The Self, Society, and Culture

THE SELF,
SOCIETY, AND
CULTURE
“
WHAT IS SELF?
In Contemporary literature and even common sense,
SELF is commonly defined by the following
”
characteristics: “separate, self-contained,
independent, consistent, unitary, and private” –
Stevens (1996)
• By separate, self is always unique and
has its own identity.
• One cannot be another person.
• Twins have different characteristics.
• Self is also self-contained and independent because in
itself it can exist. Its DISTINCTNESS allows it to be self-
contained with its own thoughts, characteristics, and
volition.
• Consistent, because it has a PERSONALITY that is
enduring and therefore can be expected to persist for quite
some time. It allows to be studied, described and measured.
• Self is unitary in that it is the center of all
experiences and thoughts that run through
a certain person. It is like the chief
command post in an individual where all
processes, emotions, and thoughts
converge.
• The self is private. Each person sorts out
information, feelings and emotions, and
thought processes within self. This whole
process is never accessible to anyone but the
self.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST
PERSPECTIVE
Argue that the self should not be seen as static entity that
stays constant through and through. Rather, the self has
to be seen as something that is in UNCEASING FLUX,
Self is always in participation with social life and its
dealing with society.
THE SELF AND
CULTURE
THE SELF AND CULTURE
Remaining the same person and turning chameleon

by adapting to one’s context seems paradoxical.
However, the French Anthropologist Marcel Mauss
has an explanation for this phenomenon. According
to him, Every self has 2 faces: Personne and Moi.
• Moi- refers to a person’s sense of who he is, his body, and his basic
identity, his biological giveness. Moi is a person’s basic identity.
• Personne- Composed of the social concepts of what it means to be

who he is. Personne has much to do with what it means to live in a
particular institution, family and religion, a particular nationality, and
how to behave given expectations and influences from others
SELF
OTHERS
CULTURE AND
ENVIRONMENT
Our PERSONNE can be illustrated better

cross-culturally.
• LANGUAGE is another interesting aspect
of this social constructivism.
• If a self born into a particular society or
culture, the self will have to adjust
according to its exposure.
Recent studies, indicate
that men and women
in their growth and
development engage actively
in the shaping of the self.
MEAD AND VYGOTSKY
The way that human persons develop is with
use of language acquisition and interaction
with others. The way that we process
information is normally a form of an internal
dialogue in our head.
“ Should I do this or not?
But if I do this, it will be
like this. Don’t I want the ”
other?
• And so cognitive and emotional
development of a child is always a
mimicry of how it is done in the social
world, in the external reality where he is in.
• Both Vygotsky and Mead treat the human mind as
something that is made, constituted in dialogue with
others. A young child internalizes values, norms,
practices, and social beliefs and more through
exposure to these dialogue that will eventually
become part of his individual world.
For Mead, this takes place as a child
assumes the “other” through language
and role-play. A child conceptualizes
his notion of self through this.
THE SELF IN
FAMILY
• The kind of family that we are born in and
the resources available to us (human,
spiritual, economic) will certainly affects us
and kind of development that we will have
as we go through life.
• Learning, therefore, is critical in our
capacity to actualize the goal of becoming a
fully realized human, a child enters a system
of relationships, most important of which is
the family.
Without a family,
biologically and
sociologically, a person
may not even survive or
become a human person.
GENDER
AND
THE SELF
• Gender is one of those loci of the self that is
subject to alteration, change, and
development.
• People fought hard for the right to express,
validate, and assert their gender expressions.
SOCIETY FORCES A PARTICULAR IDENTITY
UNTO US DEPENDING ON OUR SEX AND/OR
GENDER
• Husband are expected to provide for family.
• The eldest man in a family is expected to head the family and hold it
in.
• Mother’s role is to take care of her children.
• Young women are encourage to act like fine ladies.
• Men are taught to behave like a man, like holding in one’s emotion,
being tough and brave and admiration for hard physical labor.

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The Self, Society, and Culture

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THE SELF,

Remaining the same person and turning chameleon

• Personne- Composed of the social concepts of what it means to be

Our PERSONNE can be illustrated better

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