The Self as an Adaptive System Constructed from the Complex Interactions of Several Variables - Essay Example

Topic: The self can be understood as an adaptive system constructed from the complex interactions of a number of variables, (biological, psychological, sociological etc) Discuss this statement in the context of the evidence based insights of the psychology of coaching and your understanding of how such insight informs the coaching relationship and coaching conversation.” The self is an adaptive system. It’s like an automaton that can react and respond to stimuli. The self is a personality, in fact, a confluence of personalities. It exhibits behaviors that are either culturally structured, or emanating from native intelligence, or display acts forced by emotional rage (Young, 2008). It is resilient and can be pliant to the teachings of any regarded masters and professors This paper will discus the confluence of factors that made up self and made it a living system that could easily adapt to its environ. It’s undeniable that human being is a structured with its anatomy (InnerBody, 2012). The head thinks, the heart pumps blood, the stomach store and digest food, and the interrelation of the skeletal system with muscles determine the functionality of his movements (InnerBody, 2012). Anatomist expounded that the message conveyed from the brain can be evidently illustrated by undertaken actions: eat when hungry, bath when dirty, sit when tired, sleep when losing energy, and love when desired (InnerBody, 2012). Human intelligence encouraged him/her to think, create, discover, work, change, develop and nurture. Such cognitive and emotional capacity to make, react, relate and attune to nature and society made them social beings who interacts under the sun about social contracts, diplomatic relations, nation building, political and economic reformation, and bridging social relations for cohesion (InnerBody, 2012; Lewis, 1990). It’s amazing how human development has pointed its physical, emotional and cognitive progression in either linear or dialectical fashion while in the quest for meaningful discourse with ever changing chaotic and complex phenomena (InnerBody, 2012; Lewis, 1990). Psychological speaking, the self, as a cognitive being, is imbued with the ability to comprehend, analyze, synthesize and make decisions based on circumstances, ideation, and deep sense of accountability (Lewis, 1990). But all these are earned only if the self attained ample education, either formally or informally. The self has also such emotional quotient derived from his senses (Lewis, 1990). Such ability to feel encompasses the wide spectrum of emotions that could or could not enliven the soul. These cognitive and emotive parts of the self humanize his/her relationship with other persons, nature, society, and with changing climate (Lewis, 1990). All these demanded every self to be adaptive and resilient to developing circumstances and of radical changes as the self capture balance in a yin-and-yang betwixt determinism and freewill (Lewis, 1990). Sociologically, the self is a complex web of system molded by cultural structures. Through education, the self gain adopts on the vastness of knowledge and realities from science, math, language, geo-politics, economics, anthropology, and social sciences (Morse & Gergen, 1970). The religious institution also helped harness a person’s moral fiber and is supposedly nurtured within the confines of every home to appreciate values as guide in choosing good from bad deeds (Morse & Gergen, 1970). This is further enhanced by the practices and beliefs established by the community. Thus, the self is imbued with behaviors, roles and functions that are socially acceptable and adapted as way of life (Morse & Gergen, 1970). It’s in all of these biological, psychological and cultural frameworks that the self fits into this world. It is also in this context that coaching is used to mould a person for development and for new knowledge to partake about. Coaching is a method of identifying and utilizing variables for desired results. It’s a learning process aiming to undertake transformation style of learning and adapting a work, a practice, or a system in a progression of phases until the targeted objective or outcome is achieved (Budík, 2007). Coaching also used modeling to reproduce and mirror an exceptional behavior to be followed with all elemental needs: attitude, communication ability, nonverbal language (Budík, 2007). Through modeling in an internal process, it is presumed that the mechanism can improve the average individual and group performances using techniques. Corollary to this, the identification of purposes, of quality people with maximum performance, and providing the scale or standard for transformation of behavior and practices can be gleaned in this modeling process (Budík, 2007). Coaching through modeling is expected to generate desired roles within the continuum of procedures because these signify key elements to arrive at certain goal. In business performance and management, for instance, the executive helps a worker to improve their performance either through one-to-one activity, illustrating samples, providing constructive feedback, explicating and encouraging improved performance (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011). It is through coaching that that most on the job development takes place because it provides empirical learning processes by mandating or demanding performances using desired standards (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011). Such necessitate regular and effective face-to-face contact between the coach and the learner in the course of learning intervention until the learner is able to adapt the system (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011). The coach therefore must be equipped with all essential theories and vast knowledge as to stimulate the learning processes (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011). He/She must be able to unlock the learner’s potential and lead the learner, say maybe in a question-and-answer method, to constantly engage them in an interactive learning process (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011). There International Coach Federation European Conference in Italy, which advocated coaching process to assist new learners or workers to develop their strengths, identified five processes in coaching. These are as follows (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011): 1. Guiding and Caretaking – this is a method of directing and leading a person from his present disposition to desired goal by giving safe and supportive environment free of insignificant distractions (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011); 2. Teaching- this is a method of improving the cognitive skills and focused on capabilities to gather general skills. The teachers assist learners to know new strategies for thinking and acting (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011); 3. Mentoring- this is about providing behavioral feedback to help a person grow. It provides guide to discover untapped competences and toughen beliefs and values (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011); 4. Sponsorship – include creation of context to get learners to act and excel. It deals more on developing identity, core values, and potential which are much needed to generate commitment. The latter is significant for promotion (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011); 5. Awakening – this phase is the achievement of prior mentioned styles of coaching. In this stage the learner has adapted the organization through its vision, mission, and goals (Bax, Negrutiu, & Calota, 2011). Coaching, as a process, hastens adaptation of systems and frameworks provided the self is ready and has attained significant maturity to absorb all the frameworks for personal development. This affirmed that knowledge, sourced from wide range of theoretical and empirical frameworks can fully equipped and mould a person to reach his/her potential. References Budík, J. (2007). Managerial Techniques and Coaching - Selected Approaches and Theories,.Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 2007(3), pages 66-70. Bax, J. Negrutiu, M. & Calota, T.O, (2011). Coaching: A Philosophy, Concept, Tool and Skill. Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 1(7), pages 9, December. InnerBody (2012). Your Guide to Human Anatomy Online. HowToMedia, Inc. http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html Accessed: March 29, 2012. Lewis, M. (1990). Self-knowledge and social development in early life. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Handbook of personality. Guilford, New York. 277-300. Morse, S. J. & Gergen, K. J. (1970). Social comparison, self-consistency and the concept of self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 16, pp.148-156. Young, H. P. (2008). Self-Knowledge and Self-Deception. Economics Series Working Papers 383, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. Read More