Lesson 3 Sociological Perspective of The Self

DEFINING THE SELF: Personal and Developmental Perspectives on Self and Identity
Sociological Perspective of the Self

Society - A society is a group of individuals For the individual to discover the “true” and
involved in persistent social interaction, on a “authentic” part of him/herself to realize his/her
large social group sharing the same potentials, there is a need to abolish
geographical or social territory, typically subject repressive social constraints.
to the same political authority and dominant
cultural expectations. Self as Necessary Fiction
SELF for NIETZSCHE is the sum of an
The Self and the Social World individual’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. Self
Men and women are born with particularities that is nothing more than a metaphor, a
they can no longer change. representation of something abstract, and
symbolic.
MEAD and VGOTSKY – “The way that
humans develop is with the use of language Post-Modern View of the Self
acquisition and interact with others.” Self in post modernity is complicated with
electronic mediated virtual interaction of cyber
A young child internalizes values, norms, practices, self such as change in appearance (in the
and social beliefs and more thru exposure to cyberspace). According to N. Green, self is
interaction that would eventually become part of his “digitalized” in cyberspace, a virtual version of
individual world.
who we are. The self is seen in websites or
A child internalizes real-life dialogs that he has had
social media – fb, twitter, instagram, etc.
with others, with his family, his primary caregiver, or
his playmates.
The following below are the manifestations:
The Self as Product of Modern Society 1. Information technology dislocates the
among others self, thus, self is “digitalized” in
Clifford Geertz (1973) believes that the struggle cyberspace.
for one’s individuality is only possible in modern 2. Global migration produces multicultural
society where religion-theological traditions are identities.
gradually replaced by rational and scientific 3. Post-modern selves are “pluralized”
calculations, and intimate personal affiliations selves.
are replaced by exceedingly impersonal
associations brought about by an urbanized way Self-Construction of the Self
of life. Self is not discovered; it is made thru the
socialization process. BUT, individuals are not
Modernization or the destruction of the just hapless victims of socialization. (Ikaw ang
traditional way of life “delocalizes” the self. gumagawa ng kung ano ka). Self is acquired
This poses certain problems as: socially thru language. We construct ourselves
based on our social roles thru socialization
1. The newfound freedom threatens the very agents – family, school, community, etc.
authenticity of the self (e.g. love)
2. Alienation (Marx) – human beings haunted Rewriting the Self as an Artistic Creation
by the very images they have created Nietzsche states that the unity of the self is not
3. Objectification of the body (e.g. medical pre-given but accomplished thru conscious effort
practice) – transform self thru beautiful work of art.
4. Dehumanization of self
Individuals must fashion care for and cultivate
Solution: themselves. We can recreate ourselves to get
hold of the present, forgive the past and plan the 3. GAME STAGE
future. From about age 7 onwards. In this stage,
children can begin to understand and adhere
Self - Creation and the Struggle for Cultural to the rules of games. They can begin to play
Recognition more formalized games because they begin to
This is a challenge of self-identity amidst understand other people’s perspective – or the
recognition of racial and ethnic identities. perspective of the generalized others.
Self-creation is necessarily grounded on Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self

collective solidarities. We create ourselves by “Part of how we see ourselves comes from
struggling with cultural hassles then owning the our perceptions of how others sees us.” –
created self. We hide the ugly part of our cultural Charles Horton Cooley (1902)
nature. We learn to adjust.
Main Components of Looking-Glass Self
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD (1863-1931) 1.We imagine how much we appear to others in a
An American Sociologist best known as founder social situation.
of American Pragmatism, a pioneer of symbolic 2. We imagine and react to what we feel their
judgment of that appearance must be.
interaction theory, and as one of the founders of
3. We develop our sense of self and respond thru this
social psychology.
perceived judgment of others.
Mead’s Theory
Social Comparison Theory: Our Sense of
Mead’s theory of the self maintains that the
Self is Influenced by Comparisons with
conception of a person holds himself/herself in
Others
his/her mind emerges from social interaction
with others. The self is neither initially there at
SOCIAL COMPARISON occurs when we learn
birth nor necessarily at the beginning of the
about our abilities and skills, about the
social interaction, but is constructed and re-
appropriateness and validity of our behaviors
constructed in the process of social experience
with those of others.
and activity.
Nancy Chodorow, a feminist, argues that
Three reasons why self and identity are
because mothers take the role of taking care of
social products:
children, there is a tendency for girls to imitate
1. We do not create ourselves out of anything.
the same and reproduce the same kind of
2. Whether we like it or not, we need others to
affirm and reinforce who we think we are. mentality as women as care provides in the
3. What we think is important to us may also family.
have been influenced by what is important in Men on the other hand, in the periphery of their
our social or historical context. own family, are taught early on how to behave
like a man. This normally includes holding in
Mead’s Stages of Development of the Self one’s emotion, being tough, fatalistic, not to
1. PREPARATORY STAGE worry about danger, and admiration for hard
Starts from the time we are born until we are physical labor.
about age two. In this stage, children mimic
those around them. “Man’s life is independent. He is born not for
2. PLAY STAGE the development of the society alone, but for
From about 2-6, children are in the play stage. the development of his self.” - B. R.
During the play stage, children play pretend and Ambedkar
do not adhere to the rules in organized games
like patintero or basketball.

Lesson 3 Sociological Perspective of The Self

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 3 Sociological Perspective of The Self

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 3 Sociological Perspective of The Self

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DEFINING THE SELF: Personal and Developmental Perspectives on Self and Identity

Sociological Perspective of the Self

Self-creation is necessarily grounded on Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self

You might also like