LESSON 2

“self”
For a long time, philosophers
have debated over the “self” in
a mind-body perspective. The
advent of the
institutionalization of the other
social sciences, like history,
anthropology, sociology,
political science, and
psychology, among others, as
academic and research fields
have widened this perspective
of the self. As most of these
branches of social science
study society and culture, the
“self” was also seen as a part of
social processes.
 Abstraction
"We are born into a social environment; we fully develop
in to human beings in a social environment; and we live
our lives in a social environment. What we think, how we
feel, and what we say and do all are shaped by our
interactions with other people."
 Key concepts
Every person lives in a society which is defined as a group of
people sharing the same culture and typically interacts in a
definite territory.
Material
Culture
the attires,
tools, weapons,
architecture
designs,
religious
implements.
Non-material
Culture
the belief
systems,the values,
the norms or
expected
behaviors, as well
as the shared
language and
symbols.
Norms
are rules on
what to do or
what not to do
in a certain
situation.
values
are ideal behaviors or
principles that set the
standard of what is
acceptable and
admirable from a
person who is a part
of a society.
example
you must kiss the
hand of your elders
(mano) to show
respect. The norm is
the “pagmamano”
and the value is
respect or
“pagkamagalang.”
kendall, 2006
“Society is composed of
people.” and “Culture is
composed of ideas,
behavior, and material
possessions.”
Mclntyre, 2002
To maintain a smooth-functioning
society, social institutions are
created, which are sets of ideas,
norms, practices, or mechanism
organized and focused on
addressing the needs of the
community.
status
and
roles
 status
Is our position in a society or a
particular group. You may be the
first child, a teenager, a student, or
a president of a student
organization among others.
Can be described as ascribed
status and achieved status.
Ascribed, which is inherited or given
at birth.
Achieved, which is personally
acquired for achieving something.
Example: ascribed status is being
a prince, while an achieved status
is being elected as a president.
 roles
Are expected
behaviors, norms,
values, and attitudes.
Each position or title
also has expected
roles or parts to play.
THEORETICAL APPROACHES
Theoretical approaches and frameworks enable us to combine
and use concepts in a meaningful way to look and understand
a part of reality-in this case, the connection of self, society,
and culture.
1.) The "self" did not just come out of thin
air. Our sociocultural context affects who
we are, even most of the choices we think
we freely [Link] influence of society
and culture will still have an effect on you
even if you move from one place to
another and adapt a new perspective.
 2.) Whether we like to admit it or not,
we actually need others to affirm
and reinforce who we think we are. We
also need them as reference
points about our identity.
 3.) Our notion of what is personally
important to us is also influenced by
the current trends of what is important
in our society. Education might be an
important thing to your self-concept,
because you grew up in a family that
valued education.
 Social interaction and group affiliation, therefore,
are vital factors in creating our self-concept,
especially our social identity or our perception of
who we are based on our membership to certain
groups (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
It is also inevitable, then, that we can have several
social identities, that those identities can overlap,
and that we automatically play the roles as we
interact with our groups.
Culture and personality

Ruth Benedict Margaret Mead

(1887-1948) (1901- 1978)
 She is an American
anthropologist whose
theories had a profound
influence on
anthropology, especially
in the area of culture and
personality.
She is best known for her
“pattern of culture.”

Ruth Benedict
(1887-1948)
 American
anthropologist whose
great fame owed as
much to the force of her
personality and her
outspokenness as it did
to the quality of her
scientific work.

