UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

9. MATERIAL SELF 3. FAMILY

- The material component of the self also includes
I. Definition of Terms people such as immediate and extended family
members (my family) as well as close friends (my
• The material self, according to William James, friends) that the person feels psychologically
pertains to the objects, places, or even people which connected. These people are likely to shape and
have the label “mine”. influence the development of self and identity.
• Such possessions are viewed as extensions of - Our family has a great important part of our self.
individuals' identities. For instance, your clothes
reflect certain aspects of your personality and you What they DO or BECOME affects us. When a family
designate them as “my wardrobe”. Possessions are member dies, a part of our self also dies. When they achieve
state of having, owning, or controlling something and success, we feel their victories. In their failures, we are put to
it is also viewed as the extensions of individuals shame or guilt. When they are in the disadvantage, we feel an
identities for it reflects something about our self. urgent urge to volunteer and offer help as if saving one’s life
from danger. We see them as the nearest REPLICA of our
• the sum total of all that he can call his, not only his self.
body and his psychic powers, his clothes and his
house, his wife and children, his ancestors and
friends, his reputation and works, his lands, and bank 4. PLACES
account. - The material component of the self also includes the
• Such possessions are viewed as extensions of places such as your HOME or workplace.
individuals' identities. - it is where many aspects of your life have been
• Our material Self reflects not only the objects or developed, it is where you feel most comfortable, and
personal things that we have or acquire but it also it is greatly linked to your identity
includes the places and even the people as such our - Home is the earliest nest of our Selfhood. Home is
family and friends which we have the label as “mine” where the Heart is. Our experiences inside the home
or our personal possessions were recorded and marked on particular parts and
• All these things give him the same emotions. If they things in our home. It is an extension of self, in it, we
wax and prosper, he feels triumphant; if they dwindle can directly connect our self.
and die away, he feels cast down-not necessarily in
the same degree for each thing, but in much the
same way for all” 5. SOME CASES OF EXTENDED SELF
A person’s pet could also symbolically define a
person’s identity.
II. Components of the Material Self
1. BODY - The basic component of the Material Self includes
the body. III. Material Possession
- Perceptions about what makes a body beautiful are - Possessions can be used as status symbol.
usually influenced by media as shown in television - The more expensive, the more other people are
and internet. impressed.
- One of the tasks of adolescents is that of accepting - The objects or material things help make/build a
and appreciating the physical characteristics of their person and also shows what kind of person he/she is.
body. - Things such as clothes, dress, caps and shades
- -William James identified the body as the innermost does not on protect us from extreme external
aspect of the material self. Also, you perceive certain temperature. But also help us in improving our self-
body parts as more private or intimately yours as esteem, confidence and our self-image.
compared to the others. - Belk in his work on Are We What We Own?,
suggests that material possession act as an objective
2. CLOTHING manifestation of the self.
Clothes represent the self.
- Another component of the material self is the clothes Material Possessions can be a reflection of hard work and
that people wear. success.
- For instance, your clothes reflect certain aspects of - By our hard work and success, we may be able to
your personality and you designate them as “my acquire properties and possessions that that we
wardrobe”. needed or wanted.
- The clothes that adolescents tend to wear are - Owning material possessions becomes a driving
greatly influenced by their peer groups. Members of a force, urging the person to seek high level of
peer group have a profound effect on buying achievement.
decisions and sense of style. - Defining the self by material possession can also
- In addition to affecting consumer decisions, peer contribute to feelings of well-beings, including a sense
discussions and reviews also can sway the decisions of personal growth and purpose or meaning in life.
of members of the apparel industry.
- If your peers tell you that your shirt is ugly, you may People tend to appraise other people through their
actually believe them and stop wearing that shirt. Now material possession.
if you Try to tell your friends and family that they look - Thus, the greater the material possessions, the
very stylish. This will give them confidence. more one is likely to attain acceptance, approval,
 and esteem from other people. That is why, some
people strive very hard to acquire material things. 2. Affective Motives – a concept used in Environmental
Psychology. Affect (emotions) serves a s a motivator of pro-
Materialism is the importance people give on material environmental behavior. In relation to the economic self,
possession. affective motive, can be a basis of the buying behavior. Thus
- Someone with a high level of materialism is called using affective motive: people buy the goods not only because
materialistic. The desire for material possessions they think they need it but more so because of the
also has negative effects. joy/happiness (affect) buying the goods provide through the
- A materialistic person is excessively concerned with mere acquisition of it.
the acquisition of material possessions. -The strong desire for material possessions could
- Exposure to Mass Media greatly influenced what we lead to psychological dysfunction or impairment in
want. Placing ads on social media has become functioning such as compulsive buying disorder
simple to set up and yet targeting has become much (CBD) which is characterized by an obsession with
more detailed. Advertising on social media allows shopping and buying behaviors that causes adverse
marketers to lead users into the “awareness” stage, consequences, e.g. debts.
and all the way through to the “buy” phase. -Because of it, we are able to freely express ‘who’
- Lack or loss of material possessions could lead to and ‘what’ we think we are from the inside. But having
anxiety, insecurity, and depression. Loss of material all this material things has also a negative effect
possessions can be disruptive to our mental health. especially , when you get addicted in collecting more
For instance, during calamities, people who lost their and more material things.
homes, businesses, loved ones, pets and others Some people buy more of things to satisfy their desires that
things may experience emotional and psychological are not met.
problems.
- -Moreover, even if without calamities, we experience Two Things to be considered in acquiring material goods.
being emotionally disturbed whenever we lost
something important to us. For instance, what would 1. Utility – is concerned with how things serve a
you feel if you lose your cellphones? practical purpose.
2. Significance – is concerned with the meaning
assigned to the object. It is also concerned with how
the objects become powerful symbol or icons of habit
ritual.
Consumerism as a lifestyle
• Consumers are often viewed as victims of greedy
companies. But, take note that everyone has free will
Material self-presentation and Identity
One’s possessions are perceived as personal
choices that define people to a certain extent. These personal
choices build one’s material and economic self which is an
extension of his or her social identity.

