LA CARLOTA CITY COLLEGE

City of La Carlota

*Modules in GE 1 Understanding the Self

1st semester, AY 2022-2023

I. COURSE TITLE: GE 1 (Understanding the Self)

II. NUMBER OF UNITS: 3 Units

III. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

1. The course deals with the nature of identity, as well as the factors and forces that affect the development and
maintenance of personal identity.

2. The directive to know oneself has inspired countless and varied ways to comply. Among the questions that
everyone has had to grapple with at one time or another is “Who am I?” At no other period is this question asked
more urgently than in Adolescence-traditionally believed to be a time of vulnerability and great possibilities.
Issues of self and identity are among the most critical for the young.

3. This course is intended to facilitate the exploration of the issues and concerns regarding self and identity to
arrive at a better understanding of one self. It strives to meet this goal by stressing the integration of the personal
with the academic contextualizing matters discussed in the classroom and in the everyday experiences of
students.

4. The course is divided into three major parts. The first part seeks to understand the construct of the self from
various disciplinal perspectives: philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and psychology- as well as the more
traditional division between the East and the West- each seeking to provide answers to the difficult but essential
question of “What is the self?” And raising among others the question “Is there even such a construct as the
self?”

5. The second part explores some of the various aspects that make up the self, such as the biological and
material up to and including the more recent Digital self. The third and final part identifies three areas of concern
for young students; learning, goal setting and managing stress. It also provides for the more practical application
of the concepts discussed in this course and enables them the hands-on experience of developing self-help plans
for self-regulated learning, goal setting and self-care.

IV. COURSE OUTCOMES:

At the end of the semester, the students can:

A. The Self from Various Perspectives
1. Discuss the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various disciplinal perspectives.
2. Examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self.
3. Compare and contrast how the self has been represented across different perspectives and disciplines.
4. Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the development of one’s self and identity by
developing a theory of the self

B. Unpacking the Self

1. Explore the different aspects of self and identity.
2. Demonstrate critical, reflective thought in integrating the various aspects of self and identity.
3. Identify the different forces and institutions that impact the development of various aspects of self and
identity.
4. Examine one’s self against the different aspects of self, discussed in in class.
5. Apply these new skills to one’s self and functioning for a better quality of life

C. Managing and Caring for the Self

1. Understand the theoretical underpinnings for how to manage and care for different aspects of the self
2. Acquire and hone new skills and learning for better managing of one’s self and behavior.
3. Adopt knowledge to improve and understand one ’s self.
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V. COURSE OUTLINE

A. PRELIM PERIOD
Module 1 Philosophy and the Self
Module 2 The Self, Society and Culture

B. MIDTERM PERIOD
Module 3 The Self as a Cognitive Construct
Module 4 The Self in Western and Eastern Thought

C. SEMI- FINALS PERIOD

Module 5 Unpacking the Self
 Physical and Sexual Self
 The Material Self

D. FINALS PERIOD
Module 6 Unfolding the Self-Awareness
 Self-Awareness
 Emotional Regulation

Module 1: Philosophy and the Self

Learning Outcomes:
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1. To explain why it is essential to understand the self;

2. To compare and contrast how the self has been represented in different philosophical schools; and
3. To examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed.

What is Philosophy?

Philo – Greek word for love

Sophia – Greek for wisdom

According to Pecorino, philosophy is an activity of thought, which may become a way of life. It is primarily a pursuit after
wisdom. It is a critical and comprehensive inquiry into the ways in which what we know can be used to obtain what we value.

It is also about finding answers to serious questions about ourselves and about the world we live in:

 What is morally right and wrong?

 What is a good life?
 Does God exist?
 What is the mind?

Pythagoras – the first to use the term philosophy.

Ancient Greek Philosophers

Socrates: Know Thyself

 An unexamined life is not worth living.

 He believed that every man is dualistic. A man has a body and a soul.
 Body (imperfect and impermanent) + Soul (perfect and permanent) = man
 He is the first philosopher who engaged in a systematic questioning about the self
(Socratic Method).
 His lifelong mission is to know oneself.
 For him, the worst that can happen to anyone is to live but die inside.
 A person can have a happy and meaningful life only if he becomes virtuous and knows
the value of himself. This can be achieved through constant soul-searching.

Plato: The Soul is Immortal

 He is Socrates’ student.
 He believed that man is dual in nature.
 He believed in the existence of the mind and the soul.

Three Components of the Soul

Rational Soul Spirited Soul Appetitive Soul

 It is forged by reason and  It is in charge of emotions  It is in charge of our basic
intellect. and passion. needs or base desires.
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 It has to govern the affairs of
the human person.
 It enables us to think deeply,
make wise choices, and achieve true
understanding of eternal truths.
 It is the thinking soul.
 It must be kept at baby.  These needs/desires include
 Basic emotions include love, eating, drinking, sleeping, and
anger, ambition, empathy, sympathy, having sex.
aggression, etc.

 These components of the soul interact with each other and may sometimes be in conflict. When this happens, the
rational soul intervenes and sorts things out to restore harmony among the three.
 According to Plato, happiness can be achieved when a person ensures that their reason or rational soul is in control over
their spirit and appetite.

Aristotle: The Soul is the Essence of the Self

 He is Plato’s student.
 He believed that the body and the soul are NOT two separate elements but are
one. This is because the soul will not exist without the body.
 He suggests that the rational nature of the self is to lead a good, flourishing and
fulfilling life.

Three Types of Soul

Vegetative soul Sentient Soul Rational Soul

 It includes the physical body
that can grow.
 It is capable of growth and
reproduction.
 Applicable to plants, animals,
and humans.
 It includes the sensual
desires, feelings, and emotions.
 It is capable of moving and
sensing.
 Applicable only to animals
and humans.
 It includes the intellect.
 It allows humans to know and
understand things.
 It allows for thought and
reflection.
 Applicable only to humans.

St. Augustine: The Self is known through Knowing God

 His view of the human person reflects the entre spirit of the medieval world.
 He took Plato’s ideas and infused it with the doctrine of Christianity.
 Man is bifurcated in nature. (body + soul)

Body Soul
 An aspect of man that  It is capable of
dwells in the world; reaching
 It is imperfect and immortality.
continuously yearns
to be with the Divine.
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 He believes that our body is bound to die on earth while the soul is to anticipate living eternally with God.
 He believes that man is God’s creation and is created in God’s image. Because of these, man is geared towards good.
 Self-knowledge is a consequence of the knowledge of God.

Thomas Aquinas

 He is a thirteenth century scholar and a stalwart of the medieval philosophy.

 He adapted the ideas of Aristotle and said that man is composed of two parts: matter
and form.

Matter Form
 From the Greek word,  From the Greek word morphe
hyle  It is the essence of a substance
 It refers to the common or thing.
stuff that makes up
everything in the
universe.
 Man’s body is part of this
matter.

 What makes a human being a human is his soul – it is his essence.

 The soul is what animates the body: It is what makes us humans.

Rene Descartes: I think, therefore I am. (Cogito ergo sum)

 He is the Father of Modern Philosophy

 He believed that humans have both a body and a mind.
 He says that since much of what we think and believe are not infallible, they may
turn out to be false.
 The only thing that one cannot doubt is the existence of the self, for even if one
doubts oneself that only proves that there is a doubting self, a thing that thinks and
therefore, that cannot be doubted.

Two Entities of the Soul

Cogito Extenza
 It is the thing that thinks.  It is the extension of the mind.
 It is the mind.  It is the body.

