CHAPTER II

Unpacking the Self

Prepared by:

JERICK SANON GARUALDO

Psychology Department
 Lesson 2
To Buy or Not to Buy? That Is The Question
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able
to:
1.Explain the association of self and
possessions;
2.Identify the role of consumer culture to self
and identity; and
3.Appraise one’s self based on the description
of material self.
ABSTRACTION
• Material Self
-William James, understanding the self can be examined
through its different components:
(1) its constituents; (2) the feelings and emotions they arouse
—self-feelings; (3) the actions to which they prompt—self-
seeking and self-preservation
-The constituents of self are composed of the material self,
the social self, the spiritual self, and the pure ego.
-The material self, according to James primarily is about our
bodies, clothes, immediate family, and home.
-The more investment of self-given to the particular thing,
the more we identify ourselves to it. We also tended to
collect and possess properties. The collections in different
degree of investment of self, becomes part of the self.
•We Are What We Have
-Russel Belk posits that “…we regard our possessions as part
of ourselves. We are what we have and what we posses.”
-As we grow older, putting importance to material possession
decreases.
- Material possession gains higher value in our lifetime if we
use material possession to find happiness, associate these
things with significant events, accomplishments, and people
in our lives.
-The possessions that we dearly have tell something about
who we are, our self-concept, our past, and even our future.
LESSON SUMMARY
•Material Self
-Understanding the self can be examined through its
different components:
(1) its constituents; (2) the feelings and emotions they arouse
—self-feelings; (3) the actions to which they prompt—self-
seeking and self-preservation.
-The constituents of self are composed of the material self,
the social self, the spiritual self and the pure ego.
-The material self, primarily is about our bodies, clothes,
immediate family, and home.
We Are What We Have
-Russel Belk posits that “…we regard our possessions as part of
ourselves. We are what we have and what we posses.”
-Material possession gains higher value…to find happiness,
associate these things with significant events,
accomplishments, and people in our lives;
-The possessions that we dearly have tell something about who
we are, our self-concept, our past, and even our future.