Unfolding

the Social Self

Instructor: Mr. Ronnel John M. Romagos

FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY EXPANDED LEARNING (FUEL)

The Social Self
Learning Objectives

1. Explain, elaborate, and give examples of social

factors that shape the development of oneself
2. Create a conceptual diagram of how these social
factors are intertwined and interactively
influence their sense of self; and
3. Analyze and evaluate one’s social behaviors and
identify ways to manage them effectively
Diagnostics

• Instructions: If you think the statement is correct, write agree,

otherwise write disagree.
1. Culture is important in the development of one’s social self.
2. People you do not know do not affect your social self.
3. One’s behavior is affected by the people around him or her.
4. Social institutions have an influence on people’s lives.
5. People don’t need other people to survive.
The Self and Its Social Agencies

At the beginning of life, one already belongs to a social

group: his or her family. It is the most pervading influential
social group that impacts the self in its entire course of
development.
• The views one holds about the world,
• values upheld in making choices and decisions, and
• the habits and persistent behavior one carries
 Parents are one’s first teachers; from a very early age,
it is from them that one creates initial impressions of the world beyond his or
her home, and
the first barometer in determining which acts are good and rewarded and
those that are unacceptable, for which one is reprimanded and punished.
As one’d family grows., his or her siblings become his or her first friends and
playmates.
Relationships with siblings harness one’s socialization skills, particularly in play
moments and quarrels which help shape one’s conflict resolution skills that he
or she can carry throughout his or her life.
 Next to family, schools and the general academic environment form a
significant part of the social self.
Worldviews expand as one gets exposed to more people in different
social learning environments.
Knowledge and social skills gained from mentors, relatives, and peers
contribute to how the social self is harnessed.
The information gleaned from the books, lectures of mentors, and
insights from classmates are assimilated and imbibed consequently in the
inner recesses of the self.
 One’s knowledge of the world is shaped by collaborative learning
conditions, as one is exposed to the insights of his or her learning peers.
 Aside from one’s family and school environments, communities also shape one’s social
self to a large extent. From an anthropological and sociological perspective, one’s cultural
beliefs and practices are influenced by what communities and societies dictate.
 Values such as respect for the elderly, persistence and dedication for tasks, and love for
one’s country are often the products of communal settings one belongs to and societal
expectations imposed on him or her.
 Specific practices such as attending worship, avoiding conflict and strife with others,
taking part in rituals and ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms, and other religious
activities, are embedded in one’s social self as communities and the society have
developed shared meanings with regard to these milestones.
 Religion, politics, media, education, and the government are all social institutions that
directly impact one’s social self.
 The social self inevitably changes as one accommodates and eventually assimilates beliefs
promoted by the society as he or she thinks, appreciates, and behaves according to
standards set by micro and macrosystems.
 CULTURE
According to Edward Tylor (1871),
“culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,, law, art,
moral, custom, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member
of society.” Based on this definition, one can conclude that culture has a great
impact on a human being, and this is manifested in his or her thoughts,
behaviors, and expression. However, culture is highly relative, it varies in
terms of geographical, traditional, and individual contexts.
A dominant characteristic of culture is that it is socially transmitted and
learned by groups of people, bound by ethnicity, geography, and personal
orientations.
To further understand the nature of culture and its influences on oneself,
the following models illustrate how culture functions in relation to one’s social
self.
Bioecological Systems Theory
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1935) Bioecological Systems of Development
explains an individual’s social development, using biological, environmental,
and ecological lenses.
The theory explains the bidirectional influence of individual systems to each
other and posits five specific systems that shape an individual’s sense of
self. These systems are as follows:
1. Microsystems.

