GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E.

MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Chapter 2
Sociological Perspective of the Self

Pre-discussion

Sociology, or the study of how human society is established, its structure and
how it works, the people’s interaction with each other and the effects they have to one
another is an aspect in which we have to consider with regards to the development of a
person. It is also important to understand that the establishment of the “Self” based on
social structures could give us a better understanding of who we are and provide
reasons how our interactions can affect us as a person.

What to expect:

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:

1. Explain the relationship between and among the self the society and culture;
2. Describe and discuss the different ways by which society and culture shape the
self;
3. Compare and contrast how the self can be influenced by the different institution
in the society; and
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed in the
class.

Lesson Proper: The Self, Society and Culture

George Herbert Mead and the Social Self,

George Herbert Mead is an American Sociologist, he is considered as the Father of

American pragmatism, and one of the pioneers in the field of social psychology because
of his contributions on the development of the person relating to various social factors.
Mead rejected the idea of biological determination of the self which proposes that an
individual already has an established self from the moment he is born. For him, the
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

notion of a person with regards to who they are develops from one’s social interaction
with other people. He reiterated that the process of establishing the self is through the
construction and reconstruction of the idea of who we are as a person during the
process of social experience. The “I” and the “Me”

Mead proposes that there are two components of the self which the person has, these
components are the “I” and the “Me”. The “Me” are the characteristics, behavior, and or
actions done by a person that follows the “generalized others” that person interacts with,
while the “I” is the reaction of the individual to the attitude of others, as well as the
manifestation of the individuality of the person. Simply speaking, According to Mead the
concept the “I” is one’s response to the established attitude, and behavior that a person
assumes in reference to their social interactions while the “Me” are the attitudes, and
behavior of the person with reference to their social environment.

Mead’s Three Role-playing Stages of Self Development Mead proposed that there a
three stages in which a person has to go through for one to develop one’s self. These
stages are the Preparation/Language Stage, Play stage, and Game stage. The
Preparatory Stage (Birth – 2 years Old) – According to Mead, during this stage the
infant simply imitates the actions and behaviors of the people that the infant interacts
with. Because the child is only mimicking what he or she observes from his or her
environment their actions are only the reflection of what they can remember without
any intention or meaning behind their actions or behavior. The Play Stage (2 – 6 years
old) – for the Play stage, it is the time where children begins to interact with other with
which certain rules apply, these rules often time does not adhere to any set or
standards but rather are rules that are set by the children themselves. Also, this is the
stage where the child practices real life situations through pretend play and is the onset
of self- consciousness. The development of the self in this stage occurs through the
preliminary experiences that serves as practice for the child. The Game Stage (6-9
years old) – The final stage of self-development according to Mead where are
characterized by the ability of the children to recognize the rules of the game and be
able to identify their roles and the roles of the others that is playing with them. With this,
the children at this stage learns the implications of their actions as well as the
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

understanding or taking into account how one can take into account the view point of
the society on the attitudes and actions.

With the idea of Mead with regards to the establishment of the sense of self,
socialization is a lifetime endeavor, and the people one interacts with will change
throughout a person’s life, as such, considering the social environment one belongs to
along with the changes on the

person’s development, may it be at school, home, or work, the interactions and

experiences the person acquires from those people and situations helps define a more
concrete identity and sense of self. That idea of “Self” may be based on the general
attitudes and behaviors of other people or the individuality of the person that manifests
as a response to those attitudes and behaviors of others.
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Assessments

Activity 3: My Self through the years

Paste a picture of you when you were in elementary, in high school, and now that
you are in college. Below this picture, list down your salient characteristics/features that
you remember (at least 5) and used all the words into a paragraph for the concluding
part of yourself.

Elementary High School College

Paste your picture here Paste your picture here Paste your picture here
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
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Analysis

After examining your “self” in its different stages, fill out the table below:

Similarities in all stages of Differences in my “self” Possible reasons for the

my “self”. across the three stages of differences on me.
my life
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Activity 4: Reflection of my “Self”

GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Answer the following questions cogently but honestly. Write your answers in the space
provided.

