NORTHERN ZAMBALES COLLEGE INC.

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

LESSON 2.
The Self as a Social Construct

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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WHAT IS THE SELF??

The self, in contemporary

literature and even common sense,
is commonly defined by the
following characteristics: “separate,
self-contained, independent,
consistent, unitary and private.”

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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*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
*SELF-CONTAINED & INDEPENDENT*-because in itself it can exist its distinctness allow it
to be self-contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and volition. It does not require
any other self for it to exist.
*CONSISTENT*- because it has a personality that is enduring and therefore can be
expected to persist for quite some time its consistency allows to be studied , described,
and measured, consistency also means that a particular self traits , characteristics,
tendencies, and potentialities are more or less the same.
*UNITARY*- in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a
certain person it is like the chief command post in an individual where all processes ,
emotion, and thoughts converge.
*PRIVATE*- Each person sorts out information, feelings and emotions, and though
processes within the self. This whole process is never accessible to anyone but the self. This
last characteristic of the self being private suggest that the self is isolated from the external
world

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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From this perspective: the concern of this lesson is in understanding the vibrant
relationship between the self and the external reality. This reality is called social
constructionist perspective - that argues for a merged view of the person and their social
context where the boundaries of one cannot easily be separated from the boundaries of the
other.

Social constructionists argue that self should not be seen as a static entity that says
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.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The Self and Culture

A 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 governess. 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.
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON
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THE SELF AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL

WORLD

GEORGE HERBERT MEAD is an American Sociologist, he is considered

as the Father of American pragmatism, and one of the pioneers in the
field of social psychology because of his contributions on the
development of the person relating to various social factors.

Mead rejected the idea of biological determination of the self which

proposes that an individual already has an established self from the
moment he is born.

He reiterated that the process of establishing the self is through the

construction and reconstruction of the idea of who we are as a person
during the process of social experience.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The “I” and the “Me”

Mead proposes that there are two components of the self which the person has, these components are the “I” and the
“Me”.

The “Me” are the characteristics, behavior, and or actions done by a person that follows the “generalized others” that
person interacts with,

while the “I” is the reaction of the individual to the attitude of others, as well as the manifestation of the individuality
of the person.

Simply speaking, According to Mead the concept the “I” is one’s response to the established attitude, and behavior
that a person assumes in reference to their social interactions while the “Me” are the attitudes, and behavior of the
person with reference to their social environment.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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MEAD’S THREE ROLE-PLAYING STAGES OF SELF DEVELOPMENT

THESE STAGES ARE:

THE PREPARATION/LANGUAGE STAGE,
PLAY STAGE, AND
GAME STAGE.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The Preparatory Stage (Birth – 2 years Old) – According to

Mead, during this stage the infant simply imitates the
actions and behaviors of the people that the infant interacts
with. Because the child is only mimicking what he or she
observes from his or her environment their actions are only
the reflection of what they can remember without any
intention or meaning behind their actions or behavior.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The Play Stage (2 – 6 years old) – for the Play stage, it is the
time where children begins to interact with other with
which certain rules apply, these rules often time does not
adhere to any set or standards but rather are rules that are
set by the children themselves. Also, this is the stage where
the child practices real life situations through pretend play
and is the onset of self- consciousness. The development of
the self in this stage occurs through the preliminary
experiences that serves as practice for the child.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The Game Stage (6-9 years old) – The final stage of self-
development according to Mead where are characterized by the
ability of the children to recognize the rules of the game and be
able to identify their roles and the roles of the others that is
playing with them. With this, the children at this stage learns
the implications of their actions as well as the understanding or
taking into account how one can take into account the view
point of the society on the attitudes and actions.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

The Self and the Person in Contemporary Anthropology

Anthropology and Its Subdisciplines The academic discipline of anthropology,

or “four-field” anthropology, studies human species and its immediate
ancestors includes four main sub disciplines or subfields - sociocultural,
archeological, biological and linguistic anthropology.

Anthropology is a systematic exploration of human biological and cultural

diversity.

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The Subdisciplines of Anthropology

1. Cultural Anthropology- Cultural anthropology is the study of human

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

Ethnography requires fieldwork to collect data, often descriptive and specific

to group.

On the other hand, ethnology uses data collected by a series of researches,

usually synthetic and comparative.
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2. Archeological Anthropology Archeological anthropology reconstructs, describes and

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

3. Biological, or Physical Anthropology Biological, or Physical Anthropology focuses on

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

4. Linguistic Anthropology Linguistic anthropology studies language in its social and

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

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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The Self Embedded in the Culture

Culture refers to customary behavior and beliefs that are passed on through enculturation (Kottak, 2008),
wherein enculturation is the social process which culture is learned and transmitted.

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

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

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Geertz (1973) described culture as "a system of

inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic
forms by means of which men communicate,
perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about
and attitudes toward life" .

The interpretation of the symbols in each culture

is essential which gives meaning to one’s action.

Each culture has its own symbols and has its own
meaning; one must need to comprehend those
meanings keeping in mind the end goal to
understand the culture.

One must disconnect the components of culture,

Culture defined: Culture is shared, symbolic, natural,
learned, integrated, encompassing and maladaptive
and adaptive.
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
discover the relationship among those
components, and portray the entire framework in
some broad way.
JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON
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BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

QUIZ 2
Answer the following questions cogently but honestly. Write your answer in the
yellow sheet of paper. (50 points)
1. What social pressures help shape yourself? Would you have wanted it otherwise?
(25 points)
2. What aspect of your self do you think may be changed or you would like to change?
(25 points)

Deadline: September 04, 2021 (11pm)

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF JADE LEE T. BUTLER-DE LEON

ASSIGNMENT 2
Film Showing: Ded Na Si Lolo
1. (In a yellow sheet of paper List down the Tradition and Beliefs
which influenced the behavior and decisions of the characters in the
story).(25 points)

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJEuIZ4ZTgI

2. Explain how the social institutions (Family, School, Church and Peer
group) influenced view of the “self”(25 points)

Date of Submission: September 10, 2021 (6pm)