The Self from various Miss Javy Mae C.

Masbate

Perspective Teacher I
 1. Sociological Views of the Self
1.1. The Self as Product of Modern Society Among
Others
The struggle for one’s individuality is only possible in modern
society where religio-theological traditions are gradually replaced
by rational and scientific calculations; and the intimate personal
affiliations are replaced by exceedingly impersonal associations
brought about by urbanized way of life.
-Clifford Geertz (1973)
1.1. The Self as Product of Modern Society
Among Others
This posses certain problems as:
1. The newfound freedom threatens the very authenticity of the
self (e.g. love).
2. Alienation (Marx)- human beings hunted by the very images they
have created
3. Objectification of the body (e.g. medical practices)
4. Dehumanization of self
 1.2 Self as Necessary Fiction

Self is nothing more than a metaphor, a representation of

something abstract; symbolic.

Self has a continuity even if it is only in memory i.e, either heard

or witnessed which did not happen to you.
 1.3 Post-modern View of the Self

Self is a narrative, a text written and rewritten. Self is a story. It is

dynamic. Self is a product of modern discourse that is historically and
socially imprisoned by what is acceptable by norms, etc.
Self in post modernity is complicated by electronic mediated virtual
interaction of cyber self such as change in appearance (in the
cyberspace).
Self is “digitalized” in cyberspace, a virtual version of who we are.
(N. Green)
 1.3 Post-modern View of the Self

The following are the manifestation:

1. Information technology dislocates the
self, thus, self is “digitalized” in
cyberspace,
2. Global migration produces multicultural
identities.
3. Post-modern selves are “pluralized”
selves.
 1.3 Post-modern View of the Self

Social Construction of the Self:

-Self is not discovered, it is
made through the socialization
process. BUT, individuals are
not just hapless victims of
socializations.
“Ikaw ang gumagawa ng kung
ano ka.”
1.4 Rewriting the Self as an Artistic Creation

Nietzsche states that the unity of the self is

not pre-given but accomplished through
conscious effort – transform self through
beautiful work of art.
We can create ourselves to get hold of the
present, forgive the past and plan the future.

Rorty: contingencies of selfhood – conceal

the “ugly” by reinterpreting the overall
aesthetic contours of the self.
 1.5 Self Creation and Collective Identity

- Memory and forgetting are most important

powers in creating the self and identity.
- Self Creation is formed within “imagined
communities”. Selves obtain their nature from
cultural traditions embodied in various social
institution.
- Self creation along cultural lines must be done
in maximum cultural recognition of differences
among and between individuals and cultural
groups.
 1.6 Self Creation and the struggle for
cultural recognition

This is a challenge of self-identity

amidst recognition of racial and ethnic
identities. Self creation is necessarily
grounded on collective solidarities. We
create ourselves by struggling with
cultural hassles then owning the
created self.
 Beyond Self Creation

The quest or search for self-identity is a product of modern

society but this is complicated by the socio-cultural sensibilities of
postmodernity, new information technologies and globalization,
reconfiguring ourselves as to gender, sex, ethnicity, and creating
one’s own style, signature.
 2. Mead’s Theory of Self

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

-an American sociologist best known as a
founder of American pragmatism, a
pioneer of symbolic interaction theory,
and as one of the founders of social
psychology.
2. Mead’s Theory of Self
 SELF

ME I

Represents the expectations Is the response to “me,” or

and attitudes of others (the the person’s individuality.
“generalized other”)
organized into a social self.
SELF as OBJECT SELF as SUBJECT
2.1 Mead’s Three Stages of Development of Self
2.2 The Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self is
Influenced by Others’ Views of Us

The concept of the looking-glass self states

that part of how we see ourselves comes
from our perception of how others see us
(Cooley, 1902).

• The degree of personal insecurity you

display on social situations is determined
by what you believe other people think of
you.
 2.2 The Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self is
Influenced by Others’ Views of Us

• Sometimes, the influence of other people’s appraisals

of ourselves on our self-concept may be so strong
that we end up internalizing them.

LABELING BIAS – when we are labeled, and others’

views and expectations of us are affected by that
labeling (Fox & Stinnet, 1996).
 2.2 The Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self is
Influenced by Others’ Views of Us

SELF-LABELING – happens when we adopt other’s

labels explicitly into our self-concept.
The effects of this self-labeling on our self-esteem
appear to depend very much on the nature of the
label.
Labels used in relation to diagnosis of psychological
disorders can be detrimental to people who then
internalize them.
 2.2 The Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self is
Influenced by Others’ Views of Us

INTERNALIZED PREJUDICE – when individuals turn

prejudice directed toward them by others onto
themselves.
- this has been found to predict more negative self-
concept and poorer psychological adjustment in
members of various groups, including sexual minorities
and racial minorities.
 2.3 Social Comparison Theory: Our Sense of Self Is Influenced
by Comparisons with Others

Self concept and self-esteem are also heavily influenced

by the process of social comparison.
Social Comparison – occurs when we learn about our abilities
and skills, about the appropriateness and validity of our
opinions, and about our relative social status by comparing our
own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those of others.

Social Comparison – occurs primarily on dimensions on

which there are no correct answers or objective
benchmarks and thus on which we can rely only on the
beliefs of others for information.