MODULE UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

CHAPTER 2: THE SELF AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

Objectives:
a.) Explain the relationship between and among the self, society and
culture.
b.) Describe and discuss the different ways by which society and
culture shape the self.
c. Compare and contrast how the self can be influenced by the
different institutions in the society
d. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were
discussed in the class

“Culture is not just an ornament of human existence but – the principal basis of its
specificity – an essential condition for it.”
-Gilbert Geertz
The Sociological and Anthropological View of the Self
- Knowing the self requires understanding our society and its culture, and how it
provokes us to make decisions which are culturally influenced and socially
constructed. It is one big chunk in helping analyze our self-understanding. It is quite
impossible to ultimately know the self without comprehending the culture of our
society.
SIR EDWARD B. TYLOR
- founder of cultural anthropology, classically defined CULTURE as “that complex
whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, moral, law, customs, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by (a human) as a member of society”
(Popular Science Monthly, 1884)

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THE DIFFERENT FACETS OF CULTURE

ANTHROPOLOGY and SOCIOLOGY

ANTHROPOLOGY – is the inclusive study of of the human race, its culture and society, and
its physical development (Heacock, 2009)
SOCIOLOGY – is the scientific study of human life, social groups,
whole societies and the human world whose subject matter is own behavior as social beings
in relationship with many other people (Giddens, A. & Sutton, P.W., 2016

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COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
MATERIAL CULTURE – consists of human technology – all things
that people make and use or the physical pieces that make a
culture. (e.g. cars, buildings, furniture, etc.)
NON- MATERIAL CULTURE – abstract ideas and ways of
thinking that make up a culture. i.e. they are intangibles. (E.g.
beliefs, values, norms and symbols)

Components of Culture - are simply parts (ingredients, items,

pieces, features) that make up a culture. These components look
different in each culture.

There are different ways to break down the components of culture - below is one way.

1. Survival
a. food - edible source of energy
b. clothing - protective covering for the body
c. defense - tools and strategies used to protect people from threats
d. shelter - structure used to protect people and their belongings

2. Education - the way people in a culture learn what they need to know in order to be
successful in their culture

3. Transportation - the way a culture gets people and goods from one place to another

4. Communication - the way a culture shares ideas and messages

5. Economy - the way people in a culture get what they need and want

6. Technology - manmade tools that make life easier

7. Social Structure - who is considered important in a culture and who isn't

8. Beliefs and Traditions - the ideas a culture believes in and the way they celebrate
those beliefs

9. Rules and Regulations - the rules that maintain order in a culture and the structure
that maintains those rules

10. Arts & Recreation - the way a culture spends its spare time and expresses itself
creatively

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COLLECTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM

INDEPENDENT VIEW OF THE SELF
- also known as INDIVIDUALISM, this sees an individual as a separate entity in the
community who decides based on his own logic and is disengaged from the social matrix.
INTERDEPENDENT VIEW OF THE SELF
-also known as COLLECTIVISM, this explains that a person sees himself as an integral part
of the communal group. Thus his decisions are always inclined to include his social sphere.
Individualism is a characteristic tendency of industrialized societies. Modernization
induces changes which are often assumed to be unidirectional, i.e., all societies are
developing the same characteristic traits in the modernization process. The traits
attributed to modern societies include (Bond 1995)

• the sense of personal efficacy (anti-fatalism)

• low social integration with relatives
• egalitarian attitude towards others
• openness to innovation and change
• belief in sexual equality
• high achievement motivation
• independence or self-reliance
• active participation in social organizations
• tolerance of, and respect for, others
• cognitive and behavioural flexibility
• future organization
• empathetic capacity
• high need for information
• propensity to take risks in life
• secularization in religious belief
• preference for urban life
• high educational and occupational aspirations.

In spite of the assumption that the process of convergence towards a modern society is
the same from culture to culture, a society can modernize and not lose valued elements
of its tradition. The modern and the tradition are not necessarily incompatible.

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In individualistic value orientation, people are primarily concerned about

themselves and their immediate family. In collectivistic value orientation, people's
major concern is their in-group or community. The in-group is expected to look after an
individual in exchange for loyalty. The distinction between the in-groups and out groups
in collectivistic cultures in reflected in communication, for example, in different norms of
politeness. The in-group is vital for a person's success -- even survival -- and therefore
good relationships have to be maintained.

Belonging to an in-group is verbalized in such daily communicative practices as

greetings. In some cultures the greetings include not the person talked to but also
inquiries after the well-being of his/her family members. In Mozambique, for instance, a
common question in local languages is "How are you (in plural)?" (in Portuguese: como
estão?). In general, the concept of the human being in collectivistic societies such as
Mozambique is collective also in the sense that it comprises the dead, the living and the
yet to be born.

Collectivism and collective thinking is defined by Ethiopians as follows:

"Thinking that originates from the influence of a traditional society, where more or less
everything is collectively owned, where neighbourhoods live in unison sharing the
pleasures and toils of life, and where interests seem to converge and overlap. As a
result of this, the whole community is so rigidly tied together with socio-economic and
cultural cohesion, that sharing the same idea and images, shelter and neighbourhood,
images and feelings, stories, myths, values and traditional cults, becomes the
norm" (Vasko, Kjisik, Salo-Lee 1998:84).

To know more about the Self as a Social Construct, please click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MHVwVUKB34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe3zqcAFBoU

Alata, Castillo, et. al, Understanding The Self. Rex Book Store: 2018
https://moniviestin.jyu.fi/ohjelmat/hum/viesti/en/ics/33

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