1. How would you describe yourself?

2. What are the influence of family in your development as an individual?

3. Think of a time when you felt you were your “true self”. What made you think you
are during this time of your life?

4. Following the question above, can you possible a time when you felt you were
not living your “true self”? why did you have to live a life like that? What did you
do about it?
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

5. What social pressures help shape your Self? Would you have wanted it
otherwise?

6. What aspects of your self do you think may be changed or would like to change

Activity 6: Thinking Myself

GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Complete the matrix tha describes your “I and Me” characteristics, personalities
and behavior

“I Self” “Me Self”

Required Reading/s:

Lanuza, G. (2004). The constitution of the self. In David, R. (Ed.), Nation, self and
citizenship. An invitation to Philippine Sociology. Anvil Publishing.

Mead, G. (1972). Mind, self and society from the standpoint of a social behaviorist.
TheUniversity of Chicago Press

Chapter 3
Anthropological Perspective of the Self
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Pre-discussion:

As discussed in the previous lessons, every field of study, at least in the social
sciences, have their own research, definition and conceptualization of self and identity.
Some are similar while some specific only in their field. Each field also has thousands of
research on self and identity as well as related or synonymous terms. The trend of the
lessons also seems to define the concept to the self from the larger context down to the
individual. However it must be pointed out that modern researches acknowledge the
contributions of each field and this is not some sort of nurture vs. nature, society/culture
vs. individual/brain, and other social science vs, psychology debate. Anthropology may
focus on the individual and cognitive function, but it does not discount the context and
other possible factors that affect the individual. For students who take up psychology,
discussions on theories, and development, among others actually take at least one
semester and there are still more to be learned about the concept of “self”. This lesson
provides an overview of the themes of psychology regarding the said concepts.

What to expect:

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:

1. Identify the different ideas in anthropology about self

2. Create your own definition of the “self” based on the definition from anthropology;
and
3. Analyse the effects of various factors identified in anthropology in the formation
of self.

Lesson Proper
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

The Self and the Person in Contemporary Anthropology

I. Anthropology and Its Subdisciplines The academic discipline of anthropology, or

“four-field” anthropology, studies human species and its immediate ancestors
includes four main sub disciplines or subfields - sociocultural, archeological,
biological and linguistic anthropology. Each sub discipline studies adaptation, the
process which organisms cope with the environmental. Anthropology is a
systematic exploration of human biological and cultural diversity.

The Subdisciplines of Anthropology

1. Cultural Anthropology

Cultural anthropology is the study of human society and culture which

describes, analyzes, interprets and explains social and cultural similarities and
differences. It explores the diversity of the present and the past. Ethnography and
ethnology are two different activities which can study and interpret cultural diversity.

Ethnography requires fieldwork to collect data, often descriptive and specific to group.
On the other hand, ethnology uses data collected by a series of researches, usually
synthetic and comparative.

2. Archeological Anthropology

Archeological anthropology reconstructs, describes and interprets human

behavior and cultural patterns through material remains. These materials remain such
as plant, animal and ancient garbage provides stories about utilization and actions.

Ethnography (based on field work)

Ethnology (based on cross-cultural comparison)

GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

3. Biological, or Physical Anthropology

Biological, or Physical Anthropology focuses on these special interest, human

evolution as revealed by the fossil, human genetics, human growth and development,
human biological plasticity and the biology, evolution, behavior and social life of
monkeys, apes and other nonhuman primates.

4. Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropology studies language in its social and cultural context

across space and over time. Universal features of language are analyzed and
association between language and culture are evaluated.. It also studies how speech
changes in social situations and over time.

The Self Embedded in the Culture

Culture refers to customary behavior and beliefs that are passed on through
enculturation (Kottak, 2008), wherein enculturation is the social process which culture
is learned and transmitted. Culture is a social process that is learned and passes from
generation to the next. Culture depends on images, which have a specific significance
and incentive for individuals who share a culture. Cultural traditions take regular
marvels, including organic desires, and transforming them specifically headings.
Everybody is cultured. Social orders are coordinated and designed through
predominant monetary powers, social examples, key images and core values. Cultural
mean of adjustment have been urgent in human evolution. Cultures oblige people, yet
the activities of people can change cultures.

