UNDERSTANDING THE SELF #2

SOCIOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF SELF

MEAD’s THEORY OF THE SELF

- The theory of the self maintains that the conception a person holds of himself in his mind emerges
from social interaction with others.
- Self is composed of two components
- The thinking process is the internalized dialogue between the I and the me.
- He said that there are three stages of development of self: preparatory stage, play stage, game
stage.

COOLEY’s THEORY OF SELF

- According to him, the degree of personal insecurity you display in social situations is determined
by what you believe other people think of you.
- Cooley’s concept of the looking glass self, states that a person’s self grows out of a person’s social
interactions with others. The view of ourselves comes from the contemplation of personal
qualities and impressions of how others perceive us.
- The labelling bias occurs when we are labeled, and others’ views and expectations of us are
affected by that labeling.

SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY

- Self-concept and self-esteem are also heavily influenced by the process of social comparison.
- Social comparison occurs when we learn about our abilities and skills, about the appropriateness
and validity of our opinions, and about our relative status by comparing our own attitudes, beliefs
and behaviors with those of others.

ANTHROPOLOGY
- Is a study of all aspects of human condition. This includes human history, the present human
condition, and even the future possibilities. It also examines the biology, interactions in society,
language and especially culture.
- There are two important concept in anthropology: culture and enculturation.
o Culture is traditionally defined as systems of human behavior and thought. This covers all
customs, traditions and capabilities of humans as they function in society.
o Enculturation is the transmission of culture from one generation to the next.

THE SELF IN CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOLOGY

The anthropological self takes a holistic dimension of the individual person. The genetic
component plays a significant role in the cultural development of an individual. Anthropologists even
suggest that the genes of the person living in a particular community are already a necessary component
for the enculturation of the person. In the same way, environmental exposure is also a vital component
in the creation of the cultural self.
THE SELF AND BEHAVIORAL ENVIRONMENT
In order to strengthen the identity of the self, one must be able to grasp the different behavioral
orientations. These are concepts that will situate the self in different behavioral conditions. The four
environmental orientations are: object orientation, spatial orientation, temporal orientation and
normative orientation.
o Object orientation positions the self in relation to the surrounding objects. The self should be able
to act responsively to the cultural objects around.
o Spatial orientation provides the self with personal space in relation to the other people or things.
It is important to note that the self must be able to keep personal space.
o Temporal orientation endows the self with the sense of time. Time is truly relevant to cultural
communities.
o Normative orientation provides the self with the grasp of accepted norms in the community.

In anthropology, the self is recognized as 1) biologically attuned to respond to his or her environment, 2)
variably self-aware of the mechanisms of the elements of culture working within the self, and 3) self-
reflexive of the uniqueness and differences of all other selves and everything else around.