Psychology has worked hard to explore the inner self. Modem psychology
was born in Wundt's laboratory and Freud's consulting room, where the
inner self was pressed to reveal some of its secrets. Freud, in
particular, devoted most of his life to explor- ing the hidden recesses
inside the self-hidden even from the conscious mind, he said. From
Freud's work right down to the latest journal article on self-schemata
or self-esteem, psychologists have continued to tell us about the inner
self. More recently, psychology has turned some of its attention to the
outer self, that is, the self that is seen and known by other people.
Various psychologists have studied how the outer self is formed
(impression formation), how people control their outer selves
(impression management), and so forth. But how is the outer self related
to the inner self? There is an easy answer, but it is wrong. The easy
answer is that the outer self is mostly the same as the inner self. Put
another way, it is that people reveal their true selves to others in a
honest and straightforward fashion, and that others accurately perceive
the individual as he or she really is. Sometimes it works out that way,
but often it does not. The issue is far too complex for the easy answer.