Republic of the Philippines

City Government of Zamboanga

Colegio de la Ciudad de Zamboanga

Ayala & Vitali Campus

General Education 101

Understanding the Self

SELF-LEARNING MODULE I

AGNES A. SANTOS
Course Instructor

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Understanding the Self is a fundamental course in the General Education Curriculum for
tertiary education. It is designed to help students understand the nature of identity factors that
influence and shape personal identity. The course provides opportunities for students to gain new
skills for practical application of the concept learned that aim to help them become better and
significant individuals of our society.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the different representation and conceptualizations of the SELF from
various disciplinal perspective.
2. Explain the different influences, factors and forces that shape the SELF.
3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across the different
disciplines and perspectives.
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of
one’s self and identity.
COURSE OUTLINE:

Lesson 1. Ancient to Post-Modern Philosophy

1. Socrates, Plato and Augustinian to Descartes
2. Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud, Ryle and Merleu-Ponty

Lesson 2. The Self, Society, and Culture

1. What is Self?
2. The Self and Culture
3. The Self and the development of the Social World
4. Mead and Vygotsky
5. Self in Families
6. Gender and the Self

Lesson 3: The Self as Cognitive Construct

Definition of the “self” by:
 a. William James
b. Carl Rogers
c. Sigmund Freud
d. G.H. Mead
e. Caviar and Scheier

Lesson 4: The Self in Western and Eastern Thoughts

A. Eastern Philosophers;
1. Confucius
2. Taoism
3. Buddhism
B. Western Philosophers:

Lesson 5. Unpacking the Self

A. The Physical and Sexual Self
1. Diseases Associated with the Reproductive System;
2. Erogenous Zones
3. Human Sexual Behavior
4. Types of Behavior
a. Solitary Behavior
b. Sociosexual Behavior
5. Physiology of Human Sexual Responses
a. Excitement Phase
b. Plateau Phase
c. Sexual Climax
d. Resolution Phase
6. Nervous System Factors
7. Sexual Problems
8. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
9. Natural Methods of Contraception
10. Artificial Methods

Lesson 1. The Self from Various Philosophical Perspectives

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
 1. Explain why it is essential to understanding the self.
2. Describe and discuss the different notions of the from the points-of-view of the
various philosophers across time and place.
3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented in different philosophical
schools; and
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed in the
module.

LESSON CONTENT:
1. Socrates, Plato and Augustinian to Descartes
2. Locke, Hume, Kant, Freud, Ryle and Merleu-Ponty

Ancient to Post-Modern Philosophy

Prior the Socrates, the Greek thinkers, sometimes collectively called the Pre-Socratics
to denote that some of them preceded Socrates while others existed around Socrates’s time as well,
preoccupied themselves with the question of the primary substratum, arché that explains the
multiplicity of things in the world. These men like Thales, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus and
Empedocles, to name a few, were concerned with explaining what the world is really made up of, why
the world is so, and what explains the changes that they observed around them. Tires of simply
conceding to mythological accounts propounded by post-theologians like Homer and Hesiod. These
men endeavored to finally locate explanation about the nature of change, the seeming permanence
despite of change, the unity of the world amidst its diversity.
After the series of thinkers from all across ancient Greek world who were disturbed by
the same issue, a man came out to question something else. This man was Socrates. Unlike the Pre-
Socratics, Socrates was more concerned with another subject, the problem of the Self.
1. Socrates- was the first philosopher who every engaged in a systematic questioning about the
self. This was become his-lifelong mission, the true task of the philosopher is to know oneself.
For Socrates, every man is composed of body and soul. This means that every human person
is dualistic, that is, he is composed of two aspects of his personhood. For Socrates, this means
all individuals have imperfect, impermanent aspect to him, and the body while maintaining that
there is also soul that is perfect and permanent.
2. Plato-t he Athenian philosopher Plato (c.428-347 B.C.) is one of the most important
figures of the Ancient Greek world and the entire history of Western thought. In his
written dialogues he conveyed and expanded on the ideas and techniques of his
teacher Socrates. The Academy he founded was by some accounts the world’s first
university and in it he trained his greatest student, the equally influential
philosopher Aristotle. Plato’s recurring fascination was the distinction between ideal
forms and everyday experience, and how it played out both for individuals and for
societies. In the “Republic,” his most famous work, he envisioned a civilization
governed not by lowly appetites but by the pure wisdom of a philosopher-king.
He added that there are three components of the soul; the rational soul and the spirited
soul and the appetitive soul. He emphasizes in his magnum opus, “the Republic” that justice in
the human person can only be attained if the three parts of the soul are working harmoniously
with one another. The rational soul forged by reason and intellect has to govern the affairs of
the person. The spirited part which is in charge of the emotions should be kept at bay and the
appetitive soul in charge of base desires like eating, drinking , sleeping, and having sex are
controlled as well. When this ideal state is attained, then the human person’s soul becomes
just and virtuous.
3. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas- Augustine’s view of the human person reflects the entire
spirit of the medieval world when it comes to man. Following the ancient view of Plato and
infusing it with the newfound doctrine of Christianity, Augustine agreed that man is of a
bifurcated nature. An aspect of man dwells in the world and is imperfect and continuously
yearns to be the Devine and the other is capable of reaching immorality.
The body is bound die on earth and the soul is to anticipate living eternally in a realm of
spiritual bliss in communion with God. This is because the body can only thrive in the
imperfect, physical reality that is the world, whereas the soul can also stay after death in an
eternal realm with the all-transcendent God. The goal of every human person is to attain this
communion and bliss with the Devine by living his life on earth in virtue.
 Thomas Aquinas, the most eminent thirteenth century scholar and stalwart of the
medieval philosophy, appended something to this Christian view. Adapting some ideas from
Aristotle, Aquinas that indeed, man is composed of two parts: matter and form. Matter or hyle
in Greek, refers to the “common stuff that makes up everything in the universe”. Man’s body is
part of this matter. Form on the other hand, or Morphe in Greek refers to the “essence of a
substance or thing”. It is what makes it what it is. In the case of the human person, the body of
the human person is something that he shares even with animals. The cells in man’s body are
more or less akin to the cells of any other living, organic living in the world. However, what
makes a human person and not a dog, or a tiger is his soul, his essence. To Aquinas, just as in
Aristotle, the soul is what animates the body; it is what makes us human.
4. Descartes- Rene Descartes, Father of Modern Philosophy, conceived of the human person as
having a body and a mind. In his famous treatise, The Meditations of First Philosophy, he
claims that there is so much that we should doubt. In fact, he says that since much of what we
think and believe are not infallible, they may turn out to be false. One should only believe that
since which can pass the test of doubt ( Descartes 2008). If something is so clear and lucid as
not to be even doubted, then that is the only time when one should actually buy a proposition.
In the end, Descartes thought that the only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the
self, for even if doubts oneself , that only proves that there is doubting self, a thing that thinks
and therefore, that cannot be doubted. Thus, his famous, cogito ergo sum, “I think therefore, I
am”. The fact that one thinks should lead one to conclude without a trace of doubt that exists.
The self then for Descartes is also a combination of two distinct entities, the cogito, the thing
that thinks, which is the mind, and the extenza or extension of the mind, which is the body. In
Descartes’s view, the body is nothing else but a machine that is attached to the mind. The
human person has it but it is not what makes man a man. If at all, that is the mind. Descartes
says, ‘ But what then, am i? A thinking thing. It has been said. But what is a thinking thing? It
is a thing that doubts, understands (conceives), affirms, denies, wills, refuses; that imagines
also, and perceives” (Descartes 2008).