WANTS or NEEDS?
• Needs are important for survival
• Wants are synonymous to luxuries. People buy
them for reasons that do not warrant necessity.
• Thus, one’s sense of self and identity is influential
on how an individual chooses to purchase his or her
wants and how he or she makes economic decisions
that will address his or her personal and social needs.

The self in a Material World

“People are likely to purchase products that can relate to
their personality”
- People sometimes purchase items to build how they
want to be perceived by others. Clothes may be a UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
necessity, but people who have the capacity choose 11. DIGITAL SELF
brands and styles to project their identity for other
people to see. o It is the aspect of the self that is expressed or
shared to others through the use of digital
technology especially the Internet and social
SYMBOLIC MOTIVES
networking.
1. Status- the extent to which people believe they can derive a
sense of recognition or achievement from owning and using o Jones (2007) maintained that college students view
the right kind of product. Status ,may increase consumption cell phones, instant messaging and the Internet as
and can motivate behavior (e.g. one will buy a flat screen TV of “extensions of themselves”
a known brand, with latest features because its more
expansive than other brands)
 In social media, you fill in personal information when  Connect with friends, family and other people you
creating an account. These include the following: know
 Name, age, birthdate, address, and contact number  Share photos and videos
 Likes, dislikes, hobbies, favorite food, favorite movies,  Send messages
visited places, relationship status, thoughts, feelings,  Get updates.
and important events

