Reviewer 2

Perspective of
Sociology and Anthropology
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is one of the social sciences fields that aims to discover how the social environment influences
people's thoughts , feelings and behaviors.

• Born on February 27, 1863 in Massachusetts, USA

• Graduated and taught Grade School at Oberlin College.
• Enrolled in Harvard University in 1887 where his interests were
Philosophy and Psychology

MEAD SOCIAL SELF

• Social Behaviorism – Mead used to explain environmental influence in
influencing human behaviour. The concept of self is at the center of his
theorisation.
• He described the self as “dimension of personality that is made up of the
individual’s self-awareness and self-image” (Macionis, 2012)
• According to Mead, the self cannot be separated from the society.
GEORGE • He explained through a set of stages which the person undergoes in the course
of his development.
HERBERT MEAD

STAGES OF SELF FORMATION (GEORGE MEAD

THE PREPARATORY THE PLAY STAGE THE GAME STAGE

STAGE This stage is where the child
Mead believed that a self did widens his perspective and
not exist at birth but develops realizes that he is not alone
over time. It depends on social and there are others around
him which he has to consider.
interaction and social
At this stage..
experience.
At this stage.. Role-taking is the process of
The actions of children bases assuming the perspective of
primarily on imitation. They another person to see how this
familiarize themselves with symbols person might behave or
(verbal and non-verbal) as they respond in a given situation
(Schaefer, 2012)
communicate and these symbols
are the basis for communication.
The child now has the ability to
respond not just to one but
several members of his social
environment
At this stage..
Generalized other was used to
explain the behavior when a
person considers other people in
the course of his action. Through
this, the person realizes the
cultural norms, beliefs, & values
incorporated to each self. With
this, it forms the basis of self-
evaluation
 MEADS THEORY OF THE SELF

• Theory of the Self: The self is not present at birth but begins as a central character in a child’s world.
• Children see themselves as “universe” and are having difficulty understanding people around them.
• As they grow and mature, they begin to see other people and is concerned about their reactions.
• His family play a major role in the formation of the self. They are the Significant others – strongly influence
his development. (Schaefer, 2012)

The “I” and “Me

Mead explained that the person’s capacity to see the self through others implies that the self has 2 parts
:
I Self – when the person initiates, the self-functions as subject. This subjective element of the self is the I.
Me Self – when the person takes the role of the other, the self-function as object. The objective element
of the self is the Me.

CHARLES HORTON COOLEY (1864-1929)

• American sociologist who made use the Sociopsychological approach to

understand how societies work.
• He discussed the formation of the self through interaction in his written work,
Human Nature and the Social Order (1902)

Looking-glass self – the self which produces social interaction.

Seeing oneself is based on considering one's personal qualities and the
perception of oneself is also influenced by the impression of others

“
• Cooley believed that developing a self has 3 phases:
(Schaefer, 2012) I am not what I think I am
• People imagine how they present themselves to others I am not what YOU think I am
• People develop some sort of feeling about themselves I am what I think YOU think I am.
as a result of those impressions.
• It is noticed that Cooley used the word Imagine. This may mean that there is a possibility that people
develop self-identities based on the wrong perception of how others see them. Wrong perceptions,
however, can still change based on positive social experiences

ERVING GOFFMAN (1922-1982)

• Canadian-American sociologist knows for his role in the development of Modern
American Sociology.

• The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life – people early in their social
interactions learned to slant their self-representation in order to create preferred
appearances and satisfy individuals or alter the way the person presents himself
to others whom he calls impression management.
 He sees similarities of real social interaction to a theatrical presentation. This is the reason for the label
dramaturgical approach to his view.

He used the phrase face-work to describe another aspect of the self. This was observed in situations
where face-saving measures are resorted to in the maintenance of a proper image of self in frustrating
or embarrassing situations (Schaefer, 2012)
• The discussions and observations of sociologists

“ “Choose your self-presentations

carefully, for what starts out as a mask
may become your face”
represented a progression on how the self has
developed through the process of socialization to how
the person manages self-presentation in order for him to
-Erving Goffman be accepted by others.

SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is one of the field of social sciences that seeks to discover how the social
environment influences the thoughts , feelings and behaviors of people.

ACTIVITY
Search for old pictures of yourself at the following age brackets
A. 3-6
B. 7-12
C. 13-17

FOR EACH AGE BRACKET, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Describe the picture. What event can you recall at this age?_________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who was your most memorable person at that age? Why?____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Any significant changes that happened during that age_____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

INSIGHTS: (HELPFUL FOR CLASS SHARING)

1. Have all you past experience made you a better person? How?
2. If you were to change anything in your past, what event would it be? Why?
3. Are you happy with yourself now? Why?
 THE SELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropology is a field of the social sciences that focuses on the study of man. Not just on one aspect
of man, but the totality of what it means to be human. The field looks into man’s physical/biological
characteristics, social relationships, and the influence of his culture from the dawn of civilization up to the
present.

Everything in anthropology is interconnected and a complete

understanding is necessary to achieve better understanding of oneself.

There are 4 subfields of Anthropology that suggests that human beings

are similar and very different at the same time:

• Archaeology • Linguistic Anthropology

• Biological Anthropology • Cultural Anthropology

ARCHAEOLOGY
• Archeologist is a scientist who is researching artefacts to figure out
how people have lived their lives. As a result, archeologists have
found that humans are sensitive to changes in their climate so they
can survive.

