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THE LOOKING-GLASS

 
MODULE 2:
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF SOCIETY
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
• Recognize what sociology tells us about understanding the self and others.
• Understand how individuals view the self as a product of their
socialization.
• Explain Charles Horton Cooley’s looking-glass self and George Herbert
Mead’s theory of the social self.
• Discuss the self as a product of modern and postmodern societies.
• Appreciate your own social experiences that have been particularly helpful
in understanding the self.
• Sociological perspective of the self is based on the
assumption that human behavior is influenced by group
life. A particular view of oneself is formed through
interactions with other people, groups, or social
institutions.
• Sociology as a scientific study of social groups and
human relationships, generates new insights to the
interconnectedness between ourselves and other people.
Hence, sociologists offer theories to explain how the
self emerges as a product of social experience.
THE PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS OF
WELL-KNOWN SOCIOLOGISTS

• Charles Horton Cooley introduced the phrase looking-glass self


to highlight that the people whom we interact become a mirror in
which we view ourselves.
• George Herbert Mead Mead’s theory of the social self,
explained that the self has two divisions: the “I” and the “me”.
• Jean Baudrillard posits that in the postmodern society the self is
found in the prestige symbols of goods consumed by man.
CHARLES HORTON COOLEY’S
LOOKING-GLASS
• Our self-identity or self-image is achieved through a threefold event:

1. We conceive an idea of how we present ourselves to others.


2. We analyze how others perceive us.
3. We create an image of ourselves.
MEAD’S THEORY OF THE SOCIAL SELF :
THE “I” AND THE “ME”
• The “I” is the subjective element and the active side of the self. It
represents the spontaneous, and unique traits of the individual.
• Whereas the “me” is the objective element of the self. It represents the
internalized attitudes and demands of other people and the
individual’s awareness of those demands.
• The full development of the self is attained when the “I” and the “me”
are united.
• According to Mead, the self is not present at birth.
• It develops only with social experience wherein language,
gestures, and objects are used to communicate meaningfully.
• Since there is meaning in human actions, we infer people’s
intention or direction of action, which may lead us to
understand the world from others’ point of view – a process
that Mead labeled as role-taking.
• Then we create our own roles and anticipate how others will
respond.
• When we perform our own particular role, we become self-
aware.
• The self continues to change along with our social experience.
MEAD DETAILED THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THE SELF IN A THREE-STAGE PROCESS:
1. THE PREPARATORY STAGE (0-3 YEARS OLD)

• Children imitate the people around them especially family


members with whom they have daily interaction. But they
copy behavior without understanding underlying
intentions, and so at this stage, they have no sense of self.
• During this stage, children are just preparing for role-
taking.
2. THE PLAY STAGE (3 TO 5 YEARS OLD)

• Children start to view themselves in relation to others as they learn to


communicate through language and other symbols.
• At this stage, role-taking is exhibited, however, children do not perceive
role-taking as something expected of them.
• The self emerges as children pretend to take the roles of specific people
or significant others, those individuals who are important agents of
socialization. In this stage, the self is developing.
3. THE GAME STAGE
(BEGINS IN THE EARLY SCHOOL YEARS; ABOUT 8 OR 9 YEARS OLD)
• Children understand not only their own social position but also those of others around
them.
• At this stage children become concerned about and take into account in their behavior
they generalized others which refer to the attitudes, viewpoints, demands and
expectations of the society which include cultural norms and values we use as
references in evaluating ourselves.
• This time, they can have a more sophisticated look of people and an ability to respond
to numerous members of the social environment.
• During this stage, the self is now present.
THE SELF AS A PRODUCT OF MODERN
AND POSTMODERN SOCIETIES
IN MODERN SOCIETIES THE ATTAINMENT AND
STABILITY OF SELF-IDENTITY IS FREELY
CHOSEN.
• It is no longer restricted by customs and traditions.
• While this newfound freedom offers infinite possibilities for self-
cultivation, problems such as alienation and dehumanization of the
self also appear which hinder the full development of human
potentials.
• Hence, there is a need to discover the “authentic core” of the self for
the individual to freely work towards self-realization.
IN POSTMODERN SOCIETIES, SELF-IDENTITY CONTINUOUSLY
CHANGE DUE TO THE DEMANDS OF MULTITUDE OF SOCIAL
CONTEXTS, NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, AND
GLOBALIZATION.

• Whereas the dissolution of traditional values and


communities in modern society has led the individual to
construct a solid and stable self-identity, the
postmodern individual welcomes all possibilities for
self-improvement.
JEAN BAUDRILLARD EXPOSES THE NEGATIVE
CONSEQUENCES OF POSTMODERNITY TO
INDIVIDUALS IN THE SOCIETY
• The postmodern individuals achieve self-identity through prestige symbols
that they consume.
• The cultural practices of advertising and mass media greatly influence
individuals to consume goods not for their primary value and utility but to
give them a feeling of goodness and power when compared with others.
• The self may be a never-ending search for prestige in the postmodern
society.
REFLECT:

• How do you perceive yourself as you interact with other


people in the society? How do you think you formed
this perception of yourself? Identify the people, groups,
or social institutions that have been significant for
understanding yourself.
GO-MONILLA, J., & RAMIREZ, N. (2018).
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF. PHILIPPINES:
C&E PUBLISHING, INC.

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