Understanding the Self:

The Sociological &

Anthropological Perspectives
of the Self

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

According to sociologist George
Herbert Mead, identity is how an
individual sees him/herself in
relation to his/her interaction
experiences with the society.

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

Objectives
At the end of the session, the students are
expected to demonstrate the ff. learning
outcomes:
Discuss conceptualization of the self through
the perspective of anthropology and
sociology

Compare and contrast how the self is

represented in anthropology and sociology

Examine the different influences, factors, and

forces that shape the self.

Demonstrate critical and reflective thought in analyzing the

development of one’s self and identity by developing a
theory of the self.

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

ACTVITY

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

 ACTVITY

In a piece of paper, write your complete name.

Under your name, write any words, – it may be a

sentence, phrase, or a word, – that may describe
your name. Use these words to create a single
paragraph story about your name and how it grew
through time. After spending ten minutes of
writing the story of your name, find a partner and
talk about your output.

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Your name is inseparable from yourself . It is an
inevitable part of your self-identity

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

 Self in the Anthropological Process

• The self reflects how human adaptations with our

social environment increase our chances of
survival. This evolutionary process involves how we
establish our identity.

• Humans have an evolved capacity towards using

human social interactions as an efficient tool for
adaptation and survival. This powerful tool is
referred to as culture.

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 refers to “a system of 1) shared beliefs, 2) values,
3) customs, 4) behaviors, and 5) artifacts that the
members of society use to cope with their world
and with one another, and that are transmitted from
generation to generation through learning”.

Its classic conceptualization has five key qualities,

namely, culture is learned, shared, symbolic,
integrated, and adaptive.

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• Culture is an ongoing event among people. The
moment one is born, one is already immersed in a
culture which eventually one will learn and make
use of in interacting with others. This learning
process is referred to as enculturation.

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 • The process of enculturation is not experienced by
one individual but also by others in the social
environment.

For example, celebrating Christmas is an event

that all Filipino families engage in.

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• Symbols, in a culture, have the same meaning
across people in that particular culture. The
meanings of these symbols are learned as an
individual interacts with the social environment.

• For example, the image of Sto. Nino is seen as an

image of hope and providence especially by the
Cebuanos.

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Culture is complex for it is – a collection of ideas,
experiences, events at different times, and other
elements. As complex as it is, each element in the
culture has functions that facilitates the survival and
transmission of the culture from generation to
generation.

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The cultural experiences in our family and in our
religion integrate and serve the function of
maintaining a Filipino identity

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• Culture is a constantly evolving process. It adapts to
the social and environmental pressure through
time and ensures its transmission to succeeding
generations.

• The social sanctions imposed in one’s culture is one

way to ensure that the cultural values are being
practiced.
• For example, Filipinos see pakikisama (getting
along with others) as a quality valued in our
interaction with others. A person who does not
engage in pakikisama is frowned upon by fellow
Filipinos, which is a form of sanction to that person.

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• Culture as learned, shared, symbolic, integrated,
and adaptive puts forward the idea that our self-
identity is not entirely shaped by what we believe
who we are but by what our ancestors have
transmitted through generations and by what are
being learned and shared in our social
environment.

• What we are now are multifaceted products of our

cultural adaptation.
 Understanding the Self:
The Sociological &
Anthropological Perspectives
of the Self

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

Exercise 1: My Self in the Culture
Look around. Observe your social environment.
Examine one element of your culture that you think is
personally relevant and has an influence in your self-
identity. This element may be values, traditions, customs,
beliefs, or other cultural practices. Think about it and
respond to the guide questions below.

1. Describe an element in your culture that is personally relevant to you?

Why do you think it is an element of a culture?
2. In what quality of culture is it most reflective of? Provide your reasons.
3. How does that element in your culture influence your self-identity?

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To ensure survival, our ancestors formed groups and
provided utmost importance to cooperation among
group members, which were eventually –reflected in
our culture. It is important to learn, therefore, that
our self is largely influenced by the culture we are
currently living in.

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 The more we immerse ourselves in our social
environment, the more we learn and are influenced
by our culture.

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The SELF in the Sociological
Process
• Aside from the influence of culture in our self-
identity, our experiences in social interaction with
others and in the society also play important roles.

• The self as a two-way feedback.

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The looking-glass self by Charles Horton Cooley
suggests that individuals see themselves through
their interaction with others. Thus, one sees oneself
in the feelings, thoughts, and actions of others.

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In the words of Sociologist George Herbert Mead,
“the self is social”

This social self is learned by acquiring ideas on what

are the behaviors the society wants from the self and
the entire members of the society. These expected
behaviors are then followed by all the members as if
they are playing their roles in their society.

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In Filipino traditional courtship, for example, society
expects that the man initiates the step for courting
whereas the woman is expected to wait for the man and
engage in delayed responses.

These expectations of what should and what should not

be done in different social situations are known as
norms.
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• In sociology, there are 4 types of norms, namely,
folkways, mores, taboos, and laws

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• Folkways refer to day-to-day behaviors that people
follow in social situations. Praying before meals is a
folkway valued by Filipinos.

