The SELF

in
Sociological

Perspective
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF: LESSON 2

PREPARED BY: GROUP 1

FARPARAN, ANTONIO JR . GARCERA, DION

DE LARA, ADRIAN AUREUS, JESSEL
CONTENT
3 OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON

4 DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY

6 INTRODUCTION OF SOCIOLOGIST PERSPECTIVE

7 GEORGE MEAD: THE SOCIAL SELF

12 CHARLES COOLEY: THE LOOKING-GLASS SELF

15 ERVING GOOFMAN: CONSTRUCTING SITUATIONS & DRAMA

19 REFERENCE
 OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON

Compare and

Explain the
Contrast how the self
Examine one's self

relationship between
can be influenced by
against the different

and among, the self,

the different
views on self that

the society and

institutions in the
were discussed in the

culture; society and; class

WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
From the word socio- social- society- a community, nation, or broad

grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and

collective activities and interests (Merriam Webster)

The study of human behavior
Refer to a social behavior, society, patterns of social relationship, social

interaction and culture that surrounds everyday life.

TRIVIA TIME
DID YOU KNOW?
SOCIETY IS DIFFERENT FROM
COMMUNITY?

A society is defined as a group of people

sharing the same culture, interests,

opinions, etc. On the other hand, a

community is defined as the group of

living in a social structure.

 SOCIOLGIST AND THEIR PERSPECTIVE

GEORGE MEAD CHARLES COOLEY ERVING GOOFMAN

“The self is born of society. The self is

inseparable from society and bound up

with communication. It builds on social

experience. This is largely a matter of

taking the role of other with increasing

sophistications, broadening out from

significant others to greater complexity”

GEORGE MEAD
GEORGE MEAD
THE SOCIAL SELF
The social self believed that the self was

created through social interaction and

that this process started in childhood,

with children beginning to develop a

sense of self at about the same time that

they began to learn language.

Mead argued that one of the key

developments was the ability to think of

ourselves as separate and distinct and to

see ourselves in relationship to others.

When children can take the perspective

of the generalized other, rather than

specific individuals, they have passed

through the final stage of development.

 The Self builds on Social Experience
The self is the human capacity to be reflective and take the role of
others. It is a connection explained in the following steps:

1. The self emerges from social experience. It is not part of the body
and it does not exists at birth, but it is distinctly what makes us
humans.
2. Social experience involves communication and the exchange of
symbols. People create meaning.
3. To understand intention you must imagine the situation from
another person’s point of view. By taking the role of the other: the
self is reflective and reflexive.
 Mead’s Development Stages of the Self
PREPARATORY STAGE - children mimic or imitate others.
PLAY STAGE- *children pretend to play the role of a particular
or a significant other.
*particular or significant other are the perspective and particular
role that a child learns and internalized.
GAME STAGE- children play organized game and take on the
perspective of the generalized other. ( Generalize other- the
perspectives and expectations of a network of other (or a society
and general) that a child learns and then takes into account
when shaping his or her own behavior).
DUAL NATURE OF THE SELF- the belief that we experience the
self as both subject and object the "I" and "me"
One's sense of self depends on seeing one's

self reflected in interactions with others

CHARLES COOLEY
CHARLES

COOLEY
The Looking-Glass Self
Charles Cooley was George
Mead’s colleagues
he looking-glass self refers to the

notion that the self develops

through our perception of others'

evaluations and appraisals of us.

The image people have of

themselves is based on how they

believe others perceive them.

THE LOOKING GLASS SELF
People routinely behave like actors on a

stage. Everyday social life become

theatrical. There are roles, scripts and

actions. Daily life as a series of stagecraft

rules.
ERVING GOOFMAN
ERVING GOOFMAN
Constructing Situations & Drama
believed that meaning is constructed
through interaction ‘Interaction order’:
what we do in the immediate presence
of others
His approach, dramaturgy, focuses on
how individuals take on roles and act
them out to present a favorable
impression to their "audience" Goffman
argues that people are concerned with
controlling how others view them, a
process he called impression
management
Almost 400 years ago, W. Shakespeare

captured Goffman’s idea:

“All the world is a stage, and all the men and

women merely players: they have their

exits and their entrances; and one man in

his time plays many parts”

W. Shakespeare
 The self is a social construction
Each definition of a situation lends itself to a different approach,
and the consequences are real.
Goffman identifies the following components in his theory of
impression management:
1. Region
2. Backstage- When people engage in back stage behavior, they are
free of the expectations and norms that dictate front stage
behavior.
3. Frontstage- people play different roles throughout their daily
lives and display different kinds of behavior depending on the
where they are and the time of day
The self is a Social construction dependent of the situation
THAT'S ALL
THANK

YOU
REFERENCES
society. (n.d.). In The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved September
20, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/society
Difference between Society and Community - javatpoint. (n.d.).

www.javatpoint.com. Retrieved September 20, 2022, from

https://www.javatpoint.com/society-vs-

community#:%7E:text=1.,living%20in%20a%20social%20structure.
Dresscher, N. G. (n.d.). Unit 5. The Self, Interaction and Socialization. Retrieved

September 20, 2022, from https://www.slideshare.net/ndresscher/unit-5-the-

self-interaction-and-socialization
undefined [Lara Tereza]. (2020, September 21). Understanding the Self -

Sociological Perspective of the Self (The Self, Society, and Culture). YouTube.

Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=jXTrMNSk91w