5. Hume- David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, has a very unique way of looking a man. As an
empiricist who believes that one can know only what comes from the senses and experiences,
Hume argues that the self is nothing like what his predecessors thought of it. The self is not an
entity and beyond the physical body. One can rightly see here the empiricism that runs through
his veins. Empiricism is the school of thought that espouses the idea that knowledge can only
be possible if it is sensed and experienced. Men can only attain knowledge by experiencing.
For example, Jack knows that that Jill is another human person not because he has seen her
soul. He knows she is just like him because he sees her, hears her, and touches her.

6. Kant- thinking the “self” as a mere combination of impressions was problematic for Immanuel
Kant. Kant recognizes the veracity of Hume’s account that everything starts with perception
and sensation of impressions. However, Kant thinks that the things that men perceive around
them are not just randomly infused in the human person without an organizing principle that
regulates the relationship of all these impressions. To Kant, there is necessarily a mind that
organizes the impressions that men get from the external world. Time and space, for example,
are ideas that one cannot find in the world, but is built in our minds. Kant calls these the
apparatuses of the mind.
Along with the different apparatuses of the mind goes the “self “. Without the self, one
cannot organize the different impressions that one gets in relation to his own existence. Kant
therefore suggests that it is an actively engaged intelligence in man that synthesizes all
knowledge and experience. Thus, the self is not just what gives one his personality. In addition,
it is also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human persons.

7. Ryle- Gilbert Ryle solves the mind body dichotomy that has been running for a long time in
the history of thought by blatantly denying the concept of an eternal, non-physical self. For
Ryle, what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day-to-day-life.
For Ryle, looking for and trying to understand a self as it really exists is like visiting your
friend’s university and looking for the “university “. One can roam around the campus, visit
the library and the football field, and meet the administrators and faculty and still end up not
finding the “ university “. This is because the campus, the people, the systems, and the territory
all form the university. Ryle suggests that the “self” is not an entity one can locate and analyze
but simply the convenient name that people use to refer to all the behaviors that people make.
 8. Merleau-Ponty- Merleau-Ponty is a phenomenologist who asserts that the mind-body
bifurcation that has been going on for a long time is a futile endeavor and an invalid problem.
Unlike Ryle who simply denies the “self”, Merleau-Ponty instead says that the mind and body
are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another. One cannot find any
experience that is not an embodied experience. All experience is embodied. One’s body is his
opening toward his existence to the world. Merleau-Ponty dismisses the Cartesian Dualism that
has spelled so much devastation in the history of man. For him, the Cartesian problem is
nothing else but plain misunderstanding. The living body, his thoughts, emotions, and
experiences are all one.

Answer the following:

1. What is the “Self” conceived by the following.

a. Socrates: _________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
b. Plato: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
c. St. Augustine: _____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
d. Descartes: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
e. Hume: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
f. Kant: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
g. Ryle ________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
h. Merleau-Ponty: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2. In your own words, state what “self” is for each of the following philosophers.
a. Socrates: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

b. Plato: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

c. St. Augustine: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

d. Descartes: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

e. Hume: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

f. Kant: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

g. Ryle ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

h. Merleau-Ponty: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Lesson 2. The Self, Society, and Culture

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, students are able to:

1. Explain the relationship between and among the self, 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 institutions in the
society.
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed in the module.

Lesson Outline:

1. What is Self?
2. The Self and Culture
3. The Self and the development of the Social World
4. Mead and Vygotsky
5. Self in Families
6. Gender and the Self

Lesson Content:

Introduction
Across time and history, the self has been debated, discussed, and fruitfully or otherwise
conceptualized by different thinkers in philosophy. Eventually, with the advent of the social sciences,
it become possible for new ways and paradigms to reexamine the true nature of the self. People put a
halt on speculative debates on the relationship between the body and soul, eventually renamed body
and the mind. Thinkers just eventually got tired on focusing on the long-standing debate since sixth
century BC between the relationship of these two components of the human person. Thinkers just
settled on the idea that there are two components of the human person and whatever relationship these
two have is less important than the fact that there is a self. The debate shifted into another locus of
discussion. Given the new ways of knowing and the growth of the social sciences, it became possible
for new approaches to the examination of the self to come to the fore. One of the loci, if not the most
important axis of analysis is the relationship between the self and the external world.
What is the relationship between external reality and the self? In the famous Tarzan story, the
little boy named Tarzan was left in the middle of the forest. Growing up, he never had an interaction
with any other human being but apes and other animals. Tarzan grew up acting strangely like apes and
unlike human persons. Tarzan became an animal, in effect. His sole interaction with them made him
just like one of them. Disappointedly, human persons will not develop as human persons without
intervention. This story, which was supposed to be based on real life, challenges the long-standing
notion of human persons being special and being a particular kind of being in the spectrum of living
entities. After all, our selves are not special because of the soul infused into us. We may be gifted with
intellect and the capacity to rationalize things but at the end of the day, our growth and development
and consequentially, our selves are truly products of our interaction with external reality.

