• Sociology posited that

socially formed
norms, beliefs, and
values come to exist
within the person to a
degree where these
become natural and
normal (Elwell, 2003);
thus developing the
person’s self-identity.
• Modernization has
significantly changed
society and this affected
how an individual builds
and develops his or her
self-identity.
• Modernization, however,
improved the people’s living
conditions. A person in the
modern society is free to
choose where to live,
what to do, and who to be
with. However, stability also
decreased as traditions and
traditional support
systems such as the
family decreased in
importance. In modern
societies, individualism is
dominant and developing
one’s self-identity is
central
 Key characteristics
of modernity
• According to Giddens (1991),
the most patent, major
characteristics of modernity
are:
• Industrialism - this refers to
the social relations implied in
the extensive use of material
power and machinery in all
processes of production.
• Capitalism - a production
system involving both
competitive product
markets and the
commodification (putting
a price tag) of labor
power.
• Institutions of
surveillance – the
massive increase of power
and reach by institutions,
especially in government.
• Dynamism – this is the
most evident characteristic
of a modern society.
Dynamism is characterized
as having vigorous
activity and progress. In a
modern society, life is not a
predetermined path with
limited options based on
location, family or gender: it
is a society full of
possibilities. Everything
is subject to change, and
changes happen much
more rapidly than ever
before in human history.
 Social groups and
social network

• Sociologist George
Simmel expressed that
people create social
networks by joining social
groups.
• A social group is
described as having two
or more people
interacting with each
other, sharing similar
characteristics, and the
members identify
themselves as part of
the group. An example of
a social group is your
family, your barkada,
your classmates.
• social network are the
ties or connections that
link you to your social
group . Hence, the
connection you have with
your family is your blood
relation; the connection
you have with your
barkada is your
friendship; while the
connection you have with
your classmates is the
common interest to learn.
 Organic and Rational social groups

• An organic group is naturally occurring and it is highly

influenced by your family. Sociologist George Simmel
stated that you join these groups because your family is
also a part of it, in the first place. He called it organic
motivation. Simmel noted that the positive effect of organic
groups is rootedness. This means the foundation of the social
network runs deep, thus giving the person a sense of
belongingness. The downside however is that organic groups
imply less freedom and greater social conformity.
• Rational groups occur in
modern societies. Rational groups
are formed as a matter of
shared self-interests.
Moreover, people join these
groups out of their own free
will. Simmel called this rational
motivation. Rational groups
imply greater freedom,
especially the freedom of
movement. However,
relationships based on self-
interest are not as embedded as
organic relationships. Interests
change and when they do,
group members change. The
relationship between rational
social networks is tenuous and
the person feels no
meaningful connection with
others
Anthropology is the study of
people, past and present.

It focuses on understanding
human condition in its
cultural aspect.
Anthropology is a very
dynamic field and
anthropological
literature offers several
definitions of “self”
• Katherine Ewing (1990)
described the self as
encompassing the “physical
organism, possessing
psychological functioning and
social attributes”. This
definition portrayed the “self”
as implicitly and explicitly
existing in the mind comprised
of psychological, biological,
and cultural processes.
• Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux
(2002) conceptualized the
implicit and explicit aspects
of the self (Kemp, 2012). The
aspects of the self that you are
consciously aware of are the
explicit self; while those that
are not immediately available
to the consciousness is the
implicit aspect. This concept
can be traced to the famous
psychologist Sigmund Freud’s
“level of consciousness”.
 SELF-
REPRESENTA
TION
• Ewing (1989) asserted
that a “self” is illusory.
Rather, “People construct
a series of self-
representations that are
based on selected
cultural concepts of
person and selected
‘chains’ of personal
memories
 The Self
Embedded in
Culture
How individuals see themselves, how
they relate to other people, and how
they relate to the environment is
deeply defined by culture.

If one finds the view that the “self” is

a product of society, then it is
plausible that the ways of how the
self is developed are bound to cultural
differences as well.
• Construal is an
interpretation of the
meaning of
something; hence in
this sense, the
meaning of “self”.

• individualistic
culture represents
the self as separate,
distinct, with
emphasis on internal
attributes traits, skills,
and values.
 According to Developmental Psychologist
Catherine Raeff (2010), culture can influence
how you view:
1. Relationships
Culture influences how you enter into and maintain relationships.

2. Personality traits
Culture influences whether (and how) you value traits like humility,
self-esteem, politeness, assertiveness, etc.; as well as how you perceive
hardship or how you feel about relying on others.

3. Achievement
Culture influences how you define success and whether you value
certain types of individual and group achievements.
4. Expressing emotions
Culture influences what will affect you emotionally as
well as how you express yourself, such as showing your
feelings in public or keeping it private.
• Psychology is the
scientific study of how
people behave, think and
feel.
• Online dictionaries define
the term cognitive as “of,
relating to, being, or
involving conscious
intellectual activity such
as thinking, reasoning, or
remembering”
• JEAN PIAGET was best known
for his pioneering work in child
development.

