The Socio-Political Self

A) Ako ay Filipino: My Filipino Identity

Demographics
- In the year 2020, the Philippines has a population of approximately 109 Million
- 1.41%, #13 most populated country
- the majority comprises 74.7%, the minority (marginalized sectors) - 25.3% of the
population
- Tagalog at 28.1% and Cebuano at 13.1%

Filipino Core Traits and Values

Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) - indigenous methodology
- endeavors to study Filipino characteristics, interactions among others utilizing the
“experience, thought, and orientation of the Filipinos, based on the full use of
Filipino culture and language”

Bahala Na
- “Bathala na” - ancestors would leave everything to Bathala
- fatalistic resignation to the Divine or to fate
- implies a sense of helplessness, treating hardship as something beyond our
control, thus leaving it to fate
- Filipino Psychology: shows the determination and risk-taking attitude of
Filipinos; face the difficulties head on

Utang na Loob
-“Utang” as “debt”; “utang na loob” = “debt of gratitude” (Charles Kaut)
- “utang na loob” to exchange the favor; means to maintain smooth interpersonal
relations

Kapwa
- Collectivistic; core value of Filipinos
- implies a shared identity, a sense of “being” and “equality with others”
- vehicle towards building a peaceful and harmonious community where people
seek out the welfare of others before the self
- “Pakikisama” - getting along with others to maintain smooth interpersonal
relations in the group

Bayanihan
- Another expression of the core value of “kapwa” is “bayanihan”
- shows the community spirit, wherein people in the community help one another,
easing the workload of another when in need
- evident particularly in times of crisis
B.) Pilipinas Kong Mahal: The Political Self

Filipinos, who are we?

The 1987 Constitution (Art. IV, Section 1) provides us the list of those who are
considered Filipino citizens.

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the 1987
Constitution;
2. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
3. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with the law

Sovereign Filipino People

(Art II, Sec.1) - “sovereignty resides in the people, and all government authority
emanates from them”
- people participate directly and indirectly in governance

(Art. VI) Legislative power - lodged in Congress; make laws, repeal or alter them
(Art. VII) Executive - led by the President; has the authority to implement the laws
(Art VIII) Judicial - vested in the Supreme Court; settle legal controversies

Bill of Rights (Article III)

● Natural Rights - rights that are inherent in us, as human beings, which precedes
the establishment of any government
● Statutory Rights - rights provided for by laws; can be repealed or amended by
the law-making body
● Constitutional Rights - rights protected under the Constitution; they cannot be
simply modified or removed by the law-making body
○ Political Rights - rights that allow people to participate directly or
Picipation indirectly in the administration of the government
○ Civil Rights - rights granted to private individuals necessary for their
enjoyment ; religious freedom
○ Social and economic rights -rights intended to protect the well-being
and economic security of citizens; right to property
○ Rights of the Accused - rights reserved for those who are accused of a
crime; right to due process of law, the right to presumption of innocence

The Citizens’ Duties

● Respecting the Rights of Others
● Vote Wisely - right of suffrage is not only a privilege but also a sacred obligation
● Loyalty to the Republic - Nationalism; ready and willing to defend the country if
necessary; not commit any act of treason, rebellion, sedition or any other similar
acts.
● Gainful Work - strive to become a useful and productive member of the
community; contribute to Nation Building
● Helping the Marginalized
● Participatory Governance
The Ecology of Human Development

The Ecology of Human Development

- scientific study of the progressive mutual accommodation between an active, growing
human being and the changing properties of the immediate settings in which the developing
person lives, as this process is affected by relations between these settings, and by the larger
contexts which the settings are embedded

The Ecological Environment - nested arrangement of concentric structures

● Microsystem (Immediate Environment) - pattern of activities, roles, and interpersonal

relations experienced by the developing person
○ Setting - a place where people can readily engage in face-to-face interaction

● Mesosystem (Connections) - comprises the interrelations among two or more settings in

which the developing person actively participates
- system of microsystems

● Exosystem (Indirect Environment) - one or more settings that do not involve the
developing person as an active participant but in which events occur that affect, or are
affected by, what happens in the setting containing the developing person

