LESSON 2

THE SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE SELF

Lesson Objectives:
a. Describe the connection between the self, society and culture.
b. Recognize the social and cultural factors that shape the self.
c. Examine the comparisons of the self based on the different societies.
d. Reflect on one’s development of the self based on one’s cultural and societal backgrounds.

ACTIVATE
Have you ever feel the need to wear a variety of masks in order to blend into
social situations? At some point in our lives, we all try to conceal that ‘part of us’
which we do not like the world to see because we fear rejection. They are normal,
yet not an ideal part of human life. If you are to represent yourself to other
people, how would your mask look like? Create a mask for yourself using the template
provided.

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
 1. Describe the image that you want to portray in your mask.
____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
2. In one word, define how you have been labeled by your:
a. classmates/friends:
______________________________________________________________
b. family:
______________________________________________________________
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c. teachers/adults:
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3. How would you describe what people typically know about what you do
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or about your life?___________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain how your personality is really like (what you really love to do that not everyone knows or
what your life is really like). ___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Are there any similarities or differences between your own descriptions as compared to that of
the others about you? _______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What could be the possible factors that influenced these similarities or differences? ____________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

EMPOWER
Many philosophers have debated upon the concept of the ‘self.’ Later on, more discussions
about the ‘self’ emerged with the advent of the social sciences to revisit new ways and theories
that would best explain the true nature of the self.
Among the emphases in the examination of the self is the connection between the self and the
outside world.
You may have encountered the term, tabula rasa, the idea that individuals are born without any
mental content. Therefore, knowledge of something comes from experience or perception (Diels-
Kranz, 1987). In the same manner, our sense of self begins to develop as we experience the world
around us — the more we interact with the outside world, the more we develop our selves. If you
happen to have watched the movie, “Mean Girls,” that was what exactly happened to Cady Heron
whose innocent life changed after attending a public school for the first time, meeting different
kinds of people and shaping a brand new person in Cady. Consequently, the sociological and
anthropological perspectives of the self tell us that the ‘self’ is a by-product of one’s interaction
with the environment, and not because of the mind or the soul infused into us.

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
 ?
After being part of the first batch of senior high school graduates, you
are now in the middle of figuring out what you really want to be - like it or
not, you are in search of an identity, the concept that we have of our role
in the world around us (James, 2015). Remember, we do not just wake up
one day and decide on the person we want to become. Instead, we try to
find our identity through a continuous complex process throughout our lives.
At this stage of your life, you are beginning to make your own decisions
— what course to take in college, what school to go to, which friends to be
with, and so on and so forth — but this does not mean you are free of
influences. Say for example, you chose the course BS Aeronautical https://www.google.com.ph/search?
q=identity&rlz=1C1CHBD_enPH767PH767&source
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decide on this because you really want to design aircrafts? Are you
interested in finding out if it is a difficult course? Did you get pressured by a family member, a
relative perhaps, because he/she is also an Aeronautical Engineer even though you did not really
want to take the course? Or, are you simply taking it because your friends chose this course as
well?
Thinking about these questions can help us see that the decisions we make are prompted by a
variety of factors. To some extent, you may have chosen a particular course, but your decision is
also influenced by external factors that are out of your control. Your perceptions, attitudes, values,
and beliefs and those around you all play an important role (Heggertveit-Aoudia, 2012).

