History and Understanding The Self

MATERIAL SELF
OBJECTIVE
After completing the module, the students are expected to:

• Develop understanding about the material self;
• Describe the basic components of the material self;
• Discuss the influence of media in people’s acquisition of
material possessions; and
• Develop qualities of a wise buyer.
SALE! SALE!
What makes us want to have those products are connected

with who we are. What we want to have and already possess is
related to our self.
Belk (1988) stated that “we
regard our possessions as part
of our selves. We are what we
have and what we possess”.
There is a direct link between
self identity with what we have
and possess.
Our wanting to have and
possess has a connection with
another aspect of the self
–THE MATERIAL SELF
MATERIAL SELF
• tangible objects,
people, or places that
carry the designation:
“my or mine”
MATERIAL SELF
Two subclasses:
Bodily self Extracorporeal self
It includ e s a l l o f t h e p e o p l e ,
places, and things that we
regard as “ours.”
MATERIAL SELF
• The material self is
a total of all of the
tangible things you
own:
• your possessions
• your home
• your body
Possessions as Symbolic Expressions of
Identity (Symbolic Communicational Model)
They are also vehicles and instruments for realities of another
order:
• influence
• power
• sympathy
• social status
• emotions
From early years to old age, possessions
are symbols of ourselves and of our identity.
A comfort object or security blanket is an item used to provide
• CHILDHOOD psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or
at bedtime for children.
Endowment effect leads people to put a greater value on things once they have
established ownership or a sense of ownership.
• ADOLESCENT Giving children and adolescents a sense of self-worth and
accomplishment is an effective antidote to the development of materialism
• Hoarding Disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with

possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with hording
disorder experiences distress at thought of getting rid of the items. Excessive
accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs.
• Negative qualities: rigidity, sterility (having no new ideas/imagination),

obstinacy (stubborn), compulsivity (tendency to perform unpleasant
repetitive actions), and lack of creativity
• Positive qualities: orderliness, cleanliness and punctuality
• ADULTHOOD
As our lives unfold, our things embody our sense of

selfhood and identity still further, become external
receptacles for our memories, relationships and travels.
Possessions are extensions of the physical body and the

sense of self that reflects who a person is.
Understanding the self can be examined through
its different components
1. Its constituents (MATERIAL SELF, SOCIAL

SELF, SPIRITUAL SELF, PURE EGO)
2. The feelings and emotions they arouse –self-
feelings
3. The actions to which they prompt –self-
seeking and self-preservation
Material Self Investment Diagram
home
Immediate
family
clothes
body
The Material Self accdg to James primarily is about our bodies, clothes, immediate family, and home. We
are deeply affected by these things because we have put too much investment of our self to them.
1. BODY
The innermost part of our material
self is our BODY. Intentionally, we
are INVESTING in our body.
BODY
2. CLOTHES
Herman Lotze’s ‘Philosophy
of Dress’ James believed
that: Clothing is an essential
part of the material self.
Lotze book: ‘Microsmus ’any time we
bring an object into the surface of our
body, we invest that object into the
consciousness of our personal
existence taking in its contours to be
our own and making it part of the self.’
(Watson 2014)
3. Immédiate FAMILY
Our parents and siblings hold another great
important part of our self. What they do or
become affects us.
When an immediate family member dies, part

of our self dies, too.
When their lives are in success, we feel their

victories as if we are the one holding the
trophy.
In their failures, we are put to shame or guilt.

When they are in disadvantage situation,
there is an urgent urge to help like a
voluntary instinct of saving one’s self from
danger.
We place HUGE INVESTMENT in our

immediate family when we see them as the
nearest REPLICA of our self.
Home Home is the earliest nest
of our selfhood.
Our experiences inside the home

were recorded and marked on
particular parts and things in our
home.
The home thus is an extension of

self, because in it, we can directly
connect our self
INVESTMENT
The collections in different degree of investment of self, becomes part of the
self.
As James (1890) described self: “a man’s self is the sum total of all what we CAN
call his.”
Possessions then become a part or an extension of the self.
LATER LIFE AND BEYOND
As a person grows older…
An aging person would wish that whatever defines who she is would stay
with her—photos, jewelries, small appliances
• Sentimentality, memories of friends and experiences… photo albums give a

sense of continuity.
The attachment to our things deepen with the passage of time. Older people
don’t just form bonds with their specific belongings, they seem to have
affection for material things.
“A man’s self is the sum total
of all what he CAN call his.”
Possessions are a part or an
extension of the SELF.

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MATERIAL SELF

After completing the module, the students are expected to:

What makes us want to have those products are connected

Bodily self Extracorporeal self

• Hoarding Disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with

• Negative qualities: rigidity, sterility (having no new ideas/imagination),

As our lives unfold, our things embody our sense of

Possessions are extensions of the physical body and the

1. Its constituents (MATERIAL SELF, SOCIAL

When an immediate family member dies, part

When their lives are in success, we feel their

In their failures, we are put to shame or guilt.

We place HUGE INVESTMENT in our

Our experiences inside the home

The home thus is an extension of

• Sentimentality, memories of friends and experiences… photo albums give a

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