UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Module 2.2: The Self from Sociological Perspectives

PRE-DIAGNOSTIC ACTIVITY:
Directions: Read each statement carefully. In the blank, write "A" if you agree and "D" if you disagree.

______A______ 1. Culture is considered significant in the advancement of one's social self. ______D______
2. Individuals you do not know do not influence your social self.
______A______ 3. One's conduct is influenced by individuals surrounding that person. ______A______
4. Social institutions affect individuals' lives.
______D______ 5. Individuals don't need other people to endure.

PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY:
Ever wondered who the most important person in your life is? Make sure to select only one answer for each item.
WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN MY LIFE?
SELECT ONE ANSWER FOR EACH ITEM.
STATEMENTS DAD MOM FRIEND/ SPECIAL OTHE
S OTHER R/S
(Specify)

I would love to go dinner with…

The last person I spoke to on the phone was…

I call or text the most my…

I would cry like a baby if this person/s leaves me.

I would trust this person with a secret.

I spend most of my time with…

I memorize the contact number of my…

I can’t go two weeks without talking to…

The person who’s been there for me during the darkest

time of my life more than anyone else is…

I usually post photos with…

The one who supports my ideas the most is…

My entire world would crumble if this person gives up

on me…

I have a lot of funny and silly moments with…

My movie buddy is…

I would go shopping with…

I want to get feedback from…

I have the most common with…

I can stand all the hurtful and honest words from…

I do trust the most my…

I would NOT like to disappoint…

I want our picture to be framed.

If ever all lines are lost for a week, I would likely to

reach out first to…

If I had to save one person falling off a cliff, it would

be…

TALLY THE VOTES: 6 8 8 1 0

RANKING: 3 1 2 4 5

Source Question: https://www.quizony.com/who-is-the-most-important-person-in-your-life/index.html

I found out that the most important person in my life is my mother. It is because my mother and I always bond together,
we are the only 2 girls inside our house. We understand each other.

The least important according to the table above is my special other and others. I think this is my least important
because in my case I don’t have any special other yet, nor I want to have it now. For now, my family and friends are my
main priority.

Action to be taken:
So, who is the most important person in your life right now? Why don’t you make that person feel special today?
A word of appreciation, a hug or a kiss, a simple gesture or help, 10 minutes of your time, or a simple gift will suffice. By
doing this, you are acknowledging that such person has created a great impact on you. Go ahead!

POST ACTIVITY:
Choose only one activity from the two activities below:
A. GEORGE HERBERT MEAD’S SOCIAL SELF: THREE-PAGE DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK
 Interview your mother or father and explore your preparatory, play, and game stage. If no parent is available, a
grandparent or any other significant person who witnessed your growing up years may take the role as substitutes.

1. Preparatory Stage – Let your parent narrate what you loved to imitate at age 0-2.
2. Play Stage – Let your parent describe what you did at age 3-6.
3. Game Stage – Let your parent narrate an experience of how you at age 7 and onwards behaved with the
Significant Others.

Prepare a PowerPoint slide for each stage with photos, figures, and captions to capture the story for each
stage.

NOTE: Considering that we are in a virtual class, the significant others here are limited to the home and
neighborhood.

B. CHARLES COOLEY’S LOOKING GLASS SELF: HOW SIGNIFICANT OTHERS SEE ME Let
yourself undergo the following three (3) processes:

1. Think of a recent difficult/challenging event (or a previous interaction) with your parent and narrate it. Based on this event,
imagine how you appear to your parent. In short, you ask yourself: “In my own opinion, how do I appear to my
mother/father?” The student may list down 2-3 sentences for this.

A recent difficult event I had encounter with my parents, is when we are arguing about the house chores. I imagine my
parents would appear disappointed and frustrated with me lately, because I can’t help my brothers doing the house
chores. They have been always been the one doing things. In my own opinion I appear to them as a irresponsible
daughter.

2. Next, imagine how your parent evaluates you based on their observations of you based on the event. In short, you ask the
question: “What must my parent think of me?” The student may list down 2-3 sentences for this.

A recent difficult event I had with my parents, is when we are arguing about the house chores. My parents are
evaluating me as a responsible student. My parents would think of me as a daughter who is very busy at school works,
and taking the studies very seriously.

3. Talk to your parent to see how they actually think about you.

They actually think of me as a normal college student who knows what to prioritize. They understand what I need to do at
school. They had made sure that it’s okay and it’s not a big deal, because they have also experienced that themselves when
they were younger.

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT:

WHO’S YOUR COMMUNITY?
 1. Look for and paste top three (3) photos of any of the ff: people/group/social institutions with whom you have had
meaningful encounters. It doesn’t matter if the encounters feel good or bad as long as they have a tremendous
influence in helping you understand the self. Then, answer the questions as honestly as possible.
:

Questions for each photo

a. Describe the pictures.
 The first picture is with my best friends: Lovely and Mark. We had a small get together, we ate at
McDonalds and drink milk tea at Kkopi at Buting, Pasig City.
 The second picture was my 18th Birthday party with my family at durings (Mother’s Side).
 The third picture was with my family (both grandparents), we went swimming last December.

b. What was the event you remember most with the given picture that has significant influence on you?
 The event I remember the most is my 18th birthday party at during.

c. How do they influence your life?

 They influenced my life by helping me build my characteristic. They helped me define who I am.
They influenced my beliefs, attitudes, personality, habits, and many more.

2. Write a 200-word reflection paper based on “Still Face Experiment” by Dr. Edward Tronic.

The video “Still Face Experiment” it shows a mother faces her baby, and is asked to hold a ‘still face’ or not show any
kind of interest, showing emotions to the baby. The reaction of the baby was agitated or stressed because the baby can’t seem
to draw attention from her mother after many attempts. She tried to look away and cried as a sign of a negative reaction from
the face experiment. It shows here a situation on how us humans can affect the people that surrounds us with our
characteristics or personality. Babies or K=kids learn that if they create a scene, they can end up getting what they want or
they get the satisfaction on having all eyes on them making them feel like the most important person in the room.

People desire attention for a variety of reasons, such as typical emotional development, low self-esteem, and, in certain
extreme circumstances, the presence of personality disorders. A child's attention-seeking behaviors are often motivated by
emotional, social, and physical factors. It's not necessarily awful! A person feels sad and unwelcome when they don't receive
the attention they deserve. They regard you as an outsider due to their detached demeanor.

INTROSPECTION
Three things that I have learned about myself from this module

1. I have learned that us humans we love to reach out, interact, or socialize with
those people and objects that surround us.
2. I have learned that that self-feeling and social feeling must be harmonize.
3. I have learned that where there is no communication there can be no
nomenclature and no developed thought.