1. What is Self?
ABSTRACTION
The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by the
following characteristics: “separate, self-contained, independent, consistent, unitary, and
private” (Stevens 1996). By separate, it is meant that the self is distinct from other selves. The
self is always unique and has its own identity. One cannot be another person. Even twins are
distinct from each other. Second, self is also self-contained and independent because in itself it
can exist. Its distinctness allows it to be self-contained with its own thoughts, characteristics,
and volition. It does not require any other self for it to exist. It is consistent because it has a
personality that is enduring and therefore can be expected to persist for quite some time.
Social constructivists argue that the self should not be seen as a static entity that stays
constant through and through. Rather, the self has to be seen as something that is in unceasing
flux, in a constant struggle with external reality and is malleable in its dealings with society.
The self is always in participation with social life and its identity subjected to influences here
and there. Having these perspectives considered should draw one into concluding that the self
is truly multifaceted.

2. 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 basic identity, his biological givenness. Moi is a
person’s basic identity. Personne, on the other hand, is 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, a

particular family, a particular religion, a particular nationality, and how to behave given
expectations and influences from others.

In the Philippines, Filipinos tend to consider their territory as a part of who they are.
This includes considering their immediate surrounding as a part of them, thus the perennial
“tapat ko, linis ko”. Filipinos most probably do not consider national roads as something
external to who they are. It is a part of them and they are part of it, thus crossing the road
 whenever and wherever becomes a no-brainer. In another country, however, the Filipino
recognizes that he is in a foreign territory where nothing technically belongs to him. He has to
follow the rules or else he will be apprehended.
Language is another interesting aspect of this social constructivism. The Filipino
language is incredibly interesting to talk about. The way by which we articulate our love is
denoted by the phrase, “Mahal kita”. This, of course, is the Filipino translation of “I love you”.
The Filipino brand of this articulation of love, unlike in English, does not specify the subject
and the object of love; there is no specification of who loves and who is loved. There is simply
a word for love, mahal, and the pronoun kita, which is a second person pronoun that refers to
the speaker and the one being talked to. In the Filipino language, unlike in English, there is no
distinction between the lover and the beloved. They are one.

3. The Self and the Development of the Social World

So how do people actively produce their social worlds? How do children growing up
become social beings? How can a boy turn out to just be like an ape? How do twins coming
out from the same mother turn out to be terribly different when given up for adoption? More
than his givenness (personality, tendencies, and propensities, among others), one is believed to
be in active participation in the shaping of the self.

Most often, we think the human persons are just passive actors in the whole process of the
shaping of selves. That men and women are born with particularities that they can no longer
change. Recent studies, however, indicate that men and women in their growth and
development engage actively in the shaping of the self. The unending terrain of metamorphosis
of the self is mediated by language. “Language as both a publicly shared and privately utilized
symbol system is the site where the individual and the social make and remake each other”
(Schwartz, White and Lutz 1993).

4. Mead and Vygotsky

For 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
normally a form of an internal dialogue in our head. Those who deliberate about moral
dilemmas undergo this eternal dialog. “Should I do this or that?” “But if I do this, it will be like
this.” “Don’t I want the other option?” 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 that is made, constituted through
language as experience through the external world and as encountered in dialogs with others. A
young child internalizes values, norms, practices and social beliefs and more through exposure
to these dialogs that will eventually become part of his individual 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.
Can you notice how little children are fond of playing role-play with their toys? How
they make scripts and dialogs for their toys as they play with them? According to Mead, it is
through this that a child delineates the “I” from the rest. Vygotsky, for his part, a child
internalizes real-life dialogs that he has had with others, with his family, his primary caregiver,
or his playmates. They apply this to their mental and practical problems along with the social
and cultural infusions brought about by the said dialogs. Can you notice how children
eventually become what they watch? How children can easily adapt ways of cartoon characters
they are exposed to?

5. Self in Families

Apart from the anthropological and psychological basis for the relationship between
the self and the social world, the sociological likewise struggled to understand the real
connection between the two concepts. In doing so, sociologists focus on different institutions
and powers at play in the society. Among these, the most prominent is the family.
While every child is born with certain givenness, disposition coming from his parents’
genes and general condition in life, the impact of one’s family is still deemed as given in
understanding the self. The kind of family that we are born in, the resources available to us
 (human, spiritual, economic), and the kind of development that we will have will certainly
affect us as we go through life. As a matter of evolutionary fact, human persons are one of
those being whose importance of a family cannot be denied. Human beings are born virtually
helpless and the dependency period of a human baby to its parents for nurturing is relatively
longer than most other animals. Learning therefore is critical in our capacity to actualize our
potential of becoming humans. In trying to achieve the goal of becoming a fully realized
human, a child enters a system of relationships, most important of which is the family.

Without a family, biologically and sociologically, a person may not even survive or
become a human person. Go back to the Tarzan example. In more ways than one, the survival
of Tarzan in the midst of the forest is already a miracle. His being a fully human person with a
sense of selfhood is different story though. The usual teleserye plot of kids getting swapped in
the hospital and getting reared by a different family gives an obvious manifestation of the point
being made in this section. One is who he is because of his family for the most part.

6. Gender and the Self

Another important aspect of the self is gender. Gender is one of those loci of the self
that is subject to alteration, change and development. We have seen in the past years how
people fought hard for the right express, validate, and assert their gender expression. Many
conservatives may frown upon this and insist on the biological. However, from point-of-view
of the social sciences and the self, it is important to give one the leeway to find, express and
live his identity. This forms part of selfhood that one cannot just dismiss. One maneuvers into
the society and identities himself as who he is by also taking note of gender identities. A
wonderful anecdote about Leo Tolstoy’s wife that can solidify this point is narrated below:

Sonia Tolstoy, the wife of the famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, wrote
when she was twenty-one, “I am nothing but a miserable crushed worm,
whom no one wants, whom no one loves, a useless creature with morning
sickness, and a big belly, two rotten teeth, and a bad temper, a battered sense
of dignity, and a love which nobody wants and which nearly drives me
insane”. A few years later she wrote, “It makes me laugh to read over this
diary. It’s so full of contradictions, and one would think that I was such an
unhappy woman. Yet there is a happier woman than I?” (Tolstoy 1975).

