Motivation and emotion/Book/2023/Unconscious aspects of multiple selves and emotion

Unconscious aspects of multiple selves and emotion:
What role do unconscious aspects play in shaping our multiple selves and their influence on emotion?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Scenario: Figure 1. People are made up of multiple selves that differ depending on environment, social interaction, and emotional state. Imagine you are at work. You answer the phone and its one of your friends. They don't recognize you at first because of your "business voice'". However, once you realize it's your friend, your voice changes and your friend now realizes who you are. You both continue on with the conversation with the knowledge that you are now speaking with a friend and not a stranger. What has happened? Why did your friend not recognize you? It is because you hold multiple selves for different social interactions, environments and emotions (see Figure 1). While at work, you are acting as your work self or who are you while at work. You are going to act and speak differently in a professional setting then what you would while in the company of friends or even while you are alone.

"Who am I? What makes me who I am?"

The concept of self has been an age old question in philosophy since the time of Socrates and holds the complexity to have such a history. In Western society, it has commonly been thought that there is one true self hidden behind masks and facades that is moral and 'good' (Strohminger et al., 2017). Indeed, studies have shown that when an individual feels that they have acted in this authentic way they have increased self-esteem, positive mood and better wellbeing (Heppner et al., 2008; Wood et al., 2008). However, these studies have been met with criticisms due to the use of self-report measures for both the participants' wellbeing and their adherence to this authenticity.

So, what is the self? The psychodynamic perspective argues that to fully understand the self it must first be understood by what is conscious and what is unconscious aspects of the mind. Furthermore, social psychologists argue that people have both personal and social aspects of self. While the idea of people having a mask is not necessarily untrue, it does not make them an any less authentic part of who the individual is. This is an approach known as the multiple selves theory of the mind (Lester, 2017) which proposes that a person's self will adapt and present differently depending on the situation and circumstances. This book chapter demonstrates the complexity of a person's identity and how the unconscious aspects of the mind can influence the way a person's multiple selves are formed and the emotions that are felt.

Focus questions for this chapter What do we mean by 'multiple selves'? What are the unconscious aspects of self? What role do unconscious aspects play in shaping our multiple selves? What is their influence on emotion?

Multiple selves

Multiple selves, contrary to popular misconceptions, refer to the psychoanalytic idea that an individual's self-concept consists of several parts or sub-selves that manifest based on various situations or circumstances. Rooted in Freud's model of the psyche and expanded upon by later theorists such as Richard Schwartz and Rita Carter, the concept suggests different facets of our identity embody unique beliefs, values, and behaviours, emerging and interacting in response to specific triggers in our lives. This multifaceted view of the self suggests that individuals have a dynamic range of self-states rather than a fixed, singular identity.

What is the self?

Self is a broad term in psychology that can refer to a variety of different constructs, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, or self-awareness. Therefore, self-concept is often the preferred term that is used when discussing what is commonly thought of when 'self' is used; the details of what an individual believes to define them as a person (Rosenberg, 1981; Baumeister, 1997) such as:

• beliefs, values, feelings (e.g. I think smoking is wrong, loyalty is important to me)
• religion or spirituality (e.g. I am catholic)
• political affiliation (e.g. I am a liberal)
• talents and hobbies (e.g. I am a singer, I am a football player)
• profession (e.g. I am a doctor)
• position in the family (e.g. I am a mother)

During the 21st century, the self-concept has been a popular topic of research in areas such as academic achievement (Marsh and Martin, 2011; Brumariu et al., 2022), physical activity (Babic et al., 2014) and social media (Belk, 2016), with many theories from different psychological perspectives being put forward as a way to explain the development of self-concept (see Table 1).

What are multiple selves?

It is a widely held assumption that when someone refers to multiple selves they are referring to severe emotional trauma or mental illness (for example, what used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder now referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder). However, this is not always the case.

Multiple selves or multiple self states is a psychoanalytic concept that suggests that an individuals self concept is made up of multiple parts or sub-selves that present depending on the situation or circumstances (Lester, 2015).

