CENTRAL LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY

Science City of Munoz 3120

Nueva Ecija, Philippines

INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE FOR THE COURSE

PSYCH 1100 (UNDERSTANDING THE SELF)

I. THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

1.3. THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF THE SELF

Anthropology is the scientific study of humans, human behavior and societies in the past and
present. It studies what makes us human.
Anthropology is the systematic study of humanity, with the goal of understanding our evolutionary
origins, our distinctiveness as a species, and the great diversity in our forms of social existence
across the world and through time.
Anthropology is divided into three subfields: sociocultural, biological, and archaeology.

• Sociocultural anthropology
o Sociocultural anthropologists interpret the content of particular cultures, explain
variation among cultures, and study processes of cultural change and social
transformation. UC Davis sociocultural anthropologists conduct research on most
areas of the world, focusing on topics that include: human ecology; gender relations;
culture and ideology; demography and family systems; race, class and gender
inequality; resistance movements; colonialism, neocolonialism, and development;
and cultural politics in the West.
• Biological anthropology
o Biological anthropologists study a variety of aspects of human evolutionary biology.
Some examine fossils and apply their observations to understanding human
evolution; others compare morphological, biochemical and physiological
adaptations of living humans to their environments; still others observe behavior of
nonhuman primates (monkeys and apes) to understand the roots of human
behavior.
• Archaeology
o Archaeologists study the material remains of present and past cultural systems to
understand the technical, social and political organization of those systems and the
larger culture evolutionary process that stand behind them
Anthropology and the Self

• Anthropologists believe that concepts of the self, and who we are is culturally constructed.
• Cultural Anthropology: the study of how culture shapes human ideas and learned behavior.
• Ethnocentrism: the tendency to judge other cultures by one’s own values
• Cultural Relativism: respecting and accepting all cultures
• Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
o Conducted field work in New Guinea, Polynesia and other Pacific Islands
o Findings supported the notion that the learned culture, not biology (nurture not
nature) largely determines human behavior
o Most personality traits associated with ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ are due to
learned behavior and not heredity.
o Nurture determined human behavior not nature.