 “But what hen am I? A thinking thing. It has been said. But what is a thinking thing? It is a thing that doubts,
understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses; that imagines also, and perceives.”

David Hume: There is No Self

 He is a Scottish philosopher and an empiricist.

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 Empiricists believe that knowledge can only be possible if it is sensed and experienced.
 Men can only attain knowledge by experiencing.
 He believed that the self is nothing else but a bundle or a collection of different perceptions, which succeed each
other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement (Hume and Steinberg, 1992).

Two Categories of Human Experience

Impression
 They are the basic objects of our experience or
sensation.
 They form the core of our thoughts.
 They are vivid because they are products of
our direct experience with the world.
Idea
 They are copies of impressions.
 They are not as lively and vivid as our
impressions.
 They are the things that are imagined.

 He believed that there is no self because the idea of personal identity is simply a result of imagination.

Immanuel Kant: We Construct the Self

 He believes that the mind necessary to organize the impressions that men get from
the external world.
 He adds that without the self, one cannot organize the different impressions that
one gets in relation to his own existence.
 The self is not just what gives one his personality. The self is also the seat of
knowledge acquisition for all human persons.

Gilbert Ryle: I act therefore I am

 For Ryle, what truly matters is the behavior that a person manifests in his day-
to-day life.
 He believes that the self is not an entity one can locate and analyze but simply
the convenient name people use to refer to all behaviors that people make.
 He believes that the self is the way people behave.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

 A phenomenologist who asserts that the mind-body bifurcation is a futile endeavor and an invalid problem.
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 He says that the mind and the body are so intertwined that they cannot be separated from one another.
 For him, the living body, his thoughts, emotions, and experiences are all one.

Module 2: The Self, Society and Culture

Learning Outcomes:

1. To explain the relationship between and among the self, society, and culture;
2. To describe and discuss the different ways by which society and culture shape the self;
3. To compare and contrast how the self can be influenced by the different institutions of the society; and
4. To examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed.

What is the Self?

The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly defined by the following characteristics
(Stevens 1996):

1. Separate – it is meant that the self is distinct from other-selves. The self is always unique and has its own identity. One
cannot be another person.
2. Self-contained and independent – In itself, it can exist. Its distinctness allows it to be self-contained with its thoughts,
characteristics and, volition. It does not require any other self for it to exist.
3. Consistency – means that a particular self’s traits, characteristics, tendencies, and potentialities are more or less the
same.
4. Unitary – self is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run through a certain person. It is like the chief
command post in an individual where all processes, emotions, and thoughts converge.
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5. Private – self is isolated from the external world. It lives within its own world.

What do social constructivists believe in?

“Social constructionists argue for a merged view of the person and their social context where boundaries of one cannot
easily be separated from the boundaries of the other” (Stevens 1996, p. 222).

Social constructivists argue that the self should not be seen as a static entity that stays constant through and through. Rather,
the self has to be seen as something that is in unceasing flux, in constant struggle with external reality, and is malleable in its
dealing with society. The self is always in participation with social life and its identityis subjected to influences here and there.
Having these perspectives considered should draw one into concluding that the self is truly multifaceted.

The Self and Culture

Remaining the same person and turning a chameleon badaptingno one’s context seems paradoxical. However, the
French anthropologist Marcel Mauss has an explanation for this phenomenon.

Two faces of the Self

Moi
 It refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body,
and his basic identity; the biological givenness
 It is a person’s basic identity.
Personne
 It is composed of the social concepts of what it means to live
in a particular institution, a particular family, a particular
religion, a particular nationality, and how to behave given the
expectations and influences from others.

These dynamics and capacity for different personne can be illustrated better cross-culturally. A Filipino OFW adjusting to life
in another country is a very good case study. In the Philippines, many people unabashedly violate jaywalking rules. A common
Filipino treats rroads even national ones, as basically his and so he just simply crosses whenever and wherever. When the same
Filipino visits another country with strict traffic rules, say Singapore, you will notice how suddenly law-abiding the said Filipino
becomes. This observation has been anecdotally confirmed by a lot of Filipinos.
The same Malleability can be seen in how some men easily transform into sweet, docile guys when trying to woo and
court a particular woman and suddenly change after hearing a sweet “yes.” This can hardly be considered a conscious change on
the part of the guy or on part of the law-abiding Filipino in the first example. The self simply morphed according to the
circumstances and contexts.
Language is another interesting aspect of this social constructivism. The Filipino way by which we articulate our love
is denoted by the phrase “Mahal Kita.” This of course is the Filipino version of “I love you.” The Filipino brand of this
articulation of love, unlike in its English version, does not specify the subject and the object of love. Unlike in its English version,
there is no specification of who loves and who is loved. There is simply a word for love, mahal, and the pronoun Kitaa” which is
the second person pronoun that refers to the speaker and the one being talked to. In the Filipino language, unlike in English, there
is no distinction between the lover and the beloved. They are one.
Interesting too is the word, mahal. In Filipino, the word can mean both love and expensive. In our language, love is
intimately bound with value, with being expensive and precious. Something expensive is valuable. Someone we love is valuable
to us. The Sanskrit origin of the word love is “lubh” which means desire. Technically love is a desire. The Filipino word for it has
another intonation apart from mere desire, which is valuable.
Another interesting facet of our language is its being gender-neutral. In English, Spanish and other languages, there is a clear
distinction between a third person male and third person female pronoun. He and She. El and Ella. In Filipino, it is plain “siya.”
There is no specification of gender. Our language does not specify between males and females. We both call it “siya.”
In these various examples, we have seen how language has something to do with culture. It is a salient part of the culture and
ultimatelya , has ttremendous effect in our crafting of the self. This might also be one of the reasons cultural initely accaccountr
the differences in how one regards oneself. If one finds himself born and reared in a particular culture, one defis to fit in a
particular mold. If a self is born into a particular society or culture, the self will have to adjust according to its exposure.

The Self and the Development of the Social World

So how do people actively produce their social worlds? How do children grow up and become social beings? How can
a boy turn out to be just like an ape? How do two twins coming out from the same mother to turn out to ly different when given
up for adoption? More than a person’s givenness (personality, tendencies, propensities, etc.), one is believed to be in active
participation of shainng the self. Most often, we think human persons are just passive actors in the whole process of the shaping
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of selves. That men and women are born with particularities that they can no longer change. Recent studies, however indic,ate
that men and women in their growth and development engage actively in the shaping of the self. The unending terrain of
metamthe orphosis of the self is mediated by language. “Language as both a publicly shared and privately utilized symbol system
is the site where the individual and the social make and remake each other” (Schwartz, White ,and Lutz 1993, p. 83).

MEAD AND VYGOTSKY

For Mead and Vygotsky, human persons develop with the use of language
acquisition and interaction with others. The way that we process information
is normally a form of internal dialogue in our head. Those who deliberate
about moral dilemmas undergo this internal dialogue. “Should I do this or
that?” “But if I do this, it will be like this.” “Don’t I want the other option?”
So cognitive and emotional development of a child is always a mimicry of
how it is done in the social world, in the external reality where he is in.
Both Mead and Vygotsky treat the human mind as something that
is made, constituted through language as experienced in the external world
and as encountered in dialogues with others. A young child internalizes
values, norms, practices and social beliefs, and more through exposure to
these dialogues that will eventually become part of his world.
For Mead, this takes place as a child assumes the ‘other’ through
language and role play. A child conceptualizes his notion of ‘self’ through
this. Notice how little children are fond of playing role play with their toys?
Notice how they make scripts and dialogues for their toys as they play with
them? According to Mead, it is through this that a child delineates the “I”
from the rest. Vygotsky, for his part believes a child internalizes real- life
dialogues that he has had with others, with his family, his primary caregiver
or playmates. They apply this to their mental and practical problems along with the social and cultural infusions brought about by
the said dialogues. Notice how children eventually become what they watch?