Margaret Mead
(1901- 1978)
Culture and personality
Also called psychological anthropology,
a branch of cultural anthropology that
seeks to determine the range of
personality types extant in a given
culture and to discern where, on a
continuum from ideal to perverse, the
culture places each type.
Culture and personality
They argued that personality or the self is
dependent on the cultural practices and
socialization process of a certain group.
Thus, studying a person’s personality can
already provide us an idea of his or her
cultural background and social upbringing
and vice versa (Dia et al. 2014).
Culture and personality
In the famous anthropological
books of Mead, “Coming of Age
in Samoa” and “Sex and
Temperament in Three Primitive
Societies,” Ruth Benedict
concluded that personal
development, especially on
gender roles and traits, is not
actually based on biological
traits. Most of these roles are
based on cultural expectations.
Culture and personality
An anthropological work based
on field work she had conducted
on female adolescents in Samoa
She argued that it was cultural
factors rather than biological
forces that caused adolescents
to experience emotional and
psychological stress.

“Coming of Age in Samoa”

Culture and personality

Mead showed that masculinity

is not necessarily expressed
through aggressiveness and that
femininity is not necessarily
expressed through passivity and
acquiescence.

“Sex and Temperament in

Three Primitive Societies”
 August 23, 1926 – October 30, 2006
He is an American Anthropologist
Founder of Interpretive anthropology
who is remembered mostly for his
strong support for and influence on
the practice of symbolic
anthropology and who was
considered "for three decades... the
single most influential cultural
anthropologist in the United States."
Clifford James Geertz He served until his death as
professor emeritus at the Institute
(1926- 2006)
for Advanced Study, Princeton.
 “It seems like you
got no chance but to
follow, right? Wrong.
The person is not a
passive recipient of
all these things.
S/he has a choice.”
Clifford James Geertz
(1926- 2006)
social institution
 Kinship/
Family
This is the most basic social
institution of a society that
organizes us based on our familial
ties. It can be based on blood-
relations, like sibling relations
(consanguineal), by marriage, like a
husband and a wife (affinal), or
social, which are relationships not
falling under the first two but you
still consider them as family
(Crossman, 2019)
Economics/
Market
This system aims to regulate the flow
of resources and services. Ideally, this
should ensure that everyone gets a
fair share of goods or that a person in
need will get the service he or she
needs in order to address a necessity.
Ideally, this system should also
regulate the price of the products to
ensure fair competition among
producers and sellers. At times, it can
also control the demand by promoting
a need or want for a certain product.
 Politics/
Government
Composed of various
organizations ensuring
peace and order by
legitimizing the use of
power of certain people
or groups.
 The Three Branches of
Government in the Philippines

Executive Legislative Judiciary

Headed by the president Composed of the House of Led by the Supreme
and who is in-charge of Representatives and the Court to provide proper
enforcing the law. Senate of the Philippines interpretation of the
who are in-charge of laws and ensure that
creating, amending, or they are following the
repealing those laws. Constitution and basic
human rights.
Education/
School
The basic function of schools is to
ensure that the knowledge of the
past and the culture of the society
gets transmitted from one generation
to another. It safeguards continuity
or brings about changes to the other
social institutions. It aims to produce
people who can live harmoniously in
the given social environment as well
as able to be productive citizens for
the economy.
Education/
School
Some may look at this as a
mechanistic way of producing
workers.
The effects of almost twenty years in
school to the mindset of a person
cannot be diminished. It does not
only dictate a person's skill on the
job, but it will also affect his or her
behavior and attitude toward social
issues and life in general.
 types of education

Formal Non Formal Informal

Education Education Education
Religion/
Church
This is an organized
set of practices,
symbols, and artifacts
regarding the belief of
the supernatural.
 REASONS WHY PEOPLE
BELIEVE IN SUPERNATURALS
a) explanation of the unexplainable
b) meaning and purpose of life
c) continuity of relationship with the people
that we care about even after death among
others.
Religion/
Church
Other Function
teach and reinforce
values, norms, and
morals in partnership
with the family and
the school.
 types of Religion

Monotheistic Polytheistic Caste

Religion with one god. Religion with many System
gods.
A hierarchy where
some people are
considered higher in
standing than others.
 Judaism
Christianity
Five
Hinduism
Islam
major
Buddhism religions