MODULE 7 SUPERNATURALS: Monotheism.
Belief in the existence of one God, or in the
BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Supernatural is defined as something that cannot be
explained by scientific understanding or the law of nature.
Spiritual self is one of the four constituents of the self
and is the most intimate, inner subjective part of self. –
William James (The Principles of Psychology)
THE FOUR CONSTITUENTS OF SELF
 Material Self
 Social Self
 Spiritual Self
 The Pure Ego
WHO IS WILLIAM JAMES?
He was a psychologist and philosopher who had a major
influence on the development of psychology in the United
States. Among his many accomplishments, he was the first to
teach a psychology course in the United States and is often
referred to as the father of American psychology.
WHO IS HANS PENNER?
A leading scholar of comparative religion, died on Saturday in
Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington. Penner was a member
of Dartmouth's Religion Department for 36 years and served
from 1980-84 as Dean of Dartmouth's Faculty of Arts and
Sciences.
RELIGION
Rebecca Stein (2011) defines religion as a set of
cultural beliefs and practices that usually includes some or all
of basic characteristics. These characteristics are:
 A belief in anthropomorphic supernatural being such as
spirit and gods;
 A focus on the sacred supernatural, where sacred refers to
a feeling of reverence and awe;
 The presence of supernatural power or energy that is
found on supernatural beings as well as physical beings
and objects;
 The performance of ritual activities that involves the
manipulation of sacred object to communicate to
supernatural beings and/or to influence or control events;
 The articulation of worldview and moral codes through
narratives and other means;
 Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and
mechanism of social control within a community; provide
explanation for the unknown and a sense of control for
individuals.
TYPES OF RELIGION
Animism. An extraordinary power or influence seemingly
from a supernatural source.
Polytheism. Is the worship of or belief in multiple deities,
which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and
goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals.
oneness of God.
Animatism. The belief that a common and impersonal
power exists in all living and nonliving objects.
Mana. Among Malenesian and Polynesian peoples, a
supernatural force or power that may be ascribed to persons,
spirits, or inanimate objects.
RITUAL
Refers to the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a
tradition or sacred law. Ritual is a specific, observable mode
of behavior exhibited by all known societies.
THREE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF RITUALS ACCORDING TO HANS PENNER
 A feeling or emotion of respect, awe, fascination, or dread
in relation to the sacred.
 Dependence upon a belief system that is usually
expressed in the language of myth.
 Is symbolic in relation to its reference.
The self can be described as a ritual being who
exhibits a striking parallel between their ritual and verbal
behavior. Just as language is a system of symbols that is based
upon arbitrary rules, ritual may be viewed as a system of
symbolic acts that is based upon arbitrary rules. Participation
in rituals is expressions of religious beliefs.
MAGIC
An extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a
supernatural source.
FUNCTIONS OF MAGIC
 Illusions - is an image that deceives the mind by
producing a false impression of reality.
 Paranormal - belief in the soul, or in extrasensory
perception.
 Witchcraft - rituals and practices that incorporate
belief in magic.
 Sorcery - the practice of malevolent magic.
TYPES OF RITUAL
Imitative. All rituals are dependent upon some belief
system for their complete meaning. A great many rituals are
patterned after myths.
Positive and Negative. This model represents a dual
classification of rituals as positive or negative. Most of the
positive rituals include the concepts of consecration,
purification or renewing an object or an individual while the
negative rites describe the prohibited actions or behaviors.
Sacrificial. One of the most important rituals is the sacrifice
offering acts, which is classified as the first stage of ritual
ceremonies and is considered as the earliest form of religion.
Life Crisis. The last category contains the very important
rites of passage from one stage of life into another, which can
be found in almost all ancient cultures and traditions.
 SOME WORLD RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
AND PRACTICES
Buddhism
Originated in India, 2500 years ago.
Based around the teachings of Buddha.
Buddha - also known as Gautama Buddha or Lord Buddha
which is the founder of Buddhism.
Buddhist - those who practice Buddhism, and believe that
death is not the end, rather a person is reborn after they pass
away.
535 million people practice Buddhism which is equivalent
between 8 - 10 percent of the world's total population
(WorldPopulationReview)
Buddhism teaches that life is unsatisfactory. Life can be
experienced as painful and frustrating, impermanent and
fleeting, or insubstantial.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
It was these four principles that the Buddha came to
understand during his meditation under the bodhi tree.
 (Dukkha) The truth of suffering.
 Old age
 Sickness
 Death
 (Samudaya) The truth of the origin of suffering.
There are three roots of evil. These are:
 Greed and Desire ~ represented in art by a
rooster.
 Ignorance or Delusion ~ represented by a
pig.
 Hatred and Destructive urges
represented by a snake.
 (Nirodha) The truth of the cessation of suffering.
 Nirvana
 (Magga or Marga) The truth of the path to the
cessation of suffering.
THE EIGHT NOBLE PATHS (DHARMA
WHEEL)
 Right Understanding (Know the Truth)
 Right Intention (Free your mind of Evil)
 Right Speech (Say nothing that hurt others)
 Right Action (Work for the Good of others)
 Right Livelihood (Respect life)
 Right Effort (Resist Evil)
 Right Concentration (Practice Meditation)
 Right Mindfulness (Control your thoughts)
CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES
TYPES OF MEDITATION
Samatha - practices mindfulness of breathing and
development of loving kindness.
Vipassana - practices aim at developing insight into
reality.
The difference between Samatha and Vipassana, is
Samatha focuses on calming the mind while Vipassana
focuses on clearing the mind.
Theravada Countries - Sri Lanka, Cambodia,
Thailand, Laos and Myanmar
Mahayana Countries - Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan,
Korea and Mongolia
BUDDHIST CELEBRATIONS
 Parinirvana in February. An annual festival,
observed in some Mahayana countries, that remembers
the death of the Buddha when he reached the age of 80.
When the Buddha died, Buddhists believe that he entered
a state called Parinirvana which means Nirvana without
end.
 Buddha Day (Wasak) in May. A celebration
of Buddha's birthday and, for some Buddhists, marks his
enlightenment (when he discovered life's meaning). It is
also a time to reflect on his teachings and what it means to
be a Buddhist.
 Dharma Day in July. It is usually seen as the
beginning of Buddhism. It marks the beginning of the
Buddha's teaching. Soon after the Buddha's
enlightenment, he went to find his disciples and tell them
about his experience.
 Padmasambhava Day in October.
Sometimes called the Second Buddha. Buddhist rejoice in
the transformative energy of this great teacher. Sitting in a
posture of royal ease and wearing a wrathful grin, he
subdues our demons with his right hand and holds a skull
cup of amrit nectar in his left.
 Sangha Day in November. It is a chance for
people to reaffirm their commitment to Buddhist practices
and traditions. At this gathering, the Buddha gave first
~ sermon, or recitation of the Patimokkha (the rules and
regulations of the monastic order).
Christianity
BELIEFS
Christians believe that God became fully present in the world
in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
A Jew himself, he summarized the law as loving God and
neighbor, but he extended the message of God's redemption to
all people.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ's dying on the cross, made
Him a sacrifice to reconcile all humanity with their Creator. 
They believe he rose from the dead and has sent the Spirit of
God to renew and inspire people in the world today.
As a result, Christians have a distinct understanding of God as
a trinity:
 Father (Creator)
 Son (Redeemer)
 Holy Spirit (Sustainer)
While still emphasizing the unity of God, these three
persons have equal status and are equally divine.
 FOUR DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF THE LIFE
OF JESUS (GOSPELS)
Matthew. His Gospel demonstrates that Jesus is the
rightful heir to the kingdom that was promised to David and
his descendants and sets the tone for the book.
Mark. Mark's Gospel is a Gospel of action. In Mark’s
gospel, Jesus is portrayed as the servant of the Lord doing that
job that God has sent Him to do. Consequently, Mark's gospel
records more miracles of Jesus than Matthew, Luke, or John.
Luke. Luke is not writing as an eyewitness but as one who
is recording eyewitness testimonies. His portrayal of Jesus is
as the perfect man. He focuses on those events in Jesus' life
that stress His humanity.
John. He was an eyewitness to the life of Jesus. The things
he recorded were for the purpose of establishing the fact that
Jesus was the eternal God who became a man. He wanted his
readers to exercise faith toward Jesus.
 An account of life among the earliest disciples.
 A prophecy about the future.
 A number of letters to early Christian communities.
 Many of these letters were written by Saint Paul, who
is a former opponent of Jesus' early followers who
had a powerful conversion experience and went on to
expound much of Christian thought and practice.
These different books comprise the New Testament which
Christians add to the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures of
the Jewish faith.
The Old Testament and The New Testament is called the Holy
Bible.
CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES
One becomes a Christian through the Sacrament of Baptism
(water ceremony) it symbolizes a sharing in the death and
resurrection of Jesus.
It is also an initiation into the life of the Church
which Christians believe to be the body of Christ in the world
today.
Christians pray, worship, and read and study the Bible
together.
Follow Jesus' instruction of taking bread and wine, and
declaring these as his body and blood offered in sacrifice for
all through the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
Jesus identified himself with the poor and homeless, and was
criticized for associating himself with others who were
socially outcast.
So, Christians believe that aside from teaching others about
Jesus, they should work for peace and social justice.
 Child Baptism. It is a practice of baptizing infants or
young children.
 Holy Communion Symbols. Consists of bread,
wine and the white garment.
 Bread is a symbol of the Eucharist because it
represents life.
 The wine is given to us as the blood of Jesus, wine
also symbolizes joy.
 The white garment is used as a symbol of Eucharist
because white is used as the Christian color for
baptism. Because white symbolizes purity and
cleanliness of sin.
THE PRINCIPAL CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS
 Christmas
 Celebrated on 25 December by most Christians
 When the birth of Jesus is remembered
 Christmas Celebration
 Easter
 Varies according to the lunar calendar
 When Jesus' resurrection from the dead is celebrated
 Easter Sunday Symbol
 Easter Egg Hunting
Hinduism
BELIEFS
The term “Hinduism" was coined as recently as the 19th
century to cover a wide range of ancient creeds, textual
traditions, and religious groups.
Hinduism has no single founder, doctrine, or religious
authority.
World’s oldest religion.
Hinduism is best understood as:
 A complete way of life.
 A path of sanctification.
 Discipline that leads to a higher level of consciousness.
This path is known as Dharma, the ancient law.
 Dharma is the religious and moral law governing
individual conduct and is one of the four ends of life.
Hindus are often thought to be polytheists, but most claim to
believe in one supreme god who is incarnated in many forms.
Hindus revere a body of texts as sacred scriptures known as
the Vedas.
Veda is a Sanskrit word meaning knowledge and many of
these scriptures are concerned with Dharma.
Other important texts include:
 Mahabharata
 Ramayana
 Both written in Sanskrit, and together form the canon
of Hindu scripture.
Hindus believe in the existence of Sansara which is the cycle
of birth, death and rebirth, and is governed by Karma which is
a concept whereby beneficial effects are derived from past
beneficial actions.
Hindus believe that the soul passes through a cycle of
successive lives and its next incarnation is always dependent
on how the previous life was lived.
CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES
Hindus follow the lunar calendar and particular days are set
aside during the week and month to honor particular
manifestations of God.
The main festivals are celebrated in different ways by different
communities.
The Most Commonly Celebrated Festivals are:
 Diwali (Festival of Lights)
  Diwali is one of the major festivals celebrated by
Hindus.
 The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated
during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (which is
between mid-October and mid-November).
 Diwali celebrates Rama's eventual defeat of the evil
spirit Ravana, and his triumphant return to his home.
 The celebration symbolizes the spiritual "victory of
light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge
over ignorance".
 Navratri (Nine nights which celebrates
the triumph of good over evil.)
 The festival of Navratri occurs twice every year. One
is called Ashwina Navratri falling in the month of
Ashwina (September – October) and the other is
named as Chaitra Navratri observed in the month of
Chaitra (March – April).
 Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans nine nights
(and ten days) and is celebrated every year in the
autumn.
 Navratri is a time when Hindus celebrate the goddess
Durga for killing the demon, Mahishasura.
 During these nine days, nine forms of Goddess
Durga, namely Shailaputri, Brahmacharini,
Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata,
Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri, are
worshipped by her devotees.
Islam
Islam means “Submittion”.
Muslims means “one who submits”.
Quran
 Holy book of the Muslims
 God's revelation to Mohammad
 114 chapters (suras)
 In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful.
