Sociological

and
Anthropological
Perspectives of the
Self

Prepared by:
Ms. LIEZEL P. MOISES MA, RPM, rpsy

Edited by:
IVY MARIE ZARRAGA, MAPSY-CP
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to accomplish the following
objectives:

• Define Sociology and Anthropology, and explain their differences, and how they
overlap.
• Recognize the sociological views about understanding the self and others
• Explain how individuals view the self as a product of socialization
• Discuss the different theories about the social self
• Appreciate their own social experiences that have been helpful in understanding
the self.
• Determine how the field of Anthropology can contribute to the understanding of
the self
• Explain how culture and self are complementary concepts
• Discuss the cultural construction of the self, social identity and identity struggles
• Gain insights on how to achieve a sense of self, situated in multicultural and
dynamic situations.
SOCIOLOGY VERSUS ANTROPOLOGY

SOCIOLOGY (SOCIETY) ANTHROPOLOGY (CULTURE)

Study the ways groups of people interact The study of humans and the ways they live.
Often studying institutions Study culture at the micro-level

Focus on Group behavior and social relations Studies human behavior at the individual level

Use both qualitative and quantitative research Use ethnography (a qualitative research)
More solution-oriented with the goal of fixing social Goal is to understand human diversity and cultural
problems through policy. difference.

The study of the social consequences of human The study of humans, past and present.
behavior.
•
“...People learn to hate and if they
learn to hate then they can be taught
to love, for love comes more naturally
to the human heart than its opposite.”

- Nelson
Mandela
 PART 1.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
Sociological Perspectives of Self:
Bioecological Systems Perspectives
to Understanding the Self

Interdependence and Reciprocity

• Individual can only be understood in the

context of his or her environment;
elements are interdependent, reciprocally related.

• The environment is phenomenologically

experienced (Alampay, 2018).
Sociological Perspectives of Self:
Bioecological Systems Perspectives to
Understanding the Self

• Explain how the inherent qualities of

children and their environments
interact to influence how they grow
and develop.

• The Ecology of Human Development

is a COMPLEX SYSTEM.
Sociological Perspectives of Self:
Bioecological Systems Perspectives to Understanding the Self

Person-Process-Context-Time
(PPCT) Model:

1. PROXIMAL PROCESS
2. IDEA OF PERSON
Sociological Perspectives of Self:
Bioecological Systems Perspectives to
Understanding the Self

Person-Process-Context-Time (PPCT)
Model:

1. PROXIMAL PROCESS
• Enduring forms of interaction in the
immediate environment
Sociological Perspectives of Self:
Bioecological Systems Perspectives to
Understanding the Self

Person-Process-Context-Time (PPCT) Model:

2. IDEA OF PERSON

• Idea of Demand - personal

characteristics: gender, age,
race etc...
• Idea of Resource - pertains to mental,
emotional and material
capability and even
inadequacies.
• Idea of Force - inherent differences in
temperament, motivation,
drive and persistence
Sociological Perspectives of Self:
Bioecological Systems Perspectives to
Understanding the Self

Subsystem of
Bronfenbrenner Ecological
Systems

• Microsystem
• Mesosystem
• Exosystem
• Macrosystem
• Chronosystem
Subsystem of Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems

Microsystem
• The smallest and most
immediate environment in
which children live.

• Comprises the daily home,

school or daycare, peer
group and community
environment of the
children.
Subsystem of Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems

Mesosystem
• Encompasses the interaction of the
different microsystems which
children find themselves in.

• Involves linkages between home

and school, between peer group
and family, and between family
and community.
Subsystem of Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems

Exosystem
• Pertains to the linkages that may exist
between two or more settings, one of
which may not contain the developing
children but affect them indirectly.
Subsystem of Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems

Macrosystem
• The largest and most distant
collection of people and places
to the children that still have
significant influences on them.

• Composed of the children’s

cultural patterns and values,
specifically their dominant
beliefs and ideas, as well as
political and economic
systems.
Subsystem of Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems

Chronosystem
• Adds the useful dimension of time,
which demonstrates the influence
of both change and constancy in
the children’s environments. 
 Globalizing World:
Implications to self and identity

• Are we what we are because of who we are?

• Or there are forces and events shaping who we are?

We may also continue to ask and sustain our inquiry that if the latter is in fact
true, what are these events and forces, and strong these forces in influencing
the development of the self?