Culture defined: Culture is shared, symbolic, natural, learned, integrated,

encompassing and maladaptive and adaptive. Csordas (1999) elaborated that the
human body is not essential for anthropological study but the paradigm of embodiment
can be explored in the understanding culture and the self. The body is not an object to
be studied in relation to culture, but is to be considered as the subject of culture, or in
other words as the existential ground of culture. On the other hand, Geertz (1973)
described culture as "a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about
and attitudes toward life" .The interpretation of the symbols in each culture is essential
which gives meaning to one’s action. Each culture has its own symbols and has its own
meaning; one must need to comprehend those meanings keeping in mind the end goal
to understand the culture. One must disconnect the components of culture, discover the
relationship among those components, and portray the entire framework in some broad
way.

Assessments

Activity 6:

Do a research and list ten things to boost self-esteem or improve your self-
concept. Cite your sources. Analyze which of those tips are more likely to
backfire and make someone conceited or narcissistic and revise them to make
the statements both helpful to the individual as well as society in general.

Required Reading/s:

Csordas, T. (1999). Self and person. In bode (Ed.),Psychological Anthropology (pp. 331
– 350). Praeger. 331 – 350. Geertz, C. (1973). The Impact of the Concept of Culture
and Concept of Man. In the interpretation of culture(pp. 33 – 54). Basic Book.

Geertz, C. (1973). Person, time and conduct in Bali. In the interpretation of culture(pp.
360 – 411). Basic Book.

Chapter 4
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Psychological Perspective of the Self

Pre-discussion:

As discussed in the previous lessons, every field of study, at least in the social
sciences, have their own research, definition and conceptualization of self and identity.
Some are similar while some specific only in their field. Each field also has thousands of
research on self and identity as well as related or synonymous terms. The trend of the
lessons also seems to define the concept to the self from the larger context down to the
individual. However it must be pointed out that modern researches acknowledge the
contributions of each field and this is not some sort of nurture vs. nature, society/culture
vs. individual/brain, and other social science vs, psychology debate. Psychology may
focus on the individual and cognitive function, but it does not discount the context and
other possible factors that affect the individual. For students who take up psychology,
discussions on theories, and development, among others actually take at least one
semester and there are still more to be learned about the concept of “self”. This lesson
provides an overview of the themes of psychology regarding the said concepts.

What to expect:

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:

1. Identify the different ideas in psychology about self

2. Create your own definition of the “self” based on the definition from psychology;
and
3. Analyse the effects of various factors identified in psychology in the formation of
self.

Psychology has various ways of understanding a person and the therapist way of
helping people understand themselves. Self by definition is a reference by an individual
to the same individual person. Having its own or single character as a person, referring
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

to the person as same individual. The psychology of studying self is about either the
cognitive and affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. The
earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology forms the distinction between the
self as I, the person knower, and the self as Me, the person that is known.

“The Self and It Selves” William James, a psychologist, has introduced in his document
The Principles of Psychology (1890) a numerous concepts and distinction of self. For
James, his main concepts of self are the “me-self” and the “I-self”. The “me-self” is the
phenomenal self, the experienced self or the self as known. It is the self that has
experience the phenomena and who had known the situation. The “I-self” is the self-
thought or the self-knower. James had claimed that the understanding of Self can be
separated into three categories: “1. Its constituents; 2. The feeling and emotions they
arouse – Self-feelings; 3. The actions to which they prompt – Self-seeking and self-
preservation (James, 1890, p162) Also, James wrote sub-categories of self, 1. the
material self; 2. the social self; and 3. the spiritual self. The Material Self is constituted
by our bodies, clothes, immediate family and home. It is in this that we attached more
deeply into and therefore we are most affected by because of the investment we give to
these things. The Social Self is based on our interactions with society and the reaction
of people towards us. It is our social self that thought to have multiple divergence or
different version of ourselves. It varies as to how we present ourselves to a particular
social group. The most intimate self, the spiritual self. It is the most intimate because it
is more satisfying for the person that they have the ability to argue and discriminate
one’s moral sensibility, conscience and indomitable will.