 Any translation of the holy book is seen as inadequate.
Mecca - The holy city of the Muslims.
 Where prophet Muhammad is born
 Where Islam started
 Only Muslims are allowed to enter.
Ka’ba - located at the center of Mecca.
 Is the most holy site in the Islamic region
 Also known as the house of Allah
Mosque - Place of worships of the Muslims.
CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES
5 PILLARS OF ISLAM
 Shahada - “There is no God but the one true God and
Mohammad is his messenger.”
 Also known as “testimony of faith” and is recited
once a day.
 Salat - Praying 5 times a day.
 They should be facing mecca (east) when praying.
 They use a prayer mat called Sajjada.
 Zakat - “Charity” Muslims are required to give 2.5%
of their income to the poor or needy.
 Believe all of their belongings are Allah’s.
 Sawm - “Fasting” Muslims cannot eat, drink, smoke,
or do sexual activities during daylight hours (6am-6pm).
 Hajj - Muslims make a pilgrimage to mecca once in
their lifetime.
MAJOR FESTIVALS IN ISLAM
 Eid Ul-Fitr - End of Muslim month of Fasting.
 Festival of the breaking of fast.
 Is also to pay tribute to Allah for bestowing strength
and courage during the month long lasting customs.
 Eid Ul-Adha - Festival of Sacrifice.
 Commemoration of prophet Ibrahim’s absolute
dedication to Allah. It honors the willingness of
Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of
obedience to God’s command. Before Ibrahim would
sacrifice his son, however God provided a lamb to
sacrifice instead.
Judaism
BELIEFS
Jewish people believe themselves to be descended from a
Semitic tribe.
 Land of Canaan in the Middle East
Their early history is told in the Hebrews scriptures which
recount how God promised to Abraham.
 12 grandsons who became ancestors of the 12 tribes of
Israel.
 Enslaved in Egypt
 Exodus 
 God revealed to Moses, the Torah
Jews believe in the coming of the Messiah, the savior.
CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES
Sabbath - Jewish day of rest.
They are forbidden to do at work including
household chores, and are encouraged to have a bible study.
5 MAJOR FESTIVALS
 Rosh Hashanah - the New Year
 Celebrated for 2 days and commemorates the
beginning of the universe, Adam and Eve.
 Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement
 They ask God for forgiveness.
 Pesach - Passover
 Major Jewish holiday that celebrates the exodus of
the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on
the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first
month of Aviv, or spring.
 Shavuot - Pentecost
 Commonly known in English as the Feast of Weeks,
is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the
Hebrew month of Sivan. In the Bible, Shavuot
marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel.
 Sukkot - Tabernacles. The Jewish Sabbath begins on
Friday evening at sunset and is an important time when
families gather for Shabbat meals.
  Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days
from the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of
the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which those
Israelites who could were commanded to make a
pilgrimage to the Temple at Jerusalem.
FINDING AND CREATING MEANING
OF LIFE
THE PSYCHIATRIST
Victor E. Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria on March 26,
1905. He died in 1997 in Vienna, Austria, due to heart failure.
He was a professor in neurology and psychiatry. One of his
most powerful books is “Man’s Search for Meaning.” This
book chronicles his experiences as an Auschwitz
concentration camp inmate during WWII. During his time in
camp, he is tortured, beaten, worked to the brink of death, not
given enough food or proper clothes/ shoes during freezing
temperatures. He paints a truly horrific existence of his day-to-
day camp life. Daily, people drop dead all around him and are
executed for no reason at all. His mother, father, brother, and
wife were all killed in the camps.
With all this in mind, how could he or anyone in this situation
find life worth living?
LOGOTHERAPY
 Focuses on the meanings to be fulfilled in the future.
 Aids the patient in finding meaning in their life.
 It’s a form of psychotherapy that is focused on the future
and on our ability to endure hardship and suffering
through a search of purpose.
BASIC CONCEPTS OF FRANKLIAN
PSYCHOLOGY
 Life has a meaning under all
circumstances.
 That meaning is unique to each one of us. Thus, our
duty as conscious and responsible beings is to
discover our own version of this meaning under all
circumstances.
 Main motivation for living is our will to
find meaning in life.
 Our primary motive is to search for meaning or
purpose in our lives.
 Frustration, aggression, addiction, depression and
suicidality arise when individuals cannot realize their
will to find meaning in life.
 Freedom to find meaning.
 States that humans are free to decide and can take a
stance toward both internal and external conditions. 
 Freedom to choose our responses no matter our
circumstances.
LOGOTHERAPY ASSUMPTIONS
 The human being is an entity consisting
of body, mind, and spirit.
 Body (soma)
 Mind (psyche)
 Spirit (noos)
 According to Frankl, the body, mind is what we
have, but the spirit is what we are, or our identity
and essence.
 Life has a meaning under all
circumstances, even the most miserable.
 This means that even when situations seem
objectively terrible, there is a higher level of order
that involves meaning. 
 According to Frankl, “if there is a meaning in life at
all, then there must be a meaning in suffering.”
 People have a will to meaning.
 When we see meaning, we are ready for any type of
suffering.
 People have freedom under all
circumstances to activate the will to
find meaning.
 Based on Frankl’s experiences of pain and suffering
on how he chose his attitude in a situation that he
could not change.
 Life has a demand quality to which
people must respond if decisions are to
be meaningful.
 This assumption argues that for the decisions to be
meaningful, individuals must respond to the demands
of daily life in a way that matches the values of
society or their own conscience.
 The individual is unique.
 This assumption deals with one’s sense of meaning.
This is enhanced by the realization that we are
irreplaceable.
FRANKL’S SOURCES OF MEANING OF LIFE
 Purposeful Work
 Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find
the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the
tasks, which it constantly sets for each individual.
 Without this work, us people will easily fall into
an aimless existence.
 It’s not about what life can do for you, it’s about
what you can do for life.
 Life something out of you, go find it.
 Courage in the Face of Difficulty
 Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of
independence of mind, even in such terrible
conditions of psychic and physical stress.
 “Everything can be taken from a man, but one thing:
the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s
attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose
one’s own way.” - Viktor E. Frankl
 It doesn’t matter what life throws your way,
what matters is how you respond to the situation.
 It is your attitude toward your existence that
makes all the difference. You decide what your
life will be in the next moment once you choose.
 A man is capable of changing the world and can
change himself for the better where you can be
happy now with what you already have, if you
choose to be.
 It's either we look at it as a challenge to be
overcome or ignore the challenge and simply
fade away.
 Love
 In examining the “intensification of inner life” that
helped prisoners stay alive, he considers the
transcendental power of love:
“Love goes very far beyond the physical person of
the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his
spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is
actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all,
ceases somehow to be of importance.”
 Frankl illustrates this with how his feelings for
his wife gave him a sense of meaning. He used
his love for his wife to keep up his spirits and
also noticed that the other prisoners used their
connection with others to stay positive in the
face of extremely negative circumstances.
 Love conquers all.
“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in
the innermost core of his personality.” - Viktor E. Frankl
Costello (2015) captured Viktor Frankl’s message. The
“ultimate secret on the spiritual foundation of life is that Love
is salvation and joy eternity.
MODULE 8 THE POLITICAL SELF
AND BEING FILIPINO
INTRODUCTION
Primary Questions: In your opinion, what does it take
to be a proud Filipino? Do you think that the Philippines is
still living in the shadows of the colonizers?
The 1987 Philippine Constitution: According to
Article IV Section I, Filipino citizens are those whose fathers
and mothers are citizens of the Philippines.
 Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of
the adoption of this Constitution;
 Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the
Philippines;
 Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers,
who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of
majority; and
 Those who are naturalized in accordance of law.
ABSTRACTION
Who are Filipinos? How do we distinguish Filipino people
from other nationalities? Do physical characteristics such as
having dark hair, flat nose and dark complexion enough to tell
a person is a Filipino?
 The person’s physical appearance, language, birth place,
and ethnicity are not enough to tell the identity of a
person.
The colonization of Spaniards, Americans and Japanese made
a difference. Could we say that Filipinos have developed their
own identity?
Colonial Mentality remains an issue. The
foreign culture, beliefs, language, and religion have made a
huge dent in our own by setting a foundation to the
contemporary Filipino identity and culture.
What are the factors that make a person's
national identity? Individual's race, ethnicity, physical
characteristics are not the only factors that make a person's
national identity.
Values and traits are also important indicators that set apart
one nationality from the others. These values are not always
positive since it also points out the weaknesses and mistakes
but with the unity and commitment, there would be a progress
and empowerment through common goals, principles, and
values of its people.
WHO IS FILIPINO?
Filipinos are often referenced from globally know
personalities who have made Filipinos better recognized in the
world.
Independence Day and Buwan ng Wika celebrations prompt
us to go back to our roots.
According to the Philippine Constitution, Filipino citizens are
those whose fathers or mothers are citizen of the Philippines,
those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who
elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority,
and those who are naturalized according to the law.
Culture and history have greatly influenced the manner
Filipinos learn, live, and behave.
People who grew in the same community share the same traits
and values.
 Citizenship – a legal relationship between a person
and a country. It can be acquired by birth or
naturalization.
 Jus soli – right of soil.
 Jus sanguinis – right of blood.
 Nationality - the country where you came from.
KINDS OF FILIPINO CITIZENS UNDER THE
PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION
 Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of
the adoption of this constitution.
 Natural born citizens.
 Citizens through election.
 Naturalized citizens.
HOW CAN YOU BE A NATURAL BORN
CITIZEN?
According to the Philippine Nationality Law, it is based on
“Jus sanguinis.”
FILIPINO VALUES AND TRAITS
The Philippines is a lush island paradise famous for its
grandiose mountain views, pristine beaches, rich and diverse
culture changing from province to province. While the
Philippines may be well known for its awe-inspiring beauty,
perhaps the Filipinos' unique traits, reputable values, and
laudable talents make the Philippines a place to be.
TOURISTS WHO HAVE VISITED THE
PHILIPPINES CAN NEVER FORGET THE:
 Big and Bright smiles that greeted them.
 Colorful and loud jeepneys.
 Common Filipino phrases such as "Mabuhay!" and
"Salamat!".
 Habits such as saying "po" at "opo" to the elders.
 Leaving shoes or slippers at the front door before entering
a house.
 Importunate asking of "kumain ka na ba?" meaning "Have
you eaten yet?".
Indeed, it is a marvel to experience first-hand these unique
traits of the Filipinos. As Filipinos, we possess the best
characteristics in the world. We aren't perfect, but we do have
amazing values and traits that everyone should be proud of. As
a result, let us recognize that these ideals should be applied to
our society in order for it to have a good potential in terms of
working for our human upliftment and national betterment.
FILIPINO HOSPITALITY
 Is the most common terminology that describes how
Filipino welcome foreigners or tourists who visit the
country. It is a pleasure and the country’s honor to accept
foreigners as visitors and build genuine relationships and
friendship with them.
 Every country has its differing values, and the Philippines
is no exception. One thing that stands out the most about
Filipinos is their Hospitality between people from other
countries, it has been long term relationship and it grew
even more because it gets praised from people who
experience it. Many foreigners throughout the years have
been fond of the Filipinos because they greet you with a
warm welcome when you visit the country. If you go and
look at the social medias, there has been tons of
documentaries or even vlogs about the Philippines and its
people that solidifies the praise we get, and their opinions
is actually true. And an important reminder is that you
need to have the positivity, optimism and humor so that
you can get along with each other.
 As we all know, Hospitality is a Filipino trait that is
known everywhere. The Filipinos being hospitable makes
the culture of the country outstandingly distinct. It is
never taught to an individual because it just naturally
comes from within, and when it comes to foreigners who
visit our country, we Filipinos always try to accommodate
them and make them feel welcome in our country and to
not be disrespected as an individual. An article that I
found about an American’s perspective about Filipino
Hospitality said, “Filipino Hospitality goes beyond the
friendly treatment of guests or a warm welcome into their
home. It is Filipinos welcoming you to their family or in
other words, becoming a part of the Filipino Family.”
This statement proves that our Hospitality towards
foreigners who visit our country is getting the recognition
it deserves since we are doing a good job at it. Rest
assured; you are bound to get your share of warmth by the
Filipinos when you visit the country.
RESPECT FOR ELDERS
 Respecting elders has always been part of our identity or
tradition.
 A Filipino child is taught to respect older people or family
by greeting them and showing a gesture by taking the
older relative's hand and placing it on his or her own
forehead to express profound respect for the elder called
“mano po.”
