Understanding

The Self
Instructor:
MARY BEATRICE J. OBORDO, MAPsy
 Week 7-12

UNPACKING
the

SELF
The Physical Self / The Sexual Self / The Material Self /
The Spiritual Self / The Political Self / The Digital Self
 WHAT ARE YOU
PASSIONATE ABOUT?
 Week 7

THE
MATERIAL
SELF
The Material Self / The roles of consumer culture on our sense of self and identity /
Special Cases of Extended Self
WHAT ARE SOME OF
THE MATERIAL
THINGS THAT
MAKES YOU HAPPY?
THE MATERIAL SELF

 Material Self is constituted by our

bodies, clothes, immediate family and
home.

 According to William James, we are

most deeply affected because of our
investments of self with these things.

 The more we invest of ourselves in

these objects, the more attached we
inevitably are to them.
THEY SAY, “MONEY
CAN’T BUY
HAPPINESS” DO YOU
AGREE OR
DISAGREE?
SOCIAL AND BUSINESS VALUE

 According to Heyman and Ariely

(2004) there are two (2) motivations for
completing a given task.

 Social – by recognizing a task value,

a person sees it as a worthy investment
of time and a part of his/her social duty.

 Business – the more money received

the more tasks done.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND SERVICE

 Those who are conscious of

money typically strive to be more
self-sufficient than those for
whom money isn’t a priority.

 Money-conscious individuals
are more than self-sufficient than
their peers particularly when
money is made the focus.
SELF-VIEW

 The amount one earns could

have an effect on how he/she
views both himself/herself and
others.

 Class Essentialism is the

idea that differences between
classes are based upon identity
and genetics rather than
circumstance.
ETHICS
 Self- interest maximization is an idea
that suggests those who have the most
money or occupy higher classes are more
likely to take a “what’s in it for me?”
attitude.

ADDICTION
 Behavioral or Process Addiction a
compulsive behavior not motivated by
dependency on an addictive substance but
rather by a process that leads to a
seemingly positive outcome.
WHAT ARE YOUR
MOST VALUABLE
POSSESSIONS?
POSSESSIONS AND THE EXTENDED SELF

 The premise that people regard their

possessions as parts of themselves is
not new.

 If possessions are viewed as part of

the self, it follows that an unintentional
loss of possessions should be regarded
as a loss or lessening of self.
HAVE YOU EVER
LOST ANYTHING
VALUABLE?
POSSESSIONS AND THE EXTENDED SELF

 Hand bag snatching can produce not

only a financial but also an emotional
and long-term effect on victims.

 They tend to distrust and feel

suspicious towards other people and
develop a fear of walking in public and
even in familiar environments.

 Other examples: death of a loved

one, natural disasters
POSSESSIONS AND THE EXTENDED SELF
 Schor (1998) believed that there is a
connection between wealth and well-being.

 Cycle of work and spend means work

more to buy more.

 The consumption is set mainly by

people’s choices about how much to work
and therefore how much income to earn.

 After working so hard, they feel

deserving of their consumer comforts and
luxuries.
POSSESSIONS AND THE EXTENDED SELF
 Extended Self are external objects that
consumers consider a part of themselves.

 Four levels of the extended self:

• Individual Level: Personal Possessions

• Family Level: Residence and Furnishings

• Community Level: Neighborhood or town

one is from

• Group Level: Social Groups

WHAT ARE SOME OF
YOUR
COLLECTIONS?
SPECIAL CASES OF EXTENDED SELF: COLLECTIONS
(I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM)

 Collecting has become a

significant activity in our consumer
society as it has become more widely
affordable through the discretionary
time and money.

 To some extent, a compulsive

tendency urges them the increasing
desire to collect as much as they
could.
 ARE YOU AN
ANIMAL LOVER?
SPECIAL CASES OF EXTENDED SELF: PETS

 Like people, pets are regarded as

family members.

 In this regard, it is significant that

we name our pets, feed and care for
them, photograph, spend money on
them, groom them, protect, sleep and
play with them and mourn their death.
DO YOU VALUE
YOUR BODY?
SPECIAL CASES OF EXTENDED SELF: BODY PARTS
 Body parts are the most central parts of
the extended self.

 In psychoanalytic terms, such self-

extension is called cathexis.

 Cathexis involves the charging of an

object, activity or idea with emotional
energy by the individual.

 Since body parts are normally central to

conceptions of self, the loss of body parts is
tantamount to losing one’s identity and
one’s very being.
“ Success is not about how much
money you make, it’s about the
difference you make in people’s
lives”

- Ms. Bea