The Self as a Social Construct The Self in the Western and Oriental Thought
Lesson Objectives: INDIVIDUALISM
•Articulate what culture means as part of the •emphasize that people are independent of
society. their groups.
•Attribute self-understanding and behavior to •personal goals are more important than the
cultural factors. goals of the in group.
•Recognize and appreciate differences in COLLECTIVISM
cultural behaviors of the self, particularly from •goals of the in group are more important than
the Western and Asian contexts. personal goals
CULTURE •people are expected to maintain close
That complex whole which includes knowledge, interdependent relationships
beliefs, arts, morals, law, customs, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by
humans as a member of society.
Figure 6.5. independent and interdependent
views of self. (a) Individuals in cultures that
support an independent view perceive the self
as clearly separated from significant others. (b)
Individuals in cultures that support an
interdependent view perceive the self as
The Self as Embedded in Culture
inextricably connected to others.
To understand how the self is influenced by its
culture, there are two components that is
essential to know:
•Non-material culture – beliefs, values, norms
and symbols
•Material Culture – consists of human
technology
The self is clearly linked to his/her culture. In
fact, our social personality is a reflection of
culture itself.
The Psychological Self POSSIBLE SELVES
How well do you know yourself? FEEL GOOD about yourself?
Most of the time, we are too hard on ourselves There is CONGRUENCE or alignment or
because of the many expectations we have. there is a small gap between our real self
and ideal self.
SELFCONCEPT This gives us confidence, satisfaction, and
It is an organized, consistent set of fulfillment leading to a high self-esteem.
perceptions of and beliefs about oneself. Otherwise, there is a feeling of
(Carl Rogers) disappointment and frustration about
These perceptions are called self-schemas ourselves.
This results to us being distressed, anxious,
SELFSCHEMAS leading to a low self-esteem, and
defensive.
They are formed by numerous factors such
as Past experiences SELF-EFFICACY
Personality traits
It is the belief that you can do and perform
Abilities
things.
Physical features
When our performance improves, our self-
Values
esteem improves too.
Goals
But an increase in self-esteem does not
Social roles
mean an increase to self-efficacy. Why?
Own observations
Feedback from others SELF-ESTEEM
2 Selves according to Carl Rogers It is how we value our selves and perceive our
worth as a person.
IDEAL SELF
People with high self-esteem succeed more,
Person we want to be
have better relationships, and are happier.
Idealized version of yourself
How should I be SOCIAL SELF-IMAGE
EMOTIONAL SELF-IMAGE
REAL SELF
ACADEMIC SELF-IMAGE
Who we actually are PHYSICAL SELF-IMAGE
How I see me
What to do?
Also called “actual self” Who we actually
are Seek help through counseling or people
How I see me who can help.
Do self-reflection
Our ideal self is essential in guiding and
Be easy on yourself.
motivating us to behave in a way that would
Stop comparing yourselves with others.
lead us to the best version of who we want to
Invest on yourself by learning
be.
something new. Change your way of
Let’s do some visual imagining exercise. thinking.
Understanding your Physical Self Cultural Standards of Beauty
there is always a pressure in our society Define BEAUTY.
to look good. Different cultures have different standards
This has given rise to beauty products and of beauty.
enhancement procedures for the purpose How about the Philippines?
that we could fit in, be accepted, and be Our concept of physical selves as Filipinos is
beautiful. largely associated with our skin color.
Our physical selves have become so
dependent on the judgment of our We were forced to believe that they were more
appearance and not with the celebration superior people, more civilized, and how they
of it. look were deemed as standard of beauty.
There is always a pressure in our society Body Dysmorphic Disorder
to look good.
This has given rise to beauty products and Patients worry that there is something
enhancement procedures for the purpose wrong with the shape or appearance of a
that we could fit in, be accepted, and be body part – most often breasts, genitalia,
beautiful. hair, or the nose, or some portion of the
Our physical selves have become so face.
dependent on the judgment of our The ideas they have about their bodies are
appearance and not with the celebration not delusional, rather they are overvalued
of it. ideas.
Frequently request for medical procedures
Why do I look like myself?
or plastic surgeries but are often
Our biology dictates that our looks are a result dissatisfied with the results.
of the genes transferred to us by our parents.
The Filtered Self
(Gregor Mendel)
Why filter?
Today, our self-approval is dependent on
the likes, shares, and comments, of our
social media posts
The more we approve of the filtered us,
the more we disregard our real, unfiltered
physical selves
Perhaps, at one point in our lives, we have
been implicitly or explicitly criticized or
even ridiculed for how we look.
