THE SELF, SOCIETY & CULTURE
What is the relationship between external reality and the
self?
Can you answer these questions?
• How much of you are essential?
• How much of who you are now a product of your
society, community, and family?
• Has your choice of school affected yourself now?
• Had you been born into a different family and
schooled in different college, how much of who you
are now would change?
What is Culture?
 Culture encapsulates the way of life of a social
group.
 Culture is learned, not instinctual or inherited
What is society?
 Societies are systems of relationships between
people.
 Societies consist of members that share some sense
of common identity
small (family)
large (nation-state)
Culture is shared.
 People living together in a society share culture.
 Almost all people living in the Philippines share the
Filipino language, dress in similar styles, eat many of
the same foods, and celebrate many of the same
holidays.
 Shared culture is important in holding a society
together.
What is the Self?
 According to Stevens (1996)…
“The Self is separate, self-contained, independent, consistent,
unitary, and private.”
Social Constructionist Perspective
 All meaning is socially created.
 Social constructs might be so ingrained that they feel
natural, but they are not. Instead, they are an
invention of a given society and thus do not
accurately reflect reality.
 We ourselves play different roles, act in different
ways depending on our circumstances.
 The self is capable of morphing and fitting itself into
any circumstances it finds itself in.
The Self and Culture
According to French Anthropologist Marcel Mauss every Self
has two faces
1. Moi- Person’s basic identity
2. Personne – social concepts of what it means to be
who he is
 The self morphs according to the circumstances and
contexts.
- Consider: An OFW adjusting to life in another
country
Language as an aspect of social constructivism
 According to Lowenthal & Muth (2008)
Learning occurs via construction of meaning in social
interaction within cultures and through
 Stevens (1996)…
“Social Constructionists argue for a merged view of ‘the
person’ and their ‘social context’ where the boundaries of one
cannot easily be separated from the boundaries of the other
self.”
Consider…
MAHAL KITA  I LOVE YOU
There is no distinction between the lover and the beloved.
They are ONE.
 Filipino language as being gender-neutral
“Siya” Compared to He or She
The Family
 Family has the greatest impact on human behavior
and on the SELF.
Families introduce children to the expectations of society.
 How parents define and treat a child is crucial to the
development of the child’s sense of self.
George Herbert Mead: The Social Self
 The Self
The part of an individual’s personality composed of
self-awareness and self-image
1. Self develops from social interaction.
2. Social experience is the exchange of symbols.
3. Understanding intention requires imagining the
situation from the other’s point of view.
4. By taking the role of the other we become self-
aware.
 Mead: Taking the Role of the Other
1. Imitation stage - children imitate behavior of those
around them.
2. Play stage - children take on the role of significant
others.
3. Game stage - children internalize an abstract
understanding of how society sees them.
“Society is unity in diversity.” -George H. Mead
 Theory of Cognitive Development
By Lev S. Vygotsky
- Socio-Cultural Perspective emphasizes the
importance of society and culture for
promoting cognitive growth
“What a child can do today with assistance, she will be
able to do by herself tomorrow.” -Lev S. Vygotsky
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