Anthropological

Perspective of the Self

Understanding The Self - Week 3
Intended Learning Outcomes:
• Demonstrate an understanding of various
anthropological approaches to studying the self,
including cultural relativism, ethnographic
research, and the study of cultural practices and
beliefs;
• Critically examine how cultural norms, rituals, and
symbols contribute to the construction of identity
within specific cultural contexts, and consider the
flexibility of self-identity; and,
Intended Learning Outcomes:
• Understand the role of the aspects of culture in
shaping and expressing individual and collective
identity, and how they mark transitions within
cultural groups.
 What is Anthropology?
• It is derived from the Greek words ‘anthropo’ meaning
‘human beings’ or ‘humankind’, and ‘logia’ translated
as ‘knowledge of’ or ‘study of’.
• In a general sense, anthropology is the study of
humankind – past and present.
• It is a branch of social science focusing on the study of
origin, behavior, physical, social, and cultural
development of humans.
 Self and the Person in Contemporary Anthropology
• The self is a physical organism,
possessing psychological functioning
and social attributes.
• The self is illusory. People construct a
series of self-representations that are
based on selected cultural concepts of
person and selected chains of personal
KATHERINE PRATT memories.
EWING
 Self and the Person in Contemporary Anthropology
• The self is the sum of the brain’s individual
subsystems, each with its own form of memory,
together with the complex interactions among the
subsystems.
• He conceptualized the implicit and explicit
aspects of the self.
• He introduced the Theory of Threat Response
and the concept of two pathways.
• The self is not static; it is added to and
subtracted from by genetic maturation, learning,
JOSEPH LEDOUX forgetting, stress, ageing, and disease.
 TWO ASPECTS OF THE SELF
IMPLICIT ASPECT EXPLICIT ASPECT
• subconscious and automatic • conscious, self-reflective, and
processes that shape an often involve introspection
individual's emotional and self-awareness
responses and perceptions of
the world
• not immediately available to
the consciousness
 CONCEPT OF TWO PATHWAYS
LOW ROAD (SUBCORTICAL HIGH ROAD (CORTICAL
PATHWAY) PATHWAY)
• a fast and direct pathway that • a slower and more elaborative
processes threat-related pathway that provides a more
information quickly detailed analysis of the threat
• allows for rapid and automatic • enables conscious awareness
fear responses of the threat, contextual
understanding, and more
nuanced emotional responses
 The Self Embedded in Culture
“Cultural traditions and social practices
regulate, express, and transform the human
psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for
humankind than in ethnic divergences in
mind, self, and emotion.”
 WHAT IS CULTURE?
Culture is a complex and multifaceted
concept that encompasses the shared
beliefs, values, customs, traditions,
language, symbols, norms, and
practices of a particular group of people.
It represents the way of life, identity,
and social organization of a community
or society.
 TWO WAYS OF HOW SELF IS CONSTRUCTED
CONSTRUAL OR
INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURE
COLLECTIVIST CULTURE
• emphasizes personal autonomy, • how individuals perceive and
self-expression, and the construct their self-identity through
development of a unique and the lens of social and cultural
independent identity influences
• prioritize individual goals and • the self is shaped by external
personal fulfillment factors, including social roles,
relationships, and cultural norms
 The Self Embedded in Culture
She believed that culture can influence how a person
views: relationships, personality traits, achievements,
and expressing emotions.
• Relationships – how one enters into and
maintains relationships
• Personality traits – how a person values traits
and how he/she perceives hardship, or how
he/she feels about relying on others
• Achievement – how a person defines success
• Expressing emotions – what will affect a
CATHERINE RAEFF person emotionally
 REFERENCES
• Otig, V.S. et al. (2019). A Holistic Approach in Understanding the Self. Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.
• What Is Anthropology. https://www.academia.edu/26378109/What_Is_Anthropology
• The Synaptic Self.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov02/synaptic#:~:text=The%20self%2C%20he%20su
ggested%2C%20is,complex%20interactions%20among%20the%20subsystems.
• Zajonc and LeDoux.
https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/psychology/emotion-and-
motivation/zajonc-and-ledoux/
• What is Culture? Types of Culture, Elements of Culture, Characteristics of Culture.
https://medium.com/@beautehealthy/what-is-culture-types-of-culture-elements-of-
culture-characteristics-of-culture-7b4d65caddc7