This account illustrates that our gender partly determines how we see ourselves in the
world. Often times, sex and / or gender. In the Philippines, husbands for the most part are
expected to provide for the family. The eldest man in a family is expected to head the family
and hold it in. slight modifications have been on the way due to feminism and lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism but for the most part, patriarchy has remained to be
at work.

Nancy Chodorow, a feminist, argues that because mothers take the role of taking care
of children, there is a tendency for girls to imitate the same and reproduce the same kind of
mentality of women as care providers in the family. The way that little girls are given dolls
instead of guns or any other toys or are encouraged to play with makeshift kitchen also
reinforces the notion of what roles they should take and the selves they should develop. In
boarding schools for girls, young women are encouraged to act like a fine ladies, are trained to
behave in a fashion that befits their status as women in the society.
Men on the other hand, in the periphery in their own family, are taught early on how to
behave like a man. This normally includes holding in one’s emotion, being tough, fatalistic, not
to worry about danger, and admiration for hard physical labor. Masculinity is learned by
integrating a young boy in the society. In the Philippines, young boys had to undergo
circumcision not just for the original, clinical purpose of hygiene but also to assert their
 manliness in the society. Circumcision plays another social role by initiating young boys into
manhood.

The gendered self is then shaped within a particular context of time and space. The sense of
self that is being taught makes sure that an individual fits in a particular environment. This is
dangerous and detrimental in the goal of truly finding one’s self, self-determination, and
growth of the self. Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted by culture and the
society.
Answer the following:

1. Paste a picture of you when you were in elementary, in high school and now in college. Below the
picture, list down your salient characteristics.

My elementary Self My High School Self My College Self

2.After having examined your “self” in its different stages, fill out the table below:
Similarities in all stages of my Differences in my “self” across Possible reasons for the
“Self” the three stages of my life differences in me
3. What is self? ________________________________________________________________
4. What is “self” according to the social constructivists? _______________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. What are the characteristics of the “Self”?
6. Define:
a. Self-contained _____________________________________________________
b. Unique ___________________________________________________________
c. Independent _______________________________________________________
d. Consistent _________________________________________________________
e. Unitary ___________________________________________________________
f. Private ____________________________________________________________
7. What are the two faces of “self” according to Marcel Mauss? __________ and _________
8. What is moi?________________________________________
9. What is personne?________________________________________________
10. What is the definition of Human according to Mead and Vygotsky?
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
11. What is gender?____________________________________________________________
12. Who is Nancy Chodorow?_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
13. What is the meaning of LGBT?__________________________________________________
14. What is masculinity?___________________________________________________________
15. Write a brief story of Tarzan.
_____________________________________________________________________________
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 _____________________________________________________________________________
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Lesson 3: The Self as Cognitive Construct

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:
1. Identify the different ideas in psychology about the “self.”
2. Create the definition of the “Self” based on the definitions from the psychology
and;
3. Analyze the effects of various factors identified in psychology in the formation of
the “self”.
Lesson Outline:
Definition of the “self” by:
a. William James
b. Carl Rogers
c. Sigmund Freud
d. G.H. Mead
e. Caviar and Scheier

Lesson Content:

Introduction

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 of the “self”
from a larger context (i.e., culture and society) 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 a
nurture vs. nature, society/culture vs. individual/brain, and other social sciences vs. psychology
debate. Psychology may focus on the individual and the cognitive functions, 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 concept.

Abstraction

In confidence or in an attempt to avoid further analytical discussions, a lot of people say, “I am

who I am.” Yet, this statement still begs the question “if you are who you are, then who are you that
makes you who you are?”
As mentioned earlier, there are various definitions of the “self” and other similar or
interchangeable concepts in psychology. Simply put, “self” is “the sense of personal identity and who
are we are as individuals (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014)
1. William James (1890) was one of the earliest psychologists to study the self and conceptualized the
self as having two aspects~ the “I” and the “me”. The “I” is the thinking, acting and feeling self
( Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010 ). The “me” on the other hand, is
the physical characteristics as well as psychological capabilities that makes who you are (Gleitman,
Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010 ). Carl Roger’s (1959) theory of personality also
used the same terms, the “I” as the one who acts and decides while the “me” is what you think or
feel about yourself as an object (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011).

Other concepts similar to self are identity and self-concept. Identity is composed of personal
characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that define who one is
(Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012). Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind when you
are asked about who you are (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).
Self, identity, and self-concept are not fixed in one time frame. For example, when you are asked
about who you are, you can say “I was a varsity player in 5 th grade” which pertains to the past, “a
college student” which may be the present, and “a future politician” which is future. They are not also
fixed for life nor are they ever-changing at every moment. Think a malleable metal, strong and hard
but can be bent and molded in other shapes. Think about water. It can any shape of the container, but
at its core, it is still the same element.

2. Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or our organized system or collection of
knowledge about who we are (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
Imagine an organized list or a diagram similar to the one below:

Hobbies

Famil
y Self
Religion

Nationalit
y

The schema is not limited to the example above. It may also include your interests, work, course,
age, name, and physical characteristics, among others. As you grow and adapt to the changes around
you, they also change. But they are not passive receivers, they actively shape and affect how you see,
think, and feel about things (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).

For example, when someone states your first name even if they are not talking about you, your
attention is drawn to them. If you have a provincial language and you hear someone using it, it catches
your attention. If you consider yourself a book-lover, a bookstore may always entice you out of all the
other stores in a mall.
 Theories generally see the self and identity as mental constructs, created and recreated in memory (
Oyersman, Elmore, and Smith 2012 ). Current researches point to the frontal lobe of the brain as the
specific area in the brain associated with the processes concerning the self (Oyersman, Elmore, and
Smith 2012 ).

Several psychologists, especially during the field’s earlier development, followed this trend of
thought, looking deeper into the mind of the person to theorize about the self, identity, self-concept
and in turn, one’s personality.

