GEC 1 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Module 2 (Week 3 to Week 4)

 Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives

Prepared by: Nancy Jane D. Victorino, RPm, LPT

DISCUSSION

CILO (Course Intended Learning Outcome/s):

 Articulate what culture means to the self as a part of the

society.
 Analyse the anthropological and sociological constructs of the
self.
 Attribute self- understanding and behaviour to cultural factors.
 I. Social Constructionism

Social constructionism is a theory of

knowledge in sociology and
communication theory that examines the
development of jointly-constructed
understandings of the world that form the
basis for shared assumptions about reality.
The theory centers on the notion that
meanings are developed in coordination
with others rather than separately within
https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/juLP9LGZuT0V4BBaXypYRTZmA_k=/ each individual.
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I. How Culture Affects the Self

Sir Edward B. Taylor, founder of cultural

anthropology, classically defined culture as
“that complex whole which includes
knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, customs,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired
by (a human) as a member of society.
According to developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff
(2010), culture can influence how you, your coworkers, and the
families you serve view:
• Relationships
• Personality Traits
• Achievements
https://www.bridgestogether.org/wp-
content/uploads/2018/12/cultural_continuity2-1-
• Expressing Emotions
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 II. The Looking Glass Self Theory by Charles
Cooley

According to sociologist Charles Horton

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ss_self.png
Cooley, individuals develop their concept of
self by observing how they are perceived
by others, a concept Cooley coined as the
“looking-glass self.”
The looking-glass self describes the process
wherein individuals base their sense of self on
how they believe others view them. Using
social interaction as a type of “mirror,” people
use the judgments they receive from others to
measure their own worth, values, and
behaviour.
III. The Self as a Product of Modern Society
(Sociological Perspective)

Your personal and social identity is never

static, but this doesn’t mean you are
constantly revising who you are according to
how you feel. Just because you adopt a new
fashion style or a ‘cooler’ way of talking doesn’t
mean that your personal and social identity has
substantially changed. These are purely
cosmetic or outer changes and more likely
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reflect other aspects of yourself (your sub-
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personae), than to truly indicate a change in
core self-identity.
 III. The Self as a Product of Modern Society
(Sociological Perspective)

Real changes in personal identity emerge out

of the creative interplay between social
circumstances and events and the way you as
an individual respond to them. No matter how
assertive or dominant a personality you are,
in the final instance your identity needs to
be grounded in social reality. Other people
have to accept you as you yourself wish to be
accepted before your personal desire for
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change will have any bite or social validation.
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III. Self in Society and Society in Self

No one can stand apart from the social world.

Everyone is influenced by society and it
makes its indelible mark on us. It’s a great
error to think that there is no such thing as
society or that we are separate, self-sufficient
individuals. Everyone is influenced by family,
friends, education, ethnicity, work, class,
gender, politics and history. At every point in
our lives we both rely on, and contribute to our
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social environment.
 III. Self in Society and Society in Self
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theme_23-2148473080.jpg
First, we are self-directing beings capable
of independent thought and behaviour. We
have the knowledge and skills that allow us to
deal with other people and situations in our
own terms. We are not completely trapped by
our circumstances – unless we wish to be, or if
we refuse to fight against them.
Second, we are all unique individuals
because we have all had a unique set of
experiences. Even if you were brought up in
the same family, you experience the world in
different ways than your brothers or sisters.
III. The Emotional Self
https://cdn.tinybuddha.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/06/Emotions.png
Emotions and the motivations to which they
give rise have frequently been denied any
important role in our day-to-day conduct by
even the most sophisticated of social
theorists. Anthony Giddens, for example, is of
the view that emotions and motives are not
directly involved in everyday human behaviour.
Instead, what he calls ‘reflexive monitoring’
and ‘rationalization’ (reason giving and
rational understanding) play the major roles.
Motives only play a part in ‘relatively unusual
circumstances, situations which in some way
break the routine’ (Giddens 1984, p. 6).
 III. The Emotional Self

The emotional or feeling side of our nature

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goes hand in hand with our reflective,
intelligent and calculating side. In most
instances the different strands are mixed
together in different proportions. But in some
instances one strand may predominate over
the others, as in the stuffy rule-bound
bureaucrat or the child, open-mouthed and
filled with wonderment. No behaviour though,
is completely empty of emotion, although its
importance often goes unrecognized or
supressed.
III. Core and Satellite Needs of Self

Although loving and being

loved by others are crucial, the
love of self is no less important.
All three are interdependent.

Without the love of self the ability

to give love to others is hampered.

It’s about having integrity, taking

care of yourself and being self-
protective when it is required.
III. Approval of Self and Others

If love in all its varieties is a key

focus for other feelings and
emotions, then the need for
approval closely mirrors it. Again
there are close links between self-
approval, approval by others and
approval
The searchof others.
for approval has its
own challenges.
The constant searching for
approval is based on the fear
that the other’s love will be
https://miro.medium.com/max/1200/1*Na5DKKcBDIPMMyeLYNWpdQ.jpeg withdrawn and that you will be
left helpless and unloved.
 IV. Anthropological Perspective

The Filipino culture is an exuberant story

that tells of the nation's journey through
the centuries. Customs reflect the people's
faith, their oneness with others, their
affinity with nature, and their celebration of
life.
The nation's charm is in the diversity in
ways of life across the archipelago, the
https://image.shutterstock.com/image-vector/anthropology-vector-
illustration-ancient-mini-260nw-1766631404.jpg resplendent colors of its folk arts and the
Anthropology is the scientific study of cacophony of foreign influences that have
humanity, concerned with human found roots in the Filipino languages,
behavior, human biology, and societies, in customs and traditions.
both the present and past, including past
human species.
 IV. Anthropological Perspective
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philippines.png
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Filipino Identity: The Haunting Question
The deficiency of strength that Filipino
national identity possesses and the
insufficient adherence that Filipino
nationhood attracts lie in the failure of the
state to mold the population into an
encompassing moral order in which people
can distinctly imagine that they belong
together.
In the absence of a shared narrative of collective
emancipation that successfully ties the individual's
private life to an authoritative center of civilization,
we find two opposing “nations” co-existing in the
independent Philippine state: the state-owning
oligarchy versus the nation of the ordinary people.
References:

 Layder, D. (2004). Social and Personal Identity: Understanding Yourself.

SAGE Publications Ltd. (available for download at b-ok.asia)
 Introduction to the Filipino Culture; https://beijingpe.dfa.gov.ph/82-the-
philippines/89-introduction-on-the-filipino-culture; 03/07/21
 Filipino Identity: The Haunting Question;
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/186810341303200103;
03/07/21
 Filipino Cultural Identity;
https://www.pana.com.ph/fyeo/materials/Filipino%20Cultural%20Identity.pdf;
03/07/21
 Perception is Reality: The Looking-Glass Self;
https://lesley.edu/article/perception-is-reality-the-looking-glass-self; 03/07/21
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