UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

MODULE 1 THE SELF IN THE VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

TOPIC 3: ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SELF:

THE SELF AS EMBEDDED IN CULTURE
Name: MICARANDAYO, GLENN N. Year & Section: BSCE 201 Date: 11-25-2020

TASK 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE. Highlight the letter that corresponds to your answer.

1. It refers to “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.
a. Identity toolbox
b. Social identity
c. Society
d. Culture

2. According to this view, there is no intrinsic self that can possess enduring qualities.
a. Androcentric
b. Egocentric
c. Sociocentric
d. Polycentric

3. This refers to the features of a person’s identity that he or she chooses to emphasize in constructing his
or her social self.
a. Personal name
b. Social identity
c. Identity toolbox
d. Cultural Construction of Self

4. It is a universal practice with numerous cross-cultural variations and establishes a child’s birthright and
social identity.
a. Personal naming
b. Rites of passage
c. Identity toolbox
d. Incorporation

5. These are interactions in which there is a discrepancy between the identity a person claims to possess
and the identify attributed to that person by others.

a. Illusion of wholeness
b. Identity struggles
c. Rites of passage
d. Separation

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TASK 2: TRUE OR FALSE. Instruction. Write T on the blank if the statement is true and write F if it is false.

T 1. Anthropology considers human experience as an interplay of nature and nurture.

F 2. We are born with an identity.
T 3. Without name, an individual’s social identity is not established.
F 4. The Japanese view self can be best described as egocentric.
T 5. In the sociocentric view, the self is viewed as contingent on a situation or social setting.

TASK 3.ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF: BIOCULTURAL CONNECTION IN ME.

Instruction. The self is continually influenced by cultural variation that depends on our inherited biological
characteristics and cultural environments. Every human being is born with a specific set of genetic potentials
and limitations which influence his or her own construction of self, but the self is also a result of the complex
interplay of biological and cultural environments. Using the biocultural framework, list down your inherited
potentials as well as your cultural environment such as your personal experiences, beliefs, norms, and values.
Analyze your lists, then subscribe your “biocultural self.” Use the graphic organizer below.

My Genetic Inheritance My Cultural Environment

My parents are very supportive I am a Roman Catholic and I

people I think I inherited from them of always put Christ as the center of
being a supportive and helpful to everything.
others. I am living in a locality where
They also value the essence of the people believe in superstition and I
family I think inherited also from them adapted that kind of beliefs.
because I value so much more the
essence of family. The people here in my locality
They are also of low key type of always help each other, they are
people and I think I inherited from them hospitable and always share what they
of being a humble person. have.

My Biocultural Self

I am self-aware of myself and to my environment. I value nature as how I

value myself. I always put Christ as the center of everything. I am hospitable yet
humble person.

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TASK 4. ESSAY WRITING. Instructions. Write an essay on the different anthropological perspective of how the
self is constructed in societies. Consider the following questions in writing your essay.

1. Which of the anthropological views of the self relates to your own belief? Explain how each view impact
your self-understanding.
2. How are yourself and identify constructed and influenced by your culture? Include three things you
discovered about your cultural identity.

In my inner self belief I think I am much more relates to the anthropological view of egocentric view. I act
more independently from others. Yet when I am on the outside world I sudden change to being sociocentric view
because I do not want to be left behind also. I believe in a saying “No man’s an island”. I must become more
interdependent to others.
I am oriented to be a Filipino when I was given a name. I am race to be kind and possess nothing but
kindness to others. I believe I get it to my parents because they are also Filipinos. I found my culture is Christ-
centered and Family-oriented. I adapted to a very emotional culture and developed to it to socio practicality. I
found also that my culture is very joyful and festive.

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