● Macrosystem (Social & Cultural Values) - consistencies, in the form and content of
lower-order systems; at the level of the subculture or the culture as a whole, along with
any belief systems or ideology underlying such consistencies
● Ecological Transition - a person’s position in the ecological environment is altered as
the result of a change in role, setting, or both

● Human Development - process through which the growing person acquires a more
extended differentiated and valid conception of the ecological environment
- becomes motivated and able to engage in activities that reveal the
properties of, sustain, or restructure that environment at levels of similar
or greater complexity in form and content
Individualism and Collectivism

● Culture is to society what memory is to individuals

○ includes the things that have "worked" in the past
○ society uses the tool like a memory of what has worked in the past
○ words, shared beliefs, attitudes, norms, roles, and values, which are called
elements of "subjective culture"

"Unstated assumptions " of individualism and collectivism

● Collectivism - we are bound together into tight groups of interdependent
individuals
● Individualism - we are independent entities, different and distant from
our groups

Individualism - values personal independence

- people are more likely to “see themselves as separate from others, define
themselves based on their personal traits, and see their characteristics as
relatively stable and unchanging. ”
- individualist’s sense of self : more on the “inside”, minimizing the “outside”
- communicates in direct styles - information is conveyed explicitly and
unambiguously
- . European and “Western” cultures
- pattern of behavior : idiocentric
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- place of history (or importance of history) : as links in a long chain of ancestors

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and descendants
- primarily motivated by : individuals’ own preferences, needs, rights and the
contracts they have established with others

Collectivism - values personal interdependence

- people are more likely to “see themselves as connected to others, define
themselves in terms of relationships with others, and see their characteristics as
more likely to change across different contexts. ”
- collectivist’s sense of self : defined by who they are with (belongingness)
- communicates in indirect styles - imply what they really mean, but might say
otherwise to avoid conflict or embarrassment
- Asian and African cultures
- pattern of behavior : allocentric
- place of history (or importance of history) : individual is the center of the stage
- primarily motivated by : norms of and duties imposed by those collectives
- Ingroup as the unit of survival

Kinds of Individualism
- religious individualism: according to biblical individualist, the individual relates
directly to god.
 - utilitarian individualism: emphasizes exchanges that maximize returns for the
individual.
- expressive individualism: emphasizes having fun. the self is the only reality
that really matters

Four Dimensions Of Collectivism And Individualism

Vertical Collectivism – seeing the self as a part of a collective and being willing to accept
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hierarchy and inequality within that collective.
sacrifice - “It is my duty to take care of my family, even when I have to sacrifice what I want. ”
- “It is important to me that I respect the decisions made by my groups. ”

Vertical Individualism – seeing the self as fully autonomous, but recognizing that inequality will
exist among individuals and accepting this inequality.
- “When another person does better than I do, I get tense and aroused. ”
- “Winning is everything. ”

Horizontal Collectivism– seeing the self as part of a collective but perceiving all the members
of that collective as equal.
- “The well-being of my coworkers is important to me. ”
- “I feel good when I cooperate with others.

Horizontal Individualism – seeing the self as fully autonomous, and believing that equality
between individuals is the ideal.
- “I'd rather depend on myself than others. ”
- “My personal identity, independent of others, is very important to me. ”
The Self In Social Psychology

Social psychology
○ the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward the
people around us and how our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors are influenced
by those people
○ study of the dynamic relationship between individuals and the people around
them

❖ behavior is also profoundly influenced by the social situation—the people with

whom we interact every day

● person-situation interaction (Kurt Lewin) : joint influence of person variables and

situational variables; Behavior = f (person,social situation)
○ the behavior of a given person at any given time is a function of (depends
on) both the characteristics of the person and the influence of the social
situation

Two Motivations: Self - Concern and Other- Concern

The Self - Concern

● the desire to protect and enhance our own life and the lives of the people
who are close to us
● kin selection — strategies that favor the reproductive success of one’s
relatives, sometimes even at a cost to the individual’s own survival
● Ingroup — those we view as being similar and important to us and with
whom we share close social connections, even if those people do not
actually share our genes

