self

Definitions of Self

1. (noun) An individual’s sense of their own being.
2. (noun) An individual’s being as distinct from others.
3. (noun) Referring to the qualities and characteristics that make an individual unique.

Self Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: self

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /sɛlf/
• British English – /sɛlf/

Usage Note

• Plural: selves

Related Quotation

• “Each moral career, and behind this, each self, occurs within the confines of an institutional system, whether a social establishment such as a mental hospital or a complex of personal and professional relationships. The self, then, can be seen as something that resides in the arrangements prevailing in a social system for its members. The self in this sense is not a property of the person to whom it is attributed, but dwells rather in the pattern of social control that is exerted in connection with the person by himself and those around him. This special kind of institutional arrangement does not so much support the self as constitute it” (Goffman 1961:168).

Additional Information

• Word origin of “self” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Baumeister, Roy F., ed. 1999. Self in Social Psychology: Essential Readings. Hove, UK: Psychology.
• Leary, Mark R., and June Price Tangney, eds. 2014. The Handbook of Self and Identity. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford.
• Sedikides, Constantine, and Marilynn B. Brewer, eds. 2001. Individual Self, Relational Self, Collective Self. Hove, UK: Psychology.

Related Terms

• culture
• group
• individual
• norm
• person
• power
• role
• society

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Reference

Goffman, Erving. 1961. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. New York: Doubleday.

Works Consulted

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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

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Cite the Definition of Self

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “self.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 20, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/self/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

self. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/self/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “self.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/self/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“self.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/self/>.