THE MATERIAL OR

ECONOMIC SELF
MATERIAL SELF PRESENTATION
AND IDENTITY
 John Heskett
- professor at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology and
taught design
history and design thinking
- British writer and lecturer on the economic, political, cultural and
human value of
industrial design
- design combines 'needs' and 'desire' in the form of a practical object that can
also reflect
the user's identity and aspirations through its form and decoration
- there is a significance and function behind everyday things
- there is a subconscious effect of design in everyday life
- design reflects the personal identity whenever the person is
- design matters from the smallest things and presentation
Roland Barthes (1915-1980)
- French critical theorist
- first one to observe the relationships that people have with objects and in
particular looked
at objects as signs or things which could be decoded to convey message
beyond their
practical value
- In 1950s, he popularized the field of Semiology (the study of objects as
signs)
- Sign: anything that conveys meaning
- He revealed that everyday objects are not just things but a complex system
of signs which
allows one to read meaning into people and places
- "What people increasingly produce are not material objects but signs."
 Semiotic Analysis
 Objects function as signifiers in the
production of meaning.

 The objects construct a meaning and carry

a message in which a member of a culture
can understand.

 Argued that all things could be viewed as

a kind of speech or language which means
that objects can speak, and even the most
ordinary object might be eloquent
 Semiotic
 The study of signs (introduced by
Barthes)
It is examining how words, photographs,
images, and objects can work as a language to
communicate a range of ideas, association and
feelings.
According to Barthes, a sign has two
elements:
1. Signifier – physical form (e.g. a diamond ring)

2. Signified – mental concepts it refers to (e.g. engaged to be

married)
-The things people use, own and surround themselves
with might accurately reflect their
personalities.
- Signs: also used to differentiate one person or group
from others
Theory of Meaning of Material
Possessions (Dittmar, 1992, 2004)
 suggests that material goods can fulfill a range
of instrumental, social, symbolic and affective
functions
. Instrumental functions

 relate to the functional properties of a

product.
Ex: A person bought a pick-up style of car for
family and business functions.
Social symbolic functions

 signify personal qualities, social standing, group

affiliation and gender roles.

Ex: Buying an Iphone instead of other mobile phones

Categorical Functions

refer to the extent to which material

possessions may be used to communicate group
membership and status.

Ex: Buying or renting a condo unit in Makati City.

Self-expressive functions

 reflect a person’s unique qualities, values or

attitudes.
Ex: People collecting Hello Kitty brand or buying
stuffs in their favorite color.
The purchase and use of material goods - depends
on its specific function
Economic Self Presentation
And Identity
Economics
 defined as “the study of things that a person is
lacking, of how people make use of the things that
they have, and of making the right decisions”.
 the condition of the person, group or region as
regards to material prosperity.
Economic Self-Sufficiency
 the ability of individuals and families to consistently
meet their needs with minimal or no financial
assistance or subsidies from private or public
organizations.
 the said needs include food, housing, utilities, health
care, transportation, taxes, dependent care and
clothing.
 Determinants of Economic Self-Sufficiency:

 Job Stability
-Individuals have sustained employment.
 Educational Attainment
-Individuals reach their employment goal through
academic or vocational achievement.
 English Literacy
- Individuals have the ability to
speak, read and write the English
language.
 Family Structure
- The stability of families and attributes of parents influence
development of positive behaviors and healthy relationships.
 Health/Disability Status
- Individuals with physical, cognitive, mental, sensory,
emotional or development capacity concerns participate to the fullest extent possible at
school, at work, or through meaningful daily activities.
 Community Connections
-Individuals have community relationships to
people or organizations that bolster self-sufficiency, or in the
case of youth, future self-sufficiency.
Economic Consciousness
 the result of socialization and professionalization of the subject that acquires a
particular significance in human affairs.
 includes social perceptions, attitudes, relationships, and opinions of
persons/social groups.
about different economic objects and phenomena (Khashchenko, 2004).
manifested, in particular, in the subjective assessment of the economic
status of the individual: property, money, economic risk, poverty, wealth, and
other economic targets.
Economic Identity
a psychological phenomenon that results from social
categorization (identification and differentiation)
 For instance, a category of economic status is
whether a person belongs to the rich sustainable or
poor sectors of society.
structure of economic identity includes basic components
(cognitive, affective and behavioral)
The factors that affect the economic
identity of the individual are the following:

 Professional development
 Self-determination
 Motivational and value
sphere of his personality
Role of Consumer Culture on the
Sense of Self And Identity
 Consumer Identity
 the pattern of consumption that
describes a consumer
 Consumer Culture
 developed because people may no
longer consume goods and services
because of its functional satisfaction
 consumption has become more meaning-
based
 brands and products are now being used
by many consumers to express their
identity
 Consumerism
 is the preoccupation with and the inclination
towards the buying of consumer goods.
 based on the theory that an increasing
consumption of goods is economically
desirable.
 In most cases, how the consumers think
influences their decisions, causing them to
behave in unpredictable and irrational ways.
Behavioral Finance
 a new field that combines
behavioral and cognitive
psychological theory with conventional
economics and finance to provide
explanations for why people make
irrational financial decisions
 If a person fails to choose, then that
person chooses to fail.
Unpacking the
SelfSpiritual Self
Research says…
The practice of religion has a significant effect on happiness and an overall sense of
personal well-being (Stark, R., 1971)

Regular religious attendance led to much less psychological distress (Williams, D. 1970)

Young people see love as the central aspect of the

meaning of life; they believe that religion is still
important in helping form judgments and attitudes
(Thomas, D.)