The Other - Concern

● desire to connect with and be accepted by other people more generally—
the goal of other-concern
● connections with others also provide us with opportunities that we would
not have on our own
● affiliate because we enjoy being with others, being part of social groups,
and contributing to social discourse
● the other-concern motive : we do not always put ourselves first. Being
human also involves caring about, helping, and cooperating with other
people
The Cognitive Self: Self-Concept
● self-concept - a knowledge representation that contains knowledge
about us, including our beliefs about our personality traits, physical
characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles, as well as the
knowledge that we exist as individuals
● Self-schemas - self-concept ; variety of different cognitive aspects of the
self
Three Main Concepts
○ physical characteristics
○ personality traits - specific and stable personality characteristics
that describe an individual
○ social identity - the sense of our self that involves our
memberships in social groups

Two Structural Aspects

● self-complexity - the extent to which individuals have many
different and relatively independent ways of thinking about
themselves
○ those higher in self-complexity tend to experience more
positive outcomes, including higher levels of self-esteem,
lower levels of stress and illness, a greater tolerance for
frustration
● self-concept clarity - the extent to which one’s self-concept is
clearly and consistently defined
○ higher self-concept clarity is positively related to
self-esteem
○ People with higher self-esteem tend to have a more
well-defined and stable view of their positive qualities
○ self-concept clarity appears to mediate the relationship
between stress and well-being

Two Aspects Of Individual Differences In Self-Awareness

● private self-consciousness - refers to the tendency to introspect
about our inner thoughts and feelings
● public self-consciousness - refers to the tendency to focus on
our outer public image and to be particularly aware of the extent to
which we are meeting the standards set by others
○ deindividuation—the loss of individual selfawareness and
individual accountability in groups
The Feeling Self: Self-Esteem
● Self-esteem refers to the positive (high self-esteem) or negative (low selfesteem)
feelings that we have about ourselves.
○ positive feelings of high self-esteem when we believe that we are good and
worthy and that others view us positively
○ negative feelings of low self-esteem when we believe that we are inadequate and
less worthy than others

Maintaining And Enhancing Self-Esteem

● Be successful at what we do
○ positive self-esteem is because we are generally successful at creating positive
lives
● Building connections with others
○ Forming and maintaining satisfying relationships helps us to feel good about
ourselves

Narcissism And The Limits Of Self-Enhancement

● Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by overly high self-esteem,
selfadmiration, and self-centeredness
● Narcissists can be perceived as charming at first, but often alienate others in the long
run
● People who have narcissistic tendencies more often pursue self-serving behaviors, to
the detriment of the people and communities surrounding them

The Looking Glass Self: Our Sense Of Self Is Influenced By Others’ Views Of Us
● looking-glass self states that part of how we see ourselves comes from our perception
of how others see us
● our self-concepts are often quite similar to the views that others have of us
● labeling bias occurs when we are labeled, and others’ views and expectations of us are
affected by that labeling
● Self-labeling - when we adopt others’ labels explicitly into our self concept
● internalized prejudice - occurs when individuals turn prejudice directed toward them by
others onto themselves

Social Comparison Theory: Our Sense Of Self Is Influenced By Comparisons With 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
● social comparison to help us determine our skills or abilities
● Downward social comparison occurs when we attempt to create a positive image of
ourselves through favorable comparisons with others who are worse off than we are
● Upward social comparison occurs when we compare ourselves with others who are
better off than we are
Social Identity Theory: Our Sense Of Self Is Influenced By The Groups We Belong To
● Social identity theory asserts that we draw part of our sense of identity and self-esteem
from the social groups that we belong to

Self Presentation: Our Sense Of Self Is Influenced By The Audiences We Have

● Self-presentation - tendency to present a positive self-image to others, with the goal of
increasing our social status
● ingratiation is to create liking by using flattery or charm
● intimidation is to create fear by showing that you can be aggressive
● exemplification is to create guilt by showing that you are a better person than the other
● supplication is to create pity by indicating to others that you are helpless and needy
● self-promotion is to create respect by persuading others that you are competent