Self in Families

Apart from the anthropological and psychological basis for the relationship between the self and the social world, the
sociological likewise struggled to understand the real connection between the two concepts. In doing so, sociologists focus on the
different institutions and powers at play in society. Among these, the most prominent is the family.
While every child is born with certain givenness, disposition coming from his parent’s genes and general condition of
life, the impact of the 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. As a matter of evolutionary fact, human persons are one of those beings whose importance of family cannot
be denied. Human beings are born virtually helpless and the dependency period of a human baby to its parents for nurturing is
relatively longer than most other animals. Lear,ning therefore, is critical in our capacity to actualize our potential of becoming
humans. In trying to achieve the goal of becoming a fully realized human, a child enters a system of relationships, most important
of which is family.
Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood by being in a family. It is what a family initiates a
person to become that serves as the basis for this person’s progress. Babies internalize ways and styles that they view from their
families. For example, by imitating the language of their primary agents of rearing, their family, and babies learn language.
Without a family, biologically and sociologically, a person may not even survive or become a human. For example, the
story of Tarzan. In more ways than one, the survival of Tarzan in the midst of a forest is in itself already a miracle. His being a
full human person with a sense of selfhood is a different story though. The usual teleserye plot of kids getting swapped in the
hospital and getting reared by a different family gives an obvious manifestation of the point being made in this section. One is
who he is because of his family for the most part.

Gender and the Self

Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration, change and development. We have seen in the past
years how people fought hard for the right to express, validate and assert their gender expression. Many conservatives may frown
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upon this and insist on the biological. However, form the point-of-view of the social sciences and the self, it is important to give
one the leeway to find, express and live his identity. This forms part of selfhood that one cannot just dismiss. One maneuvers into
the society and identifies himself as who he is by also taking note of gender identities.
Oftentimes, society forces a particular identity unto us depending on our sex and/or gender. In the Philippines,
husbands for the most part re expected to provide for the family. The eldest man in a family is expected to head the family and
hold it in. Slight modifications have been on the way due to feminism and LGBT activism but for the most part, patriarchy has
remained to be at work.
Nancy Chodorow, a feminist, argues that because mothers take the role of taking care to children, there is a tendency
for girls to imitate the same and reproduce the same kind of mentality as women as care providers in the family. The way that
little girls are given dolls, encouraged to play with makeshift kitchen also reinforces notion of what roles they should take and the
selves they should develop. In boarding schools for girls, young women are encouraged to act like fine ladies, are trained to
behave in a fashion that befits their status as women in society.
Men on the other hand, in the periphery of their own family, are taught early on how to behave like a man. This
normally includes holding one’s emotion, being tough, fatalistic, not to worry about danger and admiration for hard physical
labor. Masculinity is learned by integrating a young boy in a society. In the Philippines, young boys had to undergo circumcision
not just for the original, clinical purpose of hygiene but to also assert their manliness in the society. Circumcision plays another
social role by initiating young boys into manhood.
The gendered self is then shaped within a particular context of time and space. The sense of self that is being taught
makes sure that an individual fits in a particular environment. This is dangerous and detrimental in the goal of truly finding one’s
self, self-determination and growth of the self. Gender has to personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by culture and
the society.

Module 3 The Self as a Cognitive Construct

Learning Outcomes:

1. To identify the different ideas in psychology about the “self”;

2. To create your own definition of the “self” based on the definitions from psychology;
3. To analyze the effects of various factors identified in psychology in the formation of the “self”.

Definition of terms:

1. Self – It is the sense of personal identity and is about who you are as an individual (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014, 106).
2. Psychology – It is the science or study of the mind and behavior.
3. Identity – It is composed of personal characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as well as affiliations that
define who one is (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012).
4. Self-concept – It is what comes to your mind when you are asked about who you are (Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith
2012).
5. Schema – It is a collection of basic knowledge about a concept or entity that serves as a guide to perception,
interpretation, imagination, or problem-solving.
6. Self-conscious – It means being overly aware of and sensitive to attention from others, often to the point of feeling
anxious or embarrassed.
7. Deindividuation -It is the idea that, when in groups, people act differently than they would as individuals.
8. Self-esteem – It is used to describe a person's overall subjective sense of personal worth or value.

William James (1890) was one of the earliest psychologists to study the self and
conceptualize the self as having two aspects, the “I” and the “me”.
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“I” “ME”
It is the thinking, acting It is the physical characteristics as well as psychological
and feeling self. capabilities that make who you are.
Carl Rogers’ (1959) in his
personality theory presented the Further divided into three:
Material self – the objects, places, or even people which
notion of the self or self-
have the label “mine”
concept. Self-concept is defined Social self – who you are in a specific social situation
as "the organized, consistent set Spiritual self – who we are at our core, including our
of perceptions and beliefs about personality, values, and conscience
oneself." The self, identity, and
self-concept are not fixed in one
time frame.
Carl Rogers captured this idea in his concept of self-schema or our organized system or
collection of knowledge about who we are (Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011; Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014).

He also introduced the concepts of the “real self” and the “ideal self”. The real self refers to who we actually are while the ideal
self refers to how we want to be.

Theories generally see the self and identity as mental constructs, created and re-created in memory. Current researchers point
to the frontal lobe of the brain as the specific area in the brain associated with the process concerning the self (Oyserman, Elmore,
and Smith 2012).

Sigmund Freud saw the self, its mental processes, and one’s
behavior as the results of the interaction between the Id, the
Ego, and the Superego.

Id – It is the most basic part of the personality. It also

represents our most animalistic urges, like the desire for
food and sex. The id seeks instant gratification for our wants
and needs. If these needs or wants are not met, a person can
become tense, anxious, or angry.

Ego – It deals with reality, trying to meet the desires of the

id in a way that is socially acceptable in the world. This may
mean delaying gratification and helping to get rid of the
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tension the id feels if a desire is not met right away. The ego recognizes that other people have needs and wants too, and being
selfish isn't good in the long run.

Superego – It develops last, and is based on morals and judgments about right and wrong. Even though the superego and the
ego may reach the same decision about something, the superego's reason for that decision is based more on moral values, while
the ego's decision is based more on what others will think or what the consequences of an action could be on the individual.

Under the theory of symbolic interactionism, George Herbert Mead (1934) argued that
the self is created and developed through human interaction (Hogg and Vaughan 2010, 66).
Basically, there are at least three reasons why self and identity are social products. These
are as follows:

1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society helped in creating the

foundations of who we are and even if we make our choices, we will still operate in our
social and historical contexts in one way or the other. Of course, you may transfer from one
culture to another, but parts of who you are will still affect you and you will also have to
adapt to the new social context.
2. Whether we like it or not, we actually need others to affirm and reinforce who
we think we are. We also need them as reference points about our identity.
3. What we think as important to us may also have been influenced by what is
important in our social or historical context.

Social interaction and group affiliation, therefore, are vital factors in creating our self-concept especially in the aspect of
providing us with our social identity or our perception of who we are based on our membership to certain groups (Jhangiani and
Tarry 2014, 110). It is also inevitable then that we can have several social identities, that those identities can overlap, and that we
automatically play the roles we interact with our groups.

