LESSON 8: THE MATERIAL SELF • Few adolescents are able to do this

successfully.
Learning Outcomes
• Adolescents tend to worry about their
At the end of the chapter, the students are
bodies and physical appearance.
able to:
• Another component of the material self is
1. Develop understanding about material
the clothes that people wear.
self.
• Clothes represent the self.
2. Describe the basic components of material
self. • The style and brand of clothes becomes
symbolic significance.
3. Discuss the influence of media in material
possessions. • The material component of the self can
include books, bed, money, car, house and
4. Develop qualities of a wise buyer.
other things that a person can call his own
possession.

MATERIAL SELF • The material components of the self also

includes people such as immediate and
According to William James, the material extended family members (my family) as
self is the: well as close friends (my friend) that the
“sum total of all that he can call his, not only person feels psychologically connected
his body and his psychic powers, but his • These people are likely to shape and
clothes and his house, his wife and children, influence the development of self and
his ancestors and friends, his reputation and identity.
works, his lands, and yacht and bank-
account. All these things give him the same • Pets could also symbolically define a
emotions. If they wax and prosper, he feels person’s identity.
triumphant; if they dwindle and die away, he
• A person’s pet could be an expression of
feels cast down - not necessarily in the same
one’s social status, pride, and prestige.
degree for each thing, but in much the same
way for all.” Effects of Material Possessions
• Regardless of how much or how little
material possessions people have, they are
• A person’s possessions like the body,
interested in material possessions.
family, clothes, money, house, car, and other
tangible objects make up the material self. • Possessions can be used as status symbol.
Cars, house, gadgets, and clothes are the
• The basic component of the material self
most valuable possessions because they are
includes the body.
the most visible in the eyes of others.
• One of the tasks of adolescents is that of
• The more expensive, the more other people
accepting and appreciating the physical
are impressed.
characteristics of their body.
• Material possessions can be a reflection of • Thus, when a person is about to make a
hard work and success. purchase, he should ask himself/herself a
very important question:
• People tend to measure success through
material possessions. DO I REALLY NEED THIS?
• Material possessions can make people
more motivated to work harder to achieve
LESSON 9: THE SPIRITUAL SELF
them.
SPIRITUALITY
• Defining the self by material possessions
can also contribute to feelings of well- • The root meaning of spirituality is taken
being, including a sense of personal growth from the Latin word spiritus, meaning breath
and purpose or meaning in life. or life force.
• However, lack or loss of material • Spirituality can be understood as a search
possessions can be disruptive to the mental for the sacred, a process through which
health of some people. people seek to discover, hold on to, and,
when necessary, transform
• The strong desire for material possessions
could have negative effects. whatever they hold sacred in their lives.
• Materialism is the importance people give • The sacred could refer to God and
on material possessions. transcendence.
• Someone with a high level of materialism • The term "spirituality" originally
is called materialistic. developed in early Christianity.
• A materialistic person is excessively • Christians use the term "Spirit" to describe
concerned with the acquisition of material the Holy Spirit.
possessions.
• In Christian Ethics, the experience of the
• The strong desire for material possessions sacred is characterized by reverence, faith,
could lead to psychological dysfunction or fear, trust, love and admiration which is
impairment in functioning such as intimately connected to God.
compulsive buying disorder (CBD) which is
characterized by an obsession with shopping • Worship is regarded as an essential act to
and buying behaviors that causes adverse realize the ultimate meaning of
consequences (e.g., debts). transcendence and human life.

• Psychologists are identifying social and • Acts of worship may include prayer,
cultural factors that seem strongly reading the bible, attending sacraments, and
implicated in the etiology of materialism. doing sacrifices.

• Lack or loss of material possessions could • Through acts of faith, hope, and love, man
lead to anxiety, insecurity, and depression. is able to encounter God and understand
God’s words of salvation.
 II led him to develop the basic tenets of
logotherapy.
Spiritual Self
• Frankl embraced both the bright and dark
• The spiritual aspect of the self is the inner
sides of human existence and believed that
essence, the part of the self that connects the
human sufferings could contribute to human
person to the sacred, the supernatural, and
achievement and meaning in life.
the universe.
• Logotherapy is the pursuit of human
• People develop spirituality through
existence as well as on man’s search for
interaction, observation, and imitation.
such a meaning.
• The family, school, and church play a very
• Logos is a Greek word that denotes
important role in the child’s spiritual
meaning.
development.
• In logotherapy, man can discover the
meaning in life in three different ways: by
The Importance of Understanding and doing a deed, by experiencing a value, and
Nurturing the Spiritual Self by suffering.

• Understanding and nurturing the spiritual

self is as important as the other aspects of
Belief in Spirits
the self.
• Spirituality is also associated with
• Understanding and developing awareness
animism.
of the spiritual self gives the person a feeling
of oneness with God and the universe. • As the child embodies spiritual beliefs
about God and the sacred; it also includes
• It also gives a deeper purpose or meaning
the primitive concept about animism.
of one’s life.
• Animism or the belief that creatures,
• All religions recognize the importance of
objects, and places possess spirits.
spirituality in one’s life.
• Despite of all the scientific progress and
• Spirituality is connected with religion.
technological advancements, existence of
• To know God is the central function of animism still remains.
religion.
• Among the sources of animism is
• Religious beliefs and practices make ignorance or lack of education especially in
people closer to God. distant and isolated places.
• The other source of animism is the lack of
faith in God.
Logotherapy and the Search for Meaning
of Life • However, one must admit that there are
forces in this world that are unusual and
• Viktor Frankl’s personal experiences in the cannot be explained by science and modern
Nazi concentration camps during World War technology.