This sharing of personal information on social networking sites 2. Instagram

may be related to the adolescent’s and also adult’s strong  A free photo and video sharing app available on
desire for social approval and acceptance. iPhone and Android.
 Is there a big difference between the self-online  People can upload photos or videos and share them
and the real self? with their followers or with a select group of friends.
 You need to be aware between the image that you  They can also view, comment and like posts shared
present online and offline. by their friends on Instagram.
 What you present online should be congruent with
who you really are offline 3. Twitter
 A service for friends, family, and coworkers to
3.2 Digital Technology communicate and stay connected through the
The use of technology is essential for individual exchange of quick, frequent messages.
survival and for communication with other people.  Tweet is any message posted to Twitter which may
 Application of information in the design, production, contain photos, videos, links, and text.
and utilization of goods and services, and in the  These messages are posted to your profile, sent to
organization of human activities. your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search
 Application of science to address the problems of
daily life. 4. YouTube
 These technologies improve not only very common  Free video sharing website that makes it easy to
areas of people’s daily life, but also areas of watch online videos. You can even create and upload
education, health and production industries. your own videos to share with others.
 Forms of technology such as digital technology:  Mission: To give everyone a voice and show them
includes all types of electronic equipment and the world.
applications that use information in the form of
numeric code. 3.4 Digital Literacy and Disinhibition
 It includes the use of devices that process Think about the ways that we all use digital
and use of digital information such as mobile technology in our lives?
phones.  Digital Literacy: Capabilities possessed by
 The rise of mobile phones has resulted in the individuals who are living, learning, and working in a
widespread use of internet and social digital society.
networking.
 Internet is a global computer network in which the You might be searching and navigating everyday
users can send and receive all kinds of information through all types of information. Then based on that
and communication such as text, graphics, video and information, you make certain decisions and you share it
related other facilities. socially with others using a variety of tools. Let’s pretend that
you want to book a trip to a beach. But first, you might
Iqbal, Khan and Malik suggest that mobile phones are research things like accommodation, food and culture, and
ever more becoming part of the daily life of today’s youth. The make travel plans based on what you find out. You might even
growing use of the internet and social networking changes the create an itinerary online and share it with your family.
social behaviors of individuals, families and societies as a Digital literacy is about using technology confidently
whole. as you live, learn, and work in a challenging digital world. It is
important to be digitally literate in order to monitor and
3.3. Social Networking evaluate information that you often see and receive online.
● Involves the use of the internet to connect users ● As a student, you need to find answers to your
with their friends, family and acquaintances. questions such as your assignments. The internet is a
great source for a wide array of information but you
Social networking websites are not necessarily about need to be careful. You need to evaluate whether the
meeting new people online, although this does happen. information presented is accurate or even true.
Instead, they are primarily about connecting with friends, family
and acquaintances you already have in real life. In short, one must practice the responsible use of technology.
Here are some of the social media sites that we often
use in our daily lives:  Online Disinhibition: lack of restraint that one feels
when communicating online
1. Facebook:
How many good friends do you have? How many There are two types of disinhibition:
people do you meet for coffee or a movie? Now, how many
“friends” do you have on Facebook? 1. Benign Disinhibition
Technology has changed how we interact with each  Speaking about emotions, fears, and wishes
other. It has turned “friend” into a verb and has made it  Showing kindness and helping others
possible to share even the most ordinary news with hundreds  Combating loneliness through social interactions
or even thousands of people who might know you only slightly,  Finding emotional support
if at all. Through the magic of Facebook, you might know about These are the healthy types of disinhibition because
an old elementary school friend’s new job before her mother these are some of the things that you cannot freely speak
does. offline. Especially if the people around you are not that
accepting or overly critical of your behavior.
2. Toxic Disinhibition  Exemplification – Intentions to make others feel bad or
make feel not good enough.
 Rude language, harsh criticism, anger, hatred, and
threats  Intimidation – Instilling fear to other people because
 Pornography and violence you want them to think that you are dangerous.
 Cyberbullying
 Threatening, humiliating, spreading rumors, making  Supplication – You want to appear handicapped or
fun of others unfortunate. But for some there are reasons behind it
 Cyber harassment and exploitation (e.g. they might need help). Others do this to get
attention.
How to manage toxic disinhibition?
 Be careful about sharing: be careful what to share 3.7 Types of Cyber Crimes
and what to post because people may react 1. Phishing Scams - Phishing scams are attempts by
differently. scammers to trick you into giving out your personal
 Do not hang with the wrong crowd online: Use information such as bank account numbers,
your social media accounts appropriately and passwords and credit card numbers.
productively. Follow those individuals who give you 2. Online Scams - basically scams that happen
inspiration and who spread positivity. online.
 Consider your emotional state before posting: 3. Malware/Virus Dissemination - Malware is the
Avoid posting things when you are feeling angry or contraction of malicious software onto your system.
frustrated. You might post something that you will It’s a piece of software written with the intent of
regret later and this might be taken against you. causing harm to data and devices.
 Consider other people’s reactions 4. Email Bombing - Email bombing is an overload of
emails directed to one email address, this will cause
3.5 Social Networking in the Philippines the person receiving the emails server to become
 The Philippines has the fastest growing internet sluggish or even crash
population in Southeast Asia 5. Theft - The aim of internet theft is to steal your
 Majority of the Filipinos use the internet primarily for personal information and use it to then steal money
social networking out of your bank account or make purchases using
 They mostly use social networking for communication, your details.
information and entertainment. 6. Social Media Hack & Spamming - Social media
 The Filipino youth are the biggest users of social spamming comes when a person makes a fake
networking in the past few years. They usually post account and becomes friends or followed by the
pictures, videos of themselves, their friends and average person. This then gives the fake account the
family. Thus, adolescents are particularly susceptible freedom to spam inboxes with bulk messaging, this
to cyberbullying, gossips and stalking can be done for spreading malware. Spamming can
 The Church, schools and government in the also spread malicious links created with the intent to
Philippines make efforts to prevent and effectively harm, mislead or damage a user or their device.
manage the spread of identity theft, false information Clicking on the malicious link, which may be
and fake news in the country. advertising a new iPhone or weight loss treatment,
means you could be downloading malware which can
lead to the theft of personal information. Another dark
Hechanova and Ortega-Go (2014) found that the side of social media is the ability for malicious
use of internet has both positive and negative outcomes. accounts to spam your output by constantly replying
with negative messaging. A form of trolling.
Positive Outcomes Negative Outcomes 7. Sales & Investment Fraud - By sourcing the
It can improve one’s The use of internet can be contact details and available account information for
relationships an addictive element or savings or investment account holders, fraudsters can
the compulsion to adopt the persona of an investment broker.
constantly check 8. Eavesdropping & Surveillance/Cyber Stalking -
information of those in Eavesdropping without the consent of the parties is a
their social network crime and can be done online or over the phone.
It can be an important It is also through social 9. Software Piracy - Software piracy is the
facility for debates on networking that identity unauthorized use and distribution of computer
current issues in the theft, false information, software.
country such as political and fake news circulate. 10. Data Diddling - The action of skewing data
issues entries in the user’s system.
It can also be a facility to 11. Identity Theft - Criminals usually steal identity
express the opinions, information of others such as credit card information,
needs and concerns of the addresses, email addresses and more. With this
people information they can pretend to be someone else and
create new bank accounts.
12. Child Soliciting & Abuse - Child soliciting and
3.6. Self-Presentation abuse online is a type of cybercrime where criminals
Social media is also a platform used for people to solicit children via chat rooms for the purpose of
present their selves in a more favorable light. pornography. It can also come in forms of material
that shows or describes sexual abuse towards
Types of Self-Presentation children. A child is regarded as someone who is
 Self-Promotion –Showing that we are better or under the age of 16.
capable than others so others will admire us or they
would think highly of us. 3.8 How to address these crimes?
 Electronic Libel & Cybercrime Prevention Act Of 2012
 Ingratiation – You only want people to like you
because you crave attention.
Republic Act of 10175: Cybercrime Law
The State recognizes the vital role of information and
communications industries such as content production,
telecommunications, broadcasting electronic commerce, and
data processing, in the nation’s overall social and economic
development. The State also recognizes the importance of
providing an environment conducive to the development,
acceleration, and rational application and exploitation of
information and communications technology (ICT) to attain
free, easy, and intelligible access to exchange and/or delivery
of information; and the need to protect and safeguard the
integrity of computer, computer and communications systems,
networks, and databases, and the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of information and data stored therein, from all
forms of misuse, abuse, and illegal access by making
punishable under the law such conduct or conducts. In this
light, the State shall adopt sufficient powers to effectively
prevent and combat such offenses by facilitating their
detection, investigation, and prosecution at both the domestic
and international levels, and by providing arrangements for fast
and reliable international cooperation.
Privacy and confidentiality should be a major
concern, especially for adolescents who may not be
entirely aware about the consequences of sharing private
information to the public.