3. The most influential of them is Sigmund Freud. Basically, Freud saw the self, its mental
processes, and one’s behavior as the results of the interaction between the Id, the Ego, and the
Superego.
However, as mentioned earlier, one cannot fully discount the effects of the society and culture
on the formation of the self, identity, and self-concept. Even as Freud and other theories and
researchers try to understand the person by digging deeper into the mind, they cannot fully discount
the huge and important effects of the environment. As in the above mentioned definitions of the self,
social interaction always has a part to play in who we think we are. This is not nature vs. nurture but
instead a nature-and-nurture perspective.

4. Under the theory of symbolic interactionism, G.H. Mead (1934) argued that the self is created and
developed through human interaction (Hogg and Vaughan 2010). Basically, there are three
reasons why self and identity are social product.(Oyersman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).
a. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society helped in creating the foundations of who we
are and even if we make our choices, we will still operate in our social and historical contexts in
one way or the other. You may, of course, transfer from one culture to another, but parts of who
you were will still affect you and you also have to adapt the new social context. Try looking at
your definition of who you are and see where society had affected you.
b. Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need others to affirm and reinforce who we think
we are. We also need them as reference point about our identity. One interesting example is the
social media interactions we have. In the case of Facebook, there are those who will consciously
or unconsciously try to garner more “likes” and / or positive “reactions” and that can and will
reinforce their self-concept. It is almost like a battle between who got more friends, more views,
and trending topics. If one says he is good singer but his performance and the evaluation of his
audience says otherwise, that will have an effect on that person’s idea himself, one way or
another.
c. What we think is important to us may also have been influenced by what is important In our social
or historical context. Education might be an important thing to your self-concept because you
grew up in a family that valued education. Money might be important to some because they may
have grown in a low-income family and realized how important money is in addressing certain
needs like medical emergencies. Being a nurse or a lawyer can be priority in your self-schema
because it is the in-demand course during your time.

Social interaction and group affiliation, therefore, are vital factors in creating our self-concept
especially in the aspect of providing us with our social identity or our perception of who we are based
on our membership to certain groups (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). It is also inevitable that we can
have several social identities, that those identities can overlap, and that we automatically play the
roles as we interacts with our groups. For example, you are a student who is also part of a certain
group of friends. You study because it is your role as a student but you prefer to study with your
friends and your study pattern changes when you are with your friends than when you do it alone.

There are times, however, where we are aware of our self-concepts; this is also called self-
awareness.
5. Carver and Scheier (1981) identified two types of self that we can be aware of: (1) the private self
or your internal standards and private thoughts and feelings, and (2) the public self or your public
image commonly geared toward having a good presentation of yourself to others (Hogg and
Vaughan 2010 ).

Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self-schema: the actual, idea; and
ought self. The “actual” self is who you are at the moment, the “ideal” self is who you like to be, and
ought” self is who you think you should be ( Higgins 1997 in Hogg and Vaughan 2010 ) an example
is that you are student interested in basketball but is also academically challenged in most of your
subject. Your ideal self might be to practice more and play with the varsity team but ought to pass
your subjects as a responsible student. One has to find a solution to such discrepancies to avoid
agitation, dejection, or other negative emotions. In some instances, however, all three may be in line
with one another.

Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our next
course of action. Self-awareness can keep you from doing something dangerous; it can help remind
you that there is an exam tomorrow in one of your subjects when you are about to spend time
playing computer games with your cousins, among others. In other instances, self-awareness can be
too much that we are concerned about being observed and criticized by others, also known as self-
consciousness (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). At other times, especially large crowds, we may
experience deindividuation or “the loss of individual self-awareness and individual accountability
in groups” ( Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb 1952; Zimbardo 1969 in Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
A lot of people will attune themselves with the emotions of their group and because the large crowds
can also provide some kind of anonymity, we may lessen our self-control and act in ways that we
will not do when we are alone. A common example is a mass demonstration erupting into a riot.

Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our self-esteem, one of the
common concepts associated with the “self”. It is defined as our own positive or negative perception
or evaluation of ourselves (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014; Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011).

One of the ways in which our social relationship affects our self-esteem is through social
comparison. According to the social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves, the
appropriateness of our behaviours, as well as our social status by comparing aspects of ourselves
with other people (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014; Hogg and Vaughan 2010)

The downward social comparison is the more common type of comparing ourselves with
others. As the name implies, we create a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves with those
who are worse off than us (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). By having the advantage, we raise our self-
esteem. Another comparison is the upward social comparison which is comparing ourselves with
those who are better off than us (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). While it can be a form of motivation
for some, a lot of those who do this actually felt lower self-esteem as they highlight more of their
weakness or inequities.

Take note that this occurs not only between individuals but also among groups. Thus, if a
person’s group is performing better and is acknowledge more than the other group, then his self-
esteem may also be heightened.

Social comparison also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance theory, which states
that we can feel threatened when someone out-performs us, especially when that person is close to us
( i. e., a friend or a family ) (Tesser 1988 in Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). In this case, we usually react
in three ways. First, we distance ourselves from that person or redefine our relationship with them
(Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014).
 Some will resort to the silent treatment, change of friends, while some may also redefine by
being closer to that person, hoping that some association may give him a certain kind of
acknowledgement also. Second, we may also reconsider the importance of the aspect or skill in which
you were out-performed (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). If you got beaten in a drawing competition, you
might think that drawing is not really for you and you will find a hobby where you could excel, thus
preserving your self-esteem.

Lastly, we may also strengthen our resolve to improve that certain aspect of ourselves
(Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). Instead of quitting drawing, you might join seminars, practice more
often, read books about it, and add some elements in your drawing that makes it unique, among
others. Achieving your goal through hard work may increase your self-esteem, too.

However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, some people become narcissistic.
Narcissism is a “trait characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-
centeredness” (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). They are often charismatic because of how they take care
of their image. Taking care of that image includes their interpersonal relationships thus they will try
to look for better partners, better acquaintances, as well as people who will appreciate them a lot.
This makes them a bad romantic partner or friend since they engage in relationships only to serve
themselves (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014).