 We also have a wide array of references to older people
(such as ate, kuya, tita, tito, lolo, and lola).
 One of the very important words that a younger person
must not miss out on is the word ‘po’ or ‘opo’ because
forgetting to address older people properly will regard
them as rude and impolite.
 Although there are a lot of ways to show respect, we
should always show respect to elders not just by
addressing them but by helping, taking care of them and
having a respectful conversation with them.
CLOSE FAMILY TIES
 Filipinos maintain a tight relationship with their families
regardless of the children are old enough and already have
families of their own.
 Family reunions are a common thing for Filipinos.
 Extended families exemplify that it's their center, while a
nursing home is not practiced.
 Extended Family (Stach Philippines, 2017) are one or
more bloodlines living in a house, compound, or
community; they genuinely take care of each other as
long as they are somewhat biologically connected even
after marriage, the couple tends to stick to either of their
bloodlines' homes.
CHEERFUL PERSONALITY
 Filipinos have been smiling and laughing a lot and this
has been a coping strategy for Filipinos especially during
hardships and calamities, maintain a positive outlook in
life which makes them resilient.
SELF-SACRIFICE
 Self-sacrificing is an extension to Filipino hospitality.
 Filipinos extend their help to their friends and loved ones.
 They even go to the extent of working abroad to earn
more money and save up for them.
 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) sacrificed a lot that’s
why they are regarded as the modern day Filipino heroes.
BAYANIHAN
 A Filipino word derived from the word bayan meaning
town, nation, or community in general. It literally means,
“being a bayan,” and is thus used to refer to a spirit of
communal unity and cooperation.
 It is also a Filipino core value that inspires the community
to be living heroes to each other. It is not the celebration
of the strengths of an individual mighty hero, but is the
practice of helping a kababayan, a member of the
community who is in need, and it showcases what
Filipinos can do together. Bayanihan is also known as
tulungan or damayan, a system of mutual help and
concern which has become the backbone of family and
village throughout the Philippine archipelago. It may also
be expressed as pagkakaisa and the people who get
together or unite to execute a job are the magbabayani.
 Bayanihan during the time when most Filipinos lived in
nipa huts is referred to as the cooperative spirit of
neighbors carrying a hut or house to a new location. But
In today’s age, the term has been adopted to refer to local
civil efforts; regular Filipinos working together to uplift
fellow compatriots. Bayanihan as an example of this
would be Brigada Eskwela which was enacted during the
time of President Ramos, which is a nationwide voluntary
effort that was first established in 2003. A program of
DepEd which aims to address resource gaps faced by the
Department through strengthening partnerships with local
communities. The program mobilizes and brings together
thousands of parents, alumni, civic groups, local
businesses, non-government organizations, teachers and
individuals who volunteer their time and skills to do
classroom repairs, maintenance work, and clean-up of
public elementary and secondary schools.
"BAHALA NA" ATTITUDE
 One of the most commonly used phrases in the
Philippines is bahala na. This phrase has been so overused
that it is sometimes used as a natural reaction. When
Filipinos are unable to decide their next course of action
or have no idea what will happen next, they commonly
say "Bahala na." They say it as if all they want to do is go
with the flow, regardless of the consequence.
 “Bahala Na” is the Filipino version of the famous line
Hakuna Matata which means "no worries".
 Hakuna Matata is a Swahili phrase that means "there are
no difficulties".
 Hakuna - "there's not here".
 Matata - "problems or troubles”.
 Hakuna Matata can be translated as "all is fine" or
"everything is alright".
 The phrase “Bahala na” originated from "Bathala na".
 Bathala means God and the phrase means leaving
everything to God's hand.
 It can also be viewed as something similar to the cheerful
and positive attitude of Filipinos and allowing situations
to take care of themselves instead of worrying about
them.
 The Filipinos' pag-asa is an extension of their bahala na
attitude, which encourages them to rely on the future
positively rather than negatively.
 It becomes a coping mechanism in the face of risky
activities. This attitude is evidence of a deterministic
mindset from this perspective.
COLONIAL MENTALITY
 Colonial mentality is defined as the perception of ethnic
and cultural inferiority and a form of internalized racial
oppression.
 This is one of the negative traits that we are viewed as.
 It is regarded as the lack of patriotism or supporting one’s
own nationality.
 This does not only concern goods, but the desire to look
more foreign than local and keep up with foreign beauty
trends are included.
 It is attributed to the centuries of colonization Filipinos
had experienced under the Spanish, American, and
Japanese rule.
 One good illustration could be by watching too much
foreign drama series like Korean drama or Hollywood
movie, Filipino people tend to unnoticed the adaption of
others’ culture and way of behaving.
MAÑANA HABIT
 Filipino term for procrastination.
 Originated from the Spanish word "mañana," which
means tomorrow.
 The delay of priorities to do other activities or simply in
Filipino phrase "mamaya na".
 A bad habit.
 Passed down to the current generation to the current
generation by the Spaniards (Ron Arabit, 2013).
TYPES OF PROCRASTINATION (ARABIT, 2013)
 Structured Procrastinator prioritizes wanted
activities instead of needed to do tasks.
 Active Procrastinator rushes tasks within the last
minute.
 Couch Potato Procrastinator does leisurely
activities for the rest of the day such as watching TV,
reading a non-academic novel, browsing the internet, etc.
NINGAS KUGON
 Ningas – flame.
 Kugon - Cogon grass.
 The attitude of eagerly staring things, but quickly losing
eagerness soon after experiencing difficulty just as fast as
the fire ignited.
 Laziness - common problem of the Filipinos that’s why
they are regarded as “Juan Tamad” or “Lazy Juan.”
PRIDE
 Is an assertion that the people and culture should promote
the interest of the Philippines by developing and
maintaining a national identity based on largely shared
characteristics such as language, race, religion or political
goals. It is also when Filipino consider the success of
Philippine citizens or foreigners of Philippine descent–
such as boxer Manny Pacquiao, chess prodigy Wesley
and so on, as a national achievement since they were able
to accomplish things with, they’re amazing talent like
being on national television broadcast.
 People’s notions of “Pinoy Pride,” after all, often stems
from a long history of Pinoy humiliation of being told we
were second class, alongside being exploited and held
back to such an extent that our inferiority seemed natural.
People have looked at international validation as a way to
affirm their sense of national worth and by accepting
Pinoy pride, we reinforce the power of others to validate
us, unwittingly perpetuating our marginality. The foreign
validation that stems from our pride is exploited by
unscrupulous entities, such as those who extract huge fees
for children and adults alike to participate in some
international event, or get some foreign certificate. And
because, in turn, the resentment for this “foreign
validation” is then capitalized on by racists who insists on
a narrow definition of what constitute is.
 Pride as we know is a trait that almost all Filipinos have,
it is sometimes viewed as corrupt or as a vice, sometimes
as a proper or a virtue. We have something called Pinoy
 Pride, it promotes the Filipino national identity and shared
characteristics and exhibits the country’s race and culture
only when a Filipino athlete or beauty queen takes the
international spotlight. It may seem positive on the
surface to others but in reality, it can be unhinged and
misplaced because of the superiority complex that we
show towards one another.
CRAB MENTALITY
 Crabs, as we all know, are a type of sea creature or
seafood that is commonly found around seashores, and
Talangka is a little crab. When you put a lot of
crabs/talangka in a container, you'll notice that they all
want to climb to the top, with one crab dragging down the
other to be in his place, and only a few of them are able to
escape and survive. Just like crabs in a container,
Filipinos pull each other down and ruin each other's
reputation rather than bringing them up, which results in
no progress.
 Crab Mentality is a toxic trait among Filipinos where one
resents the achievement of another instead of feeling
happy for that person. This is one of the negative traits of
Filipinos. This mindset occurs when someone desires to
always be the greatest, to be the highest of all, and to
believe that no one can compare to his thoughts and
abilities.
 They have a motto in life of “Why should you have it, if I
can't?”.
 Filipinos should change this troublesome attitude and
focus more on their own inadequacies in order to improve
one's self.
SIGNS THAT A PERSON HAS A CRAB MENTALITY
 They are too proud of themselves and
treat others as inferior beings. You can
sense a breeze of arrogance from people with crab
mentality. When they earn some achievements of their
own, whether big or small, they brag it to everyone to
position themselves higher from the rest of the Filipinos.
And that is why they will always look down on you,
especially if you’re a Filipino who came from the
province or a “probinsyano/probinsyana”. They can be
racist to their own race, the Filipinos.
 They panic when their comrades are
happy and improving. Aside from arrogance, you
can also smell envy, jealousy and bitterness from these
kinds of people. They freak out when the people they look
down on are rising or progressing beyond them. It gives
them a terrible feeling of insecurity. That’s why they will
try to pull them down, either by harsh words or by unkind
actions.
 They are full of positivity for
themselves but full of negativity for
others. They only see the good things in themselves,
but they’re blind when it comes to their negative
characteristics. When it comes to how they view other
people, it becomes the opposite. They only see the bad
things of other people while they’re blind to their positive
deeds.
 They treat their comrades as
competitors. It seems like the words unity and
cooperation are not in their vocabulary. They always treat
other Filipinos as competitors instead of teammates. You
can find this kind of person everywhere. In a basketball
team, in your office, and even in a cooperative
organization, they could be there.
 They don’t know a thing about
compassion. Compassion is a great virtue that enables
us to understand the feelings of other people. But people
with crab mentality lack compassion. They are
inconsiderate and ignorant of the many people they are
offending. They only care for themselves.
FILIPINO TIME
 Punctuality is a rare thing to Filipinos.
 They have this common attitude of arriving late at
commitments, dinner, or parties especially if they are
meeting someone close to them.
 Filipinos refer to being late as Filipino time.
 It spanned from the Spanish era when siesta was brought
to the Philippines; even though Filipinos know the World
Standard Time, they would still proceed to continue on
their own time (Tin Valerio, 2016).
 Siesta (Valerio, 2016) means taking a nap in the midday,
which may result in being late in meet-ups of occasions
and other social activities.
FILIPINO MARKERS
PROVERBS OR SALAWIKAIN
 Proverbs are traditional sayings or concise expressions of
fundamental principles used by Filipinos based on local
culture, wisdom, philosophies from Filipino life.
 It conveys a lesson and reflection on Filipino practices,
beliefs, and traditions.
 It corresponds to the word salawikain, kasabihan or
saying.
 Proverbs are utilized to emphasize a point or a thought of
reasoning: the Filipino philosophy.
SIX CATEGORIES OF FILIPINO PROVERBS
ACCORDING TO DAMIANA L. EUGENIO
 Proverbs expressing a general attitude towards life and the
laws that govern life.
 Ethical proverbs recommending certain virtues and
condemning certain vices.
 Proverbs expressing a system of values.
 Proverbs expressing general truths and observations about
life and human nature.
 Humorous proverbs.
 Miscellaneous proverbs.
SUPERSTITIONS
 Filipinos also subscribe to their own set of superstitions
passed down from generation to generation. Some of
these beliefs may be influenced by beliefs from other
cultures, but Filipinos have retold these superstitions
according to their own experiences and they sometimes
end up even more interesting. Superstitions that hold to
ancient beliefs and traditions are still popular in today's
Filipino culture. Some may be humorous, while others
may be strange. According to an article, superstitions
originate from the belief that most early Filipinos
worshiped many gods, creatures, and spirits. They
worship them through a variety of rituals, sacrifices, and
practices. Religious beliefs and customs in the Philippines
have shifted from animism to Christianity as a result of
the country's long history of colonization. Filipino
superstitions continue to have an impact on everyday life,
ranging from fortune, love, and marriage to family,
 disease, and death, despite the union of animism and
Christianity.
SOME EXAMPLES OF MOST COMMON SUPERTITIOUS
BELIEFS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 A woman singing while cooking will end up spinster
according to a Filipino superstition so parents remind
their daughters to avoid singing while preparing their
meals.
 Filipinos also avoid taking picture in threes as the one in
the center is said to die, according to another superstition.
 Siblings should not marry within the same year.
This superstition is called “sukob” and advises against
siblings marrying within the same year as it is said to
divide the luck between the two marriages. Another type
of sukob advises against marriages within the same year
as the death of an immediate family member. Pushing to
do so is considered bad luck.
 Serve pancit (noodles) at celebrations, especially
birthdays.
This ever-present dish at Filipino gatherings is believed to
represent long life. It remains a staple at nearly every
birthday feast.