It is good to reflect on these things for a while and leave ourselves to think for
the answers. But our philosophical thinking may not suffice, unless we lay down
empirical answers to these questions.
 The Self in a Compressing world

• In the era of globalization, it is true to say that despite of improving

international relations among countries, it is observed that the self is living in
a self-compressing world.

• There are clear demarcation and border between countries of different race
and nationality.

• Individuals are separating from each other based on interest and creating
demarcation line based on race and identity.

Can we not dream of the world opening its borders from different countries
and communities?
 Internet Implication to Self and
Identity

• The use of internet has become revolutionary in

the process of globalization.

• Larson (2002) concluded in his review of related

studies that the
freedom of choice
and empowerment provided by the
internet in the lives of adolescents as their social
mode of communications and digital connectivity.

• These digital connections can be in the form of

establishing friendship, romantic partners, their
health and well-being, their education, their civic
and community engagement.
 The “butt – hurt generation

Where everyone is offended by everything; and if they’re not, they try to be.
Generation Alpha
2013 - 2025
 g m ag –
n
n mo sila ”
aa o
“Hay habol say

x B 2018
-E
Ikaw, ano bang ultimate “Hugot” mo?
 ACTIVITY

Have you ever feel the need to wear a variety of

masks in order to blend into social situations? At
some point in our lives, we all try to conceal that
‘part of us’ which we do not like the world to see
because we fear rejection. They are normal, yet not
an ideal part of human life. If you are to represent
yourself to other people, how would your mask
look like? Create a mask for yourself.
Introduction
• Tabula rasa - the idea that individuals are born without any
mental content. Therefore, knowledge of something comes
from experience or perception.

• In the same manner, our sense of self begins to develop as

we experience the world around us — the more we interact with
the outside world, the more we develop our selves.

• Consequently, the sociological and anthropological

perspectives of the self tell us that the ‘self’ is a by-product of
one’s interaction with the environment, and not because of
the mind or the soul infused into us.
the concept that we have
of our role in the world
around us
 Your self identity shapes
your perceptions, or the way you see
SELF IDENTITY the world. Your attitude about life,
the way you think or feel about
The way you see yourself. something, depends on how you

SOCIAL IDENTITY identify yourself. Also, the way you

see yourself is also manipulated by
The way others see you. your values, what you think is right or
wrong, and beliefs, what you see as
true and untrue. All these factors
influence what you can accomplish
and where you will fit in
Social identity and self-identity are not
always on the same page, which can actually
cause conflict in a person's life.

Have you encountered conflict in your self and

social identity?
• Can you say that you are smart, physically attractive
and talented?
How do you know you are?
 A collection of beliefs that we hold
about ourselves

SENSE OF
SELF
 Other Sociological
Perspectives of the
Self

• George Herbert Mead:

Social Self Theory

• Charles Horton Cooley:

Looking Glass Self
 Other Sociological Perspectives of the Self
George Herbert Mead:
Social Self Theory

• Explained that the Self has

two divisions:
• The “I” and the “ME”
• The full development of
the self is attained:

• When the “I” encounters

Other Sociological Perspectives of the Self
George Herbert Mead: Social Self Theory
THE “I”
• Is the subjective element and the active
side of the self.
• It represents the spontaneous and unique
traits of the individual.

THE “ME”
• Is the objective element of the self.
• Represents the internalized attitudes and
demands of other people.
• And the individual’s awareness of those
demands.
Other Sociological Perspectives of the Self
George Herbert Mead: Social Self Theory

Mead’s Assumptions:

• The self is not present at birth.

• It develops only with social
experience.
• In which language, gestures, and
objects are used to communicate
meaningfully.
Other Sociological Perspectives of the Self
Charles Horton Cooley:
Looking Glass Self

• The people whom a

person interacts with
become a mirror in which
he or she views himself
or herself.

• Social Interaction as a
type of a mirror.
Other Sociological Perspectives of the Self
Charles Horton Cooley: Looking Glass Self

Self-identity/Self-image achieved through Three-fold Event:

1. How a person presents himself or herself to others.

2. How he or she analyzes how others perceive him or her.
3. How he or she creates an image of himself or herself.
 In Context
If you're talking to a group of people and you state something and
everyone laughs at you, even calling you stupid, you might begin to
see yourself as stupid. You adopt the looking glass, the mirror image
of yourself that is being reflected back to you by others. Vice versa, if
you say something intelligent, and this is the image reflected back to
you, you might begin to see yourself as intelligent.