How to address: Republic Act 10173, otherwise

known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012
 It was created to protect people from invasion of privacy
 The Act states that “It is the policy of the State to
protect the fundamental human right of privacy of
communication while ensuring free flow of information
to promote innovation and growth.”
 The State recognizes the vital role of information and UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
communications technology in nation-building and its 12. POLITICAL SELF
inherent obligation to ensure that personal information
in information and communications systems in the WHAT IS POLITICAL SELF?
government and in the private sector are secured and The Political self organizes one’s beliefs, attitudes,
protected. and affiliations and aids in the processing of politically relevant
information.
 Personal information refers to any information whether Politics is also etymologically defined as “Affairs of
recorded in a material form or not, from which the the Cities”.
identity of an individual is apparent or can be It is the ability and control over a group of people in a
reasonably and directly ascertained by the entity community, state or nation.
holding the information, or when put together with other It can be inferred from this new that a person’s ability
information would directly and certainly identify an to influence others by making a decision for them is one of the
individual. essential qualities in one’s political self.

Conclusion: Be careful what you post, whom you interact Political Self and Identity
with, and what you do online for it can create an impact your It constitutes the knowledge about the Constitution,
presentation of yourself and to other people as well. government, and governance.
Helps in defining the structure and functions of the
government in telling the relationship between the State and
the citizens; and in describing their rights, freedom, and
obligations as citizens.
Exemplifies the ideals and aspirations of the people;
embodies the rules and principles of the State; and determines
the status and power of the people.

