Lesson 2 and 3_UTS.pptx understanding the self
- 2. FROM THE PERSPECTIVE 0F SOCIOLOGY Sociology is one of the disciplines in the social sciences which aims to discover the ways by which the social surrounding/environment influences people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
- 3. • Born on February 27, 1863 in Massachusetts, USA • Graduated and taught Grade School at Oberlin College. • Enrolled in Harvard University in 1887 where his interests were Philosophy and Psychology • He wrote and published articles and book reviews but did not publish his own book. • His students put together number of his articles and edited them for publication. • He died in 1931 due to Heart Failure. George Herbert Mead
- 4. - Social Behaviorism- the approach Mead used to describe the power of environment in shaping human behavior. At the center of his theorizing is the concept of self. - He described the self as “dimension of personality that is made up of the individual’s self-awareness and self-image” (Macionis, 2012) - According to Mead, the self cannot be separated from the society. - He explained through a set of stages which the person undergoes in the course of his development. Mead’s Social Self
- 5. The Preparatory Stage Mead believed that a self did not exist at birth but develops over time. It depends on social interaction and social experience. At this stage - Children’s behavior are primarily based on Imitation. They become familiar with symbols (verbal and non-verbal) as they interact and these symbols are the bases of Communication - Knowing and Understanding the symbols are important to constitute their way of communicating with others throughout their lives (Schaefer, 2012)
- 6. The Play Stage This stage is where the child widens his perspective and realizes that he is not alone and there are others around him which he has to consider. At this stage - Knowing and Understanding the symbols of communication to constitute basis for socialization to form social relationship. - Role-taking is the process of assuming the perspective of another person to see how this person might behave or respond in a given situation (Schaefer, 2012) - Eg. Mother Father Game
- 7. The Game Stage The child now has the ability to respond not just to one but several members of his social environment. At this stage - Begins to consider several tasks and various types of relationships simultaneously. - Generalized other was used to explain the behavior when a person considers other people in the course of his action. Through this, the person realizes the cultural norms, beliefs, & values incorporated to each self. With this, it forms the basis of self-evaluation
- 8. STAGES OF SELF FORMATION (GEORGE MEAD) STAGE EXISTENCE OF SELF CHARACTERISTICS Preparatory Stage None Imitates another Play Stage Developing Role – Taking Game Stage Present Generalized Other
- 9. Mead’s Theory of the Self • Theory of the Self: The self is not present at birth but begins as a central character in a child’s world. • Children see themselves as “universe” and is having difficulty understanding people around them. • As they grow and mature, they begin to see other people and is concerned about their reactions. • His family play a major role in the formation of the self. • They are the Significant others – strongly influence his development. (Schaefer, 2012)
- 10. THE “I” AND “ME” o Mead explained that the person’s capacity to see the self through others implies that the self has 2 parts: o I Self – when the person initiates, the self functions as subject. This subjective element of the self is the I. o Me Self – when the person takes the role of the other, the self function as object. The objective element of the self is the Me. o Eg. I Self: I will do my assignment Me Self: Best in thesis was awarded to me
- 11. SOCIOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING THE SELF CHARLES HORTON COOLEY (1864-1929) • American sociologist who made use the Sociopsychological approach to understand how societies work. • Earned his Doctorate at the University of Michigan and taught as a Sociology Professor until the end of his life. • He discussed the formation of the self through interaction in his written work, Human Nature and the Social Order (1902)
- 12. CHARLES HORTON COOLEY (1864-1929) ● Looking-glass self – the self that is a product of social interaction. Seeing oneself is based on contemplating one’s personal qualities and the view of the self is also influenced by the impression of other people. ● Cooley believed that developing a self has 3 phases: (Schaefer, 2012) 1. People imagine how they present themselves to others Ex: You dress- up elegantly at the prom 2. People imagine how others evaluate them Ex: Others will see you as pretty by the way you fix yourself 3. People develop some sort of feeling about themselves as a result of those impressions. Ex: You may see yourself as confident.
- 13. “Today, I’m not what I think I am; I’m not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am.” - Charles Cooley
- 14. It is noticed that Cooley used the word Imagine. This may mean that there is a possibility that people develop self-identities based on the wrong perception of how others see them. Wrong perceptions, however, can still change based on positive social experiences “Today, I’m not what I think I am; I’m not what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am.”
- 15. Erving Goffman (1922- 1982) • Canadian-American sociologist know for his role in the development of Modern American Sociology. • The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life – people early in their social interactions learned to slant their presentation of themselves in order to create preferred appearances and satisfy particular people or altering how the person presents himself to others which he called Impression Management.
- 16. Erving Goffman (1922- 1982) o He sees similarities of real social interaction to a theatrical presentation. This is the reason for the label dramaturgical approach to his view. o He used the phrase face-work to describe another aspect of the self. This was observed in situations where face-saving measures are resorted to in the maintenance of a proper image of self in frustrating or embarrassing situations (Schaefer, 2012) “Choose your self-presentations carefully, for what starts out as a mask may become your face” - Erving Goffman
- 17. From the Perspective of Sociology The discussions and observations of the sociologists represented a progression on how the self has developed through the process of socialization to how the person manages self-presentation in order for him to be accepted by others.