However, there are times when we are aware of our self-concepts, also called self-awareness. Carver and Scheier (1981)
identified two types of self that we can be aware of:

1. The private self or your internal standards and private thoughts and feelings.
2. The public self or your public image commonly geared towards having a good presentation of yourself to others (Hogg
and Vaughan 2010, 69).

Self-awareness also presents us with at least three other self-schema:

1. The actual self – who you are at the moment.
2. The ideal self – who you like to be.
3. The ought self – who we think we should be.
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Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our next course of action. Self-awareness can
keep you from doing something dangerous. Self-awareness can be too much that we are concerned about being observed and
criticized by others, also known as self-consciousness. At other times, especially with large crowds, we may experience
deindividuation or the loss of individual self-awareness and individual accountability in groups. A lot of people will attune
themselves with the emotions of their group and because the large crowd also provides some kind of anonymity, we may lessen
our self-control and act in way that we will not do when we are alone.

Self-esteem is one of the common concepts associated with the self. It is defined as our own positive or negative
perception or evaluation of ourselves. Our group identity and self-awareness also have a great impact on our self-esteem. One of
the ways in which our social relationship affects our self-esteem is through social comparison.
According to the social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves, the appropriateness of our behaviors, as well as
our social statues by comparing aspects of ourselves with other people.

DOWNWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON UPWARD SOCIAL COMPARISON

 It is the more common type of comparing ourselves with
others.
 We create a positive self-concept by comparing
ourselves with those who are worse off than us. By
having the advantage, we are able to raise our self-
esteem.
 It is comparing ourselves with those who are better off
than us.
 While it can be a form of motivation for some, a lot of
those who do this actually felt lower self-esteem as we
highlight more of our weaknesses or inequalities.

Social comparison also entails what is called self-evaluation maintenance theory which states that we can feel
threatened when someone out-performs us, especially when that person is close to us.
Three ways we react: (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014)
1. We distance ourselves from that person or redefine our relationship with them.
2. We reconsider the importance of the aspect or skill in which you were outperformed.
3. We strengthen our resolve to improve that certain aspect of ourselves.

However, in the attempt to increase or maintain self-esteem, some people become narcissistic. Narcissism is a trait characterized
by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).

https://wwnorton.com/college/psych/psychsci/media/rosenberg.htm
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Module 4 The Self in Western and Eastern Thought

Learning Outcomes:

1. To differentiate the Western and Eastern concept of “self”; and

2. To explain the concept of self as found in Asian thoughts.

Western Thoughts about the Self

The notions “consciousness”, “self-consciousness”, “personal identity” (personality) and “self” overlap to a particular
extent, but there exist specific differences. The views in Western and Eastern philosophy are diametrically opposite. In the West,
there exists a multitude of definitions of the “self”, whereas in the East the predominant view is that the self is rather an illusion.
In Western philosophy, they focus on individualistic nature while in Eastern thoughts they centralize on collective
existence and always for the benefit of the larger community. Different civilizations from the Sumerian, Babylonian and Hebrew
consider man as a mere extension of his creator such as in the Western civilization where man is considered as an artifact of the
gods. It is different from Eastern conception where man is in unity with God.
In the East, the idea of the self is indeed one of complete unity with the creator – Man is God, acted out in a multitude
of different ways, as an actor plays a part in a drama. In the West, it is clear that the idea of the self is perceived as distinct from
God – the pot is distinct from the potter, with man as the artifact of creation.

Eastern Thoughts about the Self

 Confucianism
Country of Origin: China
Founder: Confucius or Kung Fu Tzu

In Confucianism, the self is as a product of one’s upbringing and environment

and personality is achieved through moral excellence. This shows that the
individual is a social being which makes us social animals. In this doctrine it is
believed that every person is born with four beginnings which lead to the
formation of the self. It includes the following components which are the
perfection of virtues that is found innately in the heart of every human: Heart of
compassion (Jen), Heart of righteousness (Yi), Heart of propriety (Li), and Heart
of wisdom (Chih).
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Confucianism can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how one should properly act according to their relationship with
other people, thus it is also focused on having harmonious social life. Therefore, 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 (Ho, 1995).

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 embedded in his/her social relationships. The cultivated self in Confucianism is what some scholars call a “subdued self”
wherein personal needs are repressed for the good of many, making Confucian society also hierarchal for the purpose of
maintaining order and balance in society (Ho, 1995).

Taoism/Daoism
Country of Origin: China
Founder Lao Tzu

Taoism is the doctrine based on the philosophy of Lao Tzu says that
knowing others is wisdom. Knowing the self is enlightenment. He stressed that
understanding others requires force but mastering the self requires power and
strength. For Lao Tzu, the world and this life are good as there are the element
guiding us to experience harmony through the Dao.

The Taoist Bible called the Tao Te Ching gives and explains processes on
how to live a good life through the Dao or the Way of the world which is the path
to happiness and harmony. Lao Tzu says that humans refuse to take the simple
path and opt to go through that which causes discord, confusion and suffering.

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 the
prejudices and egocentric ideas and thinking about equality as well as
complementarity among humans as well as other being.

 Buddhism.
Country of Origin: Northeast India/Nepal
Founder Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha

In Buddhism, the self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of trying

to hold and control things, or human-centered needs, thus the self is also the
source of all these suffering. It is therefore our 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 Buddha taught a doctrine called anatta, which is often defined as "no-
self," or the teaching that the sense of being a permanent, autonomous self is an
illusion. The Anatta doctrine states that there is anything called a self as belief in
this leads to Dukkha which is of course mere suffering and pain. Buddhism as a
doctrine argues that there is no-soul or no-self. However, it is believed that every
human has a mind and body as well as a stream of
consciousness.
 Hinduism.
Country of Origin: India
Founder: None
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Hinduism explains the self through a monistic philosophy (metaphysics). Like Buddhism, Hinduism views the essence
of human life as consisting in suffering and asserts that this is caused by having a fallacious conception of the self: “The true self
is permanent and unchanging, the non-true self is impermanent and changes continually” (Ho, 1995: 124).

Western Thoughts Eastern Thoughts

Frame of reference There is a separation between philosophy and Religion and philosophy are intertwined.
religion/spirituality.

Philosophical School Cognitive Science Confucianism

Empiricism Taoism
Irrationalism Buddhism
Materialism Hinduism
Phenomenology
Rationalism
Scholasticism
Social constructivism
Solipsism

Source of Knowledge Has made use of reason rather than faith to pursue Has trusted intuition and is often associated
wisdom with religious beliefs

Notable authors or Socrates Confucius

philosophers Plato Lao Tzu
Aristotle Siddhartha Gautama
Rene Descartes
John Locke
Bergson (Irrationalism)
Patricia Churchland (Materialism)
Daniel Dennett (Cognitive Science)

Modes of Cognition Analytic and deductive Synthetic and inductive

Emphasis Distinction and opposition Commonalities and harmonies

View of Self Egocentric Sociocentric

• You are distinct from other persons (duality
of man);
• Highlight personal achievements;
• Values competition;
• Human life is often valued above other life
• Other persons are part of your self as
well as the things you may create;
• Talk about their social roles;
• Keeps a low profile and avoid
boastfulness;
• Values cooperation;
• All life may be viewed as sacred.

