The Self and Its Social

Agencies
Presented By: Geic Geic Lingo
Human development is largely influenced by membership in
crucial social groups that shape various aspects of the self:
from belief systems, values orientation, and behaviors. An
individual is born into a family and toward the end of his or
her life, he or she is evaluated in the context of his or her
contribution to the society, the quality of his or her social
relationship, and how he or she has touched lives of people
whom he or she has directly encountered.
Knowledge and social skills gained from mentors,
relatives, and peers contribute to how the social self is
harnessed. The information gleaned from books, lectures
of mentors and insights from classmates are assimilated
and imbibed consequently in the inner recesses of the self.
One’s knowledge of the world is shaped by collaborative
learning conditions, as one is exposed to the insights of
his or her learning peers.
 Culture

According to Edward Tylor (1871), “culture is the

complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, law,
art, moral, custom, and other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of Society.”
 Bioecological Systems Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1935) Bioecological

Systems of Development explains and individual’s
social development, using biological,
environmental, and ecological lenses.
 5 specific systems that shape
an individual’s sense of self

Microsystem Mesosystem

Exosystem Macrosystem

Chronosystems
Individualism-Collectivism Model
Another model that highlights the impact of
culture to the self is the Individualism-
Collectivism model proposed by Hazel Rose
Markus and Shinobu Kitayama (1991). According to
the model, individualism as an orientation focuses
on one’s individual attributes and personal
distinctiveness. People who are individualistic are
observed to be competitive and self-reliant.
Outgroup Stranger
Ingroup

Friend
Friend

Self

Mother Brother

Stranger
Outgroup Stranger
Ingroup

Friend
Friend

Self

Mother Brother

Stranger
 I vs. Me
According to Mead, the “I” is who an individual
really is. It is one’s opinion of himself or herself as
a whole. The “I” is manifested when one acts
naturally for his or her own motivations and not
because of others. On the other hand, the “Me” is
the awareness of how others expect one to
behave.
Thank You