PREPARED BY:

MAILLEN GRACE G. QUILALA (INSTRUCTOR)

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
• Articulate what culture means to the self as a part of the
society;
• Analyze the anthropological and sociological constructs of
the self; and
• Attribute self-understanding and behavior to cultural factors
 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
• It is the theory that people
develop knowledge of the
world in a social context, and
that much of what we perceive
as reality depends on shared
assumptions
• It asserts that all meaning is
socially created
• Social constructs are often
created within specific
institutions and cultures and
come to prominence in
certain historical periods
• They reflect shared ideas
and or perceptions that exist
only because people in a
group or society accept that
they do
HOW CULTURE AFFECTS THE SELF
• Edward B. Tylor (1832-1917) was an
English anthropologist considered as the
founder of cultural anthropology
• He defined culture as “that complex
whole which includes knowledge, beliefs,
arts, morals, law, customs, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man
as a member of society”
• Culture helps define how individuals see themselves
and how they relate to others
• Individuals differ in many ways: language diversity,
cultural diversity, gender diversity, religious diversity,
and economic diversity
• All of these aspects of diversity work together to form
your sense of self
THE LOOKING-GLASS SELF THEORY

• Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)

was an American sociologist who
used a sociopsychological approach
to the understanding of society
• He wanted to understand why human
beings behave the way they do
• The “looking-glass self” is the process by
which people evaluate themselves based on
how others see them
o First, people imagine how they appear to
others
o Second, they imagine how others judge
them based on that appearance
o Third, people have an emotional reaction
to that imagined judgment, such as pride
or embarrassment
• The theory suggests that we come to know
ourselves by reflecting on how others see us
 THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF MODERN
SOCIETY (SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE)
• Your personal and social identity is never static, but
this doesn’t mean you are constantly revising who you
are according to how you feel
• In terms of longer-term personal growth, changes in
personal identity are more often gradual and
incremental than abrupt and ‘total’ makeovers
• It is you and you alone who are
responsible for the kind of person
you are, the way you live your life,
and how you treat others
• You cannot change your identity on
a whim, or by an act of will
• Real changes in personal identity
emerge out of the creative interplay
between social circumstances and
events and the way you as an
individual respond to them
SELF IN SOCIETY AND SOCIETY IN SELF
• No one can stand apart from the social world---
everyone is influenced by society and it makes its
permanent mark on us
• Although we can never stand completely apart from
society, we nevertheless retain a certain amount of
independence from it
• Society can only present us with a set of choices; it can
never completely determine for us which choices we
actually adopt
• There is always a private, personal space in which we are
free to choose for ourselves and to be self-responsible, if we
so wish
o We are self-directing beings capable of independent
thought and behavior. We have the knowledge and skills
that allow us to deal with other people and situations in
our own terms
o We are all unique individuals because we have all had a
unique set of experiences. Even if you were brought up in
the same family, you experience the world in different
ways than your brothers or sisters
CORE AND SATELLITE NEEDS OF
THE SELF
• Self-love, as well as loving others
and being loved by others, are
important--- they are interdependent
• It is difficult to have a loving
relationship with yourself without
experiencing the love of others
• The ability to give love to others is hampered without
the love of self
• Self-love is not the same as narcissism or an unhealthy
preoccupation with oneself
• It is more about accepting who you are and taking
responsibility for what you do; it is about having
integrity, taking care of yourself and being self-
protective when it is required
 APPROVAL OF SELF AND OTHERS
• There are close links between
self-approval, approval by others
and approval of others
• Approval (in all forms) is essential
for love and loving relationships
• Approval implies tolerance (and
acceptance) of ‘differences’ in
personality, behavior and beliefs
• The search for approval has its own challenges
o In the formative years of childhood (0-8 years), child seeks the
approval of its caretakers as a means of securing their love
o During adulthood, it persists where there is a general need for the
approval of others, especially loved ones, or those who are admired or
looked-up to because they have particular qualities or skills
• However, uncertainty about one’s own independence, rights,
responsibilities and effectiveness (ability to influence things) can lead
to unhealthy, excessive need for approval
• Continuous search for approval is based on the fear that other’s love
will disappear and that the person will be left helpless and unloved
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
• Anthropology is the study of people
throughout the world, their evolutionary history,
how they behave, adapt to different
environments, communicate and socialize with
one another
• It is concerned both with the biological features
that make us human and with social aspects
• It is the science of humanity
 INTRODUCTION TO THE
FILIPINO CULTURE
• The Filipino culture is an exuberant
story that tells of the nation's
journey through the centuries
• Customs reflect the people's faith,
their oneness with others, their
affinity with nature, and their
celebration of life
• The Filipino's charm lies in their smiles, in the numerous
religious festivals that venerate nature, the Divine and the
cycles of life and in the virtue of pakikipag-kapwa tao that
treasures relationships, with friends and strangers alike
• The concept of kapwa (others) is at the core of the Filipino
soul
• The nation's charm is in the diversity in ways of life across
the archipelago, the splendid colors of its folk arts and the
cacophony of foreign influences that have found roots in the
Filipino languages, customs and traditions
• Another writer observes that
the Filipinos tendency towards
passionate profusion and
unrestrained exuberance in his
art stems from his exposure to
nature's lush, magnificent
landscapes around him the
whole year through
• Filipinos worship devoutly in their cathedrals and mosques
(the busy urban dwellers attend religious services inside
shopping malls and al fresco, in parks and plazas)
• They can sing and recognize good singing when they hear it
• They smile at strangers and babies, and through queues, rain
showers and traffic
• They socialize in parties and discotheques, as well as in
markets and community dances
• They make and keep friendships over food, over lambanog
(coconut wine), over mobile phone text messaging
• They are sentimental and devoted to their families
• They have profound respect for elders and show
self-effacing hospitality for guests
• They speak over 100 local languages and dialects,
of which the Tagalog-based Filipino is the lingua
franca, as well as English, with an accent
• They are basketball fans
• They love Hollywood films and television dramas
• They are pedestrians who chat while
walking and they are the
passengers in the ubiquitous
jeepneys
• They love laughing, at themselves,
their politics, their game shows.
• They are cosmopolitan in their
views but their values are rooted in
their faith, their family and their
community
• The Filipinos' temperament is as
warm and constant as their
sunshine
• Their way of life is rich, diverse
and rooted
• They are in harmony with others
and face the world with an
engagingly courageous spirit
FILIPINO IDENTITY: THE
HAUNTING QUESTION
• Through centuries of colonization,
there is a loss or a confusion
regarding Filipinos’ sense of
belonging, as well as the use of
colonial language has pervaded
every aspect of our lives
• The problem of a Filipino identity has oftentimes been
regarded as linked to postcolonial legacies and
predicaments following American rule of the islands
• While people in modern societies now have the benefit of
defining and choosing their identity based on reflexive
understandings of one’s biography, many are still left out of
this whole project