Proposed in his book No Bad Parts, Richard Schwartz (2021) argued that the idea of a single true self is not only unrealistic but damaging for a individual's self-esteem and self-image. If there it is only possible to be one thing, for example a good person or a bad person, then any 'unacceptable' thought or emotion will challenge this core identity. This can lead to the suppression or control of these unacceptable aspects of identity and result in feelings of self-hatred, shame and anxiety. It has been estimated that around 90% of the population experience intrusive or unwanted thoughts (Clark and Purdon, 1995) which gives important context into how common it is for people to experience these 'unacceptable' thoughts and emotions.

Freud and the unconscious self

Sigmund Freud (1923) was the first theorist to suggest that a person's identity could have multiple parts with his ego psychology model of the psyche (see Figure 2). This model proposed that there were 3 levels of the mind:

1. the id: this is the deepest part of an individual's unconscious mind. It encompasses the most primitive impulses and instincts, such as hunger, thirst, anger and sex. This is where the unacceptable or impulsive thoughts appear.
2. the superego: another part of unconscious mind and encompasses the aspects of self that dictates an individual's expectations and sense of morality. When these expectations are not met, the superego is the part of the mind that causes an individual to feel guilt and shame.
3. the ego: this is the conscious part of an individual's mind which is responsible for rational thinking and the mediator between the id and the superego. When the two unconscious aspects clash, it is the ego that finds a middle ground between the two.

Figure 2. Freud's ego model of the psyche

Example:

Two co-workers are having a disagreement about a project at work. Worker 1 is getting really frustrated and has the sudden urge to hit worker 2. They suddenly feel extremely guilty and ashamed that they thought of acting in that way. Worker 1 decides to back away from the conversation and walk away to calm down, reminding themselves that they didn't hit worker 2 and that next time they will make a more conscious effort of managing their emotions.

In this example, the if is the impulse to hit the other worker. The superego is the feelings of guilt and shame for this impulse. Deciding to remove themselves from the situation and reinforcing that they are not a horrible person is the ego providing rational thinking to remove the dissonance between the two states.

While Freud's theory offers the first insight into the concept of multiple selves as well as the conscious and unconscious mind, his ideas were focused upon client personalities. Eric Berne's transactional analysis model (1958) expands on the work of Freud, however he marks various distinction between Freud's work and his own. Firstly, Berne's theory shifted the focus from the internal psychological dynamics of clients to the various dynamics in a person's interactions. Secondly, while Freud argued that imagery was what determined an individual's finial emotional state, Berne suggested that it was actually due to an inner dialogue between the psyches. Berne's model argued that the human psyche moved between the three ego states based on the specific social transaction that took place. These ego states included:

• The parent
• The adult
• The child

Rita Carter (2008) is a modern theorist who has built upon Berne's model to explain multiple selves, adopting the idea that an individual can develop selves unconsciously from their parents/guardians (parent-like), or an earlier state in life (child-like), often with those who suffered trauma however this self is also used to embody fun and creativity. She introduced the idea of major and minor selves. A major possesses its own thoughts, intentions, ambitions, desires, emotions and beliefs as it's own character. A minor refers to a small collection of behaviors that appear in certain situations, for example, smoking when drinking alcohol or the impulse to argue with a certain individual. Another aspect of Carter's theory includes micros. These are referred to as the 'building blocks of personality'. They are individual responses or habits, such as a vocal or physical tic, that can combine to create minors which in turn can grow into majors. Cater explains that these major, minor and micro selves can combine to create a variety of multiple selves.