Sometimes, there is a thin line between high self-esteem and narcissism and there are a lot of
tests and measurements for self-esteem like the Rosenberg scale but the issue is that the result can be
affected by the desire of the person to portray herself in a positive or advantageous way (Jhangiani,
and Tarry 2014). In case you want to take a test and a numerical value or level of your self-esteem, try
to be honest and objective about what you feel and see about yourself.

And though self-esteem is very important concept related to the self, studies have shown that it
only has a correlation, not causality, to positive outputs and outlook (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014). It
can be argued that high or healthy self-esteem may result to an overall good personality but it is not,
and should not be, the only source of a person’s healthy perspective of herself.

People with high self-esteem are commonly described as outgoing, adventurous, and adaptable
in a lot of situations. They also initiate activities and building relationship with people. However, they
may also dismiss other activities that do not conform to their self-concept or boost their self-esteem.
They may also be bullies and experiment to abusive behaviours with drugs, alcohol, and sex
(Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014).

This duality is the behaviour and attitudes only proves that above mentioned correlation.
Baumeister, Smart, and Boden (1996) in their research on self-esteem concluded that programs,
activities, and parenting styles to boost self –esteem should only be for rewarding good behaviour and
other achievements and not for the purpose of merely trying to make children feel better about
themselves or to appease them when they get angry or sad (Jhangiani, and Tarry 2014).
Answer the following:

1. List down the psychologists who attempted to discuss the self.

1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________
4. _____________
5. _____________
2. What is “self” according to;
a. William James ____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
b. Carl Rogers_______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
c. Sigmund Freud____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
d. G.H. Mead_______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
e. Carver and Scheier_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. Define:
a. Id _______________________________________________________________
 b. Ego _____________________________________________________________
c. Superego _________________________________________________________
4. What are the two types of self according to Carver and Scheier.
a. ______________________________ b. ________________________________
5. Explain the two schema.
a. __________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. What are the three self-schema of self-awareness?
a. ____________ b. ___________________ c. __________________
7. What is Narcissism? _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
8. What are the traits of Narcissism? 1. _______ 2. __________ 3. _________________
9. What does self-evaluation maintenance theory state? ____________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
10. What is self-esteem?___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
11. What is self-Awareness? _______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 4: The Self in Western and Eastern Thoughts

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Differentiate the concepts of the self according to Western thought against
Eastern/Oriental perspective.
2. Explain the concept of self as found in Asian thoughts.
3. Create a representation of the Filipino self.

Lesson Content:
A. Eastern Philosophers;
1. Confucius
2. Taoism
3. Buddhism
C. Western Philosophers:

Introduction

Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different perceptions of the “self”
and one of the most commo0n distinctions between cultures and people is the Eastern-vs-Western
dichotomy wherein Eastern represents Asia and Western represents Europe and Northern 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”.

Abstraction

There are actually a lot of sources in which you can analyze the perspective of each culture and
country about the concept of “self”. You can see it in their literature like how one culture depicts a
hero or villain In their stories. You can see it their social organization like how they see their boss or
their subordinate. Artworks, dances, even clothing may show you clues about the “self”.

In this lesson, we will look at religious beliefs and political philosophies that greatly influenced
the mindset of each nation or culture. Since almost all the theories about the self, which were
discussed in the previous lessons, also came from the western scientific research, we will highlight the
Eastern thoughts in this lesson.

A. First is Confucianism. Confucianism can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one
should properly act according to their relationship with other people; thus, it is also focused o
having a harmonious social life ( Ho 1995). Therefore, the identity and self-concept of the
individual are interwoven with the identity And status of his/her community or culture, sharing
its pride as well as its failures ( Ho 1995).

Self-cultivation is seen as the ultimate purpose of life but the characteristics of a chun-tzu, a man
of virtue or noble character, is still embedded in his social relationships ( Ho 1995). The cultivated
self in Confucianism is what some scholars call a “ subdued self” wherein personal needs are
repressed (subdued) for the good of many, making Confucian society also hierarchal for the purpose of
maintaining order and balance in society ( Ho 1995).

The second philosophy is Taoism. Taoism is living in the way of the Tao or the universe.
However, Taoism rejects having one definition of what the Tao is, and one can only state clues of
what it is as they adopt a free-flowing, relative, unitary, as well as paradoxical view of almost
everything. Taoism rejects the hierarchy and strictness brought by Confucianism and would prefer a
simple lifestyle and its teachings thus aim to describe how to attain that life. (Ho 1995).

The self is not just an extension of the family or the community; it is part of the universe, one of
the forms and the manifestations of the Tao (Ho 1995). The ideal self is selfishness but this is not
forgetting about the self, it is living a balanced-life with society and nature, being open and accepting
to change, forgetting about prejudices and egocentric ideas and thinking about equality as well as
complementarity among humans as well as other beings (Ho 1995). In this way, you will be able to act
spontaneously because you will not be restricted by some legalistic standards but because you are in
harmony with everything.

The third belief is Buddhism. There are various groups who have adopted Buddhism; thus,
you may find differences in their teachings with our discussion but more likely, their core concepts
remained the same. The self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of trying to hold and control
things, or human-centered needs; thus, the self is also the source of all these sufferings (Ho 1995). It
is, therefore, our quest to forget about the self, forget the cravings of the self, break the attachments
you have with the world, and to renounce the self which is the cause of all suffering and in doing so,
attain the state of Nirvana (Ho 1995).

The self or the individual is not the focus of the abovementioned Asian or Eastern philosophies
or beliefs. Even with extended discussions about how the self should work, Confucianism and Taoism
still situate the self within a bigger context. In striving to become a better person, one does not create a
self above other people or nature but a self that is beneficial to his community as well as in order and
harmony with everything else. As for Buddhism, the self, with all its connections and selfish ideas, is
taken not just out of the center of the picture, but from the whole picture entirely.

As previously discussed, western perspective does not discount the role of environment and
society in the formation of the self but the focus is always looking toward the self. You compare
yourself in order to be better; you create associations and bask in the glory of that group for your self-
esteem; you put primacy in developing yourself.