View of the universe Linear Circular

and life • You are born, you grow old, you die. • Eternal return: the universe will
continue to recur

Theological view Monotheistic Polytheistic

(one god) (multiple gods)
Goal Self-actualization through personal growth To achieve a balanced life and find one’s
role in society
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Cultural framework Individualism Collectivism

• Focus on the person;
• Value equality;
• Following personal desires and dreams is
valued;
• Success is measured individually.
• Group and social relations are more
important;
• Value hierarchy;
• Duty towards others is highly regarded;
• Success is measured collectively.

MODULE 5 UNPACKING THE SELF

LESSON 1: PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL SELF

Learning Outcomes:

1. To discuss the developmental aspect of the reproductive system;

2. To describe the erogenous zones;
3. To explain human sexual behavior;
4. To describe sexually transmitted diseases.
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As we come to understand the beauty of the physical self, we must learn to understand the sexual self. It has been
believed that the sex chromosomes of human define sex (male or female) and their secondary sexual characteristics. From
childhood, we are controlled by our genetic makeup. It influences the way we treat ourselves. However, there are individuals who
do not accept their innate sexual characteristics and they tend to change their sexual organs through medications and surgery.
Aside from our genes, our society or the external environment helps shape our selves.

Developmental Aspects of the Reproductive System

 Marieb, E.N (2001) explains that the gonads (reproductive glands that produce the gametes; testes or ovary) begin to
form until about the eight week of embryonic development.
 During the early stages of human development, the embryonic reproductive structures of males and females are alike.
 When the primary reproductive structures are formed, development of the accessory structures and external genitalia
begins.

Figure 1Male Reproductive System

Figure 2 Female Reproductive System

 Any intervention with the normal pattern of sex hormone production in the embryo results in strange abnormalities.
 Pseudohermaphrodites - formed who are individuals having accessory reproductive structures that do not match their
gonads. Nowadays, many pseudohermaphrodites undergo sex change operations to have their outer selves (external
genitalia) fit with their inner selves (gonads).
 Hermaphrodites – are individuals who possess both ovarian and testicular tissues but this condition is rare in nature.

Puberty
 It is the period of life, generally between the ages of 10 and 15 years old, when the reproductive organs grow to their
adult size and become functional under the influence of rising levels of gonadal hormones (testosterone in males and
estrogen in females).
 After this time, reproductive capability continues until old age in males and menopause in females.
 In males, as they reach the age of 13, puberty is characterized by the increase in the size of the reproductive organs
followed by the appearance of hair in the pubic area, axillary, and face. The reproductive organs continue to grow for
two years until sexual maturation marked by the presence of mature semen in the testes.
 In females, the budding of their breasts usually occurring at the age of 11 signals their puberty stage.
 Menarche is the first menstrual period of females which happens 2 years after the start of puberty.
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Diseases Associated with the Reproductive System

Infections in women are caused by

1. Escherichia coli
- is a type of bacteria that normally lives in your intestines. It's also found
in the gut of some animals. Most types of E. coli are harmless and even
help keep your digestive tract healthy. But some strains can cause diarrhea
if you eat contaminated food or drink fouled water.

2. Sexually transmitted microorganisms

- (such as gonorrhea, syphilis and herpes virus).
- Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections transmitted from
an infected person to an uninfected person through sexual contact.
STDs can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Examples
include gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus infection,
HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, and syphilis.

3. Yeast
- A vaginal yeast infection is a fungal infection that causes irritation,
discharge and intense itchiness of the vagina and the vulva — the
tissues at the vaginal opening.

Common inflammatory conditions in males:

1. Urethritis
- Urethritis is inflammation of the urethra. That's the tube that carries
urine from the bladder to outside the body. Pain with urination is
the main symptom of urethritis. Urethritis is commonly due to
infection by bacteria.
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2. Prostatitis
- Prostatitis is a disease of the prostate that results in pain in the groin,
painful urination, difficulty urinating and other symptoms. Acute
bacterial prostatitis is often caused by common strains of bacteria.
The infection can start when bacteria in urine leak into your
prostate.

3. Epididymitis
- Epididymitis is an inflammation of the small, coiled tube at the back
of the testicle (epididymis). Signs and symptoms of epididymitis
might include: A swollen, red or warm scrotum. Testicle pain and
tenderness, usually on one side, that usually comes on gradually.

4. Orchitis
- Orchitis (or-KIE-tis) is an inflammation of one or both testicles.
Bacterial or viral infections can cause orchitis, or the cause can be
unknown. Orchitis is most often the result of a bacterial infection, such
as a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In some cases, the mumps
virus can cause orchitis.

Erogenous zones
 Refer to parts of the body that are primarily receptive and increase sexual arousal when touched in a sexual manner.
 Some of the commonly known erogenous zones are: the mouth, breasts, genitals, anus, neck, thighs, abdomen, and feet.

Human sexual behavior

 This behavior is defined as any activity – solitary, between two persons, or in a group – that induces sexual arousal
(Gebhard, P.H. 2017).
 There are two factors that determine human sexual behavior:
1. The inherited sexual response patterns that have evolved as a means of ensuring reproduction and that become part of
each individual's genetic inheritance.
2. The degree of restraint or other types of influence exerted on the individual by society in the expression of his
sexuality.

Types of Human sexual behavior

1. Solitary behavior
 Involving only one individual.
 Self-gratification which means self-stimulation that leads to sexual arousal and generally, sexual climax.
 Self-gratification is very common among young males, but becomes less frequent or is abandoned when sociosexual
activity is available.
 It is more frequent among unmarried individuals.
 There are more males who perform this act than female.
 The fantasy frequently involves idealized sexual partners and activities that the individual has not experienced and even
might avoid in real life.

2. Sociosexual behavior
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 Heterosexual behavior is the greatest amount of sociosexual behavior that occurs between only one male and one
female. Physical contact involving necking or petting is considered as an ingredient of the learning process and
eventually of courtship and the selection of marriage partner.
 Petting may be done as an expression of affection and a source of pleasure, preliminary to coitus.
 Coitus – the insertion of the male reproductive organ into the female reproductive organ.
 Coitus is viewed by society quite differently depending upon the marital status of the individuals.
 In modern Western society, premarital coitus is more likely to be tolerated but not encouraged if the individuals intend
marriage.
 In most societies, marital coitus is considered as an obligation.

 A behavior may be interpreted by society or the individual as erotic depending on the context in which behavior occurs.
EXAMPLE:
 For instance, a kiss may be interpreted as a gesture of expression or intimacy between couples while others may
interpret it as a form of respect.
 Examination and touching someone’s genitalia are not interpreted as a sexual act especially when done for medical
purposes.

PHYSIOLOGY OF HUMAN SEXUAL RESPONSE

Sexual response follows a pattern of sequential stages or phases when sexual activity is continued.
 Excitement Phase - it is caused by increase in pulse and blood pressure.
 Plateau Phase – it is generally of brief duration. If simulation is continued, orgasm usually occurs.
 Sexual Climax – it is marked by a feeling of abrupt, intense pleasure, a rapid increase in pulse rate and blood pressure.
Sexual climax may last for a few seconds after which the individual enters the next phase.
 Resolution Phase – the last stage that refers to the return to a normal or subnormal physiologic state.
COMMON SEXUAL CONCERNS
 Concerns around sexual desire
 Concerns around levels of sexual desire are common and may be about too much, too little or none at all. Remember
we are all different and these differences should be valued, honored and acceptable. There is no one-way of being.