Are there more positive traits than Who is bold enough to share the time you
negative traits written on your chart? were mocked and how did it made you
Are there more physical traits than non- feel?
physical traits that have been recorded? You can PLAY or PASS.’
Are you happy for having those traits?
WHO AM I? THE PHILOSOPHICAL Moral law exists and is imposed on the
mind.
VIEW
There is an eternal law and it is the law of
SOCRATES conscience*
KNOW THYSELF: “An unexamined life is RENE DESCARTES
NOT worth living.”
I think, therefore; I am. (Cogito ergo sum)
Soul first before man’s body.
The mind and body are separate entities
The soul has knowledge by direct intuition
but the mind is conjoined with the body
and all these are stored in his mind.
in an intimate way that they casually act
When man came to the material world, he
upon each other.
forgot most of what he knew, thus,
The essence of the Self is in its being a
resulting to lack of knowledge or
“thinking being” – the self being the mind
ignorance.
more than the body.
But knowledge can be restored through
When the body is gone, the mind may
dialectic method or Socratic method, an
continue to exist and function.
exchange of question and answer that
ultimately aims to make the person JOHN LOCKE
remember all the knowledge he has
He included the concept of a person’s
forgotten.
memory in the definition of the self.
PLATO He subscribes to the memory theory
which holds that we are the same person
Ideal world vs. Material world
as we were in the past for as long as we
Human beings are composed of a body and
can remember something from that past.
a soul. The soul is the true self; the body is
Personal identity is explained in terms of
the changing self.
psychological connection between life
The soul exists before birth and leaves
stages in the memory theory.
room for the possibility that it might
Our memory makes us aware of our
survive bodily death.
existence.
The body is seen as a prison and we can
only be free through contemplation. DAVID HUME
Contemplation entails communion of the
The self keeps on changing, thus, an
mind with universal and eternal ideas.
“enduring self” is just a fiction by our
We continue to exist even in the absence
imagination.
of our bodies because we are souls only.
“I” will be constantly changing because
AUGUSTINE the different experiences one has for
every constant change will affect and
Out of love, God created man.
reshape that person.
Man is created in the image of God and
Thus, we cannot observe any permanent
he has an immortal soul whose main
self because we continuously undergo
pursuit is to have an everlasting life with
change.
God.
In conclusion, THERE IS NO SELF.
In this world, man pursues happiness but
this can only be achieved in God alone.
IMMANUEL KANT It is a continuous flow of movement from
infancy to adulthood.
Refuted Hume’s claims and argued that it
The definition of self is all about one’s
is possible to find the essence of the self.
perception of one’s experience and the
He believes that man is a free agent,
interpretation of those experiences.
capable of making a decision for himself.
As a free agent, man is gifted with reason THE SUMMARY
and free will (to be moral or not).
Socrates: Man is essentially a soul. It was
Thus, we must respect every individual and
seconded by Plato.
they should not be exploited and used.
Augustine: Man is an image in the likeness
SIGMUND FREUD of God and he is essentially a soul whose
goal is to be with God.
Famous for his tripartite division of the
Rene Descartes – Man is a mind – a thinking
mind – id, ego, and superego.
being separate from his body. It doesn’t
Id - impulses; biological drives and urges,
mean that we don’t need the body, because
pleasure principle
the body is a necessity for the mind in order
Ego - the rational part, reality principle
for it to perform any act.
Superego - moral and ethical standards;
John Locke – Self is a consciousness and
moral principle
that for as long as we have memories about
GILBERT RYLE who we are and our identity, then that tells
us that we are that same person, that same
The mind is certainly a part of our body. self that we are conscious of now.
The only way by which we can know how David Hume – There is NO permanent self
the mind is working is through the because the self is only a bundle of senses
behavior of the person. that keeps on changing.
Hence, we can only know a person through Immanuel Kant – it is possible for us to
how a man behaves, their tendencies and construct our self. We can organize our
reactions in certain circumstances. experiences so that we can build an idea of
PAUL CHURCHLAND who we are.
Sigmund Freud – man is made up of two
The self is the brain. things: conscious and unconscious and that
Our moods, emotions, actions, and man has many layers.
consciousness are deeply affected by the Gilbert Ryle – how one behaves is a big
state of our brain. factor in showing who man is
By manipulating certain parts of the brain, Paul Churchland – the brain is the essence
our feelings, actions, and physical state are of the self
successfully altered Maurice Merleau- Ponty – Man is all about
MAURICE MERLEAUPONTY how he sees himself (subjectivity)
To be a self is to be more than one’s body.
The self is grounded on the experiences
from the past, the possibilities for the
future, and the present cognition.