The cohabitation rate is seven times higher among

persons who seldom or never attend religious services
compared to persons who frequently attend (Larson,
D.)
Filipinos and
Religion
Therefore…

The practice of religion is good for

individuals, families, states, and
the nation.

It improves health, learning, economic well-being,

self- control, self-esteem, and empathy.

It reduces the incidence of social pathologies, such as

out- of-wedlock births, crime, delinquency, drug and
alcohol addiction, health problems, anxieties, and
prejudices.
Dungan
 spirit of soul
 (or talirungan), a Visayan term, is a folk
notion which. has multiple meanings
such as, life forth, “soul stuff" , alter ego,
spiritual twin, or a certain power which
every human being is. endowed with.
Religious R i t u a l s
and
Ceremonies
 Agree or
Disagree:
Rituals, not beliefs, provide the social glue
for religious communities.

"While an individual may sincerely hold religious beliefs, a

group does not have a common mind and cannot hold any
belief. Faith becomes socially relevant through action. Until
there is action, religion is socially meaningless.“
Dr. Daniel B. Lee
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Penn State's DuBois Campus.
 Importance of Religious Rituals:
1. Religious ritual is indispensable in deepening spiritual insight.
2. The repetition of rituals instills religious values and attitudes in the lives of
the worshippers.
3. Ritual also expresses and emphasises the things that bind a faith community
together, and through ritual both individuals and communities make visible
their most basic religious needs, values and aspirations.
W h a t a r e y o u r Religious R i t u a l s
a n d Ceremonies y ou a r e v e r y
p r o u d of?
Witchcraf
tthe art or practice of witches; the practice of sorcery,

enchantments and intercourse with spirits; the belief in,
or use of, certain kinds of supernatural or magical
powers.
Witchcraft often occupies a religious,
divinatory or medicinal role, and is often
present within societies and groups whose
cultural framework includes a magical world
view.
Conceptions (or misconceptions) about Witchcraft:

 It is the practice of magic or sorcery by those outside the religious

mainstream of a society
 It is the practice of sorcery, enchantments and intercourse
with spirits.
 the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers.
 a diabolical conspiracy against Christianity.
 a cultural ideology which explains human misfortune by blaming
it either on a supernatural entity or on a known person in the
community.
 a pantheistic, nature-based religion with possible pre-Christian
roots
Historical Perspective

 Historically the witchcraft label has been applied to practices people believe
influence the mind, body, or property of others against their will—or
practices that the person doing the labeling believes undermine social or
religious order.

 The concept of a magic-worker influencing another person's body or property

against their will was clearly present in many cultures, as traditions in both
folk magic and religious magic have the purpose of countering malicious
magic or identifying malicious magic users.

 Malicious magic users can become a credible cause for disease, sickness
in animals, bad luck, sudden death, impotence and other such
misfortunes.
Dividing thoughts…
Magic and
Religion
Most cultures of the world have religious beliefs that
supernatural powers can be compelled, or at least
influenced, to act in certain ways for good or evil
purposes by using ritual formulas.These formulas
are, in a sense….
By performing certain magical acts in
a particular way…

o crops might be improved;

o game herds replenished;
o illness cured or avoided,;
o animals and people made
fertile.
2
Types:
1.Religious based magic:
this involves the use of faith by requesting
the intervention of major or minor deities
to enact spells or weaves.

2.Nature based magic:

this involves modifying the
world according to the desires of
the spellcaster.
Finding Meaning in
Life
Something t o
consider…

"...Meaning is
something t o discover
rat her t han t o
invent .“
Agree or
disagree?

"Meaning is something
t o discoverrat her t han
t o invent.“
 Agree or
disagree?
We can never fully
understand ultimate
meaning because i t
is a mat t er of
continued pursuit and
increment al
understanding.
Man’ssearch for meaning has
the same concept wi t h inner
happiness, life satisfaction, self-
actualization, deep spirituality.
 Existential Vacuum
Life t h a t is e m p t y,
meaningless, purposeless, aimless,
adrift, and so on, andseem t o
be responding t o these experiences
with unusual behaviors t h a t
hurt themselves, others, society,
or all three.
Because of t his exist ent ial
vacuum, we fill our lives
with:
• pleasure,
• eating beyond all
necessity,
• having promiscuous sex,
• we might seek power,
especially the power
represented by
monetary success;
 Because of t his exist ent ial
vacuum, we fill our lives
with:
• "busy-ness," conformity, conventionality;
• anger and hatred
• attempts to destroy what we think is
hurting us.
• Neurotic "vicious cycles," such as
obsession with germs and cleanliness, or
fear-driven obsession with a phobic object.
The Tragic Triad The NeuroticTriad
 So how do we find meaning
in our life?

•Experiential values
•Creative values
•Attitudinal values
Experient ial
Values
Experiencing somet hing ( or
someone) we value.

• The most important example

of experient ial values is
t he love we feel towards
another – family,
friends, workmates, etc.
Creat ive
Values
This is t he t radit ional exist ent ial idea
of providing oneself withmeaning by
becoming involved in one’sprojects, or,
b e t t e r, in the project of one’s own life.
It includes the creativity and passion
involved in art, music, writing,
invention, work and so on.
Attitudinal Values

Attitudinal values
include practicing virtues
as compassion, bravery, a
good sense of humor, and
so on.
 The ult imat e
goal:
SELF-
TRANSCENDENCE
(Supra-meaning)
It is t he ult imat e meaning in life.
It is a reference t o God
and spiritual meaning.