 Asexuality
 Broadly speaking people who identify as asexual, experience none or little sexual attraction to others and this position
is considered to be a sexual orientation. They still form intimate emotional attachments and may at times be sexual, but
these attachments are not centered on sexual arousal and attraction.

 Loss of Desire
 Loss of desire can either be partial, or total. Partial loss of desire means that while you may have stopped initiating
sexual contact with your partner, you will respond to their approaches. Loss of desire can also be contextual i.e., you
may lose desire for one partner, but have desire for another. Total loss of desire means that you don’t want to have
sexual contact at all.
 There are many reasons why lack of sexual desire occurs:
 Life events such as bereavement, pressure at work and day-to-day stresses may mean that sex becomes of secondary
importance.
 A difficult childbirth may also cause loss of desire, and new mums may be so overwhelmed by caring for a new baby
that they lose themselves for a while.
 Loss of desire is also a well-known side effect of some medications, such as anti-depressants, and depressive illnesses.
Sometimes losing interest in sex can be a response to dissatisfaction, disappointment, anger or unhappiness in your
relationship as a couple as a result of communication difficulties.

 High desire
 If you feel that you have too much desire you may want to consider if the concern is because that is what you
personally feel, or whether others have expressed that to you as a judgement. Having a lot of sex and high desire is not
itself a problem and indeed can be positive for an individual. However, when it starts having a detrimental effect on
other aspect of your life and makes it difficult to engage in and form the type of relationships that you want, then you
may have a problem. See the below section on sexual compulsive behavior.

 Uncomfortable sexual desire.

 Sometimes we may have sexual desires that we are uncomfortable with, maybe because they are unusual, seem whacky
or even scary. Sexual fantasies are very common and diverse; we may even be aroused by fantasy that in the cold light
of day we would not want to be part of. It is important to bear in mind that a fantasy is what it says; it is not reality or
an action.
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 If the desire is something you want to act on with others, then you will need to consider if is it is a consensual act i.e.,
that consent is freely given by all involved
 If acting out desires involves coercion, breaking the law or is non-consensual then it is not acceptable to act your
fantasy out.

LESSON 2 The Material Self

Learning Outcomes:

1. To explain the association of self and possessions;

2. To identify the role of consumer culture to self and identity; and
3. To appraise one’s self based on the description of material self.

A Harvard psychologist in the late nineteenth century William James, wrote in his book, The Principles of Psychology, in
that understanding the self can examined through its different components. He described these components as:
1. Its constituents
2. The feelings and emotions they arouse self-feelings
3. The actions to which they prompt, self-seeking and self-preservation.

The constituents of self are composed of the material self, the social self, the spiritual self and the pure ego.

The material “self” according to James primarily is about our bodies, clothes, immediate family and home. We are deeply
affected with these things because we have put much investment of our self to them.

The inner most part of our material self is our body. Intentionally, we are investing to our body. We are directly attached to this
commodity that we cannot live without. We strive hard to make sure that this body functions well and good. Any ailment or
disorder directly affect us. We do have certain preferential attachment or intimate closeness to certain body parts because of its
value to us.

Next to our body are the clothes we use. Influenced by the “philosophy of Dress” by Herman Lotze, James believed that clothing
is an essential part of the material self. Lotze in his book, Microcosmus, stipulates that any time we bring an object to the surface
of our body, we invest that object into the consciousness of our personal existence taking in its contours to be our own and
making it part of the self. The fabric and style of the clothes we wear brings sensations to the body, to which directly affect our
attitudes and behavior. Thus, clothes are placed in the second hierarchy of material self. Clothing is a form of self-expression. We
choose and wear clothes that are a reflection of our self.

Third in the hierarchy is our immediate family. Our parents and siblings hold another great important part of our self. What they
do or become affects us. When an immediate family member dies, part of our “self” dies too.

The fourth component of the material self is our home. Home is where our heart is. It is the earliest nest of our selfhood. Our
experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on particular parts and things in our home. There was an old cliché about
rooms. “If only walls can speak.” Thus, the home is an extension of self because in it, we can directly connect our self.

We are What We have

Russel Belk (1988) posits that “…. we regard our possessions as part of ourselves. We are what we have and what we possess.”
The identification of the self to things started in our infancy stage when we make a distinction between self and environment and
others who may desire our possessions.

As we grow older, putting importance to material possession decreases. However, material possession gains higher value in our
lifetime, if we use material possession to find happiness, and associate these things to significant events, accomplishments and
people in our lives. There are even times, when material possession of a person that is closely identified to the person, gains
acknowledgment with high regard, even if the person already passed away.

The possession that we clearly have tell something about who we are, our self-concept, our past and even our future.
LESSON 3 SUPERNATURALS: BELIEVE IT OR NOT
Learning Outcomes:
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1. To identify various religious practices and beliefs; and

2. To discuss the different ways of finding meaning of life.

Religion
Rebecca Stein (Stein 2011) works on the definition of religion as a set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually includes
some or all of basic characteristics. These characteristics are:
1. A belief in anthropomorphic (humanlike) supernatural being, such as spirit and gods;
2. A focus the sacred supernatural, where sacred refers to a feeling or reverence and awe.
3. The presence of supernatural power or energy that is found on supernatural beings as well as physical beings and
objects.
4. The performance of ritual activities that involves the manipulation of sacred object to communicate to supernatural
beings and/or to influence or control events
5. The articulation of worldwide and moral codes through narratives and other means
6. Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism of social control with in a community; provides
explanation for unknown and a sense of control for individuals.

An individual life in a society where there are many practices of religion. The choice of religious belief within the Spiritual Self.
Although the choice may be influenced by the society and its culture.

Ritual
Ritual is the performance of ceremonials acts prescribed by a tradition or sacred law. Ritual is a specific, observable mode of
behavior exhibited by all known societies. Thus, it is possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans.
There are three fundamental characteristics of rituals according to Penner. Ritual has the characteristics of:
1. A feeling or emotion of respect, awe, fascination or dread in relation to the sacred.
2. Dependence upon a belief system that is usually expressed in the language of myth
3. Symbolic in relation to its reference.

The self can be described as a ritual being who exhibit a striking parallel between their ritual and verbal behavior. Just as
language is a system of symbols that is based upon arbitrary rules, ritual may be viewed as a system of symbolic acts that is based
upon arbitrary rules. Participation to rituals is expression of religious beliefs.

Some World Religious Beliefs and Practices

There are different religions with different beliefs and practices. Some of the major world religions are Buddhism,
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.

 Buddhism
 Teaches that life is unsatisfactory.
 Life can be experienced as painful and frustrating, impermanent and fleeting, or insubstantial. When we experience life
as unsatisfying, we tend to crave pleasant experiences and avoid disappointing ones. We do this more or less habitually.
Our habits tie us into a reactive cycle of craving and aversion. This exhausting cycle can be broken, when our
experience is fully aligned with reality.
 The Buddha taught that a way to break this cycle is to practice ethics and meditation, and to cultivate wisdom, which
is a deep understanding and acceptance of things as they are.

Customs and practices

Two Types of Meditation practices: samatha and vipassana practices.
 Samatha practices develop calm, concentration and positive emotion and are practiced as mindfulness of breathing
and development of loving kindness.
 Vipassana practices aim at developing insight into reality. Developing and cultivating wisdom happens through
studying and reflecting the Dharma, the buddha’s teaching. Through the study and reflection, we deepen our
understanding of what reality is and how we can best live our lives according to that understanding. Buddhist ethics of
intention in which the key principle is non-violence.

