Lecture 2- The

Self, Society, and

Culture
 Learning Objectives

Student will be able to:

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

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 Have you been born into a
different family and schooled
in a different college, how
much of who you are now
would change?

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 Definitions of Self

▫ The self is distinct/ separate from other selves. It is always unique

and has its own identity.
▫ Self is self-contained and independent because in itself it can
exist.
▫ It is consistent because it has a personality that is enduring.
▫ Self is unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and
thoughts that run through a certain person.
▫ Self is private. The whole self, its whole process, is never
accessible to anyone but the self.

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 Social Constructionist Perspective
▫ This reality argues for a merged view of the person and their social
context where the boundaries of one cannot easily be separated
from the boundaries of the other.
▫ Social constructionists argue that self should not be seen as a static
entity that says constant through and through. Rather, the self has
to be seen as something that is in unceasing flux, in a constant
struggle with external reality and is malleable in its dealings with
society.
▫ We ourselves play different roles, act in various ways depending
on our circumstances.

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 The Self and Culture

Marcel Mauss
• A French Anthropologist
• Every self has 2 faces:
1. Personne - has much to do
with what it means to live in a
particular institution
2. Moi - refers to a person's sense
of who he is, his body, and his
basic identity, his biological
governess
 The Self and the Develompent of the Social World

George Herbert Mead

and Lev Vygotsky
▫ Human persons develop
with the use of language
acquisition and
interaction with others.

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Bobo Doll Experiment by Albert Bandura
 Self in Families

▫ Every child is born with certain givenness, disposition coming from

his parents’ genes and general condition of life, the impact of
family is still deemed as a given in understanding the self.
▫ The kind of family that we are born in, and the resources available
to us (human, spiritual, economic) will certainly affect us and the
kind of development that we will have as we go through life.

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 Gender and the Self

▫ Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to

alteration, change, and development.
▫ Gender-role (Husbands- expected to provide for his
family, while Wives- to take care of the household…)
▫ Gender stereotyping as early as childhood stages (toys
for boys and not for girls vice-versa…)
▫ Expected masculinity/manliness for boys

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Our Society forces an identity unto us depending on our sex and/or gender,
give us your reaction in these statements below.

1. Husband are expected to provide for family.

2. The eldest man in a family is expected to head the
family and hold it in.
3. Mother’s role is to take care of her children.
4. Young women are encouraged to act like fine ladies.
5. Men are taught to behave like a man, like holding in
one’s emotion, being tough and brave and admiration
for hard physical labor.

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 “Culture is not just an
ornament of human existence
but- the principal basis of its
specificity- an essential
condition for it.”
-Clifford Geertz

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 ACTIVITY #3: My Self Through the Years
Paste a picture of you when you were in elementary, in high school, and now
that you are in college. Below the picture, list down your salient characteristics
that you remember.
My Elementary Self My High School Self My College Self

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 ACTIVITY #3: My Self Through the Years
After having examined your “self” in its different stages, fill out the table below:
SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES POSSIBLE REASONS

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THANK YOU!

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