•They believe that Homo sapiens did not become extinct because of their ability to think, use tools, and
learn from experience.
•Those discoveries have made people realize that survival is the most important aspect of human life.
According to the School of Functionalism human behavior continues to adapt for survival.
•Men are similar, but the manner they use to survive differs.

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• Biological anthropologists focus mainly on how the human body
adapts to the different conditions on earth.

• They study people in different places and discover that while human
beings vary in their biological composition and behavior, there are
much more similarities between them than there are differences.
• Similar biological features of human beings will achieve total
superiority over all living creatures and at the same time be the
cause of their extinction.

LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
• Human survival is largely related to their communication skills and language is an
important part of human communication.
• Language – identifies group of people; words, sounds, symbols, writings and signs
that are used are reflections of a group’s culture.
• Linguistic anthropologists used language to explore the way social interaction
takes place within a community, to establish and exchange meanings in order to
shape ideas , concepts and facilitate social change, and how language evolves
over time.
• Language is a representation of the time and way people use it to speak. As
societies change and technologies develop, so do the symbols and meanings
that people use as their means of communication through language.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
•Culture –a way of life for people - including their behavior, beliefs , values and symbols they accept,
socially transmitted from generation to generation through communication and imitation.
• Cultural anthropologists concentrate on understanding what makes the way of life of one group
especially to that group and is an important part of the personal and social identity of the community.

THEORY OF CULTURAL DETERMINISM

• Where culture has a strong impact on how individual view himself.
• According to this theory, the thoughts, concepts, opinions, and values acquired as a member
of a culture are determined by human existence.
• Cultural anthropologists suggests that there is no universal or right way of being human. The
right way is always based on culture. Since culture vary, there is no one way of understanding
human nature
•
• Cultural diversity is manifested in various ways and at different depths. Symbols are regarded as the
most superficial level of culture, and values belong to the deepest level, or are regarded as the heart
of culture.

WAYS IN WHICH CULTURE MAY MANIFEST ITSELF IN PEOPLE:

• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values

Symbols – words, gestures, symbols that have recognized

meaning in a particular culture.

Heroes – person from the past or present who have characteristics

that are important in a culture. They may be real or fictitious and
are models of behavior.

Rituals – activities, may be religious or social, participated in by a group of people for the fulfillment of
desired objectives and are considered to be socially essential.

Values – are unconscious, and can neither be discussed nor be directly observed but can only be
inferred from the way people act and react to circumstances and situations.

Anthropology makes the person aware that what he is maybe determined by his past, and
present condition, his biological characteristics, the way he communicates, the language that he
uses and the manner in which he chooses to live his life.
 ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropology is a field of social sciences which focuses on human study. Not only on one aspect
of man, but on the whole, what it means to be human. The field looks at the physical / biological
characteristics of man, social relations and the influence of his culture from the dawn of civilization
to the present day.
.
ACTIVITY
Profiling: interview a family member/friend/classmate, and make sure to fill out the following info:

COMPLETE NAME:___________________________________________________________________________________

RELIGIOUS AFFLIATION:______________________________________________________________________________

Who are your heroes? Why choose them? Rituals or traditions they practice. Who influenced
A. Real them to do these activities?
B. Fictional A. Religious
B. Social

Top 3 values that are most important for them and their family?

a.______________________________________________________________________________________________

b.______________________________________________________________________________________________

c.______________________________________________________________________________________________

INSIGHTS: (HELPFUL FOR CLASS SHARING)

Upon learning/profiling your family member/friend/classmate, do you think the information given reflects
his/her totality as a person? Elaborate your answer._
 REFERENCES

Bandura, A. (1999). Social Cognitive Theory of Personality. In Pervin and John (eds)
Handbook of Personality Theory and Research. 2nd ed. Guilford Press. 134-194

Chafee, J.(2013). Who are you? Consciousness, Identity and the Self. In the
Philosoper's Way: Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas . Pearson. 106-169

Csordas, T. (1999). Self and Person. In bode (ed). Psychological Anthropology.

Praeger. 331-350

Geertz, C. (1973). The Impact of the Concept of Culture and the Concept of Man.
33- 54 and Person, Time and Conduct in Bali. 360- 411. In the Interpretation of
Culture. Basic Books

Harter, S. (1996). Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues Involving the Self Concept.
In Bracken (ed) Handbook of Self Concept: Developmental, Social, and Clinical
Considerations. John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1- 37

Johnson, T. (1985). The Western Concept of Self. In Marsella (ed) Culture and Self:
Asian and Western Perspectives. Tavistock Publications. 91- 138

Lanuza, G. (2004). The Constitution of the Self. In David, R. (ed) Nation, Self and
Citizenship: An Invitation to Philippine Sociology. Anvil Publishing.

Mead, GH (1972). Mind. Self, and Society from a Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist.
The University of Chicago Press

Triandis (1989). The self and social behaviour in differing cultural contexts. Psychol.
Rev. 96.3.506-520

Wei-Ming, T. (1985). Selfhood and Otherness in Confucian Thought. In Marsella (ed)

Culture and Self: Asian and Western Perspectives. Tavistock Publications. 231- 251.