Citizenship is the most basic identification with the

nation as such, is oriented towards the state and its
expressions in law and policy (Diokno, 1997).
Citizenship becomes a salient basis for political self.
From the social and psychological perspectives, the
individual’s claim to citizenship means that the person relates
herself or himself to a group of others who also see
themselves as citizens of a larger polity.

The political self and identity are developed through

socialization.
 Social interaction may significantly influence a  The internet has created channels of communication
person’s understanding of politics, and perhaps a person’s that play a key role in circulating news, and social
political actions in the future. media has the power to change not just the message,
The value component of identity construction is but the dynamics of political corruption, values, and
shaped by societal agencies that enter the life of the individual the dynamics of conflict in politics.
from childhood all the way through the rest of the person’s life
(Diokno, 1997). THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE IN DETERMINING THE
Over time, individuals internalize the political POLITICAL SELF
attitudes, values, and views of others, and incorporating them
into their political self. Social Learning Theory
 According to the social learning theory, a person can
THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL SELF acquire learning through observation and imitation.
 Political socialization is viewed as a lifelong process
1. Family by which individuals gain knowledge about politics.
 The first and foremost duty of the parents is to
educate the children about basic values and beliefs. Cognitive Theory
The process of learning these values and beliefs  The cognitive theory which suggests that the mental
through identification. activities (e.g., knowledge, perceptions, ideas) of
 Morality underlie political values and beliefs. individuals are important determinants of behaviors
 Aristotle considers the State as a natural union of (e.g., political attitudes)
families, established for the common good under a
definite government Theory of Symbolic Interaction
 The theory of symbolic reaction suggests that
 The family has a hierarchical structure, which requires
behaviors are products of communication, meaning,
that each member performs their roles. Each position
and symbols. People give meanings to symbols and
carries a set of rights, responsibilities, and
they express these meanings through language and
expectations. Status and power are ascribed. The
communication.
family consists of members who differ in status,
obligations, influence, or power.
Theory of Political Participation
 Children must be governed and thus, there must be  Political participation can be defined as citizens’
some form of established status and power in the actions or activities influencing politics.
family. The ordered positions and ascribed roles in
 The extent and scope of political participation may be
the family prepare the children for several and higher
important criteria for assessing the value or quality of
roles, such as the role of a government official and
symbols and meanings that people ascribed to
the role of an ordinary citizen of the State
politics.
The Philippine Constitution thus recognizes the duty
How can people be influenced by others?
and responsibility of the parents to educate and train their
- Morton Deutsch - In 1995, they are the people who
children to become good, useful, and worthy citizens of the
studied and analysed the motives of social influence and
country and to prepare them for future positions, responsibility,
determine the two types of it.
and leadership.
1. Normative Influence – a type of social influence that
is based on conforming to the positive expectations of
2. School
others; helps avoid punishment
 Equally, the Philippine constitution recognizes the
vital role of schools in inculcating among youth the 2. Informational Influence- a type of influence based
value of patriotism and nationalism and encouraging on accepting the information obtained from other as
their involvement in public and civic affairs of the evidence of reality.
country.
 One of the responsibilities of the school is to teach LEADERSHIP
the moral, spiritual, and political values that will  According to Myers, leadership is the process by
develop students to become patriotic and morally which certain group members motivate and guide
upright citizens. the group.
 An important aspect of politics is the capacity to
3. Church influence and lead a group of people.
 The church also helps shape the ideals of citizenship
and democracy through their teachings, homily, and Theories of Leadership
pastoral letters. Psychological Needs
 David McClelland believed that we have three
4. Peer psychological needs:
 On the other hand, peers have also become  Need for power
increasingly important in influencing the political self.
 Need for affiliation
 People who belong to the same group often behave  Need for achievement
alike. It is because people with similar preferences
naturally associate with each other and because Three Leadership Motivation Patterns (Chan and
group dynamics cause individual preferences and/or Drasgow,2001)
the information. 1. Affective Identity motivation – The motivation to
lead as a result of desire to be in charge and lead
5. Media others.
 Mass media could also be a key source of information
2. Noncalculative motivation- Those who seek
of politics and thus, may influence a person’s political
leadership positions because they will result in
values and beliefs.
personal gain.
 3. Social-normative motivation – The desire to lead
out of a sense of duty or responsibility.

Types of Leaders According to Path-Goal Theory

1. Instrumental- leaders who plan and organizes for
their subordinates.
2. Supportive – leaders who show concern to their
subordinates.
3. Participative – leaders who allow subordinates to
participate in decision making.
4. Achievement-oriented – sets challenges and
rewards achievement.