Conception of Self Carl Rogers, had come up with his conception of self through the
intervention he used for his client, the Person-centered therapy. It is a non-directive
intervention because it believes that all people have the potential to solve their own
problems. Rogers believe that people must be fully honest with themselves in order to
have personal discovery on oneself. In this concept of self, he had come up with three
sides of a triangle. a. The Perceived Self (Self worth - how the person sees self & others
sees them) b. The Real Self (Self Image - How the person really is) c. The Ideal Self
(How the person would like to be)
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Concept of Unified and Multiple Self As DanielCW (2016) wrote in his article
“Psychoanalysis vs Postmodern Psychology” he has emphasized how Freud percieved
person as a unified beings and Gergens concept of multiple “selves” In Freud’s
concept, he argued that mind is divided into three connected but distict parts. The Id,
Ego and Super Ego. Id as the center of primitive, animalistic impluses (sex, food &
comfort) following the pleasure principle. Superego as the center for ethical imperative.
The one that reminds the self of what is right of wrong following morality principle. And
the Ego as the moderator between these two which was driven by rationality principle.
And then also, Freud has stated two important division of mind, the conscious and
unconscious. Conscious are the thoughts that we are aware of. And Unconscious as
thoughts that we are not aware of. (DanielCW, 2016) Although, Freud has argued that
self has a multiple parts, he still believed that ultimately we are a Unified beings
(Atleast, when we are healthy). Ego remains at the helm of mind, guiding the Id and
Superego and staying at the center. Thus Gergen argued that having a flexible sense of
self allows for multiple “selves”. That it is up to the the self to define himself as warm or
cold, dominant or submissive, sexy or plain. According to Kenneth Gergen, proponent
of Post modern Psychology, The individual has many potential selves. He carries within
him the capacity to identify himself, whether warm or 24

cold, dominant or submissive, sexy or plain. How we bring ourselves in every situation
will held him get through for a day. Therefore, maybe it is healthy to have many mask.
Multiple selfhood is part of what it means to be human, and forcing oneself to stick to
one self-concept maybe unhealthy. True Self and Fake Self True Self, as rooted from
early infancy is called the simple being. The sense of self based on spontaneous
authentic experience and feeling of being alive, having “real self”. Example, as a baby
we react base on our sense of reality. The baby reacted spontaneously based on our
instinctual sense. Fake Self, is our defense facade. Overlaying or contradicting the
original sense of self. Problem would be we might build false set of relationship through
concealing a barren emptiness behind an independent-seeming façade.

Assessments
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Activity 7: You through others eye

Make an interview to the following individual:

1.1 (2) close friends

1.2 (2) relatives
1.3 (2) neighbors
1.4 (2) newly meet friends
1.5 (2) old friends
Ask this question?
 Who do you think I am based on what you see me do or hear me say?
(you may use Filipino Language during the interview)

Note: Compile and edit the video interview then upload to our private page in
facebook.

Analysis

What aspects are similar and which are not? What aspects are always true to
you? What aspects are sometimes true or circumstantial? What aspects do you think
are not really part of your personality?

Required Reading/s: Hater, S. (1996). Historical roots of contemporary issues

involving the self-concept. In Bracken (Ed.),Handbook of self-concept: Developmental,
social and clinical considerations (pp. 1 – 37). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Chapter 5: The Self in Western and Oriental/Eastern Thought

Pre-discussion:

Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different perceptions of

the self and one of the most common distinctions between cultures and people is the
Eastern vs. western dichotomy wherein eastern represents Asia and Western
represents Europe and America. It must be understood that this distinction and the
countries included was politically colored at the time that aforementioned concepts were
accepted and used in the social sciences. Furthermore, it must be reiterated that while
countries who are geographically closer to each other may share commonalities, there
are also a lot of factors that create differences. In the Philippines alone, each region
may have similar or varying perception regarding the “self”.

What to expect:

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:

1. Differentiate the concept of self according to Western thought agaist

Eastern/Oriental Perspective.
2. Explain the concept of self as found in Asian thought; and
3. Create a representation of the Filipino self.