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
 Myths is the body of stories and epics originating from,
and part of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions,
which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one
another. It attempts to explain the nature of the world
through the lives and actions of heroes, deities (referred to
as anito or diwata in some ethnic groups), and
mythological creatures.
 The indigenous religions of the Philippines developed
through a variety of migration phases and trade routes.
Scholars theorized that Austronesians arrived through the
“Out of Taiwan model”, where Homo sapiens from
mainland Asia crossed Taiwan, and later the Philippines,
until furthering to other islands south of the Philippines.
The Austronesians are believed to have brought complex
animist beliefs with shamanism, ancestor worships,
totemism, and tattoo artistry. The beliefs and malevolent
spirits was also established by their arrival. By 200 to 300
CE, Hindu mythologies arrived in some area of the
Philippines about a variety of superstitions which
gradually established more complex indigenous
polytheistic religions through trade routes and more
waves of ethnic migrations.
 Each ethnic group in the Philippines has its own set of
stories depicting their mythical heroes, notably through
oral traditions such as epics and verbal poems. The oral
tradition or literature (also known as folk literature)
consists of stories that have been or still are being passed
down from one generation to another through oral means
such as verbal communications. Many of these stories
have now been published in scholarly works and books by
various folkloristic and anthropological scholars and
researchers throughout the country. And we also have
written literature that is a part of oral tradition that has
been committed to writing in the form of manuscripts or
publications. The publication of these books ranged from
the 16th century to the 21st century. There are also
printed but unpublished sources of Philippine
mythologies. Specific written literature should not be used
as a generalizing asset of a particular story, as stories
differ from town to town or village to village, despite the
people of a particular area belonging to the same ethnic
group. Some examples are the story of Bakunawa and the
Seven Moons and the story of the Tambanokano, which
have multiple versions depending on the locality, origin
story, and cultural progression.
HEROES AND ICONS
 Filipino Heroes
 serve as a reminder of true patriotism and nationalism
as they have sacrificed their lives for the sake of their
country’s freedom and progress.
 On the last Monday of August, Filipinos celebrate the
National Heroes' Day.
 Rizal Day (December 30) that commemorates the life
and works of Dr. Jose Rizal, the National Hero of the
Philippines.
 Famous Filipino Icons
 Also serve as important Filipino markers as they have
made the Filipino name more pronounced worldwide
through their expertise.
 Filipinos such as our very own Jose Rizal, Manny
Pacquiao, Lea Salonga, the more widely known
nowadays, Bretman Rock, and many more.
HOW TO BE A GOOD FILIPINO
BE AN ACTIVE FILIPINO CITIZEN
Be aware of the current events and participate in government
programs. Exercise your right to vote.
STUDY THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY
The road of the Philippine history is long and bloody. One
way to be a good Filipino is to know one’s person own
history. It gives us a greater understanding of our stand today.
Through learning and fully understanding the events of the
Philippine history, a person would know the importance of
loving one’s country with their life, extend help to fellow
Filipinos in need, and recognize abuse of political power.
SUPPORT LOCAL PRODUCTS
When you buy local products, you do not only support local
manufacturers and businessmen, but you also help strengthen
the local economy. How is this so? there will be more demand
for local products, thus, local businesses will be in the need for
more employees which will open new job opportunities. The
business owners will also invest within the country and are
less likely to leave. Supporting our local products also
displays our creativity, innovativeness, and resourcefulness.
HERE ARE SOME REASONS WHY WE NEED TO
SUPPORT PHILIPPINE-MADE PRODUCTS
 It generate more jobs for Filipinos. By
supporting Filipino products, your money goes directly
into their pockets. You are helping in creating more jobs
for Filipinos, especially those in need. Moreover, with
almost a million micro or small businesses all over the
archipelago, micro or small businesses provide a third of
the total employment of the Philippines.
 It helps build the Philippines’ economy.
Supporting locals means supporting yourself too. When
you buy Philippine-made products, money stays in the
community when you purchase from locally-owned
businesses because they also purchase from other local
businesses such as banks, service providers, and farms.
 Local food is healthier. Food that comes from
local businesses and farms use little to no preservatives
 and chemicals. Those produced by commercial and
international enterprises, however, tend to use more
MODULE 9 WHO AM I IN
preservatives to maintain their products’ quality since THE CYBERWORLD
they ship them all over the globe.
(DIGITAL SELF)
 It provides more product choices. Buying
from Philippine micro or small businesses grants you INTRODUCTION
access to unique, healthy, innovative, and cheaper
products that are results of a healthy competition among  People use Internet for research, pleasure, business,
the marketplace. As a consumer, this is great news since communication, and other purposes.
you’ll enjoy the benefits of having more products that are  People act different when they when they are online and
in tune with your needs. offline.
 It encourages future investments. A  We have our Real Identity & Online Identity.
thriving market attracts investors and entrepreneurs which
in turn improves the country’s economic growth. With
this, they’ll see the Philippines as a progressive country, a
DIGITAL AROUND THE WORLD
secure place they can invest in.
 Total Population
As our country faces its biggest challenge, as hundreds of  7.83 billion
thousands of Filipino artisans, makers, creators, and  Urbanization: 56.4%
entrepreneurs face the prospect of a weakened economy, let us
remember that they need our support more than ever.  Internet User
“Buhayin ang ekonomiya. Maging bayani. Maging BUYani.  4.66 billion
Buy local, Go Lokal!”  Population: 59.5%
 Active Internet User
 4.20 billion
 Population: 53.6%
SPEAK THE FILIPINO LANGUAGE
 Unique Mobile User
 Our Filipino language is inextricably connected to who  5.22 billion
we are as a people, it’s a way for us to be united as a  Population: 66.6%
whole in our country. And as we all know, majority of the
population know how to speak Filipino since it’s the spirit
 Active Mobile Social User
of the national identity, and these words that we express is  4.15 billion
a unique way of how we communicate with one another.  Population: 53%
 The Filipino language is a member of the Austronesian
language family, which includes Malay, Maori and ANNUAL DIGITAL GROWTH
Hawaiian. It belongs to the subgroup of Malayo-
Polynesian languages that are typically spoken by people  Internet User
in several island nations in the Pacific Ocean and
 +316 million
Southeast Asia. As a Filipino citizen of the Philippines,
 ↑ 7.3% (Jan 2020 – Jan 2021)
speaking the Filipino language is very important because
this is our own language or dialect to begin with. It is the  Active Internet User
basis of Filipino language and is used officially by  +490 million
Filipinos across the nation, regardless of the province or  ↑ 13.2% (Jan 2020 – Jan 2021)
island. And as a Filipino we should be proud of it and
 Unique Mobile User
encourage the newer generations so that they can
understand more about our country.  +93 million
 ↑ 1.8% (Jan 2020 – Jan 2021)

DO NOT SPREAD FAKE NEWS AND BE SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION

DEMOCRATIC IN ENGAGING WITH DISSENT
 The easier the information spread; the creation of false
information is more likely it is to happen.
 This period in Philippine history has seen how the internet
spawned tons of possibilities for Filipinos, both good and
bad.
 Even though the internet brought us closer through
communication, it also became the breeding ground for
misinformation and disinformation.
 In a disagreement with a fellow Filipino, do not attack
personally and call names for it to be formal as it should
be.
False Information spreads like wildfire once information is
uploaded to the net regardless of its legitimacy; especially
when the election is near, Filipinos become divided to the
point where they mock each other's credibility and intellects.
AND IMPRESSION MANAGAMENT
Self-Presentation “process of controlling how one is perceived
by other people” and Key to relationship inception and
development. Goffman, E (1959) and Leary, M. R. (1995)
Anything that is posted online should consider “public” no
matter what our “privacy” settings is.
According to Extended Self in Digital World of Belk (2013),
Digital Devices helps us share more.
Arm-length self-photography can also indicate major changes.
Web pages and Blogs have been used for greater self-
reflection and self-presentation.
People become unaware of the extent of information they
share online or “oversharing”

REASONS OF OVERSHARING

 Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

 Disinhibition Effect
  True Self
Confession along with Contemplation, self-examination,
learning reading, and writing self-critical letters are part of the
“technologies of the self” through which we seek to purge or
clean ourselves.
- Michel Foucault
NEEDED EXTENDED SELF UPDATES DUE TO
SHARING
 Self Revelation. Digital world has made it easier to
present yourself in an acceptable way and will not seem
rude to others.
 Loss Control. The personal information that you share
online will be more likely to be public. It is hard to
control privacy in digital world.
 Shared Digital Possessions and Aggregate Self.
Digital sharing foster feelings of community and
aggregate sense of self, even with other we would not
recognize in person.
 Shared Sense of (Cyber) Space. The whole point of
Web 2.0 and most digital devices free us from the
constraints of time and place, and create other, virtual,
times and places.
 Re-worlding” Kozinets and Kedzior (2009)
 Third place” Oldenburg (1999)
GENDER AND SEXUALITY ONLINE
According to Marwick (2013), the terms “Sex,” “Gender,” and
“Sexuality,” are often thought as synonymous, however, these
words are quite distinct from each other.
 Sex – Is the biological state that corresponds to what
we might call a “man” or a “woman.”
 It is often explained as biological, fixed, and
immutable.
 Gender – Is the social understanding of how sex
should be experienced and how sex manifests in behavior,
personality, preferences, capabilities, and so forth. It is
generally considered to be a socially constructed concept.
 According to Gauntlett 2008; Van Zoonen 1994)
“Gender” is historical and it is produced by media
and popular culture.
 (Goffman 1977) also stated that it is taught by family,
schools peer groups, and nation.
Gender Identity - An individual’s own sense of self as a
woman, man, transgender, or none or other gender identities.
Gender Expression - It is how an individual feel inside and
it is also how a person show their gender in different ways
such as expressing through clothing, behavior, and personal
appearance.
Transgender – Is an umbrella term that describes people
whose gender identity or expression does not match the sex
they were assigned at birth.
Cisgender – Is a term that means whatever gender you are
now is the same as what was presumed for you at birth.
 Sexuality – is about a person’s sexual feelings,
thoughts, and behaviors towards other people. It is also an
individual expression and understanding of desire.
 Asexuality
 Bisexual
 Heterosexual
 Homosexual
THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNET ON
SEXUALITY AND GENDER
The internet plays a big role in shaping our conception of the
world, our perceptions, and our values. The media can
influence the way people are viewed.
 Gender Stereotyping - is a generalized view or
preconception about attributes or characteristics that are
or ought to be possessed by, or the roles that are or should
be performed by women and men.
 Based on gendered division of labor and social roles,
men and women are often represented stereotypically
according to the traits they are assumed to possess by
virtue of their biological makeup.
PERFORMING GENDER ONLINE
 Judith Butler
 Gender as a performance.
 Gender and sexuality to be through discourse and
social processes.
 She argued that gender was performative, in that is
produced through millions of individual actions,
rather than something that comes naturally to men
and women.
 These performances that adhere to normative
understanding of gender and sexuality are sanctioned,
while those that do not are admonished.
 Sandy Stone and Sherry Turkle
 They were fascinated by the idea of online spaces.
 Online Identity, wherein the users are liberated
from the constraints of the flesh, would actively
choose which gender or sexuality to “be”.
 Donna Haraway’s
 “A Manifesto for Cyborgs” is a new way of being
and thinking about oneself that incorporated both
nature and technology.
 Cyborg Feminism.
 “Technoscience” was potentially liberating for
women, even to the extent that technical prostheses
could be used to enhance their capabilities.
 “Masculine” or “Feminine” is appropriately hewing
to a gender norm.
 This happen both online and off.
Grindr ~ a locative app for gay men.
Polyvore and Pinterest ~ Social Shopping Sites
which are targeted at teenage girls and 20 something women.
Free Culture ~ Social media sites Twitter and YouTube
where the individuals are empowered to engage in cultural
production.
Sexist Troops ~ the meme “Tits or GTFO” originated
from in a forum called 4chan which is both crude and
influential.
MEN AND WOMEN TEND TO BLOG
DIFFERENT TOPIC
Men for technology and politics. Women for food,
fashion, and parenting.
Although the technologies are the same, the norms
and mores of the people using them differ.
Blogging. Just a new term for online “journaling” and
“dairying” activities that girls and women had been
participating in for a decade.

SETTING BOUNDARIES TO YOUR
ONLINR SELF: SMART SHARING
 Is this post/story necessary?
 Is there a real benefit to this post? Is it funny, warm-
hearted, teachable—or am i just making noise online
without purpose?