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The way you see yourself is your self-identity (Shoemaker,
2015). Your self identity shapes your perceptions, or the way
you see the world. Your attitude about life, the way you think
or feel about something, depends on how you identify yourself.
Also, the way you see yourself is also manipulated by
your values, what you think is right or wrong, and beliefs, what
you see as true and untrue. All these factors influence what
you can accomplish and where you will fit in (Stevens, 1996).
If you do not see yourself as capable of finishing BS
Aeronautical Engineering, would you be taking the entrance
examination for this course? Would you take this course if you
felt that it was not a worthy course? With this in mind, we
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realize that we make decisions about who we are, based on

our perception of the world, the way we feel about things, the consequence of our beliefs and val-
ues on the choices that we make. On the other hand, your social identity, or the way others see
you, is also influenced by others’ perceptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs. Per-
haps a family member has high expectations of you because they were a successful Aeronautical
Engineer. Maybe you feel like you do not belong in the Aero Family because of your race or religion.
Social identity and self-identity are not always on the same page, which can actually cause conflict
in a person's life. Imagine how you might feel if you were identified with being an A+ student and
then you were asked to shift to another course because you did not meet the maintaining grade.

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
 Another important concept in relation to
identity is stereotypes (Operario & Fiske, 2003).
These are assumptions that are made about
individuals because they belong to a particular
social group. Going back to the previous
example, applying the concept of stereotype is
similar to saying, men are better Aeronautical
Engineers than women. When someone believes
that a stereotype is true, unfair judgments https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=stereotype+job+roles&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:Ca_1FzOPKLpXGIjgvCL-JdAY9S1gnKflpS7 iN-
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are made about an individual. This can be

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seen in a situation where an aviation

company may give preferential treatment to male Aeronautical Engineers and demean the
capabilities of female Aeronautical Engineers. Think about how different the ladies’ experience of
trying to get in an aviation company as compared to that of the men’s. Will the male co-workers
treat the ladies differently? Will the ladies’ abilities be judged fairly? Stereotypes are most of the
time untrue and judgments should not be made about an individual based on an assumption (Fiske,
2002).

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Can you say that you are smart, physically attractive and talented? How do you know you are?
Oftentimes, you believed these to be true about yourself because someone told you so. The self is a
transforming but persistent aspect of one’s personality. Our sense of self is defined as a collection
of beliefs that we hold about ourselves. We put together these beliefs based upon our social
interactions with others (Sedikides & Spencer, 2007).
This lesson will explore the effect of the socialization process on the self according to two
social scientists, George Herbert Mead and Charles Cooley (Macionis & John, 2010). Both of them
believed that the self was developed through the process of self-socialization, a developmental
process that allows us to reflect upon and argue with ourselves for us to develop an accurate self
-image. It is important to note that this process begins in early childhood and has many influencing
factors such as the family, peers, teachers and the media.

George Herbert Mead, in his Social Self Theory, believed that the
sense of self is developed through social interactions, such as
observing and interacting with others (Ritzer, 2008). According to
Mead, the self is not yet present at birth. Rather, it is developed
over time from social experiences and activities. Simply put, When a
baby is first born, he does not seem to have a sense of who he is,
but that changes as he grows.
He also identified three activities that develop the self: language,
play, and games (Mead & Morris, 1967).
By means of symbols, gestures, words, and sounds, which enables https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=george+herbert+mead&rlz=1C1CHBD_e
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individuals to communicate with and respond to each other, the self is

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Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
developed through language. A person’s attitudes and opinions towards another person are
conveyed using language. Consequently, it is through play that
the self is developed since it allows us to take on different roles,
pretend, and express expectation of others. Remember the times
when little children think and act like the people they frequently
see such as those little girls who used to play ‘dress-up’ by
putting on her mommy’s lipstick and shoes? Our
self-consciousness is developed through role-playing, which
enables us to assume other roles and internalize how others
perceive us in a variety of social situations.
Children begin to examine their own actions and that of the
others at ages five and eight. Games develop the self by allowing individuals to understand and
adhere to the rules of the activity, teaching them the value of accountability. The self is developed
by understanding that there are rules that one must follow in order to win the game or be
successful in an activity (Miller, 2009).
Let us examine the two sides of the self according to Mead: ‘Me’ and ‘I.’ To Mead, the “me” is
considered the socialized aspect of the individual, which represents the learned behaviors, attitudes
and expectations of others and of the society. This is known as the “generalized other,” where
children and young adults interact with the society and adopt to other people’s expectations
(Gillespie, 2006). It is at this stage that we learn to put our trash in the proper waste can. This
knowledge is developed through our social interactions with other people.
On the other hand, the ‘I’ is the representation of the person’s identity based on the response
to the ‘me.’ In other words, the ‘I’ says, “If the society dictates that I should behave nicely, then I
should act the same (or perhaps differently)” - this notion becomes the self. Take note of the
perceptive relationship between the ‘me’ and the ‘I.’ Akin to a system of checks and balances, the
‘me’ employs societal control over one’s self — it is the part of the self that prevents a person
from being a rule-breaker or disregarding the expectations of the society. Then again, the ‘I’
allows us to bend some rules governing social interactions, which enables us to still express our
creativity, originality and imagination. To Mead, the ‘me’ and the ‘I’ make up the self (Mead, 1934).

