THE PHYSICAL SELF

Physical Self – is the concrete dimensions of the body, that can be

clearly observed in the tangible part of the individual.

Self-understanding – is the cognitive self-representation of the entity

that consists of the substance and the meaning of self-conceptions.

Growing up – as the age advances, desires and bodies are also

changing. Parents should value their children’s privacy in growing up
and give them enough space to develop but at the same time let
them know they are ready to listen and help.

Adolescence – in the Philippines ages from 15- 30 years are the youth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS – are distinguished by the naked eye like

the facial features, hairstyle, clothes or figure; the defining traits or
features of a person’s body.

PUBERTY – important marker of the beginning of adolescence; girls

experience menarche (first menstrual flow); while boys experience
semenarche (first ejaculation/wet dreams); experience hair growth,
change in voice.

Pituitary gland – master endocrine gland that controls growth and

regulates the function of all other endocrine glands.

GONADS – Ovaries for girls; testes for boys

ESTROGEN – hormones in girls that is responsible for physical change,

like increase in height, widening of hips and increase in fatty tissues in
the breast.

Androgen and Testosteron – hormones for boys that is responsible for

the boy’s growth of facial and body hair, muscles and change in the
voice.

BODY IMAGE – the way one sees him self/herself or the way he/she
imagines how he/she looks.
Adolescents typically encounter an imaginary audience that
corresponds to an egocentric environment in which the person
imagines and assumes that many people listen to or watch him or
her actively.

Spotlight effect – refers to the assumption that others pay more

attention to the appearance and behavior of the person than they
really are.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT PERCEPTIONS OF THE PHYSICAL SELF:

1. Introspection and self-reflection = mechanism through which one

explores and discusses one’s inner (mental and emotional) state; it
means that people have a poor self-awareness on aspects about
the self that they wish to have not been ; people tend to
overestimate their aspects.

2. Self-Perception Theory – since one’s internal state is difficult to

perceive, people can infer their inner state by observing their own
behaviors , as if they are outside observers.

3. Self-concept – is a cognitive self knowledge representation that

involves the total sum of all the beliefs that people have about
themselves.

4. Personal Identity – concept about one’s self that develops over the
years. Includes different aspects of the life like nationality, gender,
physical traits as well as choices.
SOCIAL FACTORS:

Attachment process and Social Appraisal: when people experience

how their mother or caregiver care for them and respond to their
needs.

Maintaining, regulating and expanding the self in Interpersonal

Relationships: while still young, the sense of self is constantly
formed by ongoing interaction with others, are unaware that they
are being influenced.

The Looking-glass Self Theory: the self image is shaped and

reflected from the social world, reflection serve as mirror in which
people see themselves

4. Social Comparison: comparing oneself with others in order to

evaluate one’s own abilities and opinions.

TWO TYPES OF SOCIAL COMPARISON:

Upward social comparison – comparing oneself with others who are

better than oneself.

Downward social comparison – comparing one’s self to others who is

in a worse situation especially when one is feeling so low.

5. Social Identity Theory (Collective Identity): - being active in social

media/network which helps increase one’s self-esteem.

THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BODY IMAGE AND SELF=ESTEEM: THE

IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY:

What is Culture?

It is defined as a social system that is characterized by the shared

meanings that are attributed to people and events by its members.

Beauty – is the quality of being physically attractive, or a person’s

quality that gives pleasure to the senses or the mind.

But it should be noted that In every culture and in every individual

the standards of beauty may vary.
THE FILIPINO CONCEPT OF BEAUTY

What is Eurocentrism?
It is defined as a tendency to interpret the world in terms of European or Anglo
American Values and experience.

The beauty standard of “tisoy” and “tisay” (those with eurocentrism features of
having fair skin) is strongly promoted in the media.

An Eurocentric dimension called coloris is described as “the prejudicial or

preferential treatment of people of the same race based solely on skin color.

The impression that society gives is that dark complexions and flat nose does not
define beauty.

Indeed , Eurocentrism and colorism have major effects on the typical Filipinos
body image and identity.

SELF-ESTEEM – a measure of the person’s self-worth based on some

personal and/or social standard.

One of the factors that affect the self-esteem is the one’s physical
appearance- as the children advances to adolescence they form a body
image.

ADOLESCENT’S BODY IMAGE INCLUDES:

Perceptions of their physical self when they look in the mirror

Feelings of like or dislike about the Physical self they see

Their thoughts and how they relate to their physical self

Perception of how other people view them physically.

ASPECTS IN CULTURE THAT MAY LED TO THE AFOREMENTIONED

MISCONCEPTIONS:

Mass Media is a powerful source that enhances societal traditions

and values. While youth may initially disagree with the set ideals of
Beauty repeated media exposure leads to misconception.

Since society has set a standard and the media reinforce it, any failure
that does not adhere to the norm is labeled as ugly.