GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

ONLINE LEARNING MODULE on

The Sociological View of the Self
Writer: Rafael Kieran M. Monday

MODULE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOCUS QUESTION/S:

“No man is an island” it is seemingly one of the most overused and cliché saying that
we always hear. It is, however, a very good and simple explanation on the status of
man as always in relation to another. Man cannot live alone he/she will always have
another to communicate with, live with, or even love. The understanding of the self
cannot be complete when you are only analyzing the individual alone because that
person is also a product of the society where he/she lives. A person is affected by
his/her circumstances and not only by the components of his/her physical or mental
states. How does society affect a person? How does society shape the
understanding of a man? Can man separate himself from other people? Is man
dependent upon a community?

MODULE LESSONS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING COVERAGE

Topics Learning outcomes Time allotted

•Demonstrate critical and

reflective thought in
Mead and the Sociological analyzing one’s self through 1.5hrs
Aspect of the Self the use of Mead’s social
self and societal influences

•Examine the different

The self as a product of influences, factors and
modern society among forces in the society that
other constructions shapes the self 1.5hrs
•Compare and contrast
the different perspectives
of the self

1 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

•Apply the various ideas

Eastern thoughts on the Self
and concepts of the self
under philosophy,
psychology, and sociology
in order to create a social 1hr
media campaign
promoting awareness of
the ideas of the great
thinkers to the general
public

•Examine the different

The Looking-Glass Self and influences, factors and
forces in the society that 1hr
Labeling Bias of Cooley
shapes the self

EXPLORE (QUAESTIO):
ACTIVITY # 1 “Survival of the most adaptable”

Instructions: Complete the table by answering what is required per cell.

Describe yourself (attitude, character, personality) when you are at home, at

school, or with friends. After filling out the table answer the following questions:

1. Do you have a similar “self” with all the three areas? Why or why not?
2. If you show a different self, why do you think is the reason behind it?
3. Among the three, which do you think is the “real” you? Why?

At Home At School With Friends

2 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

The Sociological View of the Self

Introduction

The self cannot be fully understood when it is separated from its

circumstances. In short, man is not only internal but also what is external. There is no
doubt that social situations influence one’s view of self. Again, the self is not created
in isolation, and people are not born with pre-determined perceptions of one’s self
as good in sports, make-up, academics, or business. Such attributes and perceptions
come from other people. You cannot really say that you look like Liza Soberano
when you’re the only one saying it, right? The self has meaning only within the social
context, and it is not wrong to say that our self-concept depends upon the social
situation.

How do we then
understand man and his/her
relationship to society? It is
through sociology. Sociology is
the study of human social
relationships and institutions. It is
a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes
that preserve and change them. Also, it is the science of society, social institutions,
and social relationships.

George Herbert Mead

Mead was an American Sociologist. He is best known as

a founder of American Pragmatism. A pioneer of symbolic
interaction theory and one of the founders of Social Psychology.

Mead – Theory of the Self

The conception a person holds of himself/herself in

his/her mind emerges from social interaction with others. The Self
is constructed and re-constructed in the process of social
experience and activity. The self, according to Mead, is made

3 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

of two components: the “I” and the “me.”

“Me” – represents the expectations and attitudes of others organized into a

social self. The individual defines his or her own behavior with reference to the
generalized attitude of the social group he/she occupies. It is the self as object.

“I” – is the response to the “me,” or the person’s individuality. It is the essence
of agency in human action. It is an
individual’s impulses. It is the self as
subject.

The “I” is the knower, the “me” is the

known. The mind, or stream of
thought, is the self-reflective
movements of the interaction
between the “I” and the “me.” For
Mead, the thinking process is the internalized dialogue between the “I” and the
“me.”

The Self for Mead is the combination of the “I” and the “me,” the self proves
to be noticeably entwined within a sociological existence. For Mead, existence in a
community comes before individual consciousness. First one must participate in the
different social positions within society and only subsequently one can use that
experience to the perspective of others and become self-conscious

The Self as a Product of Modern Society

Through modernization, the self becomes a “delocalized” self which is free to

seek its own identity; defining religion, theological tradition; free from customary
constraints hence, deviating from the traditional way of life. Stability of one’s self-
identity is no longer based on pre-given traditional broad definition of the self.

Self as a Construct – Nietzsche

Self for Nietzsche, is the sum of the individual’s action, thoughts and feelings.
Self is nothing more than a metaphor, a representation of something abstract;
symbolic. It is possible for us to remember something even if we have not

4 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

experienced it. Self has a continuity even if tis only in memory i.e, either heard or
witnessed which did not happen to you. At rue given self is not what unites these
experiences, but it is the presumed unity of these experiences that gave rise to a
concept of the self.

Social Construction of the Self

Self is not discovered but it is made through the socialization process but
individuals are not just hapless victims of socialization. The individual is an active,
strategizing agent that negotiates for the definition of himself. Self is acquired socially
through language, like symbols. We construct ourselves based on our social roles
through socialization agents like family, school, community, etc.

The Self in Eastern Thoughts

Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different

perceptions of the “self” and one of the most common distinctions between cultures
and people is the Eastern-vs-Western dichotomy wherein Eastern represents Asia
and Western represent 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 a similar or varying
perception regarding the “self.”

