasize individualism, such as libertarianism, liberalism, and anarchism.

aspirational level of awareness

In Scientology beliefs, the concept of the thetan () is the spiritual being or self that constitutes the true identity of a person, and is distinct from the body and mind it inhabits and controls. Scientology teaches that a thetan is immortal, has lived through many past lives, does not cease to exist at body-death, and is typically reincarnated into a new body. Scientology also teaches that a thetan can temporarily separate from the body in a process known as "exteriorization". The concept forms the basis of Scientology’s understanding of consciousness, personal identity, and spiritual develo

sociological term

The self-schema refers to a long lasting and stable set of memories that summarize a person's beliefs, experiences and generalizations about the self, in specific behavioral domains. A person may have a self-schema based on any aspect of themselves as a person–including physical characteristics (body image), personality traits, and interests–as long as they consider that aspect of their self to be important to their own self-definition.

Self-enhancement is a type of motivation that works to make people feel good about themselves and to maintain self-esteem. This motive becomes especially prominent in situations of threat, failure or blows to one's self-esteem. Self-enhancement involves a preference for positive over negative self-views. It is one of the three self-evaluation motives along with self-assessment (the drive for an accurate self-concept) and self-verification (the drive for a self-concept congruent with one's identity). Self-evaluation motives drive the process of self-regulation, that is, how people control and d

Self-licensing (also moral self-licensing, moral licensing, or licensing effect) is a term used in social psychology and marketing to describe the subconscious phenomenon whereby increased confidence and security in one's self-image or self-concept tends to make that individual worry less about the consequences of subsequent immoral behavior and, therefore, more likely to make immoral choices and act immorally. In simple terms, self-licensing occurs when people allow themselves to indulge after doing something positive first; for example, drinking a diet soda with a greasy hamburger and fries

thumb|309x309px|Cyclical depiction of reinforcement in self-handicapping Self-handicapping is a cognitive strategy by which people avoid effort in the hopes of keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem. It was first theorized by Edward E. Jones and Steven Berglas, according to whom self-handicaps are obstacles created, or claimed, by the individual in anticipation of failing performance.

philosophical concept

theory in social psychology

In social psychology, self-assessment is the process of looking at oneself in order to assess aspects that are important to one's identity. It is one of the motives that drive self-evaluation, along with self-verification and self-enhancement. Sedikides (1993) suggests that the self-assessment motive will prompt people to seek information to confirm their uncertain self-concept rather than their certain self-concept and at the same time people use self-assessment to enhance their certainty of their own self-knowledge. However, the self-assessment motive could be seen as quite different from th

cognitive bias

philosophical concept

Ziran, also rendered in the Wade-Giles romanization as tzu-jan, is a key concept in Taoism and East Asian Buddhism that literally means 'of its own' or 'by itself' and thus "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly." == Etymology == This Chinese word is a two-character compound of and , which is used as a -ran suffix marking adjectives or adverbs (roughly corresponding to English -ly). According to the Shuo Wen lexicon, the character 自 zi means "nose." In Chinese culture, the nose (or zi) is a common metaphor for a person's point of view.

utopian concept

soul in Jainism

philosophical theory of personal identity that asserts that humans are animals

Self-report questionnaire

concept within the system of Thelema

development of the distinct personality of an individual

psychological illusion that one will not undergo significant developmental changes in the future

the study of either the cognitive, conative or affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience

theoretical term in social psychology and cultural anthropology

human right

a theory that asserts people want to be known according to their beliefs about themselves

philosophical question

a person's capacity for self-examination, self-reflection, introspection and personal insight

Self-concealment is a psychological construct defined as "a predisposition to actively conceal from others personal information that one perceives as distressing or negative". Its opposite is self-disclosure.