One by one, in isolation, these interactions won't make you think

you're stupid or intelligent, but if these patterns get repeated again and
again throughout your lifetime, you develop an image of yourself that
is given to you from without, from interaction with others.
 PART 2.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF
ANTHROPOLOGY
• In the context of the social
formation of the self can be defined
as how cultural, social, physical
processes interplayed to shape our
world experiences.

• Has place primordial importance on

the role of nature (genetics) and
nurture (environment)
Culture defined
• Complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society
(Tylor, n.d).
• Culture is not behaviour itself but the shared
understandings that guide behaviour and are
expressed in behavior (Peacock, 1986)
WESTERN CULTURES ARE INCLINED TO FOSTER
INDIVIDUALISM, THE ‘I’ IDEA THAT DESCRIBES THE
SELF AS EXISTING INDEPENDENTLY OF OTHERS AND
INCLUDES OWN TRAITS.

COLLECTIVISMDOMINATES THE PERSPECTIVE ON

THE SELF IN EASTERN CULTURES. THE ’WE’
IDEA,VIEWS THE SELF IN RELATION TO OTHERS,
EMPHASIZING THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE
SELF AS PART OF A LARGER GROUP WHO HELP
SHAPE THE SELF.
How is the term, identity, conceptualize
in the context of Anthropology?

• Identity consistency
of the self to
behave in a certain pattern of
behaving or dispositions.

• In social anthropology , the term, identity,

was commonly used to refer as “ethnic
identity” in its collective connotation.

• Identity in this sense does refer to the

individuality, but collective similarity of the
self with others.
 FAMILY
In the systems view, families,
parents and children influence
each other and parent-child
relations are influenced by other
individuals and institutions
Culture
Neighborhood

Family
Work Father Mother

School

Extended
Family Children

Religious
Organizations
 AGE
Notice how protective our parents have been when we were little.
Young children are more dependent while older children show more
independence. Sometimes they are even asked to take care of their
younger siblings.
As we age, our identities and position in the family network
transform. Beginning from being a baby, you grow as a child, then
as an adult child of your parents and sooner or later, you may have
your own children and your significant other, and have nieces and
nephews
 Culture
Example: In many cultures, family members sleep together in one
room, often in the same bed. In the U.S., it is considered normal for
babies to sleep in their own bed in their own room
 e.g. bereavement practices - Western vs. Asian
beliefs
 Sex and Gender
Sex - is a biological term for a person's genetic
condition of being male or female.
Gender- is a social interpretation that varies
across cultures. This is why different cultures can
have a number of gender categories like lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender. Basically, gender
is how a person expresses his or her biological sex
according to cultural definitions
What is nationality?

• A nationality is identity with a group of people

who share legal attachment and personal allegiance
to a particular country.
• A nation or nationality is a group of people tied
together to a particular place through legal
status and cultural traditions.
What is ethnicity?

• Ethnicity is identity with a group of people who

share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or
hearth.
• Ethnicity comes from the Greek word ethnikos,
which means national.
What is race?
• Race is identity with a group who share a biological
ancestor and it is distinct from ethnicity.
Important Term

• Racism: the belief that race is the primary

determinant of human traits and capacities and those
racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a
particular race.
Socio-economic Status
• determines where we live, the benefits and shortcomings
we experienced during our upbringing, the kind of education
that we have, the kind of language that we learn, and even
the choice of social groups.

• In truth, our socio-economic class contributes to the

development of one’s self-confidence, that gives them the
feeling of either superiority or inferiority in relation to others
who belong to a different class.
Differences…

• Filipinos have a distinct identity of being hospitable, making

sure that something is offered to visitors in the house .
• In Mediterranean countries, people consider you unkind if
you avoid touching someone’s arm when talking to them or
do not greet them with kisses or a warm embrace
• In the Philippines, when introduced to a person we just met,
we sometimes tap their backs to show acceptance but do
this to someone who is not a family member or a good
friend in Korea will keep them uncomfortable.
• In the country, we can pat a child on his or her head even if
we are a stranger to them. In Thailand, the head is
considered sacred - patting a child on the head is a big NO
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
10 Things You Should Know About
Filipino Culture
 END
Thank you!

L. MOISES, ADAMSON UNIVERSITY