Self from Various

Perspective
Unit 1
Sociological
Perspective of the self
Sociology
• the study of how human society is established, its structure
and how it works, the people’s interaction with each other
and the effects they have to one another is an aspect in
which we have to consider with regards to the development
of a person.

3
 It is also important to understand that the
establishment of the “Self” based on social
structures could give us a better
understanding of who we are and provide
reasons how our interactions can affect us as
a person.
George Herbert Mead
• an American Sociologist, he is considered as the Father of
American pragmatism, and one of the pioneers in the field
of social psychology because of his contributions on the
development of the person relating to various social
factors.

• Mead rejected the idea of biological determination of the

self
The “i” and the “me”
Two components of the self which the person has:

• The “Me” are the characteristics, behavior, and or actions done by a

person that follows the “generalized others” that person interacts with

• the “I” is the reaction of the individual to the attitude of others, as

well as the manifestation of the individuality of the person.
 Mead’s 3 role playing stages of self
development
• The Preparatory Stage (Birth – 2 years Old) – According to Mead, during this stage the
infant simply imitates the actions and behaviors of the people that the infant interacts with.

• The Play Stage (2 – 6 years old) – for the Play stage, it is the time where children begins
to interact with other with which certain rules apply, these rules often time does not adhere
to any set or standards but rather are rules that are set by the children themselves.

• The Game Stage (6-9 years old) – The final stage of self-development according to Mead
where are characterized by the ability of the children to recognize the rules of the game and
be able to identify their roles and the roles of the others that is playing with them.
 Socialization is a lifetime endeavor, and the
people one interacts with will change throughout a
person’s life, as such, considering the social
environment one belongs to along with the
changes on the person’s development, may it be at
school, home, or work, the interactions and
experiences the person acquires from those people
and situations helps define a more concrete
identity and sense of self
 The idea of “Self” may be based on the general
attitudes and behaviors of other people or the
individuality of the person that manifests as a
response to those attitudes and behaviors of
others.
Anthropological Lesson 3
Perspective of the self
Sub-disciplines of anthropology
1. Cultural Anthropology
• the study of human society and culture which describes, analyzes, interprets
and explains social and cultural similarities and differences.

• Ethnography requires fieldwork to collect data, often

descriptive and specific to group.
• Ethnology uses data collected by a series of researches,
usually synthetic and comparative.
2. Archeological Anthropology

• reconstructs, describes and interprets

human behavior and cultural patterns
through material remains.
3. Biological or Physical Anthropology

• focuses on these special interest, human evolution as revealed by

the fossil, human genetics, human growth and development,
human biological plasticity and the biology, evolution, behavior
and social life of monkeys, apes and other nonhuman primates.
4. Linguistic Anthropology

• studies language in its social and cultural context

across space and over time.
The self
embedded in the
culture
What is culture?
• Culture refers to customary behavior and beliefs that are
passed on through enculturation (Kottak, 2008), wherein
enculturation is the social process which culture is learned
and transmitted.
Culture is shared, symbolic, natural, learned, integrated, encompassing

and maladaptive and adaptive.

Psychological Perspective
Lesson 4
of the self
Psychological Perspective
• Self by definition is a reference by an individual
to the same individual person. Having its own or
single character as a person, referring to the
person as same individual.

• The psychology of studying self is about either

the cognitive and affective representation of
one's identity or the subject of experience.
• William James, a psychologist, has introduced in his
document The Principles of Psychology, a numerous
concepts and distinction of self.
• For James, his main concepts of self are the “me-self”
and the “I-self”.
• The “me-self” is the phenomenal self, the experienced
self or the self as known. It is the self that has
experience the phenomena and who had known the
situation.
• The “I-self” is the self-thought or the self-knower.
• James had claimed that the understanding of
Self can be separated into three categories:
1. Its constituents;
2. The feeling and emotions they arouse – Self-
feelings;
3. The actions to which they prompt – Self-
seeking and self-preservation.
Sub Categories of Self
• Material Self is constituted by our bodies, clothes,
immediate family and home.
• The Social Self is based on our interactions with society
and the reaction of people towards us. It varies as to how
we present ourselves to a particular social group.
• The spiritual self, it is the most intimate because it is
more satisfying for the person that they have the ability
to argue and discriminate one’s moral sensibility,
conscience and indomitable will.
Concept of Self
• Carl Rogers believe that people must be fully
honest with themselves in order to have
personal discovery on oneself.
• The Perceived Self (Self worth - how the
person sees self & others sees them)
• The Real Self (Self Image - How the person
really is)
• The Ideal Self (How the person would like to
be)
 INCONGRUENT CONGRUENT

Self- Image Ideal- Self Self- Image Ideal- Self

The self- image is different to the

The self- image is similar to the ideal
ideal self,
self,
There is only a little overlap.
There is a more overlap.
Here self- actualization will be
This person can self- actualize.
difficult.

Carl Rogers stated that to achieve self- actualization there must be a state of
congruence within the individual. Congruence exists when the ‘ideal self’ and the
actual experience are consistent.
Concept of Unified and Multiple Self
• Unified Self
• Freud has argued that self has a multiple parts, he still
believed that ultimately we are a Unified beings
(Atleast, when we are healthy). Ego remains at the
helm of mind, guiding the Id and Superego and staying
at the center.
• Multiple Self
• Kenneth Gergen argued that having a flexible sense of
self allows for multiple “selves”. That it is up to the self
to define himself as warm or cold, dominant or
submissive, sexy or plain.
True Self and Fake Self
• True Self
• as rooted from early infancy is called the
simple being. The sense of self based on
spontaneous authentic experience and feeling
of being alive, having “real self”.
• Fake Self
• is our defense facade. Overlaying or
contradicting the original sense of self.
True Self and Fake Self
• True Self
• as rooted from early infancy is called the
simple being. The sense of self based on
spontaneous authentic experience and feeling
of being alive, having “real self”.
• Fake Self
• is our defense facade. Overlaying or
contradicting the original sense of self.
The Self in Western
and Eastern Thought
Western Culture
• basically is about the focus on oneself and personal needs
• predicated on putting egoism first.
• is inclined in more acquisition of material things
• obsessed with being successful
• wealth and poverty is the result of enterprise and hard work
• celebrates the youth and being young.
• subscribe to the idea of evolution
Eastern Culture
• about focus on others and the feeling of others.
• is about collectivism
• tilted towards less assets (thus the mantra less is more)
• more inclined towards long life (wealth)
• wealth and poverty is the result of fortune and luck
• values the wisdom of years and seniority
• subscribe to concept of reincarnation
Individualism versus Collectivism
• People are • Interdependent within
autonomous and their in-groups
independent from • Give priority to the goals
their in-groups of their in-groups
• In-groups primarily
• Give priority to their
shape their behavior
personal goals of
• Behave in a communal
their in-groups way
• Behave on their basis • Concerned in
of attitudes rather maintaining relationship
than norms with others