The Self in Eastern Thoughts-Confucianism

It is a code of ethical conduct, of how one

should properly act according to their relationship
with other people. It is also focused on having a
harmonious social life. 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

5 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

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 connected in his social
relationships. 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.

The Self in Eastern Thoughts-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.
The self is not just an extension of the family or the
community; it is part of the universe, one of the forms and

manifestations of the Tao.

The ideal self is selflessness 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

The Self in Eastern Thoughts-Buddhism

The self is seen as an illusion born out of

ignorance, of trying to hold and control things, or

6 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

human-centered needs; thus, the self is also the source of all these sufferings.

It is the person’s 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

The Looking Glass Self and the Labeling Bias

The Looking Glass Self and the Labeling Bias are the concepts made by the
sociologist Charles Horton Cooley. Cooley was an American Sociologist. He was
born on Aug. 17, 1864, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is known for employing a
sociopsychological approach to the understanding of society.

The Looking Glass Self

It states that a part of how we see ourselves comes

from our perception of how others see us. The degree of
personal insecurity you display in social situations is
determined by what you believe other people think of
you.

A person’s self grows out of a person’s social interactions

with others. Actually, how we see ourselves does not come
from who we really are, but rather from how we believe
others see us.

The Labeling Bias

The Labeling Bias occurs when we are labeled and others’ views and
expectations of us are affected by that labeling. For example, if a teacher knows
that a child has been diagnosed with a particular psychological disorder, that
teacher may have different expectations and explanations of the child’s behavior
than he or she would if she was not aware of that label.

We are often labeled in particular ways by others, perhaps informally in terms

of our ethnic background, or more formally in terms of a physical or psychological
diagnosis. Sometimes the expectations/labels of others start to become self-fulfilling
prophecies, and our self-concept and even our behavior start to align with them. If

7 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

we are repeatedly labeled and evaluated by others, then self-labeling may occur,
which happens when we adopt others’ labels explicitly into our self-concept.

FIRM-UP (OBJECTIO):

ACTIVITY # 2 “Normalin lang natin”

Instructions: Answer the following questions and write your answers on the answer
sheet provided for. (15 points)

1. It represents the self as subject, and the individual’s impulses.

a. I c. Me
b. You d. We
2. The Self for George Herbert Mead is the combination of what?
a. Me and I c. You and I
b. Me and You d. They and Us
3. He is known for his concept of the looking-glass self.
a. Cooley c. Erikson
b. Mead d. Freud
4. This occurs when one is labeled, and other’s views and expectations of an
individual are affected by that labeling.
a. Internalized prejudice c. self labeling
b. Labeling bias d. social comparison
5. For this eastern thought the self is seen as an illusion born out of ignorance
a. Buddhism c. Taoism
b. Roman Catholicism d. Confucianism
6. For him the self is only a representation of something incomprehensible. The
self only symbolizes the vagueness of the individual.
a. Cooley c. Nietzsche
b. Mead d. Buddha
7. It states that the ideal self is selflessness but this is not forgetting about the self,
it is living a balanced-life with society and nature
a. Sociology c. Buddhism
b. Confucianism d. Taosim
8. It is the man of virtue or noble character according to Confucianism
a. Xiaoyu c. Nirvana
b. Feng-Sui d. Chun-tzu
9. It states that the self is not just an extension of the family or the community; it is
part of the universe.
a. Taoism c. Buddhism
b. Confucianism d. Social Constructivist Theory
10. It states that the self is not discovered but it is made through the socialization
process but individuals are not just hapless victims of socialization.

8 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

a. Social Layering c. Societal Construction

b. Social Construction d. The Looking Glass Theory

ACTIVITY # 3 “I’m me because of you!”

Instructions: Describe some aspects of your self-concept that have been created
through social comparison. Explain your answers using the topics that have been
discussed. Maximum of 300 words.

Rubric for Activity #3:

9 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

RESPONDEO (TRANSFER):

ACTIVITY # 4 “Sanib Pwersa”

Instructions: Kindly group yourselves with three (3) members each. Each group is
required to perform what is asked for in the following transfer task below. This transfer
task shall be considered as your Prelim Project. The output will be on a separate
document.

Transfer Task:

In this digital age and of everything becoming automated and fast-tracked

people forget to slow down and take note of the importance of the self-care with
this the World Health Organization launched a campaign promoting self-care
especially on the youth. The WHO now hired your group composed of a philosopher,
psychologist, and a sociologist. The group is tasked to make a program promoting
self-care incorporating ideas from philosophy, psychology, and sociology. The
proposal may be in the form of a video presentation minimum of 15 minutes and not
exceeding 20 minutes or of a written proposal with a minimum of 2000 words.

Remember, the group’s work will be sent to the World Health Organization so
it is expected that the proposal will be comprehensive, realistic, and should be
supported by sources and references especially the past ideas of philosophers,
psychologists, and sociologists.

10 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Rubric for Activity No. 4:

REFERENCES:
1) Alata, E. J. et al. (2018). Understanding the Self. Rex Book Store.
2) Villafuerte, S. et al. (2018). Understanding the Self. Nieme Publishing House Co. Ltd.

11 | Page
 GE 1 – UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

MODULE NO. 3 INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE

““He was still too young to know that

the heart's memory eliminates the
bad and magnifies the good, and
that thanks to this artifice we manage
to endure the burden of the past.”.”

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

12 | Page