An individual's sense of self can be described as their perception of themselves and their awareness of who they are. In an attempt to understand their behavior in a particular domain, humans end up forming cognitive structures about the self that enable them to comprehend the self (Markus, 1977). The cognitive structures such as the self-concept are influenced by self-functions, such as the executive function. Let's consider how these self-functions affect the sense of self.
A few months ago, a college friend had a birthday party at his parent’s lakeside house. As a close friend, I was among the first people to receive the invitation. He requested that I should arrive at the home earlier to help him with the final preparations for the party. We completed preparations for the day a couple of hours before the arrival of the guests. As a form of courtesy, he offered to give me a tour of the house before the guests' arrival. In the course of touring the house, we came across one of the finest skateboards that I had ever seen. I have a passion for skating, and the sight of this skateboard awakened that desire in me. The skateboard was covered in dust, which meant that it had not been used for some time. I kept thinking about the skateboard until the party was over. At some point, I even thought of stealing it after the party, and I was sure my friend would not notice it. I, however, ignored the idea of taking the skateboard without the owner's consent.
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The function of the self that is evident in this particular event is the executive function. An executive function enables an individual to control their daily functioning (Baumeister, & Vohs, 2003). It, therefore, allows us to regulate our behavior and keep us on the right moral path. In this event, I realized that I am a different person from my friend who owned the skateboard. Appreciating this primary element of the 'self' helped me to understand that my friend and I were separate individuals with a capacity to hold different things (Markus et al. 1985). The skateboard was rightfully his, and I had no moral authority to take it. Also, I have a set of values and ethical standards that influenced my moral behavior at that particular time. Taking the skateboard without my friend's consent would go against those values. The executive function of the self, therefore, enabled me to regulate my behavior.
The primary motive for the self-functioning in my case was the need to believe positively about myself. I think of myself as an individual with high moral standards, and stealing the skateboard would have proven otherwise. I, therefore, needed to keep on believing that I am a morally upright person. The fact that I did not take the skateboard even when the opportunity to do so presented itself echoed my belief that I have strong moral standards.
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Self-regulation and the executive function of the self. Handbook of self and identity , 1 , 197-217.
Markus, H. (1977). Self-schemata and processing information about the self. Journal of personality and social psychology , 35 (2), 63.
Markus, H., Smith, J., & Moreland, R. L. (1985). Role of the self-concept in the perception of others. Journal of personality and social psychology , 49 (6), 1494.
