How Self-Images Affect Our Perception
Let us return to self-images, how they can be built, and how they affect us.
In addition to influencing the way we process emotions and act when we are on autopilot, our self-images can filter the information we are capable of accepting and internalizing. In contrast to our ideologies, which act as filters on what we are willing to accept as true, our self-images act as filters on our perceptions of the world, blocking information before it ever accesses our mental landscape.
For example, someone who maintains the idea that they are “a good person” at the core of their self-image will have a very difficult time critically thinking about their actions and whether or not they are indeed “good.” A self-identified “good person” may be able to run the words: “maybe I am not actually a good person” through their mental-scape’s phonological loop (the part of our working memory that plays words as we think them) while reading this page, but they will not be able to seriously entertain the concept that their actions may not be “good.” This person runs the risk of ultimately defining “good” as “the things they do,” which can justify horrific actions.
The perception filter your personal identity creates isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It depends on your ideology. For example, someone who sees themselves as scientifically minded may dismiss all talk of auras out of hand without wasting processing power on the concept. Someone who sees themselves as politically correct may dismiss any scientific evidence that would lead to racist or sexist conclusions. Depending on your ideology, such out-of-hand dismissal of stimuli may or may not be a bad thing. Most people would not want to dismiss something out of hand just because it conflicted with their self-image; however, it is conceivable that such a person exists, and we are attempting to remain unbiased.
This perception filter created by our core identities is not absolute. Sometimes information that clashes with our core identities is so voluminous or compelling it breaks through and we must contend with it. When this happens, our natural response is to become angry or agitated and attribute negative associations with the source of this information. For example, when someone who identifies as intelligent is categorically proven wrong, they will become very angry, accuse the person who proved them wrong of cheating, or attack the source of the information’s credibility rather than internalize that they may not actually be as intelligent as they would like to believe.