Lesson Proper

There is a clash of civilization that is plaguing the country right now and though
this is not officially and consciously acknowledged, this war for dominance is victimizing
all Filipinos in one form or another. There is really no middle ground, and it is either one
is rooting for the other side or opposing all contentions and wisdom from another side.
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

This is the battle for the dominance, and prisoners are not taken and captured. This is
literally, the war between the eastern self versus the western self. Western culture
basically is about the focus on oneself and personal needs; Eastern culture is about
focus on others and the feeling of others. Western culture is predicated on putting
egoism first while Eastern culture is about collectivism. Conceptually, there is a vast of
difference between egoism and collectivism. While egoism is focused on oneself,
collectivism is all about focus on others. While the Western culture is inclined in more
acquisition of material things, the Eastern culture is tilted towards less assets (thus the
mantra less is more). Western culture is obsessed with being successful, the eastern
culture is more inclined towards long life; for the Eastern culture, long life is equated
with wealth. In the Eastern culture, wealth and poverty is the result of fortune and luck,
for the Western culture, wealth and poverty is the result of enterprise and hard work.
The Eastern culture values the wisdom of years and seniority, while the Western
culture celebrates the youth and being young. Philosophically, the Eastern culture
subscribe to concept of reincarnation while Western culture subscribe to the idea of
evolution. Taken as a whole, these basic and subtle differences between the Eastern
culture and the Western culture are taking its toll on Filipinos on which culture to adopt.
The dilemma is whether to follow and subscribe to the Western influences or subscribe
to Eastern ideas. Concept of Self Western and Eastern Thought Western Eastern ∙ Self
is a social construction which is symbolically and signally created between and among
social beings∙ Phenomenological object which can be productively studied through as
series of evanscent actionss, self is multidimensional entity ∙ Self is an interpersonal
unit ∙ A gentleman by following the moral way consisting of the virtues of love,
righteousness, wisdom, propriety and loyalty in order to promote harmony in society
(Confucianism)∙ (Theravada) detachment and desirelessness to reach nirvana;
reciprocal

28

∙ Self takes form in communication ∙ Self is intimately connected to bodily experience

both ontogenetically and here and now awareness∙ Self is both phenomenal and
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

nonphenomenal ∙ Self acquires substance according to semantic, syntactic and

pragmatic

relationship;(Mahayana)compassion to other humans for belief that we are part of the

same ever-changing universe (Buddhism)∙ Attainment of liberation in the identification
of Atman (the spiritual essence of all individual human beings) and Brahman (the
spiritual essence of the universe) through the Four Yogas (Hinduism)∙ Attainment of
liberation in the identification of Atman (the spiritual essence of all individual human
beings) and Brahman (the spiritual essence of the universe) through the Four Yogas
(Taoism)∙ Concept of Kapwa, recognition of shared identity, an inner self shared with
others; Two levels or modes of social interaction – ibang-tao or “outsider” and hindi
ibang-tao or “one-of-us” (Filipino Psychology) Individualism versus Collectivism
Individualism Collectivism ∙ People are autonomous and independent from their in-
groups∙ Give priority to their personal goals of their in-groups∙ Behave on their basis of
attitudes rather than norms ∙ Interdependent within their in-groups∙ Give priority to the
goals of their in- groups ∙ In-groups primarily shape their behavior ∙ Behave in a
communal way ∙ Concerned in maintaining relationship with others

Assessment

Activity 8: Two sides of the Same Planet

Write top five differences between Western and Eastern society, culture, and
individuals in the table below. Cite your sources.

WESTERN EATERN
GE 708: Understanding the Self RANDY E. MAYO, MAT-Compiler

Activity 9 : Application and Assessments

Create a representation, diagram or concept map of the SELF according to Filipino

culture. Provide a brief explanation of your output. You can also cite books and
researches about Filipino culture, self and identity to further elaborate on the topic.

Required Reading/s:

Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory of personality. In Pervin and John (Eds.),
Handbook of Personality Theory and Research 2nd ed (pp. 134 – 194). Guilford Press.

Johnson, T. (1985). The western concept of self. In Marsella (Ed.), Culture and self:
Asian and western perspectives (pp. 91 – 138). Tavistock Publications.

Triandis, H. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts.Psychol.
Rev. 96.3.506 -520. Wei-Ming, T. (1985). Selfhood and Others in Confucian Thought. In
Marsella (ed). Culture and Self: Asian and western perspectives. Tavistock Publication.
231 – 251.