 Have we (as a family or parent/child) resolve this issue?
An issue that is still being worked out at home, or one that
is either vulnerable or highly emotional, should not be
made public.
 Is it appropriate? Does it stay within the boundaries of our
family values?
 Will this seem as funny in 5, 10 or 15 years? Or is this
post better suited for sharing with a small group of family
members? Or maybe not at all?
RULES TO FOLLOW
 Stick to safer sites.
 Guard your password.
 Limit what you share.
 Remember that anything you put online or post on a site
is there forever, even if you try to delete it.
 Do not be mean or embarrass other people online.
 Always tell if you see strange or bad behavior online.
 Be choosy about your online friends.
 Be patient.
MODULE 10 LEARNING TO BE A
BETTER LEARNER
INTRODUCTION
Knowing oneself is insufficient. Because your
choices shape who you are, you must be able to pick wisely if
you want to be a better version of yourself. This lesson will
present numerous approaches for being a better student that
you can customize based on your situation and preferences.
Learning should be more than just studying for quizzes and
tests in school.
Learning can also take place outside of the limits of a
book or a classroom, such as when you wish to learn a new
move in your favorite sport or the skills for a certain pastime,
among other things. Furthermore, the approaches presented
here are not the only ones available, and new ways to study
better will be discovered or rediscovered in the coming
months or years. What matters right now is that you learn how
to learn these things.
ABSTRACT
We are Homo sapiens, or "smart man," and we think on a
higher level than our forebears and most, if not all, other
beings.
But, to be termed wise, we must not only think, but we must
also think about how we think about things and why we think
the way we do.
It's as though your brain thinks about itself first, then about
how it thinks about itself.
In the context of learning, studies demonstrate that if you can
think about how you think, process information, and use
tactics when studying, you have a better chance of enhancing
your learning process than those who do not reflect on their
ways.
This concept is referred to as metacognition.
Metacognition, sometimes known as "thinking about
thinking," is the awareness of the extent and limitations of
your current knowledge and skills.
 Because of this awareness, metacognition enables a
person to modify their previous knowledge and skills in
order to approach a learning activity, aiming for the best
learning experience possible.
 Metacognition is also not restricted to the individual's
thought process.
 It also entails keeping one's emotions and motivations in
check while learning.
 Studies on learning reveal that when you are able to
Consider how you think, how you process information,
and how you communicate.
 You have a choice in how you apply skills when learning.
Greater likelihood of increasing your learning process
than those who do not think about their approaches.
METACOGNITION
“Thinking about thinking”
Is also not limited to thinking process of the individual.
It also includes keeping one’s emotions and motivations while
learning.
Some people learn better when they like the subject, some
when they are challenged by the subject and others of, they
have a reward system each time they finish a task.
The emotional state and the motivation of a person should also
be in the preferred ideal state for a person in order to further
facilitate his or her learning.
Meta = ‘about’
Cognition = thinking
Metacognition: Thinking about one's own thinking
techniques on purpose when people may "learn to think" and
"think to learn". Metacognition refers to the regulatory system
that humans employ to understand and regulate their own
cognitive (brain) performance. It entails people becoming
acutely aware of how they learn, what techniques best match
their needs, assessing the success of strategies, and then
implementing the best plan of action to maximize learning.
LEARNERS WITH STRONG
METACOGNITIVE SKILLS
 Recognize the limits of their own memory for a task and
seek assistance when necessary.
 Conduct frequent self-assessments of their knowledge to
determine how well they are learning something.
 Self-monitor frequently and employ a range of learning
tactics.
 Practice a skill thoroughly in order to build confidence
and expertise.
 Effectively plan at multiple levels and see the big picture
of learning.
There is a need to teach for metacognitive knowledge
explicitly. We are continually surprised at the number of
students who come to [university] having very little
metacognitive knowledge; knowledge about different
strategies, different cognitive tasks, and particularly accurate
knowledge about themselves. (Pintrich, 2002)
TWO ASPECTS OF METACOGNITION
Self-appraisal, is your reflection on your knowledge and
capabilities.
Self-management of Cognition, is the mental process you
employ using what you have planning and adapting to
successfully learn or accomplish a certain task.
Similar concept, usually called elements of metacognition, are
metacognitive knowledge or what you know about how you
think, and metacognition regulation or how you adjust your
thinking process to help you learn better.
METACOGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE VARIABLES
Personal variables. Evaluate strength and weaknesses in
learning.
Task variables. What strategies the task requires.
Strategies variables. Skills you already have in dealing
with a certain task.
METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS INVENTORY
There are two processes going on around learning how to
learn. Most often students (and adults) are unaware of what
they are and what is required to improve them.
 Knowledge of Cognition (Declarative,
Procedural, and Conditional)
 Awareness of factors that influence your own
learning.
 Knowing a collection of strategies to use for learning.
 Choosing the appropriate strategy for the specific
learning situation.
 Regulation of Cognition
 Setting goals and planning.
 Monitoring and controlling learning.
 Evaluating own regulation (assessing if the strategy
you are using is working or not, making adjustments
and trying something new).
Schraw and Dennison developed the Metacognitive
Awareness Inventory (MAI) in 1994 for adult learners to
raise awareness of metacognitive knowledge and
metacognitive regulation (which they referred to as
"Knowledge of Cognition Factor" and "Regulation of
Cognition Factor," respectively).
The MAI is made up of 52 questions that cover these
two aspects of cognition. They discovered through their
investigation that there was considerable support for both
of these criteria, and that they were also connected, as
earlier studies had predicted. Recent research has found a
significant correlation between the MAI and some
measures of academic achievement (e.g., GPA, end-of-
course grades, etc.). However, when looking at
undergraduate and graduate students (younger adults and
older adults), it was discovered that they do not differ in
their mean scores on the 'Knowledge of Cognition' areas
(similar for both groups), but they do differ in terms of
their regulation strategies and skills.
Cognition knowledge is more easily gained and
developed. 'Regulation of Cognition' strategies are not
easy to master, and most students do not progress in their
Regulation scores over time - because they need to learn
the strategies and have opportunities to practice in and out
of the classroom. They require their instructors to use
some of the teaching tactics in this booklet to assist them
in developing strategies for learning regulation.
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT COGNITION
 Declarative Knowledge
 The factual knowledge the learner needs before being
able to process or use critical thinking related to the
topic.
 Knowing about, what, or that.
 Knowledge of one’s skills, intellectual resources, and
abilities as a learner.
 Students can obtain knowledge through
presentations, demonstrations, discussions.
 Procedural Knowledge
 The application of knowledge for the purposes of
completing a procedure or process.
 Knowledge about how to implement learning
procedures (e.g., strategies).
 Requires students know the process as well as when
to apply process in various situations.
 Students can obtain knowledge through discovery,
cooperative learning, and problem solving.
 Conditional Knowledge
 The determination under what circumstances specific
processes or skills should transfer.
 Knowledge about when and why to use learning
procedures.
 Application of declarative and procedural knowledge
with certain conditions presented.
 Students can obtain knowledge through simulation.
REGULATION OF COGNITION
 Planning
 Planning, goal setting, and allocating resources prior
to learning.
 Information Management Strategies
 Skills and strategy sequences used to process
information more efficiently (e.g., organizing,
elaborating, summarizing, selective focusing).
 Comprehension Monitoring
 Assessment of one’s learning or strategy use.
 Debugging Strategies
 Strategies to correct comprehension and
performances errors.
 Evaluation
 Analysis of performance and strategy effectiveness
after a learning episode.
HERE ARE OTHER SKILLS THAT
MIGHT HELP YOU WITH EXERCISING
METACOGNITION
 Knowing your limits. Looks at the scope and
limitations of your resources so that you can work with
what you have at the moment and look for ways to cope
with other necessities.
 Modifying your approach. It begins with the
recognition that your strategy is not appropriate with the
task and/or that you do not comprehend the learning
experience successfully.
 Skimming. This is basically browsing over a material
and keeping an eye on keywords, phrases, or sentences. It
also knowing where to search for such key terms.
 Rehearsing. This is not just about repeatedly talking,
writing and/or doing what you learned, but also trying to
make a personal interpretation or summary of the learning
experience.
 Self- test. As the name implies, this is trying to test
your comprehension of your learning experience or the
skill you have acquired during learning.
FOUR TYPES OF METACOGNITIVE
 Tacit. Learners are unaware of their metacognitive
process although they know the extent of their
knowledge.
 Aware. Learners know some of their metacognitive
strategies but they do not plan on how to use these
techniques
 Strategic. Learners, as the name implies, strategize
and plan their courage of action toward a learning
experience.
 Reflective. Learners reflect on their thinking while
they are using the strategies and adapt metacognitive
skills depending on their situations.
OTHER TIPS THAT YOU CAN USE IN
STUDYING ARE THE FOLLOWING
 Make an outline.
 Break down the task.
 Integrate variations in your schedule and learning
experience.
 Try to incubate your ideas.
 Revise, summarize, and take down notes.
 Engage what you have learned.
CONCLUSION
Knowing oneself is insufficient. Because your choices define
who you are, you must be able to make sound judgments if
you want to be a better version of yourself. This course will
provide you with a range of tactics for becoming a better
student, which you may adjust to your unique situation and
preferences. Learning should encompass more than just
cramming for school quizzes and exams. Learning may also
occur outside of the constraints of a book or a school, such as
when you wish to master a new move in your favorite abilities
required for a particular leisure. Furthermore, the strategies
outlined here are not the only ones available; new techniques
for learning more successfully will be discovered or
rediscovered in the coming months and years. The most
important thing right now is that you learn how to learn these
things.
MODULE 11 DO NOT JUST
DREAM, MAKE IT HAPPEN
INTRODUCTION
Jack Canfield
He is a renowned American self-help book writer and a
motivational speaker. He is best known for his self-help book
series by the title Chicken Soup for the Soul.
 Born on August 19, 1944
 The Epitome of Success
 A Guinness Book World Record holder for having seven
(7) simultaneously on the New York Times Bestseller
List, beating Stephen King.
 His best seller book is:
o Chicken Soup for the Soul Series
o The Success Principles
o How to Get from Where You Are to Where You
Want to Be
o The Power of Focus
o The Aladdin Fact
o Dare to Win
o You’ve Got to Read This Book
o The Key to Living the Law of Attraction
 Founder and Chairman of the Canfield Training Group.
 Founder and former CEO of The Chicken Soup for the
Soul Enterprises.
 Been a featured guest on more than 1,000 radio and
television programs in nearly every major market
worldwide.
 In Santa Barbara, Canfield initiated Self Esteem
Seminars.
 In Culver City, California, The Foundation for Self-
Esteem.
 Established training center, Canfield Training Group.
 Founded the Transformational Leadership Council, which
was consisted of a panel of well-known authors, public
speakers and leaders who were there to assist and
motivate people.
His seminars people on peak performance like Break Through
to Success and he also coaches the amateur speakers on how
to go about giving motivational talks in public.
“By taking the time to stop and appreciate who you are and
what you’ve achieved and perhaps learned through a few
mistakes, stumbles and losses you actually can enhance
everything about you. Self-acknowledgement and appreciation
are what give you the insights and awareness to move forward
toward higher goals and accomplishments.” (One of Canfield
feature quotes about success)
Albert Bandura
“Learning is bidirectional. We learn from the environment,
and the environment learns and is modified thanks to our
actions.” – Albert Bandura
According to him, learning isn't only procured in school, we
moreover learn from our environment, what our relatives
instruct us and what we see at home or in our environment.
Once we obtain this certain knowledge, we put it into actions
that can alter our environment.
LIFE
 Born in Mundare, Alberta, Canada in the 4th of
December, 1925.
 He was the Youngest out of six children born to parents
who both immigrated to Canada where they obtained a

farm.
Life was not easy for them, one of his sisters died during
a flu pandemic, one of his brothers died in a hunting
accident and part of the family farm was lost during the
Great Depression. Nonetheless, Bandura’s family
preserved and his parents instilled in him the joy of
celebrating life and the significance of education.
 Worked in a furniture manufacturing plant and performed
maintenance on the Trans-Alaska Highway while he was
young, which introduced him to a variety of people.
 He also engaged in part-time carpentry work which
helped to support through college.
 Died at the age of 95 on the 26th of June, 2021 at
Stanford, California, USA.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
 Spent his elementary and secondary education at the one
and only school in town. However, instead of just leaving
it all to the school he indulged himself in self-learning to
widen his knowledge and understanding.
