The Self, Society, and Culture

Learning Objectives

When writing learning objectives for a course or module, remember:

1. Analyze the concept of Society and culture about "self".

2. Demonstrate a positive attitude in understanding yourself
with the different culture or society you belong.
3. Examine the different influences, factors, and forces that
shape the self.

The Self, Society, and Culture

Guide Questions:

As we tackle this chapter, here are guide questions that would help us
better understand the topic.

1. What is the relationship between external reality and the self?

2. How much of you are essential?
3. How much of who you are now is a product of society, community,
and family?
4. Has your choice of school affected you now? If you were born in a
different family and schooled in another college, how different would
you be?
 What is the Self?

In Contemporary literature and even common sense, SELF is commonly

defined by the following characteristics: “separate, self-contained,
independent, consistent, unitary, and private” – Stevens (1996)
Is the self a private entity?

The self is always affected by external circumstances that bump and

collide with it. It is ever-changing and dynamic, allowing external forces
to take part in its shaping.
The social constructivist perspective, then.
Explains that there is a strong relationship between the self and external
reality.
Argues that the person and their social context are merged. One cannot
easily be separated from the other. (Stevens, 1996).
Argues that the self is not static which stays constant through and
through. Instead, it is in a struggle with external reality and malleable in
its dealings with society.
The self has a social life and can be influenced. Therefore multifaceted.

 Self is also self-contained and independent because it can exist.

Its DISTINCTNESS allows it to be self-contained with its thoughts,
characteristics, and volition. Consistent because it has
a PERSONALITY that is enduring and can be expected to persist for
quite some time. It allows being studied, described, and measured.
 Self is unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts
that run through a specific person. It is like the top command post in an
individual where all processes, emotions, and thoughts converge.
 The self is private. Each person sorts out information, feelings, and
emotions, and thought processes within the self. This whole process is
never accessible to anyone but the self.
Social Constructivist Theory argues that the self should not be a static
entity that stays constant through and through. Instead, the self must be
in UNCEASING FLUX, and the self is always in participation with social
life, and it's dealing with society.

LESSON 1
The Self and Culture
Remaining the same person and turning chameleon by adapting to one's
context seems paradoxical. However, the French Anthropologist Marcel
Mauss has an explanation for this phenomenon. According to Mauss,
every self has two faces: Personne and Moi.
Moi- refers to a person's sense of who he is, his body, and his primary
identity, his biological giveness. Moi is a person's fundamental identity.
Personne- Composed of the social concepts of what it means to be who
he is. Personne has much to do with what it means to live in a particular
institution, family and religion, a particular nationality, and how to behave
given expectations and influences from others. The self (especially the
Personne) morphs according to different circumstances and contexts. It
is shaped by various aspects of culture such as international relations,
environmental/territorial concerns, language/dialect, romantic
relationships, etc.
Our PERSONNE can be illustrated better cross-culturally.

  TRIVIA
  Do you believe that a recent study indicates that men and women in
their growth and     development engage actively in shaping the self?

Mead and Vygotsky

The way that human persons develop is with the use of language
acquisition and interaction with others. The way that we process
information is usually a form of internal dialogue in our heads.
Language is another exciting aspect of this social constructivism. If a
self-born into a particular society or culture, the self will have to adjust
according to its exposure. We process information in the form of internal
dialogue; therefore, a child's cognitive & emotional development is a
mimicry of how it is done in the social world. A child internalizes values,
norms, practices, and social beliefs through exposure to dialogs that will
become part of his world.
And so cognitive and emotional development of a child is always a
mimicry of how it is done in the social world, in the external reality where
he is in.
Both Vygotsky and Mead treat the human mind as something made,
constituted in dialogue with others. A young child internalizes values,
norms, practices, social beliefs, and more through exposure to these
dialogues that will eventually become part of his world.
For Mead, this takes place as a child assumes the “other” through
language and role-play. A child conceptualizes his notion of self through
this.

LESSON 2
The Self in Family
The kind of family that we are born in and the resources available to us
(human, spiritual, economic) will undoubtedly affect us and the type of
development that we will have as we go through life. Learning, therefore,
is critical in our capacity to actualize the goal of becoming a fully realized
human; a child enters a system of relationships, the most important of
which is the family. In contrast, every child is born w/ givenness,
disposition coming from his parents' genes and general condition of life
is a factor in forming self.
Human beings are born virtually helpless, and the dependency period of
a human baby on its parents is more extended than most animals. In
becoming a fully realized human, a child enters a system of
relationships, most notably the family. This is where the person learns
how to live & their selfhood.
 LESSON 3
Gender and the self
Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration,
change, and development. People fought hard for the right to express,
validate, and assert their gender expressions. Gender is an aspect of the
self that is subject to alteration, change, and development from the
perspective of social sciences and the self. It is vital to give leeway to
find, express, and live his identity.
Our gender partly determines how we see ourselves in the world.
Society often forces a particular identity on us depending on our
sex/gender. It must be personally discovered and asserted and not
dictated by culture and society.