MODULE 3: Unfolding the Social Self

This module focuses on the social aspects of the self. As social beings, individuals interact with
others and relate themselves to other people. Social institutions and environments significantly
contribute to one’s identity and self-development. Among millennial learners, technology and
the internet have significantly influenced their social environments and, consequently, their sense
of self. In this module, the cultural, digital, and economic aspects of one’s life and how they
influence a person’s social self will be put to light. This module aims to provide learners with a
deeper understanding of themselves through a socio-cultural perspective.

Section 1: The Social Self

This section discusses the social and environmental factors that shape oneself. This included
environmental systems, cultural orientations, and other social factors that play a crucial role to
one’s self.

The Self and Its Social Agency

 Human development is largely influenced by membership in crucial social groups that

shape various aspects of the self; from belief systems, values orientation, and behavior.
 At the beginning of life, one already belongs to a social group: his/her family. It is the
most pervading influential social group that impacts the self in its entire course of
development. The views one holds about the world, values upheld in making choices and
decisions, and the habits and persistent behavior one carries have been formed in the context
of one’s family and home environment.
 Next to family, schools and the general academic environment form a significant part of
the social self. Worldviews expand as one gets exposed to more people in different social
learning environment. Knowledge and social skills gained from mentors, relatives, and peers
contribute to how the social self is harnessed.
 Aside from one’s family and school environments, communities also shape one’s social
self to a large extent.
 The social self inevitably changes as one accommodates and eventually assimilates
beliefs promoted by the society as he/she thinks, appreciates, and behaves according to
standards set by micro and macro systems.

Culture

 “Culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge,

belief, law, art moral, custom, and other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society.” (Tylor, 1871)
To further understand the nature of culture and its influences on oneself, the following
models illustrate how culture functions in relation to one’s social self.

Biological Systems Theory

 Urie Bronfenbenner’s (1935) Biological Systems

of Development explains an individual’s social
development, using biological, environmental,
and ecological lenses.
 Individualism-Collectivism Model

 Another model that highlights the impact of culture to the self is the Individualism-
Collectivism model proposed by Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama (1991).

According to the model, individualism as an orientation focuses on one’s individual attributes

and personal distinctiveness. People who are individualistic are observed to be competitive and
self-reliant. On the other hand, the collectivist orientation values relationships and harmony.
People who are collectivistic prioritize interests to maintain healthy relationships.

 I vs. Me
 One’s behavior when he or she is alone differs from his or her behavior when he
or she is with others.
 This is what Herbert Mead (1934) posited in his theory of the social self. He
posited that the self is divided into 2 parts: the I which is known as the unsocialized self,
and the Me which is known as the socialized self.
  The I is manifested when one acts naturally for his/her own motivations and not
because of others. On the other hand, the Me is the awareness of how others expect one to
behave. This is also known as the social self.
 These different models present ideas on the process of the self’s social development.
Studying these models helps in understanding oneself and other people. It is not ideal,
however, to generalize a certain culture based on these models.