• He also pioneered the “Theory

of Cognitive Development”,
a comprehensive theory about
the development of human
intelligence
 3 Basic Components to Piaget’s
Cognitive Theory
1.Schemas/schemes – are mental organizations that individuals
use to understand his or her environment and designate action.

2.Adaptation - involves the child's learning processes to meet

situational demands.

3.Stages of Cognitive Development - reflects the increasing

sophistication of the child's thought process.
PROCESSES USED BY
AN INDIVIDUAL IN ITS
ATTEMPT TO ADAPT
• Assimilation is the application
of previous concepts to new
concepts.
• Accommodation happens when
people encounter completely
new information or when existing
ideas are challenged.
• Dr. Susan Harter (1999)
detailed the emergence of
self-concept and asserted
that the broad
developmental changes
observed across early
childhood, later childhood,
and adolescence could be
interpreted within a
Piagetian framework.
 The development of self-concept according to
Harter is as follows:

• Early childhood - the child described the

Harter’s “self” in terms of concrete, observable
Self- characteristics such as physical attributes,
material possessions and preferences.
Developm
ent • Middle to later childhood - the self was
Concept described in terms of trait like constructs
that would require the type of
hierarchical organizational skills
characteristic of logical thought development.
• Adolescence –
according to Harter, this
is the emergence of a
more abstract self-
definitions such as
inner thoughts,
emotions, attitudes and
motives.

• Emerging adults – the

marked characteristic of
“self” for emerging
adults is having a vision
of a “possible self”. It is
the “age of
possibilities”.
William James and The Me-Self; I-Self
• I-self is the pure ego.
It is the subjective self.
It is the “self” that is
aware of its own
actions.

• me-self is the self that

is the object. It is the
“self” that you can
describe such has your
physical
characteristics,
personalities, social
role, or relationships,
thoughts, feelings
The dimensions of the me-self
include:

• Material – physical
appearance and extensions
of it such as clothing,
immediate family, and home

• Social – social skills and

significant interpersonal
relationships

• Spiritual - personality,
character, defining values
• Carl Ransom
Rogers was an
American
psychologist and
among the
founders of the
humanistic
approach to
psychology
 Ideal Self vs. Real Self
The ideal self could
include:
• Notions influenced by
your parents
• What you admire in
others
• What the society sees
as acceptable
• What you think is in
your best interest

The real self is the

person you actually
are. It is how you
behave right at the
moment of a situation.
It is who you are in
reality, how you think,
feel, or act at present
The Importance of
Alignment

• When there is a great

inconsistency between your
ideal and real selves or if the
way you are is not aligned
with what you want to be,
then you experience a state
Rogers called incongruence.

• He added that incongruence

could lead to
maladjustment.
True vs False
Selves
False self is the product of early
experience. It is a defensive
organization formed by the infant
because of inadequate mothering or
failures in empathy.

Healthy false self - when the

person has false self but can still
function both as an individual and in
the society.

Unhealthy false self - an individual

who may seem happy and
comfortable in his or her
environment but actually feels forced
to fit in and constantly needs to
adjust his or her behavior to adapt to
the social situation is said to have an
unhealthy false self.
• True self
flourishes in
infancy if the
mother is
positively
responsive to
the child’s
spontaneous
expressions
EASTERN
• Richard Shweder, wrote “cultural
AND traditions and social practices
WESTERN regulate, express, and transform
the human psyche, resulting less
CONCEPT in psychic unity for humankind
OF THE than in ethnic divergences in
mind, self, and emotion (1991).”
SELF
 Western Concept
of Self
• In Medieval times, philosopher and
saint, Thomas Aquinas believed that
the body constitutes individuality
• The individual was the focus of
Renaissance thought, with Rene
Descartes famous “I think, therefore I
am” as the epitome of Western idea of
self.
• The western tradition is generally
acknowledged to be “imbued with a
style of thinking based on dichotomy
and binary opposition”
Psychiatrist and professor,
Frank Johnson (1985)
outlined four categories on
how the term “self” is used
in contemporary
Western discussion.

• Analytical
• Monotheistic
• Individualistic
• Materialistic/rationalistic
• analytic, Johnson meant the
“tendency to see reality as an
aggregate of parts.” The “self” is
an observer separate and distinct from
external objects (Me versus Other).