Table 1. Other theories of self-concept

Theory	Who	Psychological perspective	Important points
True self and false self (Bollas, 2018)	Donald Winnicott	Psychodynamic perspective	The true self refers to an individual's sense of authenticity, with a focus on being truly present and alive. A person is their truest self when they are a baby. The false self refers to the defensive mask an individual learns as they grow up, behind which the individual can feel empty. Criticism of this theory is that it does not allow for an individual to develop and change. It implies that all learnt behavior is apart of this 'false self'.
Self-actualisation theory (Rogers, 2014)	Carl Rogers	Humanistic perspective	3 core parts; the ideal self (who a person wants to be), real self (how a person currently sees themselves), and self-esteem (the value or worth a person thinks they have). Argued that everyone is driven by the desire to achieve self-actualization. If the ideal self and the real life are not aligned then the individual will experience negative self-esteem. Criticism of this theory is that is it unrealistically optimistic. Studies presenting evidence in support of this theory (Heppner et al., 2008; Wood et al., 2008) have also been skepticized due to only utilizing self-report measures
Self-categorization theory (Turner et al., 1994)	John Turner	Social perspective	2 different levels; personal (sense of self as an individual) and social (sense of self as defined by the groups an individual subscribes to). An individual can have multiple social identities (e.g. an individual's social identity can be both a doctor and a Collingwood Magpies supporter). An individual's social identity will become more salient when their membership within the group is threatened. Argued that self-concept is a combination of both personal and social selves.
Self-presentation theory (Baumeister et al., 1986)	Roy Baumeister	Social perspective	4 concepts of self; public self (how an individual views themselves or believes they appear through the eyes of others based on public knowledge of them), self-concept (who an individual personally believes they are), Actual or behavioral self (the self that is created by an individual's actions, behavior's and habits), and the ideal self (who an individual aspires to be).
Dramaturgical model of social life (Wilshire, 1982)	Erving Goffman	Social perspective	Goffman used a metaphor of theatre to explain the conscious and unconscious aspects of social interaction, stating that there is a front stage region (where the actor, or individual, is aware of the audience, the role in which they want them to play and how this influences their behavior) and a back stage region (where the actor, or the individual, is able to relax and be themselves outside the role they play in front of others).

Quiz 1 Which theorist was the first to suggest the idea of multiple selves? Rita Carter Eric Berne Sigmund Freud 2 Ian shares similar personalities with his father (the over-achiever) and his mother (the perfectionist). According to Berne, which self is Ian most likely adopting? Adult Parent Child 3 Sarah is known to get annoyed and snap at people who are slow walkers. According to Freudian theory, which part of the self is this most explained by? the ego the superego the id

The influence of the unconscious on emotion and multiple selves

The psychoanalytic perspective suggests that the unconscious mind and their multiple selves have a significant impact on how people experience emotion. Emotions are feelings that influence how individuals act in a given situation. Unconscious emotions are feelings that individuals are not directly aware of, but can affect behaviour. The connection between the conscious and the unconscious forms the basis for therapeutic models such as compassion-focused therapy, which aims to improve the connection to promote mental well-being.

What is emotion?

"Emotions...are all those feelings that so change men as to affect their judgements, and that are also attended by pain or pleasure" - Aristotle

Emotions, as defined by the American Psychological Association (APA), are 'brain-based systems that coordinate feeling, bodily response, purpose, and expression in response to life circumstances'.

There are two types of emotions:

Primary emotions, which are characterized as the first feeling a person experiences in any given circumstance. These are instinctive and sensitive (Ekman 1999).

Secondary emotions, which come after the primary emotion and are reactions to the first emotion. They are a learned response and are often more complex and intense than primary emotions.

Figure 3. The physiological stages of primary and secondary emotion

Unconscious emotion

Unfortunately, there is no direct definition to explain what an unconscious emotion is however, it is commonly agreed by theorist that it is an emotion that the individual lacks an awareness of that would allow them to influence or change it directly (Lacewing, 2007). A development model by Leventhal (1974,1987) proposed that unconscious emotional processing happened at a schematic level, where emotion is evoked automatically and spontaneously, accompanied by subjective feelings. Beside this model, is the emotional type hypothesis where it was suggested that the right hemisphere of the brain modifies schematic/primary emotions (Ross et al.. 994; Ross and Monnot, 2008, 2011).

Another model is the fight-or-flight response. This subcortical pathway regulates the processing of emotional stimuli, starting at the visual thalamus and ending at the amygdala. It is thought to bypass the occipital cortex and therefore prevent the need for any higher cortical executive functions (LeDoux, 1989). Cognitive-emotional interactions in the brain. Cognition & Emotion, 3(4), 267-289.This model argues that a person is capability of experience fear without conscious awareness and reasons this is because it is important to exhibit an immediate response when presented with survival- related environmental cues.