Buddhist Celebrations
 Parinirvana Day in February
 Buddha Day (Wesak) in May
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 Dharma Day in July

 Padmasambhava Day in October
 Sangha Day in November

 Christianity
 Christians believe in Trinitarian God. One God in three personas God the Father (creator), God the Son (Savior), and
God the Holy Spirit (Sustainer).
 Eternal life after death will be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ.
 Jesus came into flesh to spread the Good News of Salvation.
 Jesus died on the Cross for the sin of humanity but resurrected after death, so anyone who believes in Him will be
saved and have eternal life.
 The Holy Bible is divided into the Old Testament and New Testament.

Customs and Practices

 Sacrament of Baptism and Sacrament of Communion are practiced in Christian churches.
 The Sacrament of Baptism symbolizes the birth in the Christian World, while the Sacrament of Communion is an act of
remembrance of Jesus’ sacrificial love.

Christian Celebrations
 The primary Christian festivals are Christmas (celebrated on 25 December by most Christians), when the birth of Jesus
is remembered
 Easter (which varies according to the Lunar Calendar) when Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is celebrated.

 Hinduism
 Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, governed by Karma, a concept whereby beneficial
effects are derived from past beneficial actions.
 Hindus believe that the soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation is always dependent on
how the previous life was lived.

Customs and Practices

 Hindus follow a lunar calendar and particular days are set aside during the week and month to honor particular
manifestations of God.
 The most commonly celebrated festivals are Diwali, the festival of lights, and Navratri, nine nights which celebrate
the triumph of good over evil. This takes place twice a year.

Islam
Islam is an Arabic word which means willing submission to God. The root of the word Islam comes from a word meaning
peace and Muslims believe it is the way of peace as laid down in the Quran. The Arabic word Allah means one God, and at the
heart of the Muslim faith is belief in the unity and universality of God. Muslims also believe in the unity of mankind, under one
father, adam, and have a strong sense of the Muslim community or Ummah and an awareness of their solidarity with all Muslims
worldwide. Muslims believe that God has sent a succession of prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Jesus and
see Mohammed as the last and final prophet. Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570 CE and received revelations from God
through the Angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years. These were recorded in Islam’s Holy Book known as the Quran, which is
regarded as the literal word of God. Muslims are taught to recite the Quran in Arabic as any translation of the Holy Book is seen
as inadequate.

Customs and Traditions

Islam has five pillars that represent the foundation of Islamic worship and practice:
1. Shahada – there is no God but the one true God and Mohammed is the messenger.
2. Salat – prayer five times a day at given times
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3. Zakat – Two and a half percent of Muslim’s assets over a given specified amount is given in welfare tax to benefit the
poor.
4. Hajj – an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a requirement at least once in a lifetime for those who can afford it.
5. Sawm – During the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar), Muslims are required to abstain
from food, drink and sexual acts from dawn until sunset.

The end of Ramadan marks the beginning of the festival of Eid Ul Fitr when Muslims visit the Mosque, give charity, exchange
presents and cards, and celebrate with family and friends. Eid ul-Adha coincides with the completion of the Hajj and unites the
whole Islamic community.

Judaism

The Jewish people believe themselves to be descended from a Semitic tribe that originated in the land of Canaan in the Middle
East. Their early history is told in the Hebrew sculptures which recount how God promised to Abraham, a trader and leader of a
nomadic tribe, that his descendants would be the father of a great nation. Abraham’s grandson Jacob had twelve sons who
became ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. They were enslaved in Egypt and the book of Exodus tells how they were
liberated under the leadership of Moses. For many years, they wandered in the wilderness, during which time God revealed to
Moses the Torah, or law, which constitutes Jewish way of life. After Moses’ death the tribes eventually conquered the Promised
land with the help of God. Jews believes of the coming of the Messiah, the Savior. Study and interpretation of the Torah is an
integral part of Jewish life. It covers family relationships, social interaction and good commercial practice, as well as setting out
the religious rituals that are still celebrated today.

Customs and Practices

The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at sunset and is an important time when families gather for the Shabbat meal.

There are five festivals on which observant Jews are forbidden to work. The New Year (Rosh Hashanah) falls in the autumn and
followed ten days later by the most solemn day of the year, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The other major festivals are
known as the three pilgrim festivals: Passover (pesach) in the spring, Pentecost (Shavuot) that occurs seven weeks later and
Tabrnacles (Sukkot) that takes place in the autumn. Jewish food laws are highly complicated, prohibiting certain animals and
shellfish. Acceptable animals must be slaughtered in such a way as renders them kosher.

Religious beliefs, rituals, practices and customs are all part of the expression of the spiritual self. What to believe and how to
manifest the belief is entirely dependent to the individual, to the self. A person might believe that there is a higher being, a
supernatural being, usually termed as God. But not necessarily wants to be affiliated or identified with a certain religious group.
Others may have their own religious practices, which are perceived to be contrary to the practices of other groups. Religious
beliefs and practices therefore are formed relative to its context and culture.

Module 6 Unfolding the Self-Awareness

Learning Outcomes:

1. To evaluate how social norms and the expectations of authority influence one’s personal decisions and actions and
examine how the norms and expectations of different societies and cultures influence decisions and behaviors.
2. To evaluate personal abilities to gather information, generate alternatives, and anticipate the consequences of decisions.
3. To evaluate how responsible decision-making affects interpersonal and group relationships and apply the skills to establish
responsible social and work relationships.
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4. To plan, implement, and evaluate one’s participation in activities and organizations that contribute to one’s school and
local community.

This module focuses on the emotional dimension of the self. It broadly tackles the different aspects of human emotions and
reactions that are embedded in an individual’s different emotional experiences. It covers two topics namely: Human Emotions
and Emotional Intelligence, and Emotional Regulation.

What is Self-awareness?
Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don't align with your
internal standards. If you're highly self-aware, you can objectively evaluate yourself, manage your emotions, align your
behavior with your values, and understand correctly how others perceive you.

Self-awareness is a fundamental factor at the core of this broad and significant pursuit. Widening one’s self-awareness involves
discovering new truths about an individual. Self-awareness can be described as a circle whereby everything within and without
the circle is the self.

What is Emotional Self-Awareness?

It is the capacity to tune into your own feelings, sense inner signals, and recognize how your feelings affect you and your
performance. It is an important skill for leadership at any level, as well as many aspects of life.

What is the purpose of developing Emotional Self-Awareness?

It allows us to understand how our bodily sensations and our emotions impact ourselves, others, and our environment. Each
moment is an opportunity to be self-aware. Thus, the more we practice it, the more proficient we become and the greater our
capacity to recognize the space between stimuli and our response to that stimulus, ensuring a more conscious and skillful
approach.

Three types of Self-Awareness

1. Indexicality Self-awareness- It is based on perceptual information that the subject has about herself. The indexicality in
question refers to the fact that the subject is aware of herself and her states as given in the actual context.

2. Detached Self-awareness builds on conceptual capacities and knowledge of logical relationships and consists in the ability to
reason about oneself from a third-person view.

3. Social Self-awareness- This is based on a capacity to understand one's relations to other people as of an emotional, social,
and normative kind. A subject capable of social self-awareness can focus on her emotions and recognize those of others; she can
interact with other people in a way that takes psychological states into account and relies on recognizing their beliefs, desires
and various other intentional attitudes; and she can furthermore grasp the nature of normative and ethical relations between
subjects.

What are Self-Awareness Skills?