One can also describe that the Western thought looks at the world in dualities wherein you are
distinct from the other person, the creator is separate from the object he created, in which the self is
distinguished and acknowledged (Wolter 2012 ). On the other hand, the Eastern perspective sees the
other person as part of yourself as well as the things you may create, a drama in which everyone is
interconnected with their specific roles (Wolter 2012 ).

Several studies showed that Americans, for example talk more about their personal attributes
when describing themselves while Asians in general talked about their social roles or the social
situations that invoked certain traits that they deem positive for their selves ( Gleitman, Gross and
Reisberg 2011). Evaluation on the self also differs as Americans would highlight their personal
achievements while Asians would rather keep a low profile as promoting the self can be seen as
boastfulness that disrupts social relationships (Gleitman, Gross and Reisberg 2011).

B. The Western culture is what we would call an individualistic culture since their focus is on the
person. Asian culture, on the other hand, is called a collectivistic culture as the group and social
relations that is given more importance than individual needs and wants.

By valuing the individual, Westerners may seem to have loose associations or even loyalty to
their groups. Competition is the name of the game and they are more likely straightforward and
forceful in their communication as well as decision-making. Eastern or oriental persons look after the
welfare of their groups and values cooperation. They would also be more compromising and they tend
to go around the bush in explaining things, hoping that the other person would “feel” what they really
want to say (Quingxue 2003).

Westerners also emphasize more on the value of equality even if they see that the individual
can rise above everything else. Because everyone is on their own in the competition, one can say that
they also promote ideals that create “fair” competition and protect the individual. Asians, with their
collectivistic culture, put more emphasis on hierarchy as the culture wants to keep things in harmony
and order (Quingxue 2003). For example, Westerners would most likely call their bosses, parents, or
other seniors by their first name. the boss can also be approached head-on when conflicts or problems
about him arises. For Asians, we have respectful terms for our seniors and a lot of workers would not
dare go against the high-ranking officials (Quingxue 2003).

It must be emphasized, however, that these are general commonalities among Western cultures
as compared to Asian or Oriental cultures. In the case of the Philippines, we can also consider the
colonization experience for differences and similarities with our Asian neighbors. We might also find
variation among provinces and regions due to geographical conditions.

With the social media, migration, and intermarriages, variety between the Western and Asian
perceptions may either be blurred or highlighted. Whereas conflict is inevitable in diversity, peace is
also possible through the understanding of where each of us is coming from.
Answer the following:

1. What is the “Self” as perceived by the:

a. Confucianism _____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
b. Taoism_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
c. Buddhism_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

2. What is the “Self” according to the westerners?

a. _____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. What is “Nirvana”? __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What is competition? _________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. Cite 5 ethnic groups in the Philippines.
a. ________________
b. ________________
c. ________________
d. ________________
e. ________________
6. Give the cultural diversities of the 5 ethnic group mentioned above.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
(Summative Examination:)

Name: _________________________
Yr. & Sec. _______________________

Test I. Multiple Choice: Read each item carefully and choose the best answer that corresponds to the
given statement. Write only the letter of your choice on the space provided before the number.

______1. In his most famous work, he envisioned a civilization governed not by

lowly appetites but by the pure wisdom of a philosopher-king.
a. The Pelican b. The Republic c. The Senate d. The Public
_____2. The first philosopher who every engaged in a systematic questioning about the
self and became his-lifelong mission.
a. Plato b. Socrates c. Aquinas d. Descartes
_____3. Cogito ergo sum means:
a. “I think therefore, I am” c.” I am me, therefore It is who I am”
b. “I am what I am” d. “Love me for what I am”
_____4. The Father of Modern Philosophy who conceived of the human person as
having a body and a mind.
a. Plato b. Socrates c. Aquinas d. Descartes
______5. He believed that man is composed of two parts: matter and form, the soul is
what animates the body; it is what makes us human.
a. Plato b. Socrates c. Aquinas d. Descartes
______6. The proposed that there are three components of the soul; the rational soul
and the spirited soul and the appetitive soul. He emphasizes in his magnum opus, that justice
in the human person can only be attained if the three parts of the soul are working
harmoniously with one another
a. Plato b. Socrates c. Aquinas d. Descartes
_____7.A Scottish philosopher, has a very unique way of looking a man. He stated the
idea that knowledge can only be possible if it is sensed and experienced. Men can
only attain knowledge by experiencing.
a. Descartes b. Kant c. Hume d. Ryle
_____8. The philosopher who suggested that it is an actively engaged intelligence in man
that synthesizes all knowledge and experience. Thus, the self is not just what gives one his
personality. In addition, it is also the seat of knowledge acquisition for all human persons.
a. Descartes b. Kant c. Hume d. Ryle
____9. The modern philosopher who suggested that the “self” is not an entity one can
locate and analyze but simply the convenient name that people use to refer to all the behaviors
that people make.
a. Descartes b. Kant c. Hume d. Ryle
____10. The French Anthropologist who stated every self has two faces: personne and
moi.
 a. Descartes b. Kant c. Hume d. Mauss
____11. The ______refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body, and his basic identity,
his biological givenness.and is a person’s basic identity.
a. Personne b. Moi c. Cognito d. ergo
____12. On the other hand, _________is composed of the social concepts of what it
means to be who he is.
a. Personne b. Moi c. Cognito d. ergo
____13. They treat the human mind as something that is made, constituted through
language as experience through the external world and as encountered in dialogs
with others.
a. Augustinian and Aquinas c. Descartes and Kant
b. Vygotsky and Mead d. Hume and Ryle
____14. The psychologist who saw the self, its mental processes, and one’s behavior as
the results of the interaction between the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
a. Carl Rogers b. William James c. Sigmund Freud d. G.H. Mead
____15. The eastern philosophers proposed that the identity and self-concept of the
individual are interwoven with the identity and status of his/her community or
culture, sharing its pride as well as its failures.
a. Taoism b. Confucianism c. Buddhism d. Philippinism
____16. The eastern philosophers who believed that the self is seen as an illusion, born
out of ignorance, of trying to hold and control things, or human-centered needs;
thus, the self is also the source of all these sufferings.
a. Taoism b. Confucianism c. Buddhism d. Philippinism
___17. Buddhism worked to attain _______ , the quest to forget about the self, forget
the cravings of the self, break the attachments you have with the world, and to
renounce the self which is the cause of all suffering.
a. Nirvana b. Self-Actualization c. Holiness d. Resurrection
___18. The eastern philosophers who believed that the ideal self is selfishness but this is
not forgetting about the self, it is living a balanced-life with society and nature,
being open and accepting to change, forgetting about prejudices and egocentric ideas and
thinking about equality as well as complementarity among humans as well as other beings.
a. Taoism b. Confucianism c. Buddhism d. Philippinism
____19. An area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of
which may generate a sexual response, such as relaxation, sexual fantasies, sexual
arousal and orgasm.
a. Errogenos zone b. Frontal Zone c. Erogenous Zone d. Eros Zone
____20. This refers to people’s sexual interest in and attraction to others; it is the capacity
to have erotic or sexual feelings and experiences.
a. Human Sexuality c. Human self identity
b. Human Self-Actualization d. Human Self awareness
____21. Is a type of sexual behavior wherein one engages in by oneself.
a. Sole behavior b. Solitary Behavior c. Socio-behavior d. Dual Sexuality
____22. Is a type of sexual behavior wherein one engages in with another person.
a. Sole behavior b. Solitary Behavior c. Socio-behavior d. Dual Sexuality
____23. It is one of the sexual response cycle where in one experience the heart rate
quickens and breathing is accelerated.
a. Excitement b. plateau c.  orgasm d. resolution
____24. Is the climax of the sexual response cycle. It is the shortest of the phases and generally lasts
only a few seconds.
a. Excitement b. plateau c.  orgasm d. resolution
____25.Is a sexual response cycle wherein characterized by breathing, heart rate,
and blood pressure continue to increase. Muscle spasms may begin in the feet,
face, and hands.
a. Excitement b. plateau c.  orgasm d. resolution
___26. . This phase of sexual response cycle wherein it is marked by a general sense of
well-being, enhanced intimacy and, often, fatigue.
a. Excitement b. plateau c.  orgasm d. resolution
___27. Is a Common problem among both men and women. It can be caused by
physical problems and medical conditions, such as heart disease and hormone
imbalances, or by psychological problems, like anxiety, depression and the effects
 of past trauma.
a. Physical dysfunction c. Psychological dysfunction
b. Emotional dysfunction d. Sexual dysfunction
___28. Is a kind disorders affect sexual desire and interest in sex, are also known as libido
disorders or low libido.
a. Desire disorders b. Orgasm disorders c. Arousal disorders d. Pain disorders

