LESSON 4:

Anthropological Self
 ANTHROPOLOGY
 Anthropology is the study of people, past and
present. It focuses on understanding the human
condition in its cultural aspect.
 “ Self ” in modern anthropology characterizes the
term in its most general. ordinary, and everyday
use.
 Katherine Ewing (1990)
 She described the self as
encompassing the “physical
organism, possessing psychological
functioning and social attributes."
 "Self" as implicitly and explicitly
existing in the mind comprised of
psychological, biological, and
cultural processes.
 Joseph LeDoux (2002)
 Conceptualized the implicit and
explicit aspects of the self (Kemp,
2012).
 The aspect of the self that you are
consciously aware of is the explicit
self while the one that is not
immediately available to the
consciousness is the implicit aspect.
 Self as Representation
 Ewing (1989) asserted that a "self" is illusory.
 By self-representation, Ewing meant culturally

shaped "self" concepts that one applies to

oneself (Quinn, 2014); "it is the mental entities
that are supposed to represent the self"
(Schlichtet, 2009).
The Self Embedded in Culture
 If one finds the view that the
"self" is a product of society, then
it is plausible that the ways of how
the self is developed are bound to
cultural differences as well.
Cultural psychologists distinguished two ways of
how the self is constructed.
These are the independent and interdependent constructs:
Independent Interdependent  Construal is an
Construct Construct interpretation of the
The independent The interdependent meaning of something;
construct is construct is typical of hence, in this sense, the
characteristic of the collectivist culture meaning of “self.”
individualistic culture, in East Asia stressing  Individualistic culture
such as in North America the essential represents the self as
and Europe. connection between separate, distinct, with
the individual to other emphasis on internal
people. attributes traits, skills, and
values.
 Catherine Raeff (2010), believed that culture
can influence how you view:

Relationships Personality traits

 Culture influences how you enter
 Culture influences whether (and
into and maintain relationships. how) you value traits, like humility,
In Western societies, it is essential for
self-esteem, politeness,
a person to choose whom to marry assertiveness, and so on, as well as
while some Eastern societies still how you perceive hardship or how
practice arranged marriage. you about relying on others.
 Catherine Raeff (2010), believed that culture
can influence how you view:

Achievement Expressing emotions

 Culture influences how you define
success and whether you value certain
types of individual and group
achievements.
 Culture influences what will affect
you emotionally, as well as how
you express yourself, such as
showing your feelings in public or
keeping it private.
 GE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Thank You for

Listening!
Members:
Rhea Mae D. Gascon
Jasper Antonio