They can be so focused on appearing a certain way to others that they could be overlooking what matters to them.

Daniel Goleman (2012) describes self-awareness skills as “knowing what we’re feeling and why. They are the basis for good
intuition and decision making. Self-awareness is a moral compass.” His theory of emotional intelligence (Hay Group, 2005)
describes three competencies involved in self-awareness.
 Emotional self- awareness- Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects,
 Accurate self-assessment – Knowing one’s strengths and limits;
 Self-confidence - A strong sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities.

What Are the Signs That You Lack Self-Awareness?

1. You have trouble understanding your emotion.
2. You shut down people when they question your beliefs.
3. You make excuses for your failures.
4. You find it difficult to empathize with others.
5. You cannot explain the reasons for your actions.
6. You suppress your emotions.
7. It is hard for you to make realistic goals.
8. You lack a sense of identity.
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9. You have trouble keeping yourself on track.

10. You struggle with time management and self-control.

PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO.

Video support:
Title: 10 Signs You Lack Self Awareness
Source: Psych2Go (Youtube)

Human Emotions
 An important aspect of understanding the self is acknowledging the presence of emotions. Emotions serve as a driving
force in how one acts and behaves. It plays a part in making decisions, embracing certain lifestyles, and relating to
others. Emotions are the lower-level responses occurring in the brain, which create biochemical reactions in the body,
and consequently cause changes in one’s physical state (Hampton, 2015).

 While emotion is a biological experience and response, feelings have been defined as the mental portrayal of what is
going on in your body when you have an emotion and is the by-product of your brain perceiving and assigning meaning
to the emotion (Hampton, 2015). In other words, feelings are subjective experiences that frame the interpretation of
emotion.

 In managing emotions, one is actually managing his/her feelings because he or she is the one “assigning” what emotion
means to him/her. Despite this distinction, researchers have used the term emotional intelligence to denote the
interpretation and management of emotional experiences.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Emotional intelligence has been defined by a number of theorists.

 For Bar-on (1997), it is “an array of non-cognitive abilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to
succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures.”
 According to Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2004), it’s one’s ability to understand emotion and for them to contribute in
how one perceives the environment he or she is in.
 For Goleman (1998), it is the” capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those others, for motivating ourselves, and
for managing emotions effectively in ourselves and others.”

Daniel Goleman (2005) argues that IQ is not everything and EQ is used to measure success. He came up with his own
clusters of emotional intelligence, namely: (1) Self-awareness, (2) Self-management or managing emotions, (3) Self-motivation,
(4) Empathy or Social awareness, and (4) Relationship management or Handling relationships.

How to Improve your EQ?

1. The Ventilation Fallacy – Venting when you are angry prolongs your mood rather than end it.
Goleman argues that venting your anger does not make you feel better but prolongs your anger.

Things to do when you are angry:

a. Take deep breaths
b. Go for a walk
c. Reframe your thoughts

2. Do not ruminate when you are sad, distract yourself instead. Continuing to think of negative thoughts will lead you deeper
into sadness.

Things to do to manage your sadness:

a. Exercise
b. Complete small tasks
c. Reframe the situation
d. Help others in need

3. The Artful Critique – How to Criticize the Right Way

Four things to deliver constructive criticism:
a. Be specific
b. Offer a solution
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c. Do it face-to-face
d. Show empathy

4. Emotional Contagion – Set the Emotional Tone

The ability to drive the emotional state of another person through emotional contagion is at the heart of influencing people.

PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO

Video support:
Title: Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman ► Animated Book Summary
Source: One Percent Better (Youtube)

Positive Impact of Emotional Intelligence

a. It has been seen to have positive effects on thinking abilities during anxiety-provoking testing conditions and enable students to
obtain good scores.
b. In the workplace, emotional intelligence, EQ, is said to be more important than IQ. Employees with high EQ achieve corporate
success and exhibit flexibility skills in dealing with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates.
Lesson 2 Emotional Regulation
Managing And Regulating Emotions in Adolescence

 Adolescence is considered a turbulent time of development due to the biological, psychological, and social changes that
adolescents experience and encounter. It is important that at this stage, adolescents begin to curb their impulsivity, develop
emotional efficacy, and ultimately, acquire emotional maturity. This will enable them to make viable future plans and long-term
goals.
 In order to establish emotional efficacy and emotional maturity, emotional regulation must be learned. Emotional regulation is
defined as an attempt to influence emotion. This can be applied in interacting with the self and with others.

 According to Gross (1987), emotional regulation may take two forms:

1. Cognitive reappraisal. It involves the evaluation of the situation prior to making personal, subjective valuations about it. This
approach can be helpful because it allows for the logical evaluation of the situation instead of letting emotions rule over
rationality.

2. Suppression. It involves denial and masking of facial expressions to hide one’s current emotional state. In certain situations,
where expressing feelings will not always have positive outcomes, suppression may be the practical option.

 Another approach in explaining emotional regulation is through the use of cognitive/covert strategies and behavioral/overt
strategies.

1. Cognitive/covert strategies include experiential avoidance (avoidance of thoughts and feelings judged to be painful),
rumination (repeated contemplation), acceptance, and distraction. The advantage of using these strategies is that they provide the
ability to alter negative impacts of unpleasant emotions.

2. Behavioral/overt strategies entail engagement in observable activities, such as behavioral avoidance (choice of not doing
behaviors resulting in negative emotions), substance abuse, exercise, eating, and getting involved in social activities. An
advantage of behavioral regulation is that its observable nature allows them to be monitored directly. Meta-analytic research has
outlined ten (10) common strategies employed in emotional regulation, namely:

a. Contemplation
b. Distraction
c. Acceptance
d. Problem solving
e. Behavioral avoidance
f. Experiential avoidance
g. Expressive suppression
h. Reappraisal
i. Mindfulness
j. Worry

However, there are common characteristics shared by individuals who have achieved emotional maturity and efficacy. They are
as follows:
a. Self-control. Managing disruptive impulses.
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b. Trustworthiness. Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity

c. Conscientiousness. Taking responsibility for one’s performance.
d. Adaptability. Handling changes with flexibility.
e. Innovation. Being open to new ideas.
f. Empathy. Understanding other people and putting yourself in their shoes.

How are emotional regulation abilities developed?

Regulating emotions can be primarily learned through observational and social referencing, particularly on the basis of the
family. The emotional climate of homes, parenting styles of parents, family communication and socialization practices, and
mental health conditions of family members converge toward the emotional development of adolescents.
Thus, it is important that students engage in learning opportunities, not only for the acquisition of knowledge and
information, but more so on the acquisition of emotional regulation strategies that will empower them to become productive
social citizens and emphatic leaders in the future

REFERENCES :

1. Alata et al. (2018). Understanding the Self. Rex Book Store.

2. Sosis, R. (2010). The adaptive value of Religious Ritual in Angeloni (ed) Annual Editions: Anthropology 10/13. 33 rd ed. Mcgraw
Hill.

3. Gonzales and Hancock (2010). Mirror, Mirror on my FB wall: Effects of exposure to FB on self-esteem. Cyberpsychology,
Behavior and Social Networking.

4. Lock, E. (2002). Setting Goals for life and Happiness. In Snyder and Lopez (eds) Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford
University Press 299-312.

ONLINE REFERENCES:
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2. Boyd, N. (2021, June 10). Self-Understanding & Self-Concept: How We Perceive Ourselves. Study.com | Take
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https://study.com/academy/lesson/self-understanding-and-self-concept.html
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