THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

Sociology

❖ A scientific study of social groups and human relationships generates new

insights into the interconnectedness between ourselves and other people.
❖ Sociologists offer theories to explain how the self emerges as a product of
social experience.
❖ The Sociological Perspective of the Self is based on the assumption that
human behavior is influenced by group life. A particle view of oneself is
formed through interaction with other people, groups, or social institutions.

The Principles and Concepts of well-known Sociologist

● Charles Horton Cooley

○ We possess a looking-glass self: the people with whom we interact to
become a mirror in which we view ourselves. Our self-identity or
self-image is achieved through a threefold event that begins by
conceiving an idea of how we present ourselves to others. Then, we
analyze how others perceive us. In the end, we create an image of
ourselves. The self is an outcome of what we think others think about
us.
○ Our self-identity or self-image is achieved through the threefold
events:
■ We conceive an idea of how we present ourselves to others.
■ We analyze how others perceive us.
■ We create an image of ourselves.

● George Herbert Mead

○ Mead’s theory of the social self presents that the self has two
divisions: the “I” and the “me”. The “I” is the subjective element and the
active site of the self. It pertains to the spontaneous, and unique
traits of the individual. Whereas the “me” is the objective element of
the self which refers to the internalized attitudes and demands of
other people and the individual’s awareness of those demands.
○ The full development of the self is attained when the “I” and the “me”
are united.
○ “The self is not present at birth.” It develops only with social
experience wherein language, gestures, and objects are used to
communicate meaningfully.

Human action → Role-taking → Self-aware

○ Since there is meaning in human actions, we infer people’s intention
or direction of action, which may lead us to understand the world
from other’s point of view — a process that Mead labeled role-taking.
Then we create our own roles and anticipate how others will respond.
When we perform our own particular role, we became self-aware. The
self continues to change along with our social experience.

○ Mead detailed the Development of the Self in a three-stage process:

■ In the Preparatory Stage (0-3 years old), children imitate the
people around them especially family members with whom they
have daily interaction. But they copy behavior without
understanding underlying intentions, and so at this stage, they
have no sense of self. During this stage, children are just
preparing for role-taking.
■ During the Play Stage (3 to 5 years old), children start to view
themselves in relation to others as they learn to communicate
through language and other symbols. At this stage, role-taking
is exhibited, however, children do not perceive role-taking as
something expected of them. The self emerges as children
pretend to take the roles of specific people or significant
others, those individuals who are important agents of
socialization. In this stage, the self is developing.
■ In the Game Stage (begins in the early school years; about 8 or
9 years old), children understand not only their own special
position but also those of others around them. At this stage,
children become concerned about and take into account in
their behavior the generalized others which refer to the
attitudes, viewpoints, demands, and expectations of the
society which include cultural norms and values we use as
references in evaluating ourselves. This time they can have a
more sophisticated look of people and an ability to respond to
numerous members of the social environment. During this
stage, the self is now present.

● The Self as a product of Modern and Postmodern Societies.

○ According to Gerry Lanuza (2004), in modern societies, the
attainment and stability of self-identity are freely chosen.
■ It is no longer restricted by customs and traditions.
■ While this newfound freedom offers infinite possibilities
for self-cultivation, however, problems such as alienation
and dehumanization of the self also appear which
hinder the full development of human potentials.
 ■ Hence, there is a need to discover the “authentic core” of
the self for the individual to freely work self-realization.
■ While the individual seeks for solid and stable
self-identity in modern society, the postmodern
individual tries to avoid fixation and keep the options
open for self-improvement.
○ In postmodern societies, self-identity continuously changes
due to the demands of a multitude of social contexts, new
information technologies, and globalization.
■ Whereas the dissolution of traditional values and
communities in modern society has led the individual to
construct a solid and stable self-identity, the
postmodern individual welcomes all possibilities for
self-improvement.
○ French sociologist Jean Baudrillard exposes the negative
consequences of postmodernity to individuals in society.
■ Postmodern individuals achieve self-identity through
prestige symbols that they consume.
■ The cultural practices of advertising and mass media
greatly influence individuals to consume goods, not for
their primary value and utility but to give them a feeling
of goodness and power when compared with others.
■ The self may be a never-ending search for prestige in the
postmodern society.