Understanding the Self

1st Year, 2nd Semester

LESSON 2: Anthropology and Sociology

CULTURE As a sociological concept, culture is made up

- That complex whole which includes of all the ideas, beliefs, behaviors and products
knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, customs, common to, and defining a group’s way of life.
and any other capabilities and habits acquired
by humans as members of the society. Two Components of Culture :
1. MATERIAL CULTURE
ANTHROPOLOGY - Consists of human technology, all the
- Is the systematic study of humans, with the things that people make and use (
goal of knowing our evolutionary origins, our physical manifestation of culture
distinctive nature as species, and the vast itself ).
diversity of our modes of social life in the - Culture is dynamic, it changes from
world and overtime. time to time.
- They research the past to assist with the - The fluidity of culture can be
understanding of the present. ascribed to man’s distinct ability to
- They also research our ancient history and create, transform and re-create
human origins through the archeology culture itself.
subfields, which recover material and physical - Ex. Transportation, communication
remains and analyze them.
2. NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
SOCIOLOGY - As inclusive of the intangible human
- Defined as the scientific study of human life, creations that include beliefs, values,
social groups, whole societies and the human norms, symbols.
world whose subject matter is our own - However, these can manifest in
behavior as social beings in relationship with material objects such as being
many other people. conservative can be seen on how the
person dresses or wears.
The very foundation of self in anthropology is - Material culture may change
understanding man in the light of cultural context while overtime but non-material culture
sociology digs into understanding the self in reference may or may not change depending
to the behavior of the society. on the influence of outside factors in
the society and the changes societal
Culture then becomes the meeting point of values go through.
anthropology and sociology in our self-understanding, - Ex. Legalization of same sex
digging deeper into how we see ourselves, in the light marriage
of the diverse cultural influences that we have been
exposed to. This exposure leads us to adjust, alter and These material and non-material cultures are
modify our ideas about life, about other people, and vital in the understanding of the self in society. We
even about ourselves. become aware of our identity as a part of the society,
ultimately seeing ourselves in the light of the society’s
Everything we see and hold dear around us is cultural values and goals.
part of our culture. It was introduced to us the very
moment we were born through our parents, and then When our culture changes, we are challenged
through the society that we belong to and grew up in. to uphold our values or alter our world view and
behavior as well. Hence our social self can be traced
Our culture sets the norms of our people. from how we were raised in our society, inclusive of its
Norms are what dictates our behavior in society. The beliefs, traditions, ideas and perspective and the
acceptability of our act and the approval of which, is changes that come with it.
dependent on social standards which are a product of
our people’s commitment to uphold the very essence of The Development of Self
our cultural values. George Mead’s theory of Development of Self :
1. PREPARATORY STAGE
- Occurs in childhood.
Understanding the Self
1st Year, 2nd Semester
LESSON 2: Anthropology and Sociology

- In this stage children learn to mimic and world, among his fellow men, should be planned and
imitate the behavior of those around them. controlled. Culture guides the self to act on the basis of
what the society dictates as good.
2. PLAY STAGE
- Which occurs in, thus developing early The Self in the Western and Oriental Thought :
childhood. The Western mindset is of Individualism while the
- Children begin to take roles of specific people Oriental mindset is of collectivism.
such as doctors or teachers in play activities.
- It enables them to see themselves from the ● WESTERN MINDSET
perspective of others thus developing a sense Everyone grows up to look after him/herself
of awareness. and his/her own family only.
- Children learns to think in terms of
3. GAME STAGE “I”
- Occurs in later childhood. - Individual ownership of resources
- Children learn to take multiple roles at once - Low-content communication prevails
such as team sports. - Media is the primary source of
- Enables children to understand the rules of information
expectations of a particular social group and - Individual self actualization is the
how their behavior affects others. ultimate goal
- Tasks prevails over relationship
Mead’s Three Types of Socialization : - Individual interest prevails over
1. PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION collective interest
- Child learns the attitudes, values, and actions
appropriate to the individuals as members of ● ORIENTAL MINDSET
a particular culture. - Extended family ties ( loyalty )
- Children learns to think in terms of
2. SECONDARY SOCIALIZATION “We”
- Involves learning the appropriate behavior as - Resources shared with relatives
a member of a smaller group within the larger - High context communication prevails
society. - Social network as primary source of
information
3. ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION - Harmony and consensus in society as
- Process of acquiring the knowledge and skills ultimate goal
necessary to assume an employee’s - Relationship prevails over tasks
organizational role. - Collective interests over individual

THE I-SELF AND THE ME-SELF The Self as a product of the New World :
George Mead believes that the mind is shaped by the Technologies of social saturation have become vital in
social process and that this process involves two the transformation of the social world, ultimately giving
aspects: the “I” and the “Me”. a make-over of the social self. Technology has allowed
● ME represents the social self, object. us to do things unimaginable before. Yesterday's
● I is the individual's response to Me, subject. options are now obsolete. Today's generation does not
identify itself from their societal culture but recognizes
Geertz and His concept of Self as an Unfinished the unprecedented influence of the global culture.
Animal :
He elucidated that culture should not be seen as a The Selfie Generation as Culture Creators :
complex behavioral pattern but as a set of control ● GENERATION Z – born between 1995 and
mechanisms-engineered programs in directing human 2010 ( high school or college at present ).
behavior. He describes man as an unfinished animal
always dependent on structures to control his behavior. According to research this generation has
embraced and balanced multiple cultures that are
And since human thoughts are both social and moving their cultural identity beyond simple definitions
public, it is necessary that his actions in the outside of race and ethnicity.
Understanding the Self
1st Year, 2nd Semester
LESSON 2: Anthropology and Sociology

Today’s generation is now able to create a

new cultural currency that values uniqueness,
authenticity, creativity, shareability, and recognition.
They are not just consumers but creators, changers and
collaborators. Their self presentation revolves around
the virtual world, including their identity and
self-construal.