 He studied at the University of British Columbia where he
was first enrolled in a biology course. However, because
of his part-time work he arrived at the university early
even though his classes do not start that early.
 He took a psychology course as a filler course to occupy
his morning and this class piqued his interest so instead of
majoring in biology, he took the psychology course and
concentrated on it.
 In 1949, aged 24, he graduated with the Bolocan award in
psychology.
 He then went to the University of Iowa which was the
center of psychology. He completed his Master’s in
psychology in 1951.
 The following year, 1952, he earned his Ph.D. in
psychology.
CAREER
 Had a postdoctoral position at the Wichita Guidance
Center before accepting a position as a faculty member at
Stanford University in 1953.
 He was the president of the American Psychological
Association (APA) in 1974.
 He was named the David Starr Jordan Professor of Social
Science in Psychology in the same year.
 Served as honorary president of the Canadian
Psychological Association from 1999-2000.
 In 2002, the Review of General Psychology ranked him as
the 4th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century
following B.F. Skinner, Jean Piagnet, and Sigmund Freud.
 Received the American Psychological Association (APA)
award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to
Psychology 2004.
 In 2006, was given the American Psychological
Foundation’s Gold Medal Award.
 The University of Louisville awarded the Grawemeyer
Award in Psychology with a carrying prize of $200,000
prize in 2008.
 Dr. Bandura was awarded the National Medal of Science
in 2015 by President Barack Obama
WORKS
 Authored his first book with Richard Walters entitled
“Adolescent Aggression” in 1959.
 Published a book in 1986 entitled “Social Foundations of
Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory”
 Originator of the Social Learning Theory (1977) and is
best known for his modelling study on aggression, the
Bobo Doll Experiment in 1961.
 Authored the book Aggression: Social Learning Analysis
in 1973.
 The Concept of Self-efficacy
 Social Cognitive Theory
 Authored the book “Social Learning and Personality
Development” in 1963.
Dr. Bandura conducted an experiment in 1961 to investigate if
social behaviors, especially aggression can be acquired
through observations and imitation.
THE BOBO DOLL EXPERIMENT
FIRST EXPERIMENT
 The experiment included 72 children, 2 models,
experimenters and an inflated bobo doll.
 The children were exposed to two different models; an
aggressive and non-aggressive one.
 The models performed aggressive behavior towards the
bobo doll, they assaulted it physically and verbally.
 After witnessing the adult’s action, the children were
placed in a play room where they were given toys and
hard puzzles that might frustrate them. Then they moved
to the experimental room where the same bobo doll is
located.
 The experimenter evaluated the child’s play and will
record every time a child would initiate aggression in 4
ways.
 Physical Acts
 Verbal aggression
 Aggression other than hitting the doll
 Not a direct imitation of the model’s behavior
RESULTS
 The children who experience the aggressive scenarios
show more aggressive behavior playing with the bobo
doll.
 Same gender with the child and the model were more
aggressive.
 Male children with a male model exhibited more
aggressive instances than female children.
SECOND EXPERIMENT
 Dr. Bandura wanted to know if the children would still
imitate the actions if it were shown through the medium
of media and not a live show.
 Unlike the first experiment, the second experiment
consists of 96 children still from the Stanford University
Nursery and was divided into three groups; live
aggressive group, pre-recorded model aggressive group,
and a cartoon of a cat being aggressive to the bobo doll.
 Like before, the children were placed in a mildly
frustrating situation before being left alone with the bobo
doll.
RESULTS
 The results were quite interesting.
 The aggressive group showed the same result as the first
experiment and the other 2 groups which were shown the
pre-recorded model aggressive group and the cartoon of a
cat being aggressive to the doll was that the children did
imitate the aggressive behavior shown to them.
Another experiment to measure the children’s behavior was
when the model got rewarded, punished, and received neither
punishment or reward for assaulting the bobo doll. However,
the groups that witnessed the model being punished showed a
reduction in their aggressive behavior.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
These experiments were conducted to test and helped Dr.
Bandura's Social Learning Theory.
 This theory emphasizes that social behavior is learned by
observing, modelling, and imitating the behaviors of
others.
 Social Learning Theory considers how both
environmental and cognitive factors influence human
learning and behavior.
 In this theory, Dr. Bandura agrees with the behaviorist
learning theories of classical conditioning and operant
conditioning. However, he added two important ideas;
▫ Mediating processes occur between stimuli and
responses.
▫ Behavior is learned from the environment through the
process of observational learning.
 It is often described as the bridge between behaviorism
and cognitive approach.
Observational Learning. Method of learning that
consists of observing and modelling another individual’s
behavior, attitudes, or emotional expressions.
Mediational Process. These are mental or cognitive
factors that intervene in the learning process to determine
whether a new response is acquired. Therefore, individuals do
not automatically observe the behavior and immediately
imitate it but there are some thoughts prior to imitation.
 4 MEDITATIONAL PROCESSES
PROPOSED BY: DR. ALBERT BANDURA
Attention
 Whether we notice the behavior.
 In order to retain the information and consequences and
form a mental representation, individuals must be
focused. We must put our attention on that certain
behavior. In this way, the behavior that we are trying to
imitate has to grab our attention so that there will be no
distractions.
Retention
 How well we remember the behavior.
 We might notice the behavior but not remembering it
prevents imitation.
 No memory of the behavior observed means no action to
imitate it will happen.
Reproduction
 Ability to perform the behavior.
 After paying attention and retaining the behavior, we
should be able to perform the behavior ourselves.
 However, there might be other factors that may influence
our ability to perform these actions or behaviors.
Motivation
 The will to perform the behavior.
 Rewards and punishment play an important role in
motivation, if the perceived rewards outweigh the
perceived cost if there are any, then the behavior is most
likely to be imitated by the observer.
 However, if the behavior is seen as not important enough,
then they will likely not to imitate it.
In 1986, Dr. Bandura modified his theory and renamed his
Social Learning Theory to Social Cognitive Theory which
consists of a better description of how we learn from our
social experience.
SELF-EFFICACY THEORY
Albert Bandura (1977) was the first to coin the term "self-
efficacy." In his own words, he first introduced the concept as
a personal assessment of "how well one can execute courses of
action required to deal with prospective situations".
A PERSON WITH HIGH ASSURANCE IN
THEIR CAPABILITIES
 Approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered.
 Set challenging goals and maintain strong commitment to
them.
 Heighten or sustain efforts in the face of failures or
setbacks.
 Attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient
knowledge and skills which are acquirable.
 Approach threatening situations with assurance that they
can exercise control over them.
A PERSON WHO DOUBTS THEIR
CAPABILITIES
 Shy away from task they view as personal threats.
 Have low aspirations and weak commitment to goals they
choose to pursue.
 Dwell on personal deficiencies, obstacle they will
encounter, and all kinds of adverse outcomes, rather than
concentrating on how to perform successfully.
 Slacken their efforts and give up quickly in the face of
difficulties.
 Are slow to recover their sense of efficacy following
failure or setbacks.
 Fall easy victim to stress and depression.
Performance Accomplishments
 Personal assessment information that is based on an
individual’s personal accomplishments.
 Previous successes raise mastery expectations, while
repeated failures lower them.
Vicarious Experience
 Gained by observing others perform activities
successfully.
 This is often referred to as modeling, and it can generate
expectations in observers that they can improve their own
performance by learning from what they have observed.
Social Persuasion
 Activities where people are led, through suggestion, into
believing that they can cope successfully with specific
tasks. Coaching and giving evaluative feedback on
performance are common types of social persuasion.
Physiological and Emotional States
 The individual’s physiological or emotional states
influence self-efficacy judgments with respect to specific
tasks. Emotional reactions to such can lead to negative
judgments of one’s ability to complete the tasks.
BUILDING SELF-EFFICACY
Emphasize Peer Modeling
 This concept of peer modeling, while it can be applied to
any age, is of course especially true for children on the
early side of the spectrum, and is most effective when a
child’s direct peers (brothers, sisters, parents, teachers,
friends) set the example (Bandura, 1988).
Seek Feedback
 Feedback can be one of the most important sources of
building levels of self-efficacy. In order for the feedback
to work positively, feedback must be delivered both
concisely and frequently.
Encourage Participation
 Participation tends to be essential in any work
environment – it encourages the person to be active and
engaged, great qualities in someone that are usually
influential in a person’s levels of self-efficacy.
APPLICATION OF SELF-EFFICACY
Healthy Habits  2009
 Ann L. Brown Award for Research in Developmental
 Bandura states that people are more likely to engage in Psychology, University of Illinois
healthy behaviors when they feel confident in their  2010
capabilities to successfully carry out those behaviors.  Klingenstein Award for Leadership in Education,
Klingestein Center, Columbia University
Academic Success  Thorndike Career Achievement Award in
Educational Psychology, American Psychological
 Based on the research findings of Dinther (2011), higher
Association
levels of self-efficacy are related to healthy student life
 2011
habits.
 Beckman Mentoring Award, Columbia University.
Treating Phobia  Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award,
American Psychological Association.
 Bandura (1982) proposed that self-efficacy could be used  Gallery of Scientists, Federation of Associations in
in an effective manner to treat phobias. Behavioral & Brain Sciences
 2013
 James McKeen Cattell Lifetime Achievement Award,
Association for Psychological Science.
Dr. Carol Susan Dweck  Distinguished Scholar Award, Society for Personality
and Social Psychology
EARLY LIFE  A notable criticism of her book
 September 19, 2017
 October 17, 1946
 Was named as one of the 2 inaugural laureates by the
 Was born in New York
Hong Kong-based Yidan Prize Foundation
 Became the only daughter and middle child
 July 2019
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND  A large randomized controlled trial growth mindset
training by the Educational Endowment Foundation
 6th Grade involving 101 schools and 5018 pupils across
 At P.S. 153 in Brooklyn, N.Y England found that pupils showed no additional
 Mrs. Wilson, her teacher, gave seating arrangement progress in literacy or numeracy.
in accordance with the students’ IQ rankings.
 A spark of curiosity
 1967 FIXED AND GROWTH MINDSET
 Graduated from Bernard College
 1972 Fixed Mindset. People who believe that their success is
 Earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University based on innate ability.

EARLY CAREER AND WORKS Growth Mindset. People who believe that their success
is based on hard work, learning, training, and perseverance.
 1972-1981
 First job at University of Illinois FAILURE
 1981-1985
It is an indicator or stimulus that can awaken the mindset
 Worked at Harvard’s Laboratory of Human
awareness of an individual.
Development
 1985-1989
Fixed-Mindset Individuals
 Returned to her first workplace, the University of
Illinois  They develop a fixed mindset when they were young and
 1989 received praises like “good job, you’re smart.”
 Became the William B. Ransford Professor of  They dread failure because it is a negative statement on
Psychology at Columbia University their basic abilities.
 They can be affected by subtle environment cues.
 2002
 “… students believe their basic abilities, their
 Was elected to the American Academy of Arts and intelligence, their talents are just fixed traits. They have a
Sciences certain amount and that’s that, and their goal becomes to
 2004 look smart all the time and never look dumb.”
 Has been the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of
Psychology at Stanford University. Growth Mindset Individuals
 Book Award for Self-Theories, World Education
Federation (An organization of the United Nations  They develop a growth mindset when they were young
and UNICEF) and were praised by saying “good job, you worked very
 2006 hard.”
 They do not mind or fear failure as much because they
 Published her book called “Mindset: The New
realize their performance can be improved and learning
Psychology of Success”
comes from failure.
 2008  Dr. Dweck argues that this type of mindset will allow a
 Donald Campbell Career Achievement Award in person to live a less stressful and more successful life.
Social Psychology, Society for Personality and Social  They are more likely to continue working hard despite
Psychology setbacks.
 Award for Innovative Program of the Year,  “… students understand that their talents and abilities can
“Brainology” be developed through effort, good teaching and
 persistence. They don’t necessarily thing [think]
everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they
believe everyone can get smarter if they work for it.”
It is possible to encourage students to persist despite failure by
encouraging them to think about learning in a certain way.
Edwin A. Locke
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
 Is an American psychologist and a pioneer in goal-setting
theory. He is a retired Dean's Professor of Motivation and
Leadership at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at
the University of Maryland, College Park. He was also
affiliated with the Department of Psychology.
 Born on January 5,1938 in United States and
currently 83 years old.
 Received his Bachelors in Psychology from Harvard
University in 1960.
 Earned both his Master degree and Ph. D. at Cornell
University in 1962 and 1964 respectively.