This system refers to the institutions and social groups

that the individual has direct contact and interaction
with, including families, peers, schools, religious
institutions, and the immediate community.
2. Mesosystems.
This system refers to the interconnections among
aspects of the microsystems affecting the
individual. Pragmatic examples of this would
include parent-teacher associations (PTA), parent
and peer connections, and community relations
among others.
3. Exosystem.
This system refers to the social setting than an
individual has no direct interaction with but
nevertheless affects his or her development.
An example of this could be the work setting of
one’s parents where a major company decision
that results in the loss of job of either parent will
have a significant impact to the child.
4. Macrosystem.
• This system encompasses the large cultural context in which the
individual resides in. A cultural context may include the
socioeconomic status of his or her country, issues of ethnicity,
societal values embraced by social institutions, cultural beliefs and
practices handed down from generation to generation, and how all
these affect an individual’s behavior and opportunities in the
society.
• An example of a macrosystem would be the Philippines as a third-
world country where there is a notion that life can be better when
one works abroad. Acceptable values which are defined by the
society that are headed down from generation to generation is
inexplicably imbibed by the individual.
5. Chronosystems.
This system focuses on patterns of environmental events,
including sociohistorical events from a specific to a general
context. For example, one’s graduation from college would
entail changes in his or her social self as he or she is
expected to work to help his or her family and contribute to
the society. Social events which push forth active citizenship
also influences the social self in a very vital way.
The following diagram shows how all these systems go
together and influence individual development:
• The following diagram shows how all these systems go together
and influence individual development:
Individualism-Collectivism Model

Another model that highlights the impact of culture to the

self is the Individualism-Collectivism model proposed by Hazel
Rose Markus and Shinobu Kitayama (1991). According to the
model, individualism as an orientation focuses on one’s
individual attributes and personal distinctives.
People who are individualistic are observed to be competitive
and self-reliant. They are likely to be adaptive to other people,
and cooperative in group tasks.
In the context of collectivism, collective interests are prioritized over
personal ones and the functionality of relationships is maintained through
practices that would benefit everyone.
For example, choosing a career that would fulfill the expectations of the
entire family and being non-confrontational with thoughts and beliefs that
are opposed to what the group accepts are some aspects of collectivism.
In the Philippine context, practices like staying in one’s family home,
attending mass or going to places of worship in groups and even the
inappropriate practice of sharing the achievements of others just because
they are a relative or even simply because they are also Filipinos showcase a
collectivist mindset.
 Veering away from tradition, the Filipinos are no longer tightly bound to
strongly collectivist practices.
Due to the rise of globalization and the influence of different nations with
individualistic mindsets, the Filipino society also adapts perspectives leaning
to the individualist orientation.
Many Filipinos strive to be independent and self-reliant, with goals matching
one’s individual needs. This is evident in behaviors that break away from the
collectivist outlook: moving out of one’s parent’s house after graduation,
choosing a career based on one’s personal inclinations, and the like.
Although these oppose the traditional mindset of always adhering to what
others ask of an individual, these behaviors show the capacity of an
individual to think for himself or herself.
 Notions of individualism and collectivism show how the
self is directly influenced by the society and its standards.
Being part of social groups impacts one’s thoughts and
values and also affects one’s social behavior.
I VS. ME

I vs Me
One’s behavior when he or she is alone differs from his or her
behavior when he or she is with others. Different situations trigger
particular behaviors because of differing social expectations. In
being alone, one does not need to keep up appearances, which is
different when there are others observing.
> This is what Herbert Mead (1934) posited in his theory of the
social self. He posited that the self is divided into two parts: the
“I” which is known as the unsocialized self, and the “Me” which is
known as the “socialized” self.
I VS. ME

• According to Mead, the ”I” is who an individual really is. It is one’s opinion
of himself or herself as a whole.
• The ”I” is manifested when one acts naturally for his or her own
motivations are not because of others. On the other hand, the “Me” is the
awareness of how others expect one to behave.
• This is also known as the social self. This part of the self, according to
Mead, is the careful and the conscious. When you know that there are
people staring at you, you are likely to take note of what others would
think about you, and thus adjust your behavior according to what you think
is acceptable to others.
• Based on Mead’s model, the state of the actual self is achieved when the
”I” and “Me” become congruent.
See you next class!