Charles Cooley built on the work of Mead with his theory called
the Looking-Glass Self (Cooley, 1998). He explained how people
develop a sense of self. Having three elements, the first element is
how we imagine we appear to others. The second element is the
judgment we imagine that other people may be making about us,
and the third element is our self-image based upon the evaluations
of others.
These elements can be best understood by discussing the three
stages of behavioral and personality development of the
Looking-Glass Self. According to Cooley, it takes time to develop
one’s self. Beginning after birth, the self continues to develop
throughout a person's life through the following stages: imagining, https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=charles+cooley&rlz=1C1CHBD_enPH7 67PH
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interpreting, and developing self-concept.

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
Imagining occurs when an individual judges the way he or she acts and appears from the points
of view of family and friends. Perhaps your mom sees you as someone who is shy and quiet,
your friends see you as cheeky and confident, while your teachers see you as friendly. Primarily,
these views make-up a self-concept. In fact, this can be understood as, ‘this is how I must appear
to others’ stage.
The second stage is a learned ability called interpreting, which occurs when a person elicits
conclusions coming not only from past experiences but from what others think as well, and then
reacts to the judgement of other people’s views.
As the individual combines everything from his or her past experiences, including others’
perspectives, he or she approaches the final stage, which is developing self-concept. This is where
a sense of self-image is formed and seen as the ‘this is who I am’ stage.
Cooley held high regard for other people’s opinions, and believed that these opinions of the
society shape the individual into becoming who they are. In short, we know if we look good today
because when we wear our favorite outfit, we feel confident and dazzling. Therefore, every time we
wear our favorite outfit, everyone always tells us how good we look in it.

&
The formation of our self-identities is indeed a very complex process. While the list of
contributing factors is nearly infinite, it is best to discuss several of the most powerful factors.
Considering the fact that these factors change — so does our definition of ourselves. Let us look at
a few of the factors that shape our self and identity, and realize how culture influences our
understanding of these factors.
How we see ourselves shapes our lives, and is shaped by our cultural context. We all have
probably asked ourselves “Who am I?” a dozen times. Certainly, we have heard the saying, “No two
people are alike,” from our personal encounter with other people in different situations. This is
because we will never ever see
ourselves being exactly the same as the
others since we all have different life
experiences. Self-perceptions
influence how we think about the world,
our social relationships, health and
lifestyle choices, community
engagement, political actions, and
ultimately our own and other people's
well-being (Vignoles et. Al, 2016).
It has been a given fact that social
scientists are well-aware that people in
different parts of the world see
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themselves in different ways.

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’’ ‘ ’
One can attest to the differing culture of the East and the West in terms of self-construction.
Western cultures are inclined to foster individualism, the ‘I’ idea that describes the self as existing
independently of others and includes own traits. In contrast, collectivism dominates the perspective

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
on the self in Eastern cultures. Collectivism,
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the ’we’ idea, views the self in relation to

others, emphasizing the interdependence of
the self as part of a larger network of people
who all help shape each other.