- 18. Activity No. 1 MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO IS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL • Your task is to see yourself in the mirror, ask yourself, do I really see myself as Fairest of them all? • Enumerate things you see yourself • Enumerate how others see you • If you combine the two, what are the things you develop within yourself as you present it and as others see it? Note: Put it a bond paper, electronic or handwritten.
- 19. The Self from the Perspective of Anthropology
- 20. 01 02 The Self from the Perspective of Anthropology Anthropology is a field of the social sciences that focuses on the study of man. Not just on one aspect of man, but the totality of what it means to be human. The field looks into man’s physical/biological characteristics, social relationships, and the influence of his culture from the dawn of civilization up to the present. Everything in anthropology is interconnected and a complete understanding is necessary to achieve better understanding of oneself.
- 21. There are 4 subfields of Anthropology that suggests that human beings are similar and very different at the same time: • Archaeology • Biological Anthropology • Linguistic Anthropology • Cultural Anthropology
- 22. ARCHAEOLO GY • Archeologist is a scientist who studies artifacts in order to discover how people lived their lives. As a result, archaeologists have discovered humans adapted to changes in their environment in order for them to survive. • They believe that homo sapiens did not become extinct because of their ability to think, use tools, and learn from experience.
- 23. ARCHAEOLO GY • This discoveries made people realize that the most important aspect of human life is survival. Human Behavior according to School of Functionalism, continues to adapt, in order to survive. • Men are similar, but the manner they use to survive differs. This is the dilemma that archaeology continuously searching for answers.
- 24. BIOLOGICAL ANTROPOLOG Y • Biological Anthropologists Focus primarily on how the human body adapts to the different earth environments. They look at the probable cause of diseases, mutation and death. They are interested in explaining how biological characteristics of human beings affect how they lived their lives. • They study people in different places and discovered that while human beings vary in their biological make-up and behavior, there are a lot more similarities among them than there are difference. • Biological characteristics of humans beings share may earn for them complete dominion over all earth creatures and at the same time be the cause of their extinction.
- 25. LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLO GY • Human survival is primarily linked to their ability to communicate and an essential part of human communication is language. • Language – identifies group of people; words, sounds, symbols, writings and signs that are used are reflections of a group’s culture. • Linguistic Anthropologists used language to discover a group’s manner of social interaction, to create and share meanings to form ideas, concepts, and to promote social change, and how language change over time. • Language is reflective of the time and mode of thinking of the people using it. As societies change and technologies develop, so do the symbols and meaning people use through language as their way of communicating.
- 26. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLO GY • Culture – group of people’s way of life. Including their behavior, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, socially transmitted through communication and imitation from generation to generation. • Cultural Anthropologists focus in knowing what makes one group’s manner of living particularly to that group and forms an essential part of the member’s personal and social identity.
- 27. Theory of Cultural Determinism • Where culture has a strong impact on how individual view himself. • According to this theory, human nature is determined by the ideas, meanings, beliefs, and values learned as member of a society. • Who or what a person is maybe determined by the kind of culture he is born into and grew up in. • Having different cultures, Cultural Anthropologists suggests that there is no universal or right way of being human. The right way is always based on culture. Since culture vary, there is no one way of understanding human nature.
- 28. Theory of Cultural Determinism This theory has positive and negative implications. POSITIVE NEGATIVE • Human beings can be shaped to have the kind of life they prefer. There is no limit placed on the human ability to be or to do do whatever they set their minds and hearts into. • People have no control over what they learn. They blindly accept the learning their culture expose them to. They are seen as helpless and do only what their culture instructs them to do.
- 29. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY • Cultural diversities are manifested in different ways and at different levels of depth. Symbols are considered the most superficial level of culture and values belong to the deepest level or are considered as the core of culture. • Ways in which culture may manifest itself in people: - Symbols - Heroes - Rituals - Values
- 30. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Ways in which culture may manifest itself in people: Symbols – words, gestures, symbols, that have recognized meaning in a particular culture. Ex: Rings that signify commitment
- 31. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Ways in which culture may manifest itself in people: Heroes – person from the past or present who have characteristics that are important in a culture. They may be real or fictitious and are models of behavior.
- 32. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Ways in which culture may manifest itself in people: Rituals – activities, may be religious or social, participated in by a group of people for the fulfillment of desired objectives and are considered to be socially essential.
- 33. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Ways in which culture may manifest itself in people: Values – are unconscious, and can neither be discussed nor be directly observed but can only be inferred from the way people act and react to circumstances and situations.
- 34. The Self from the Perspective of Anthropology Anthropology makes the person aware that what he is maybe determined by his past, and present condition, his biological characteristics, the way he communicates, the language that he uses and the manner in which he chooses to live his life.
- 35. In a world where you can be anything, choose to be kind.