___29. The most common type in men is erectile dysfunction. A kind of disorders
wherein he or she may be interested in sexual activity, but be unable to get any
physical satisfaction from it.
a. Desire disorders b. Sex disorders c. Arousal disorders d. Appetite disorders
___30. Is a kind of disorder wherein men or women experience pain during intercourse.
a. Desire disorders b. Sex disorders c. Arousal disorders d. Appetite disorders
___31. A kind of disease which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),
which is spread through unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person or
through using a contaminated needle to inject drugs.
a. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome c. Acquired Immune disease Syndrome
b. Acquired Deficiency Immune Syndrome d. Autoimmune Diseases Syndrome
___32. Is a forms a barrier and prevents pregnancy by stopping sperm from entering the
vagina.
a. Sponge b. Condom c. Pills d. Diaphragm
___33. A kind of barrier which has a depression to hold it in place over the cervix. It is a
Foam placed into the vagina using an applicator.
a. Sponge b. Condom c. Pills d. Diaphragm
___34. Is a rubber, dome-shaped device that is inserted into the vagina and placed over
the cervix.
a. Sponge b. Condom c. Pills d. Diaphragm
___35. Is a kind of medicine taken orally to prevent pregnancy. It contains
two hormones, estrogen and progestin. The hormones stop the release of the egg,
or ovulation.
a. Sponge b. Condom c. Pill d. Diaphragm
Test II. Matching Type: Match the statements in column A with the term/s in column B. Write only
the letter of your choice on the space provided before the number.
A B

_____1. Is a flexible, plastic ring that releases a. intrauterine device

a low dose of progestin and estrogen b. contraceptive patch
over 3 weeks c. Tubal ligation
_____2. Is a rod with a core of progestin, d. Sterilization
which it releases slowly. It is inserted e. Vasectomy
under the skin of a woman’s upper arm. f. syphilis
_____3. It is surgery to make a man sterile. g. Erectile dysfunction 
_____4. This is a form of female sterilization. h. PID
Where in the surgeon will cut, block, i. HPV
or burn the fallopian tubes, or a combination j. Hpv
of these methods, to seal them and prevent k. STI
future fertilization. l. femidom
_____5. A coil is placed in the female’s fallopian tubes. m. Gonorrhea
_____6. Is a permanent method of birth control. n. Vaginal ring
_____7. The female condom o. Tubal implant
_____8. Bacterium Treponema Pallidum p. Infertility
_____9. Human Papillomavirus q. Endometriosis
_____10. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
_____11. An infection that usually begins in the urethra
or the cervix caused by Neisseria bacterium.
_____12. Sexually Transmitted Infections
_____13. A dysfunction in male which is linked to vascular
 disease, neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis,
trauma and psychological episodes.
_____14. Is defined as a couple's inability to conceive
after one year of unprotected intercourse.
_____15. Is a condition where that normally lines
the inside of your uterus the endometrium.

Test II, Essay. Answer briefly the following:

7. Differentiate Gender and Sex.

8. Why does the government encourage and spend budget in birth control? Based from the lesson
in Birth control which birth control you are in favour and why?
9. What is “Self”
10. Explain this statement “What we think is important to us may also have been influenced by
what is important In our social or historical context”.
11. Do you agree with this statement “Whether we like to admit it or not, we actually need others
to affirm and reinforce who we think we are?. Explain your answer
12. Why do you think that human being without a family, biologically and sociologically, a person
may not even survive or become a human person?
13. What is the “Self” as perceived by the:
d. Confucianism
e. Taoism
f. Buddhism
14. Describe the person with high self-esteem.
15. Describe the “Narcissist” person.
16. How can comparison develop the self-esteem of a person? Cite advantages and disadvantages
of comparison.