Lesson 1: The Social Self____________________________________

Learning Outcomes

 Create a conceptual diagram of how these social factors are intertwined and interactively
influence their sense of self

Engage

Direction: If you think the statement is correct, write agree, otherwise write disagree.

1. Culture is important in the development of one’s social self.

2. People you do not know do not affect your social self.
3. One’s behaviour is affected by the people around him or her.
4. Social institutions have an influence on people’s lives.
5. People don’t need other people to survive.

1. Explore

The Self and Its Social Agencies

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 relationships, and
how he or she has touched lives of people whom he or she has directly encouraged.

At the beginning of life, one already belongs to a social group: his or her family. It is the
most pervading influential social group that impacts the self in its entire course of development.
The views one holds about the world, values upheld in making choices and decisions, and the
habits and persistent behaviour one carries have been formed in the context of one’s family and
home environment. Parent are one’s first teachers; from a very early age, it is from them that one
creates initial impressions of the world beyond his or her home, and the first barometer in
determining which acts are good and rewarded and those that are unacceptable, for which one is
reprimanded and punished. As one family grows, his or her siblings become his or her first
friends and playmates. Relationships with siblings harness one’s socialization skills, particularly
in play moments and quarrels which help shape one’s conflict resolution skills that he or she can
carry throught his or her life. These consistent family experiences are crucial in shaping of one’s
social self.
 Next to family, schools and the general academic environment form a significant part of
the social self. Worldviews expand as one gets exposed to more people in different social
learning environments. Knowledge and social skills gained from mentors, relatives and peers
contribute to how the social self is harnesses. 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. Values of social
harmony, emotional sensitivity to the needs of other people, and behavior with regard to the
personal spaces of others in the environment are just some learning insights that are inculcated in
one’s social self. Roughly, about a third of people’s lives are spent as students in educational
institutions. The experiences an individual gains in an academic environment shape his or her
social self as he or she embarks on the next stages of development.

Aside from one’s family and school environments, communities also shape one’s social
self to a large extent. From an anthropological and sociological perspective, ones cultural beliefs
and practices are influenced by what communities and societies dictate. Values such as respect
for the elderly, persistence and dedication for tasks, and love for one’s country are often the
products of communal settings one belongs to and societal expectations imposed on him or her.
Specific practices such as attending worship, avoiding conflict and strife with others, taking part
in rituals and ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms, and other religious activities, are
embedded in one’s social self as communities and the society have developed shared meanings
with regard to these milestones. Religion, politics, media, education, and the government are all
social institutions that directly impact one’s social self. The social self inevitably changes as one
accommodates and eventually assimilates beliefs promoted by the society as he or she thinks,
appreciates, and behaves according to standards set by micro and macrosystems.

Culture

According to Edward Tylor (1871), “culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, law, art, moral, custom, and another capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member
of society.” Based on this definition, one can conclude that culture has a great impact on a
human being, and this is manifested in his or her thoughts, behaviors, and expression. However,
culture is highly relative; it varies in terms of geographical, traditional, and individual contexts.
A dominant characteristics of culture is that it is socially transmitted and learned by groups of
people, bound by ethnicity, geography, and personal orientations.

GE-US Understanding the Self

MERCY OLILA-RODRIGO
 Explain

Bioecological Systems Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1935) Bioecological Systems of Development explains an

individual’s social development, using biological, environmental, and ecological lenses. The
theory explains the bidirectional influence of individual systems to each other and posits five
specific systems that shape an individual’s sense of self. These systems are as follows:

1. Microsystem. This system refers to the institutions and social groups that the
individual has direct contact and interaction with, including families, peers, schools,
religious institutions, and the immediate community.
2. Mesosystem. This system refers to the interconnections among aspects of the
microsystems affecting the individual.
3. Exosystem. This system refers to the social setting that an individual has no direct
interaction with but nevertheless affects his or her development. An example of this
could be the work setting of one’s parents where a major company decision that
results in the loss of job of either parent will have a significant impact to the child.
4. Macrosystem. This system encompasses the larger cultural context in which the
individual resides in. A cultural context may include the socioeconomic status of his
or her country, issues of ethnicity, societal values embraced by social institutions,
cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation, and how all
these affect an individual’s behavior and opportunities in the society. An example of a
macrosystem would be the Philippines as a third-world country where there is a
notion that life can be better when one works abroad. Acceptable values which are
defined by the society that are handed down from generation to generation is
inexplicably imbibed by the individual.
5. Chronosystems. This system focuses on patterns of environmental events, including
sociohistorical events from a specific to a general context. For example, one’s
graduation from college would entail changes in his or her social self as he or she is
expected to work to help his or her family and contribute to the society. Social events
which push forth active citizenship also influences the social self in a very vital way.

GE-US Understanding the Self

MERCY OLILA-RODRIGO
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.
They are likely to be independent in achieving their personal interests rather than becoming
dependent on a group. On the other hand, the collectivist orientation values relationships and
harmony. People who are collectivistic prioritize interests to maintain healthy relationships. They
are likely to be adaptive to other people, and cooperative in group tasks.

Notions of individualism and collectivism show how the self is directly influenced by the
society and its standards. Being part of social groups impacts one’s thoughts and values and also
affects one’s social behavior.

I vs. Me

One’s bahavior when he or she is alone differs from his or her bahavior when he or she is
with others. Different situations trigger particular bahaviors because of differing social
expectations. In being alone, one does not need to keep up appearances, which is different when
there are others observing. This is what Herbert Mead (1934) posited in his theory of the social
self. He posited that the self is divided into two parts: the “I” which is known as the unsocialized
self, and the “Me: which is known as the “socialized” self.

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 expaect
one to behave. This is also known as the social self. This part of the self according to Mead, is
the careful and the conscious. When you know that there are people staring at you, you are likely
to take note of what others would think is acceptable to others. Based on Mead’s model, the state
of the actual self is achieved when the “I” and the “Me” become congruent.

GE-US Understanding the Self

MERCY OLILA-RODRIGO
 Evaluate

Direction: Create a social map that explains how one’s development is shaped by the different
social factors and also how one contributes in shaping or changing these social factors. Give a
textual presentation of your concept map. Emphasize the importance of the bidirectional
relationship of the society and the self.

GE-US Understanding the Self

MERCY OLILA-RODRIGO