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Module 1: The Self From Various Perspectives

This instructional module covers Topic 2 from Module 1 of the course PSYCH 1100, which examines the relationship between the self, society, and culture. It discusses how gender, family, culture and society shape the self from various perspectives, and the objectives are to explain this relationship and how these factors influence identity. The reading provides an overview of concepts of the self and how social and cultural forces shape one's sense of self according to different theorists.

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Lord Grim
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36 views

Module 1: The Self From Various Perspectives

This instructional module covers Topic 2 from Module 1 of the course PSYCH 1100, which examines the relationship between the self, society, and culture. It discusses how gender, family, culture and society shape the self from various perspectives, and the objectives are to explain this relationship and how these factors influence identity. The reading provides an overview of concepts of the self and how social and cultural forces shape one's sense of self according to different theorists.

Uploaded by

Lord Grim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Central Luzon State University

Science City of Muñoz 3120


Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Instructional Module for the Course


PSYCH 1100 (Understanding the Self)

Module 1: The Self from Various


Perspectives

Topic 2 – The Self, Society, and Culture


Overview
Self in relation to Gender, Family, Culture and Society will be the focus of the
discussion in this chapter. This chapter will reexamine the true nature of the “self”
based on the new ways and paradigms in social sciences. Activities that promote
self-analysis will be taken in this chapter to further understand the different
influence, factors, and forces that shape the self.

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Explain the relationship between and among the self, society, and culture;
2. Describe and discuss the different ways by which society and culture shape the
self;
3. Compare and contrast how the self can be influenced by the different institutions
in the society; and
4. Examine one’s self against the different views of self that were discussed in the
class.

What Is the Self?


• The self, in contemporary literature and even common sense, is commonly
defined by the following characteristics (Stevens, 1996):
o Separate means that the self is distinct from other selves. The self is
always unique and has its own identity.
o Self-contained and independent because in itself it can exist. Its
distinctness allows it to be self-contained with its own thoughts,
characteristics, and volition.
o Consistency means that a particular self’s traits, characteristics,
tendencies, and potentialities are more or less the same.
o Unitary in that it is the center of all experiences and thoughts that run
through a certain person
o Private means that each person sorts out information, feelings and
emotions, and thought processes within the self. This whole process is
never accessible to anyone but the self.
The Self and Culture
• According to Marcel Mauss, every self has two faces:
o Moi refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body, and his basic
identity, his biological givenness.
o Personne is composed of the social concepts of what it means to be who
he is.
• Language is another interesting aspect of this social constructivism; it is a salient
part of culture and ultimately, has a tremendous effect in our crafting of the self.
• If a self is born into a particular society or culture, the self will have to adjust
according to its exposure (Geertz, 1973)
The Self and the Development of the Social World
• More than his givenness (personality, tendencies, and propensities, among
others), one is believed to be in active participation in the shaping of the self.
• Men and women in their growth and development engage actively in the
shaping of the self.
• The unending terrain of metamorphosis of the self is mediated by language
(Schwartz, White, and Luiz, 1993).
Mead and Vygotsky
• For Mead and Vygotsky, the way that human persons develop is with the use of
language acquisition and interaction with others.
• Both Vygotsky and Mead treat the human mind as something that is made,
constituted through language as experienced in the external world and as
encountered in dialogs with others (Mead, 1972).
Self in Families
• the kind of family that we are born in, the resources available to us (human,
spiritual, economic), and the kind of development that we will have will certainly
affect us.
• Human beings are born virtually helpless and the dependency period of a human
baby to its parents for nurturing is relatively longer than most other animals.
• In trying to achieve the goal of becoming a fully realized human, a child enters a
system of relationships, most important of which is the family.
• Human persons learn the ways of living and therefore their selfhood by being in
a family. It is what a family initiates a person to become that serves as the basis
for this person’s progress.
Gender and the Self
• Gender is one of those loci of the self that is subject to alteration, change, and
development.
• The sense of self that is being taught makes sure that an individual fits in a
particular environment, is dangerous and detrimental in the goal of truly finding
one’s self, self-determination, and growth of the self (Schlenker, 1985).
• It is important to give one the leeway to find, express, and live his identity.
• Gender has to be personally discovered and asserted and not dictated by culture
and the society

References

Alata, E.J., et al. (2018) Understanding the Self. Rex Books Store. ISBN.
13:9789712386701

Geertz, C. (1973) The Impact of the Concept of Culture and the Concepts of Man
33-54 and

Mead, GH. (1972) Mind, Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social
Behaviorist. The University of Chicago Press.

Schlenker, Barry R. (1985). The self and Social Life. New York. McGraw-Hill.

Schwartz, T.,White, G.M., and Lutz, C.A. (1993) New Directions in Psychological
Anthropolgy. Cambridge England; New York Cambridge University Press.

Stevens, Richard. (1996). Understanding the Self. California: SAGE Publication

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