MEMBERS OF THE FOLLOWING
ORGANIZATION
 A fellow of the American Psychological Association
(APA).
 A fellow in the Society of Industrial and Organizational
Psychology.
 Academy of Management (Fellow)
 Association for Psychological Science (Fellow)
 International Association of Applied Psychology (Fellow)
SOME OF HIS WORKS AND THE AWARDS HE
RECEIVED
 Had a book together with a fellow Psychologist Gary
Latham called "Goal Setting: A Motivational Technique
that Works".
 Goal Setting Theory developed with Gary Latham.
 Won the James Mckeen Cattell Award from the
Association of Psychological Science.
 Lifetime Achievement Award for the OB division of the
Academy of Management.
 A survey had found that The Goal Setting Theory was
ranked #1 as the most important among 73 management
theories.
GOAL SETTING THEORY
The approach of goal setting theory is consistent
with, although its beginnings somewhat antedated, the
cognitive revolution. The theory is based on what Aristotle
called final causality, that is, action caused by a purpose.
First studied by Dr. Edwin Locke in mid-1960’s.
The basic contents of goal setting theory are
summarized in terms of 14 categories of findings.
GOAL ATTRIBUTES
Goals have both an internal and external.
 Internally – they are ideas or the desired ends.
 Externally – they refer to the object or condition
sought.
o For example: a job, sale or performance level
The idea guides action to attain the object. Two boards
attributes of goals content and intensity.
 Content – the actual object sought.
o Qualitatively, the content of a goal is whatever the
person is seeking.
o Quantitatively, two attributes of content: difficulty
and specificity have been studied.
 Intensity – the scope, complexity or focus of the
choice process.
14 RESEARCH FINDINGS
1
The more difficult the goal, the greater
the achievement.
 The linear function presupposes that the person is
dedicated to the goal and has the necessary skills and
expertise to attain it.
 Without these, performance at high goal levels suffers.
2
The more specific or explicit the goal, the
more precisely performance is regulated.
 Quantification or enumeration are the most common
methods for achieving high goal specificity.
 As a result, performance variance is reduced, as long as
the individual has control over his or her own
performance.
3
Goals that are both specific and difficult
lead to the highest performance.
 Many studies have compared the effect of clear, hard
goals with goals like "do your best," which show that
people do not truly do their best while striving to do their
best because, as a vague goal, it is consistent with a wide
range of outcomes, including ones that are less desirable
than one's best effort.
4
Commitment to goals is most critical when
goals are specific and difficult.
 When goals are basic or vague, it is easier to get
commitment since simple goals do not demand much
devotion, and vague goals may simply be modified to
accommodate low performance.
 The more the commitment, the better the performance
when the goals are particular and difficult.
5
High commitment to goals is attained when
 The individual is convinced that the goal is important; and
 The individual is convinced that the goal is attainable (or
that, at least, progress can be made toward it).
 In the workplace, a supervisor might utilize power to
elicit an initial commitment. Additional incentives,
such as assistance, recognition, and awards, may be
required to maintain commitment.
  Except when prizes are promised for achieving
unattainable goals, financial incentives may aid
dedication and performance.
 In this case, performance really falls.
 Subordinate participation in goal-setting increases
commitment more than just telling people what to do
without explanation, but it does not increase
commitment more than offering a good rationale for
an assigned objective.
 Self-imposed goals may be helpful in garnering
commitment, even if they aren't necessarily the same
as those established by others.
 Effective leadership may enhance commitment,
assign critical duties, showing trust in a person's
talents, and so on.
 People who engage in more extensive cognitive
processing about their objectives and strategies to
achieve them are also more likely to carry out the
required activities than those who engage in less
intensive thinking.
 The three paths to commitment:
 Adjusting the goal to the person's current ability,
 Raising the person's capacity via training and
experience, and
 Changing the person's perception on their
capacity through displays of confidence and role
modeling.
Self-efficacy is a major component of Bandura's (1986) social-
cognitive theory, and it relates to task-specific confidence.
6 perseverance than easier goals since they take longer to
In addition to having a direct effect on
performance, self-efficacy influences:
 The difficulty level of the goal chosen or accepted,
 commitment to goals,
 the response to negative feedback or failure, and
 the choice of task strategies.
 People with strong self-efficacy are more likely to
create high objectives or accept challenges, commit
to risky and arduous goals, respond to failures with
efforts, and develop successful task techniques.
 People need a way to monitor or measure their
progress toward their objectives in order to achieve
them successfully through feedback.
 Deviations from the road to the objective are easy to
spot and remedy in such situations.
7 already know or devise new ones.
Goal setting is most effective when there
is feedback showing progress in relation to
the goal.
 The idea that feedback has an automatic, "reinforcing"
impact on performance is challenged by goal-setting
theory.
 When given criticism on their own or others'
performance, people frequently establish goals to improve
and beat the performance of others just to challenge
themselves, although this is not always the case.
 The objective established may be greater or lower than
the prior performance level. The impact of performance
feedback is dependent on the situation goals set as a result
of it.
8 
Goal setting (along with self-efficacy)
mediates the effect of knowledge of past
performance on subsequent performance.
 When people hear negative performance evaluation, they
are frequently dissatisfied and may question their own
abilities.
 Those who can maintain their self-efficacy under such
stress are more likely to keep or even boost their
following objectives, maintain their commitment, and
therefore enhance their performance.
 Those who lose confidence are more likely to set lower
goals, put in less effort, and reduce the intensity and
efficacy of their strategy search.
9
Goals affect performance by affecting the
direction of action, the degree of effort
exerted, and the persistence of action over
time.
 A person who wants to improve the quality of their
performance will give greater attention to it and take more
action.
 Persistence is defined as an effort that is sustained
throughout time. Harder goals tend to inspire more
achieve and may involve more obstacles to overcome.
 Another goal mechanism is task strategies or plans, which
are more indirect. In addition to attention and effort, most
goals need the use of task-specific processes if they are to
be accomplished.
10
Goals stimulate planning in general. Often the planning
quality is higher than that which occurs without goals.
When people possess task or goal-relevant plans as a result of
experience or training, they activate them virtually
automatically when confronted with a performance goal.
Newly learned plans or strategies are most likely to be utilized
under the stimulus of a specific, difficult goal.
 People understand that goals entail strategies, and when
they wish to achieve them, they either employ what they
 When activities get more complicated, plenty of new
challenges emerge.
 The road to the goal is less evident, and they may not
have any relevant past experience or training to draw on.
 People are obliged to develop new techniques in these
situations, which they often do badly, especially if the
goals are precise and challenging.
 The explanation for this appears to be that tunnel vision
prevents efficient search processes while under pressure.
11
When people strive for goals on complex
tasks, they are least effective in discovering
suitable task strategies if:
 they have no prior experience or training on the task;
there is high pressure to perform well; and
 there is high time pressure (to perform well immediately).
 Goals and self-efficacy are widely accepted as
feedback mediators. When feedback is utilized to
 define objectives, it is most helpful in inspiring
increased performance.
 Feedback alone is just information thus, people must
know what importance it has, in order to act on it.
 This entails knowing what a good or desired score is
and what a bad or undesirable score is in the context
of goal-setting.
 It also appears that involvement motivates
performance when it leads to increased goals, self-
efficacy, or commitment.
 Goals with self-efficacy have been demonstrated to
be a mediator of and charismatic leadership.
12
Goals (including goal commitment), in
combination with self-efficacy, mediate or
partially mediate the effects of several
personality traits and incentives on
performance.
 Goals and self-efficacy are the immediate regulators of
much human behavior, reflecting the individual's
appraisal of the worth of incentives as well as the
relevance of values and qualities to specific situations.
 Environments do not always "impose" or even "promote"
goal-directed activities and choices.
 People have the ability to direct their own life by defining
goals and working toward them (Self-management).
 People can be encouraged to better regulate their own
activities with the use of training programs.
13
Goal-setting and goal-related mechanisms
can be trained and/or adopted in the
absence of training for the purpose of self-
regulation.
 Emotions are the form in which one experiences
automated value judgements, or evaluations of things, or
events.
 Negative emotions are evoked by events and situations
that threaten one's values, whilst happy emotions are
evoked by events and situations that progress one's ideals.
 The immediate value standard is one's aim, or the degree
of performance pursued. As a result, achieving a goal
leads to satisfaction, whereas failing to achieve a goal
leads to unhappiness.
 High goals, on average, lead to lower performance
satisfaction than simple goals because high goals require
higher standards of achievement than low goals, making
self-satisfaction more difficult to obtain.
14
Goals serve as standards of self-satisfaction,
with harder goals demanding higher
accomplishment in order to attain self-
satisfaction than easy goals.
 Life goals must be founded on one's genuine desires as
well as one's true skills. If you want to achieve difficult
goals, you don't have to do it all at once; instead, you may
spread them out over a longer period of time.
 Lower sub goals can be used as stepping stones toward a
larger, longer-term goal. Failure can be viewed as a
learning opportunity rather than evidence of
incompetence.
 New talents may be learned as required, and professions
can be chosen to match one's goals and abilities whenever
possible.
Set goals to inspire individuals, but pay for results regardless
of the degree of the goal.
 This would work in the same way as a piece-rate system.
Alternatively, many target levels might be set, ranging
from somewhat simple to very impossible, with
remuneration matching with the highest level achieved.
 This will ensure that even mild achievements are
rewarded, while also encouraging bigger achievements.
FIVE GOAL SETTING PRINCIPLES
Clarity
 The principle of having clear, “specific” goals for the
greatest results is where SMART goals get their
inspiration.
 In order for goals to be motivating, they must be clear and
precise.
 People have a harder time understanding goals when they
are ambiguous or complicated. As a result, they are less
inspiring.
Challenge
 According to goal setting theory, people are more
successful when they set challenging goals. When one
establishes a goal that is too low, he/she is less likely to
believe that the work is worthwhile, which undermines
motivation.
 Setting a tough goal, on the other hand, strikes a balance
between effort and reward, resulting in motivation.
Commitment
 This concept states that success necessitates personal
responsibility.
 Goals must be acknowledged by the individuals tasked
with accomplishing them in order to be really motivating.
 Acceptance of a goal can take many forms. Individuals
will occasionally just accept a goal set by someone else,
but they will sometimes be more agreeable of a goal if
they better define it.
Feedback
 Feedback recognizes clarification and coarse adjustment.
 Individuals must evaluate how they are performing in
regard to their goals in order to be motivated by them.
 People want quick and accurate performancerelated
feedback in order to understand how they are performing
in respect to their goals and how they can improve other
aspects that are lacking.
Task Complexity
 This concept takes into account the fact that certain goals
are more difficult to achieve than others.
 Goals should be set at the appropriate level of complexity
by leaders or individuals. For complex activities and
objectives, one should use several goals.
 When single goals are created for very complicated tasks,
they are rarely successful.
 Given this, it's critical to break down goals into
manageable portions.
 MODULE 12 “LESS STRESS,
MORE CARE”
STRESS AND HUMAN RESPONSE
Stress is often described as a feeling of being overwhelmed,
worried, or run-down. It is any uncomfortable emotional
experience accompanied by predictable biochemical,
physiological and behavioral changes. (The American
Psychological Association (2017))
Stress is the body's non-specific response to any demand,
whether it is caused by or results in pleasant or unpleasant
stimuli. (Hans Selye)
Stress is how our brain and body respond to any demand or
challenges that require attention or action.
Stressors are any event or situation that puts pressure on you
or threatens your well-being.
Stress can also cause physical and mental health risks
especially if it’s repeated over a long period of time.
2 TYPES OF STRESSORS
 Eustress. A positive type of stress and the stress that
we need. It increases our productivity, gives motivation,
improves brain function and concentration, and boosts the
feeling of alertness.
 Distress. a negative type of stress brought also buy
negative events such as death of a loved one, a serious
injury, losing a job, and being neglected or abused.
GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS)
Describes the process your body goes through when you are
exposed to any kind of stress, positive or negative. It was
developed by Hans Selye who was a Hungarian-Canadian
endocrinologist in 1936.
3 STAGES IN GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME
 The Alarm Stage - refers to the initial symptoms
the body experiences when under stress. The body is
preparing for the "fight or flight" response.
 The Stage of Resistance - the body becomes
adaptive to the challenge and even begins to resist it.
