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The individual is conceived of as an open self-system with permeable boundaries, linked with the self-system of others in a dynamic group matrix. Durkheim stressed the interdependence of the two systems; to him, collective beliefs and general social currents—such as waves of optimism, pessimism, or even suicidal tendencies—are illustrative of the impact of the collective consciousness on the individual's. With exact methods of exploration of such variables as group atmosphere, patterns of communication, norms, shared goals, and values on the conscious level, it is shown that the collective unconscious has the strongest impact on the individual. Foulkes and others recognize that all structures of the individual psyche have analogues in the group structure. Often all group members appear to the clinician to share a fantasy or display an emotion as a result of an identification process. In this study, group members were asked to describe themselves by giving a list of traits arranged in a given number of ranks to portray different aspects of themselves, such as the actual self, the ideal self, or the public self. The actual self is the individual's perception of himself which he is ready to admit. The ideal self expresses how the individual would like to be. The public self describes how he is perceived by others. The group, too, has what is called a trans-self—a dimension open to direct observations by its members, the perception of itself which the group, for the use of its members, allows itself to develop. There is also the ideal trans-self or group superego.