• Mores, on the other hand, is a norm that when

violated results to social sanctions. These are
norms that pertain to morality.

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• Taboos are more stringent than mores such that
mentioning or engaging in such behaviors can elicit
extreme negative reaction from others in the society.
Incest, – sexual activity between family members or
close relatives, – is a taboo in most cultures.

• Laws are written expectations of how an individual

should behave in social situations. This type of norms is
enforced by an authority in the society. Philippines, as
one of the LGBT-friendly (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender) countries in Asia, has an anti-
discrimination act against LGBT community

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• In general, how one sees onself through one’s
interactions with others and how society expects
one to feel, think, and behave are sociological
factors that influence one’s self-identity.

• In contrast to the anthropological influence to one’s

self-identity, the sociological understanding of the
self focuses on how societal expectations influence
one’s identity

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Exercise 2: You are my Mirror
• Look at yourself in a mirror. Imagine that the mirror
does not just give a reflection of your physical
appearance but also a reflection of your self-identity.
This mirror is the society your everyday life revolves
around. Part of that society are the members of your
family, your friends, the people in the university, and
others.
• In this exercise, interview two important persons in
your life. Use the following guide questions below.
1. How do you see me?
2. Can you recall of any experiences wherein you influenced me
in terms of how I should think, feel, or behave?
3. Can you explain to me what you think is your role in my life?

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Exercise 2: You are my Mirror
• Summarize in at least two paragraphs your
conversation with the two important persons in your
life. Then respond to the following guide questions
below.
1. Are the ideas, related to how they see you, reflect how
you see yourself?
2. How does your past and present interaction with these
people influence your self-identity?
3. Is their role in your life important in influencing how
you see yourself? Provide reasons.

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One is not just influenced by the people and culture
in one’s proximity but also by the people and culture,
which are apart from one’s immediate environment.

Globalization, or the process of the technology-aided

widespread of social capital and information across
the globe, has also influenced how one establishes
one’s self-identity.

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• The most influential innovation in the 21st century
is the internet and how it changes the process of
socialization through the social media applications.
Such innovation forces one’s culture to adapt and
even change, – this is referred to as the adaptive
culture.
• Even one’s feelings and thoughts are influenced by
the social media. For example, an experimental
study found that the newsfeed in an individual’s
Facebook account can influence their mood, such
that negative contents facilitates negative mood

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• In general, the increasing and encompassing social
world is largely influential in establishing one’s self-
identity.
• The self is not only the product of how one
establishes it but a product of one’s interaction, not
only with proximate people and culture but also
with the globalized world.

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

 Exercise 3: The Theory of Myself
Recall that you associated your name with words and created a story of
your name. Now, make use of your first name as a label for your own theory of
the self ( first name theory). In creating a theory of yourself, follow the guideline
questions below.
1. What is the name of your own theory of self? In this step, provide an overview
of who you are by proving a history of your name and the meanings associated
with it. You have already done this part in the introductory activity.
2. How do you see yourself in the perspective of anthropology? Provide at least
one personal experience that can support your anthropological perspective.
3. How do you see yourself in the perspective of sociology? Provide at least one
personal experience that can support your sociological perspective.
4. What are the two most important characteristics of your self-identity that you
think are influenced both by the culture and the societal expectations?

Prepared by: Justine Marie Beltran

 References
[1] D. G. Bates and F. Plog, Cultural anthropology, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.

[2] E. B. Tylor, Primitive culture (2 vols.), London: Murray, 1871.

[3] Z. Golubović, "An anthropological conceptualisation of identity," Synthesis Philosophica, vol.

51, no. 1, pp. 25-4351, 2011.
[4] C. H. Cooley, "Looking-Glass Self," in The Production of Reality: Essays and Readings on
Social Interaction, Pine Forge Press, 2010, pp. 126-129.
[5] G. H. Mead and C. W. Morris, "Mind, Self, and Society from the Standpoint of a Social
Behaviorist," International Journal of Ethics, vol. 45 , no. 4, pp. 456-459, 1935.
[6] M. Andersen and H. Taylor, Sociology: The Essentials, Belmont, CA: Thomson, 2009.

[7] H. D., A. McGrew, D. Goldblatt and J. Perraton, "Global Transformations: Politics, Economics
and Culture," in Politics at the Edge, Palgrave Macmillan, London, Political Studies
Association Yearbook Series, 2000.
[8] O. E. Klapp, Overload and Boredom: Essays on the Quality of Life in the Information Society,
Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc. , 1986.
[9] W. F. Ogburn, Social Change with Regard to Cultural and Original Nature, New York: Dell
Publishing Company, 1966.
[10] A. D. I. Kramer, J. E. Guillory and J. T. Hancock, "Experimental evidence of massive-scale
emotional contagion through social Prepared by: Justine
networks," Marie vol.
PNAS, Beltran
111, no. 24, pp. 8788-8790,
2014.