The Self by Confucius :

● CONFUCIANISM is a social philosophy
delineating the very core of human
relationships with the end goal of spiritual
growth. He believed that filial piety and
respect in hierarchical relationships are
foremost for social order.

According to Confucius, as we ritualize and

perfect human relationships, we in turn develop
spirituality. This cultivation involves a dynamic process
in the spirit of filiality, brotherhood, friendship,
discipleship and loyalty.
Understanding the Self
1st Year, 2nd Semester
LESSON 3: Psychology

To help us understand ourselves better, here are some - Our self-schemas influence not only our
theories and concepts in psychology regarding the self. current behavior but also future behavior.

William James - Two Categories of Self :

IDEAL SELF REAL SELF

1. ME SELF
Person we want to be Who we actually are
a. self as object of experience
b. also referred as empirical self Idealized version of self How I see me
c. the self we refer to when talking about our
personal experiences How I should be Also called actual self
d. can be divided into 3 sub-categories
I. material self – body, family, belongings
The congruence or incongruence between the ideal and
II. social self – social roles we play
real has effects on our self-esteem.
III. spiritual self – our core, values,
personality, conscience
SELF-ESTEEM
- It refers to one’s overall assessment of one’s
2. I SELF
worth as a person ( self-worth ).
a. subject of experience
- People with high self-esteem succeed more,
b. the thinker, metaphysical
have better relationships, and are happier
c. pure ego that provides continuity between
compared to those with low self-esteem.
past, present, future
d. cannot be further divided
● Social Image – relationship with significant
e. continuous stream of consciousness
others
● Emotional Self-Image - emotional
DONALD WINNICOTT
expressions
- According to him, we have a True Self and a
● Academic Self-Image – course work (
False Self. Only the true self can be creative
academic standing )
and can feel real.
● Physical Self-Image – physical appearance
- A false self is created by us to protect our true
self when it feels frightening to be genuine in
For Carl Rogers, a fully functioning person means that
the real world.
the person is in touch with the here and now, his or her
- The degree of having a false self should be
subject experiences and feelings, continually growing
kept at a minimum and being aware of is
and changing.
crucial so as to not overpower or consume the
true self.
Key characteristics of a fully functioning person :
● openness to experience
CARL ROGERS ( Real vs Ideal Self )
● flexible self-concept
- Our self-concept is an organized, consistent
● unconditional positive regard for the self
set of perceptions of and beliefs about
● ability to live in harmony with others
oneself. These perceptions and beliefs are
called self-schemas.
SELF-EFFICACY
- SELF-SCHEMAS are formed by numerous
- It refers to how we perform, and is directly
factors that we may be aware or unaware of,
correlated with self-esteem.
some of which are the ff:
- When our self-efficacy or performance
1. past experiences,
improves, our self-esteem improves which will
2. personality traits,
lead to congruence.
3. abilities,
- But increase in self-esteem does not always
4. physical features,
lead to increase to self-efficacy most
5. values,
especially if no effort was exerted to improve
6. goals,
performance.
7. social roles,
- For self-efficacy and self-esteem to increase,
8. own observations,
we have to learn to give unconditional positive
9. feedback from others.
regard to each other.
Understanding the Self
1st Year, 2nd Semester
LESSON 3: Psychology

- We need to continue investing and valuing - This process entails modifying or

ourselves by learning something relevant changing our ideas based on the new
everyday. knowledge acquired.

The Self as a Cognitive Construction Stages of Cognitive Development

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 1. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

- Is the construction of thought processes, - Knowledge of the world is limited but
including memory, problem-solving and developing, and intelligence is demonstrated
decision-making from infancy through through motor activity without the use of
adolescence to adulthood. symbols
- Refers to how a person, through the
interaction of genetic and learned influences, 2. PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE
perceives, thinks and develops understanding - Thinking is done in a non-logical,
of their environment. non-reversible manner and egocentric
- Information processing, knowledge, thinking predominates.
reasoning, language development and
memory are among the areas of cognitive 3. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
development. - Intelligence is demonstrated through logical
and systematic manipulation of symbols
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development related to concrete objects, and egocentric
thoughts diminishes.
PIAGET
- A French psychologist proposed that children’s 4. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
learning and development are influenced by - Intelligence is demonstrated through the
several factors including schemas. logical use of symbols related to abstract
concepts, although many people do not reach
● SCHEMAS this stage.
- Refers to the mental and physical
actions involved in understanding Self in Psychological View
and acquiring knowledge. The self is an individual's internal representation and
- Are categories of knowledge that experience of their own identity. It encompasses an
help individuals interpret and make individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, values and
sense of the world around them. behavior, and is shaped by a range of factors including
genetics, life experiences, social interactions.
When individuals encounter new experiences or
information, they use this new knowledge to modify, The self is often divided between Self-concept ( how
expand or alter their existing schemas. one perceives oneself ) and Self-esteem ( evaluates
one’s self = worth ).
● ASSIMILATION
- Process of integrating new Self also explores the role of cognitive processes such
information into our existing as perception, memory and attention in shaping an
schemas, where we tend to adjust individual’s self understanding.
and modify new experiences to fit
our existing beliefs.

● ACCOMODATION
- Involves altering our existing
schemas or creating new schemas in
response to the new information or
experiences.