Lesson 3: Anthropological Self

Now that you know that society

has an impact on the self. Let's
dig a little deeper this time!
This lesson will dwell on the
influences of society,
particularly your culture, and
how it impacts the self. The
social science that is a concern
on understanding the human
conditions in its cultural aspect
is called Anthropology; whilst,
cultural anthropology focuses
also on peoples’ beliefs,
practices, and the cognitive and
social organization of human
groups. In this lesson, you will
find out the various influences
of culture on yourself and
cultural differences.

Learning Outcomes:
✓ Know what is culture
✓ Illustrate how culture influences the self
✓ Point out one’s collectivist and individualist characteristics

Time Frame: Fourth week

Activity

Myself and My culture

Observe your own culture and write down all the beliefs, traditions, values, arts, language, ways of
living and the others that you acquire from it. Present it in a form of graphic organizer. Be as creative
as you can.
 Analysis

Reflect on the diagram you have made and come up with an essay that explain how your own culture
influences who you are today. Limit your answer into one paragraph with 5-6 sentences.

Abstraction

What is Culture?

The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin "colere," which
means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. "It shares its etymology with several
other words related to actively fostering growth." It encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we
wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how
we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things. -Cristina De Rossi, an
anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London

Culture refers to the behavior and belief characteristics of a particular society, community or
ethnic group- Warder, 1996

Culture is a shared pattern of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and understanding that
are learned by socialization. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social
patterns unique to the group. -Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition

Culture is the complex whole which included knowledge, belief, law, art, morals, custom, and other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. – Edward Tylor, 1871

The Self Embedded in Culture

The abovementioned definitions would tell that culture is embedded in the self. Though through time
the culture evolves, changes occur but the self goes along with it. How we see ourselves and how we
relate with others is deeply influenced by the culture we are born with.

Catherine Raeff (2010), a developmental psychologist believed that culture can influence how you
view: relationships, personality traits, achievement, and expressing emotions.

Relationships: Culture influences how you enter into and maintain relationships. For example,
relationships may be seen as voluntary or as duty-based. In Western societies, it is essential for
a person to choose whom to marry while some Eastern Societies still practice arranged
marriage.
 Personality Traits: Culture influences whether (and how) you value traits, like humility, self-
esteem, politeness, assertiveness, and so on, as well as how you perceive hardship or how you
feel about relying on others.

Achievement: Culture influences how you define success and whether you value certain types
of individual and group achievements.

Expressing emotions: Culture influences what will affect you emotionally, as well as how
you express yourself, such as showing your feeling in public or keeping it private.

Individualistic and Collectivist Culture

If someone asked you to finish the sentence, “I am ________”, what sorts of things would you include
in your responses?

Two of the most studied aspects of culture related to the sense of self are independence and
interdependence constructs. Construal in social psychology means how the individual perceives and
interprets the behavior or actions of others towards themselves. Self-construal is rooted in culture and
cultural psychologists proposed two ways of how the self is constructed namely: independent and
interdependent constructs.

• Independent construct reflects an individualistic culture while interdependent construct depicts

in collectivists culture. Individualists tend to have independent views of themselves. They see
themselves as separate from others and define or describe themselves based on personality traits
and characteristics, (for example I am funny, kind, or polite).

• While, collectivists are more likely to have an interdependent view of themselves, which means
they see themselves as connected to others and define or describe themselves through their
relationships and roles ( for example I am a sister, friend, or son).

Going back to the given question above, was your responses focus more on personal
traits/characteristics or your relationship/ roles?

Importance of Cultural Self-Awareness

Again culture helps you define how you see yourself and how you related to others. You have to
acknowledge that how culture greatly shaped you. Consequently, you come to understand your own
identity, roles, and biases and develop the cultural self-awareness that will help you acknowledge with
ease cultural diversity. Remember that individuals differ in many ways: language diversity, cultural
diversity, gender diversity, religious diversity, and economic diversity (Selmi, Gallagher, & Mora-
Flores, 2015). All of these aspects of diversity worked together to form your sense of self. Self-
awareness helps you to respect others' cultures and to acknowledge and understand that individuals may
not develop a sense of self in the same manner.

Application

1. Identify your personal individualist and collectivist characters.

 2. Observe another culture and compare your own culture. Write the comparison you have
observed in the box below.

Your Culture Other Culture

3. Essay making: Make an essay on how self-awareness can help you acknowledge cultural
diversity. Limit your answers into 5-6 sentences.

Congratulations you are almost done with your first module! Keep going!

Remember: You CAN do anything you

want to do if you stick to it long enough

-Helen Keller