• Monotheism according to Johnson

involved the tendency toward
unitary explanations of
phenomena and a closed-system
view of “self” as modeled after a
unitary, omnipotent power (“Man was
created by God, in His image)

• Individualism on the other hand, is a

quality of Western thinking where
self-expression and self-
actualization are important ways
of establishing who one is as well
as in finding satisfaction in the world.
• materialistic/
rationalistic
Western thinking
tends to discredit
explanations that
do not use
analytic-
deductive modes
of thinking
 HINDUISM
• The earliest religious writings in
the East are the Vedas . It
formed the Hindu philosophy and
dharma (the principle of cosmic
order). The chants and hymns in
the Vedas illustrate the Eastern
mindset of a non-dual
universe but rather a
creation that is completely
unified with the creator, with
no distinction
• true nature of humans
is described as
“Brahman” which is
the divine universal
consciousness
encompassing the
universe. The
Brahman is the Self
that is all within us

• Hinduism - “change
your perception of
the world to perceive
the Brahman in
oneself and in others
• Buddhism is composed of the
teachings of Buddha. In Buddhist
traditions, the “self” is not an
entity, a substance, or essence.
Rather, the “self” is a dynamic
process. It is interdependent
and ever changing.

• Anatta, which is often defined as

"no-self or no-soul". Annata is a
concept that the sense of being a
permanent, autonomous “self”
is an illusion. It is the teaching
that there is no eternal,
unchanging "self/soul"
inhabiting our bodies or living
our lives.
• Buddhism takes a great interest in
how people experience their
“self”, rather than just their
abstract idea of it, because
Buddhist practices are designed to
lead to a new (correct) experience
of self
• In Confucianism, the quest for the
“self” in terms of substance, of
spirit, of body, or of essence
does not exist .
• The form which Confucius’ wrote
about the concept of “self” is that
of personality. The qualities that
form a person’s character not
something that exists
inherently. Rather, in Confucian
thought it is something that is
formed through upbringing and
the environment
• Confucian philosophy presented the idea
that every person is born with four
beginnings. However, these do not yet
comprise the concept of “self”, but when
perceived together it could be explained
in Western terms as a “pre-self” or a
“potential self”. These four beginnings
are:

• • Heart of compassion that leads to Jen

• • Heart of righteousness that leads to
Yi
• • Heart of propriety that leads to Li
• • Heart of wisdom that leads to Chih
• Jen means goodwill, sympathy
towards others, politeness, and
generosity.
• Yi means rightness and the
respect of duty (you must
respect your position as a
guardian towards nature and
humanity).
• Li means having the right to
practice propriety in all that you
do. Propriety involves not
demonstrating your inner
attitude in your outer expression.
• Chih means wisdom, this
wisdom is expressed by
putting jen, yi, and li into
practice (Quinlan, 2001;
Chinavoc, 2007).
• Personality (in the
Confucian perception) is
an achieved state of
moral excellence rather
than a given human
condition. However, such
achieved personality, or
self, is not to be
understood as primarily
an individual entity. The
Confucian concept of
self is deeply
embedded within the
family and society, and
it is only in that context
that the self comes to
be what it is
• Taoism does not regard the
“self” as an extension of (or
defined by) social relationships.
Rather, the “self” is but one
of the countless
manifestations of the Tao.
• According to Chuang-tzu,"The
perfect man has no self; the
spiritual man has no
achievement; the true sage
has no name". The ideal is
thus
selflessness.In sum, Chuang-
tzu's conception
of selfhood entails conscious
self-transformation leading
to the attributes of a
balanced life in harmony
with both nature and society.
• The Arabic word for the
word “self” is Nafs written
in the Holy Qur'an. It
pertains to the psyche (the
totality of
the conscious and unconsci
ous human mind) or the
soul.

• Instead the “nafs/self” is

something which has to
be nurtured and self-
regulated, so that it can
progress into becoming
'good' (or conversely,
'evil') through its
thoughts and actions
Individualistic vs Collective Self
Individualistic self

• Individualists encourage
asserting one's goals and
desires; they highly value
independence and self-
reliance. They insist that the
interests of the individual
should take precedence
over the state or a social
group. They also strongly
oppose external
interference by society or
institutions (such as the
government) upon one's own
interests
Collective self

• Eastern culture practiced by

countries in Asia (i.e. the
Philippines) base their values
and self-concept in a collectivist
view. People in collectivistic
culture emphasize the
interdependence and
harmonious relatedness with
one another (e.g. the family,
co-workers, friends, etc.). It is
of utmost importance to be part
of and maintain social networks,
maintain good relationships, and
fulfill obligations
Closing the gap

• Baumeister (1986) proposed that self-

concept could be organized in three
aspects:

• Private – refers to the mental

processes that perceive one’s
own traits or behaviors (e.g. I am
honest)
• Public – refers to the generalized
view of self, such as the
perception of how others view
you (e.g. People think I’m honest)
• Collective – refers to the view of
self in a collective concept (e.g.
My family expects me to be honest)

• It is assumed that these three aspects

exist in every person. However, a
dominant aspect would probably
present itself depending on one’s
culture