From a physiological perspective, primary emotion is mediated and expressed through the limbic system which it shares with the body's internal homeostasis. The limbic system, also referred to as the reptilian brain, has been showed to control an individual's more primitive functions such as hunger, thirst and sex drive (Joseph, 1992).

Compassion-focused therapy

Compassion-focused therapy is a psychotherapy model with roots in affective neuroscience, attachment theory and evolutionary science with the aim to cultivate compassion in various forms, from self-to-others, others-to-self, and self to self (Gilbert, 2022). This style of therapy acknowledges that conflict and distress can arise from a person's multiple selves due to each of their motivations and associated mentalities. For example, Carter's (2008) theory of multiple selves would explain that if an individual adopted the parent ego of perfectionism but also the ego of worrier, the individual will suffer from extreme anxiety over their work and cause significant distress.

Furthermore, compassion-focused therapy acknowledges that conflict can arise from what an individual's primary emotions, or the ID, and secondary emotions, or the superego (Gilbert, 2010). By drawing attention to these discrepancies between each multiple aspect of self, the individual is able to depersonalize themselves from the biological processes of the mind and as a result reduce the feelings of shame and self-blame the individual feels towards themselves because of them. Compassion-focused therapy also suggests that emotions possesses their own way of thinking, their own behavioral impulses, attentional focus, associated memories and motivations. Therefore, according the Carter's (2008) theory of multiple selves, each emotion acts as a major self. This style of therapy focuses on developing 'mind awareness', where an individual learns to identify and differentiate the various patterns that emotions hold within the mind with the ultimate goal of shaping how it is expressed. The most common emotions that are used are what are referred to as the 'big three' threat emotions: fear/anxiety, anger/rage and sadness (Gilbert 2020; Kolts, 2016).

1. Clients are asked to identify and reflect on a situation where they had a conflict with someone they care about, exploring the reactions of each emotional 'self' (e.g. what does angry self think, what does angry self's body feel like, what does angry self want to do?).
2. Clients are asked the describe their memory of each emotion and what each of the emotions want. This is to determine how the response was learnt and any related motives.
3. Possibilities for regulation are observed by asking client's to identify what the emotional self needs in order to settle.
4. The relationship and interaction between the multiple emotional selves are discussed to establish if their are any areas of emotional conflict and how the individual is likely to respond.
5. The compassionate self is then finally activated through calming the client with breathing exercises before being guided to reflect again on the situation, now being able to conceptualize both sides of the dispute, and are asked to relate compassionately to each emotion.

Case study: Inside Out Inside Out (2015 Pixar Film) follows the life of a young girl named Riley and her emotions of Joy, Anger, Fear, Sadness and Disgust. She has recently moved to San Francisco and is missing home. She is prone to aggressive outbursts but feels guilty and ashamed of herself afterwards. If Riley was to engage in compassion-focused therapy she would first start by identifying what her angry self thinks, what does angry self's body feel like, what does angry self want to do? After completing each step, at the end of her session it could be assumed that her anger was actually a secondary emotion to hide the vulnerability of her primary emotion; that she is sad, or she is scared.

Conclusion

The unconscious plays a significant role in the shaping of multiple selves and emotion. Firstly, the theories indicate that an individual does possess multiple selves, some of which are more conscious then others. The id or primary emotions are the unconscious element and encapsulate the more primal and instinctual elements of emotion.

Secondly, the literature states that the unconscious self is important for processing emotion, suggesting that emotions such as anger, fear, etc. are processed through the limbic system or the more primal part of the human brain.

Lastly, compassion-focused therapy shows how an individual can combat negative feelings associated with primary emotions, with the theory of Freud and Carter linking with presented intervention to support this.

See also

• Unconscious motivation (Book chapter 2020)
• Unconscious Bias and Emotion (Book chapter 2020)
• Self-forgiveness (Book chapter 2019)
• Self-criticism (Book chapter 2020)
• Self-affirmation (Book chapter 2023)

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External links

Becoming your many selves (TedTalks)

I. Me. Myself. Video

A psychological analysis of inside out

Compassion focused therapy