SOCIOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVES
OF THE SELF
Sociology
•From the Latin word Socius
(companion, group, and associate) and
Greek word Logos (study and science)
•The study of society, patterns of social
relationships, social interaction and
culture of everyday life
• Man is a social being, who is born into
existence in a community before he is able
to know himself. Early in life, as children, you
become aware of your social nature. And it
is through socialization that begins in the
family that you are exposed to behavior,
social rules, and attitudes that lead to social
development. And it is through social
institutions – family, school, church, and the
community you interact with every day, that
will lead you to your deeper understanding
of your social identity – that of
understanding your social self.
Personality Development
PERSONALITY - the basic
organization of individuals that
determines the uniqueness of their
behavior
• The basic organization refers to
the structure of the personality –
how it is put together, and the
relationships among the various
parts. It consists of the total
physical, intellectual, and
emotional structure of the
individual.
•Our total personality
structure will determine
our way of behaving.
Each one of us has our
own way of interacting
with others and with
our social environment
Aspects of Personality
• Physical characteristics - physical appearance is the
most obvious part of an individual’s personality. Are
you short or tall, fat or thin, light or dark in
complexion, black or brown hair, a pointed or flat
nose? These characteristics are inherited but can be
altered by your culture.
• Abilities – are skills that are developed within the
culture. Other than abilities, you have the capacity to
learn skills, or to acquire a particular body of
knowledge – your aptitude. Aptitude is more related to
heredity, as abilities are always related to culture.
• Beliefs – a feeling of certainty that
something exists, is true, or is good. It
can be about yourself, your friends,
nature, religion, work, etc. It also
includes attitudes, values, preferences,
superstitions, prejudices, and
knowledge. Some are based on fact,
others are not. But all beliefs are related
to the culture and learned from others
in the society.
Habits – are regular, routine ways of thinking,
feeling, or behaving. This can be observed in ways
of dressing, eating, interacting with others, and in
your everyday tasks. These are learned from others
and help you distinguish one person’s behavior
from others.
Interests – the state of wanting to know or learn
about something or someone. You all differ in your
interests. The things that you become interested in
depends on the cultural alternatives that are
available – and an awareness of your existence.
THE SOCIAL SELF

Socialization – the process of

cultural molding, how individuals
learn the basic skills, values,
beliefs, and behavior patterns of
the society
Socialization Theories
1. JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)
• John Locke was an English philosopher who
argued that all knowledge comes exclusively
through experience. He insisted that at birth
the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, that
humans fill with ideas as they experience the
world through the five senses.
• The social self is the way that you see yourself
as a result of interacting with others. You begin
to have a sense of your own self from your
daily interactions with other people.
2. CHARLES HORTON COOLEY
(1864-1929)
• Charles Horton Cooley was an
American sociologist who developed
The Looking- Glass Theory.
• The looking-glass self describes the
process wherein individuals base their
sense of self on how they believe
others view them. Using social
interaction as a type of “mirror,”
people use the judgments they receive
from others to measure their own
worth, values, and behavior.
The process of discovering
the looking-glass self
occurs in three steps:
1. An individual in a social
situation imagines how
they appear to others.
2. That individual imagines
others’ judgment of
that appearance.
3. The individual develops
feelings about and
responds to those
perceived judgments.
• The process of the looking-glass self is
further complicated by the context of each
interaction and the nature of the people
involved. Not all feedback carries the same
weight, for instance. People may take the
responses from those whom they trust
more seriously than those of strangers.
Signals may be misinterpreted. People also
usually take their own value systems into
consideration when thinking through any
changes to their behavior or views of self.
3. GOERGE HERBERT MEAD (1863-1931)
• Goerge Herbert Mead was an American
philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist. He
is one of the founders of social psychology and
the American sociological tradition in general.

Mead's theory of the social self is based on the

perspective that the self emerges from social
interactions, such as:
1. observing and interacting with others
2. responding to others' opinions about oneself
3. internalizing external opinions and internal
feelings about oneself.
• According to Mead, the self develops through three
stages, these are preparatory, play and game stage.
1. Preparatory – children mimic and imitate others. It
develops the self when we allow children to
respond through symbols, gestures, words, and
sounds.
2. Play - children take the roles of significant others
into pretend play. It develops the self when
we allow children to take on different roles, pretend,
and express expectations of others.
3. Game – children begin to take an active role by
taking into consideration the society and their
expectations of them. Self is developed by
understanding that there are rules in which one must
abide by in order to win the game or be successful at
an activity.
• Mead believes that all of us come into
contact with two kinds of people –
“significant others” and “generalized
others”
• According to Mead's theory, the self has
two sides or phases: 'me' and 'I.' The 'me' is
considered as the socialized aspect of the
individual. The 'me' represents learned
behaviors, attitudes, and expectations of
others and of society. The 'I', therefore, can
be considered the present and future phase
of the self. The 'I' represents the individual's
identity based on response to the 'me.' The
'me' and the 'I' have a didactic relationship.