, ,
We all know how the family plays a crucial
role in our development (Banaag & Cruz, 2016).
Being the primary agent of socialization, we
first learn to interact with our parents and
other family members — we are a child to our parents and a brother or sister to our siblings. We
enter a system of relationship — the family — which is the most important of all. We consciously
learn the use of the magic words, ’please’ and ’thank you’, the use of po and opo and the many
ways to show respect such as pagmamano, in the most basic foundation of our growth and
development — the family. Without a family, our sense of self will be difficult to develop. Imagine the
life of Tarzan including his behaviors, attitudes and basic manners. As fabricated as the character
appears, he is who he is because of his ape ‘family.’
Our age is also a factor that influences our identity. Notice how protective our parents have
been when we were little. Young children are more dependent while older children show more
independence. Sometimes they are even asked to take care of their younger siblings. As we age, our
identities and position in the family network transform. Beginning from being a baby, you grow as a
child, then as an adult child of your parents and sooner or later, you may have your own children
and your significant other, and have nieces and nephews (David, 2002).
The role of culture plays a significant role in determining the kind of relationships we establish
with our families. While some aunts and uncles are an important part of a child’s life, some were
raised in a home with one or more parental figures. While others live in a nuclear family, others live
in an extended one where parents, grandparents, and relatives live under the same roof (Banaag &
Cruz, 2016).
Gender also contributes to these relationships. Remember, sex is a biological term for a
person's genetic condition of being male or female. Hence, we only have two sexes. Gender, on the
other hand, is a social interpretation that varies across cultures. This is why different cultures can
have a number of gender categories like lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Basically, gender is
how a person expresses his or her biological sex according to cultural definitions (Udry, 1994).
In the Philippines, we still have the terms tomboy, girly-girl, and manly-man to classify the way
people express masculinity or femininity. Even the roles that the society dictates to a specific gender
influence our identity like assigning household tasks to women, fathers being the breadwinner of the
family, toy cars and robots for the little boys, and dolls and dresses for the little girls (Landy, 2017).

, , -
Similar to the factors mentioned above, a person's ethnicity also contributes to how an individual
interacts with others, yet, those interactions differ depending on where a person lives and his or
her nationality. Ethnicity is a social construct determined by a person's ancestral origins, culture,
and physical attributes inherited from their ancestors (Banaag & Cruz, 2016). Various studies say

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives
that racial or ethnic differences affect one’s self-image.
In a research by Gray-Little & Hafdahl (2000), African-
Americans, who believe that they belong the ethnic
minorities, are found to have lower self-esteem when
they compare themselves to Whites, who are more
advantaged. In the same manner, people with Middle
Eastern ethnicity, regardless of whether or not they
were born and raised in the Middle East or in the United
States, see themselves differently, possessing very Images of Flags taken from www.google.com

different life experiences.

Nationality combines with ethnicity to further define a person's identity within his or her larger
community. Filipinos have a distinct identity of being hospitable, making sure that something is
offered to visitors in the house (Garcia, 2015). In Mediterranean countries, people consider you
unkind if you avoid touching someone’s arm when talking to them or do not greet them with kisses or
a warm embrace (Pitta, et. Al, 1999). In the Philippines, when introduced to a person we just met,
we sometimes tap their backs to show acceptance but do this to someone who is not a family
member or a good friend in Korea will keep them uncomfortable. In the country, we can pat a child
on his or her head even if we are a stranger to them. In Thailand, the head is considered sacred
- patting a child on the head is a big NO (Pitta, et. Al, 1999).
Finally, our socio-economic class significantly influences one’s self-identity. Simply, it determines
where we live, the benefits and shortcomings we experienced during our upbringing, the kind of
education that we have, the kind of language that we learn, and even the choice of social groups.
In truth, our socio-economic class contributes to the development of one’s self-confidence, that
gives them the feeling of either superiority or inferiority in relation to others who belong to a
different class.

Understanding the Self Unit 1: The Self from Various Disciplinal Perspectives