 The Exhaustion Stage - the body dies because it
has used up its resources of adaptation energy: The body's
resources are depleted. The body doesn’t literally “die” in
this stage. Our body is most likely drained with the
energy resources which would make us very tired and feel
hopeless. Our immune system also tends to weaken
during this point making us more inclined in adapting
stress-related diseases or illness.
STRESS DISEASE
Maladies caused principally by errors in the body’s general
adaptation process. They will not occur when all the body’s
regulatory processes are properly checked and balanced.
HPA AXIS
 Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis
 A series of interactions between the hypothalamus,
pituitary gland, and adrenal glands that releases stress
hormones (cortisol and epinephrine/adrenaline) which
helps us with dealing with the stressors.
 Stressors are the events or situation that causes stress.
CHRONIC STRESS
It is a prolonged and constant feeling of stress: a stress that
lasts for a long period of time.
TECHNIQUES TO COUNTER CHRONIC STRESS
 Relaxation response - a stress management
technique that helps people reduce their level of physical
and mental arousal. This technique is also similar to
meditation where the patient is instructed to sit
comfortably with their eyes closed, and also to focus on
their breathing. This practice helps in relaxing our mind
and muscles, and may result in greater awareness of our
body, improve our concentration, and a more positive
approach in terms of handling stress.
 Physical activity - this technique is similar to the
relaxation response except that we are exerting an effort
to move in this method making it like a relaxation
response in motion. Being active can boost the production
of endorphins, which is a chemical produced by our brain,
especially after exercising, which also works to relieve
stress and pain, as well as give us a feeling of euphoria.
 Social support - it’s helpful in terms of stress
management because you get to share your concern or
feelings with other people; specifically, to the right people
who validates your words, feelings and action, as well as
receiving proper solutions or advice from other people
that could help you in coping up with stress.
THE CULTURAL DIMENSION OF STRESS AND COPING
 Stress and coping research constitute one of the most
intensively studied areas within health, social, and
psychological research, because of its broad implications
for understanding human well-being and adaptation.
 Early thesis on stress and coping implicated that there is
an interwoven relationship of culture and stress. The
thesis postulated that a person's internalized cultural
values, beliefs, and norms affect the appraisal process of
stressors and the perceived appropriateness of coping
responses.
 As follows, stress and coping are universal experiences
faced by individuals.
 Problem-Focused and emotion-focused are terms of
coping mechanisms repeated studies have pointed to the
prevalence of "emotion-focused," "indirect," "passive," or
"covert," "internally target," or "secondary control"
 Specifically, the avoidance, withdrawal, and forbearance
coping methods are common among Asians.
 While spiritual, religious, and ritual-based coping are
common among African Americans and African
Canadians.
 Additionally, spiritual and religious coping and coping
through family support are common among individuals of
Latino/Latina backgrounds.
 Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping has been
shown to be beneficial for Asian Americans and Asian
Canadians.
 For non-Asians, emotion-focused coping was shown to
be negative in increasing stress for African American
adult caregivers but problem-focused coping was shown
to be negative in exacerbating stress for Hispanic
American college students in facing family conflict.
 The current review also highlights the salience of
"collective coping" approaches among culturally diverse
individuals, including Asians, African Americans, and
Latino Americans, based on more recent research.
SELF CARE THERAPY
A positive way to counter stress in self-care therapy. Nancy
Apperson (2008) of Northern Illinois University has provided
steps for self-care:
Stop, breathe, and tell yourself: "This is
hard and I will get through this 1 step at
a time."
During an unexpected event or crisis, we are faced with
dealing with a new reality and it takes time to incorporate
what happened into our everyday lives. Identify the steps you
need to take first, write them down, and focus on each step
one at a time...if you look at everything you have to do, you
will become overwhelmed. Remember you can only do 1
thing at a time and focus exclusively on that 1 thing. We need
to deal with our stress by knowing that we need to do it step
by step or 1 at a time because for us to manage it well and to
have a better result especially if we have many problems and
sometimes, we don’t know how to handle it.
Acknowledge to yourself what you are
feeling. All feelings are normal so accept
whatever you are feeling.
Once you recognize, name, and accept your feelings, you feel
less out of control. You can then find a comfortable place to
express your feelings. During periods of extreme stress and
grief, it is very hard to hold back your feelings, particularly
your tears and anger. This is normal so describe this as
grieving or sadness or anger...you are not falling apart...you
are grieving or feeling angry-sadness. It is important during
this time of intense feelings to own your feelings and NOT
hurt yourself or lash out at someone else. Our life is important
so you better know and acknowledge your feelings for you to
be aware of your emotions, know what you should do to cope
up to your stress, help you to better address your feelings and
also help you to talk clearly about your feelings.
Find someone who listens and is accepting.
You do not need advice. You need to be
heard.
Sharing our story is how we begin to accept whatever
happened and integrate it into our new reality. It may be that
you just need to let go of your expectations of how things
should be and talking about your feelings and beliefs is the
beginning of that process. You feel better when you express
your feelings, thoughts and release your stress by talking to
someone that you know is always there for you and willing to
listen to your rants and will comfort you not just in good times
but also in bad times, a person that will accept and not judge
you whatever mood you have.
Maintain your normal routine as much as
possible: Making everyday decisions.
Deciding to get dressed, do the dishes, or go to work, for
example, gives you a sense of control and feels comforting as
it is a familiar activity. Be realistic with what you can do and
remember everything right now will take you longer to do.
Avoid making major decisions based on the stress you feel
right now. We should maintain the normal routine we have
and we know we will be productive to our chosen routine also
for us to less worries and to have a better level of stress.
Allow plenty of time for a task.
You will not be as productive as you normally are. Accept
how much you are able to do right now and recognize it will
not be this way forever. During periods of extreme stress,
prolonged stress or after a crisis, your ability to concentrate
and focus on tasks is diminished and it will take time for your
concentration to return so give yourself extra time and be
gentle and accepting of yourself and what you can do. Give
time for a task that will help you to do it properly without
pressure and cramming. Having enough time for your task will
give you better work and you can think more on how you will
do it in a creative way or any way you want. For you to
achieve this you need to have time management and know
what are the things you need to do first.
Take Good Care of Yourself. Remember to:
● Get enough rest and sleep. Sleep at least 6
hours and not more than 9 hours. If you are
having difficulty sleeping, listen to peaceful, slow music
and/or do progressive relaxation just before you go to
sleep. Sleep is how our body heals and strengthens our
immune system.
● Eat regularly and make healthy choices. Skipping
meals, particularly breakfast, contributes to fatigue, mood
swings, and poor concentration. Healthy choices (foods
not high in simple sugars) maintain your blood sugars and
therefore your energy and concentration.
● Know your limits and when you need to let go.
Some problems are beyond our control. If something
cannot be changed, work at accepting it for what it is.
Resist the urge to fix the unfixable or try to control the
uncontrollable. Sometimes a mantra helps..."It is what it
is, I just need to accept it." For things within your control,
remember change takes time. If you are holding on and
need to. let go, write it in a journal.
● Identify or create a nurturing place in your
home. A rocking chair, a nice view, and soothing music
are important components to a nurturing place. Twenty
minutes of rocking in a rocking chair reduces both your
physical pain and anxiety. It is like giving yourself a hug.
Music and nature sounds nurture our being and lift our
spirits.
● Practice relaxation or meditation. Go to your
nurturing place and listen to guided relaxation tapes. Time
spent in meditation or prayer allows your mind and body
to slow down and let go of the stress. Take a mental
vacation in the midst of stress by relaxing your body,
shutting your eyes and visualizing yourself in your
favorite vacation spot or quiet haven.
● Escape for a while through meditation, a book,
a movie, or taking a short trip. Escape for a while
through mediation, reading a book, watching a movie, or
taking a short trip.
SELF COMPASSION THERAPY
Self-compassion therapy is another way to counter stress. How
the person handles the stress, pain or obstacle that he is facing
in the present. Self-compassion therapy is a way to talk to
yourself that any kind of suffering that arises even if it's mirror
or subtle has a solution and sends it compassion. Self-
compassion is a meditation. One of the concepts of the Self-
compassion is to transform suffering into the present
compassion which has a power to heal and transform our
suffering. Whether it comes from oneself or from another
person, what matters is that one’s suffering is embraced with
open acceptance and love. Best meditation is to accept and
love and think that it is sent with compassion. Take that in a
positive way. Think that failures are a part of our life and that
failures teach us how to stand and not to make the same
mistakes.
SELF COMPASSION PHRASES
 Self-compassion phrases are how to handle your stress
and emotional pain. In these phrases is how to accept that
not only you were suffering. And do not abuse yourself.
There are 3 components of self compassion.
 1st is help to mindfully open to the sting of emotional
pain. In this component, try to relax and think of the best
solution on how to survive in that situation/stress that you
are facing, not that if you are stressed you affect yourself
emotionally. Don’t do that.
 2nd is don’t think negatively. Stop saying or thinking that
you're always wrong. Don’t think about all the mistakes
that you made, instead you stand, walk and do something
great.
 3rd is don’t compare yourself to others because in that
way there's a possibility that you look down on yourself
and that causes shamelessness in your life. Last is to
reinforce the idea that you need and deceive compassion
in difficult moments. Be experimental in all phrases.
SELF-COMPASSION AND EMOTIONAL
WELL BEING
 Self-compassion is defined as the attitude of treating
one’s self with warmth and understanding that the
hardships, battles, and making mistakes are all part of life.
 While emotional well-being refers to the good quality of
emotions produced by an individual, it is the ability to
produce positive feelings, thoughts, and emotions amidst
the wide variety of situations we experience from our
day-to-day lives.
 Research has found that the greater self-compassion an
individual possesses, the less likely they are to develop
mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
Self-criticism often imposes a risk on people who are
suffering from anxiety and depression, negative feelings
always surround them and self-compassion grants
protection against harnessing these negative thoughts and
emotions.
 As the research stated, it is concluded that self-
compassion correlates with greater wisdom, knowledge,
and emotional intelligence.
SELF-COMPASSION, MOTIVATION,
AND HEALTH
 Research also found the idea that self-compassion is more
likely to enhance one’s motivations rather than self-
indulgence, or one’s own pleasure.
 Self-compassionate people aim just as high but also
accept the fact that they cannot always reach their goals.
 Self-compassion is also linked to a greater personal
initiative, it is the desire to achieve your full potential.
 Self-compassionate people are also less likely to develop
mental health problems, and less likely to engage in self-
handicapping behaviors such as procrastination,
underachievement, substance abuse, and etc.
 Self-compassionate individuals are motivated to achieve,
learn and grow for themselves only and not because of
anyone else.
SELF-COMPASSION VERSUS SELF-
ESTEEM
 Self- esteem is a judgement of how you see yourself
whether you are a good person or a bad person. This
refers to how you see yourself. Having a low self-esteem
is bad because you might be depressed and if it gets bad,
you might commit suicide. It is the way to put yourself
better than the others but dragging the other people down.
 Self-compassion is not a way of judging others positively.
Self-compassion is a way of relating to ourselves kindly
and embracing ourselves. Self-compassion gives you self-
worth because you will care for yourself and you will
embrace your flaws and imperfections.
SELF-COMPASSIONATE LETTER
 An example of a self-compassion exercise is the Self-
compassionate letter. This exercise has been used in
therapeutic programs. This exercise asks you to write a
letter to yourself expressing compassion for an aspect of
yourself that you don't like. Research suggests that people
who respond with compassion to their own flaws and
setbacks—rather than beating themselves up—experience
greater physical and mental health.
 The mechanics of self-compassionate Letter:
 Candidly describe a problem that tends to make you
feel bad about yourself, such as a physical flaw, a
relationship problem, or failure at work or school.
Note what emotions come up, shame, anger, sadness,
fear, as you write.
 Next, think of an imaginary friend who is
unconditionally accepting and compassionate;
someone who knows all your strengths and
weaknesses, understands your life history, your
current circumstances, and understands the limits of
human nature.
 Finally, write a letter to yourself from that
perspective. What would your friend say about your
perceived problem? What words would he or she use
to convey deep compassion? How would your friend
remind you that you are only a human? If your friend
were to make any suggestions, how would they
reflect unconditional understanding?
 When you are done writing, put the letter down for a
while and come back to it later.
 Then read the letter again, letting the words sink in,
allowing yourself to be soothed and comforted.
LESS STRESS, CARE MORE
We should be in control of the stress that confronts us every
day. Otherwise, when we are overwhelmed by stress, it can be
detrimental to our health. Self-care and self-compassionate are
two ways to positively confront stress. We should love and
care for ourselves more and more each day.