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CHAPTER I: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

B. SOCIOLOGY
MODULE OVERVIEW

In the advent and growth of social sciences, new approaches in examining the nature of the self
becomes possible. In the sociological views of understanding the self, social situations become a great deal in
defining the individual’s self-concept and self-esteem as well.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the different views of the self;

2. Examine the two components of the self;
3. Describe the concept of the looking-glass self and how it affects self-concept.
4. Explain the concept of social comparison and why it is important to human behavior.

LEARNING CONTENTS

I. The Self as Product of Modern Society Among Others

With the modern society people is facing at present, life becomes urbanized. And with such situation,
people tend to be more impersonal and leads to destruction of the traditional way of life. From the limitations
impose by the society before, people nowadays are already free to seek their own identity. Thus, they get
“delocalize”. Such instances that Clifford Geertz (1973) believes that struggle for individuality can already be
possible. And having a delocalized self as a product poses certain problems such as:

a. The authenticity of self is threatened as a result of the new found freedom.

b. According to Marx, human beings are being haunted and gets alienated to their own self as an effect to
the images they created.
c. The objectification of the body removes human qualities in man.
d. Dehumanization of self.

II. Mead’s Theory of the Self

George Herbert Mead is known for his theory of the social self which stands on the point that the
self is not initially there at birth. Instead, it arises out of one’s social communication, activities such as
observing and interacting with others, responding to others’ opinions, and internalizing external opinions and
internal feelings about oneself.

According to Mead’s theory, the self has two sides of phases: the “I” and “me”. The “I” represents the
self as subject, and the individual’s impulse, while the “me” is considered to be the socialized component of
the individual that represents the learned behaviors, expectations and attitude of others organized into a
social self. It is referred as the “generalized other” as one acts according to the generalized attitude of the
social group the person occupies. When one is able to be aware as to how other view him / her, then full
sense of “me” is attained.

Moreover, three activities are identified as the results in the development of the self - language, play,
and game.

At the age of 0 to 2 years old, children tend to imitate the language used by people that are around

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them. Thus, the symbols, gestures, words, and sound for children at this stage are mere words and sound
and does not have any meaning. Hence, since children at these ages are on preparatory stage, it is important
that language conveyed on them are screened as eventually these language could already be understood as
a child grows older.
During ages 2 to 6 years old, play develops the one’s self-consciousness through role playing. It
develops the self by allowing people to take on different roles, pretend, and express expectations of others.
The play done at these ages are far easier as children do not adhere to any roles. During role-play, a child is
able to internalize the view of others and develop an understanding of how other people feel about
themselves and others in different situations.

The game activity that is engaged by children ages 7 years old onwards allows the child to
understand and adhere to the roles of the games which as a result may lead to the development of self. To
add, self will be developed when a child understands that rules of the game are existing and that these rules
should be followed to possibly win the game. The game stage results to what Mead identifies as one side of
the self, the “me” or the generalized other.

III. The Looking-Glass Self

Social interaction plays an important role to individual’s understanding of self; thus, behavior and a
person’s self-esteem may be dictated by how they will predict how others perceived them. American
sociologist Charles Horton Cooley coined the concept “looking-glass self” as pertaining to an individual’s
development of self-concept based on their observation of how other people sees them. The social interaction
people have are used as “mirror” to measure their own worth, values, and behavior.
Hence, not all feedback made by others carries the same weight, how one perceived the self will
depend on the context of the interaction and the nature of the people involved. One may be seen as
according to labels put by other people towards us. These labels sometimes are derived from different factors
one may be associated with. In example, the milk commercial pertaining to the boys doubting a girl’s capacity
to play soccer with them, “eh babae ka eh, baka umiyak ka lang?’, or Ilocanos are tight-fisted, and you are an
Ilocano, so people will see you as tight-fisted individual. Labeling bias occurs when we are labeled, and
others’ views and expectations of us are affected by that labeling (Fox & Stinnet, 1996). But when the degree
of appraisals are great, it may happen that an individual will adopt such appraisal into their selves.
Self-labeling may occur when one take into their self-concept those labels, and evaluation made by others
for them. At times labels appears to be exaggerated that it goes beyond the usual, and internalized
prejudice happens when people instill such label unto themselves which may lead to poor self-concept.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

ASSESSMENT

Name: ___________________________ Course/Year/Section: ___________ Date: _______

Direction: Choose the letter that corresponds to your answer. Write the letter of your choice on the space
provided before each number

_____ 1. It refers to the “self” as subject, and individual’s impulse.

A. “I” B. “Me” C. “Others” D. “You”

_____ 2. He was the American sociologist who coined the concept of the “looking-glass self”.

A. Mead B. William James C. Colley D. Gergen

_____ 3. It occurs when we are labeled, and others’ views and expectations of us are affected by that
labeling.

A. Labeling Bias B. Self Labeling C. Internalized Prejudice D. A and B

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_____ 4. It occurs when people instill label made by others unto themselves which may lead to poor
self-concept.

A. Labeling Bias B. Self Labeling C. Internalized Prejudice D. Reflection

_____ 5. It occurs when one take into their self-concept those labels, and evaluation made by others for them.

A. Labeling Bias B. Self Labeling C. Internalized Prejudice D. Self Bias

_____ 6.Amira thinks that her teacher and classmates see her as intelligent. She takes on this view and
reacts to them. Which self is this according to Mead?

A. “I” B. “Me” C. “generalize others” D.

myself

_____ 7. Jaden has very low self-esteem, she always sees herself incapable of doing things on her own and
always relies on others. Which self is this according to Mead?

A. “I” B . “Me” C. “generalize others” D.

myself

_____ 8. In which Mead’s stages of the self do children merely imitate the people around them?

A. Play B. Game C. Language D.

A and B
_____ 9. George Herbert Mead’s “I” refers to:

A. The “what do I want”? C. Individual cultural origin

B. How others interpret our action D. The symbol that others give us

_____ 10.George Herbert Mead’s “Me” refers to:

A. The “what do I want”? C. How my internalized view has been created

B. How others interpret our action D. How my personal beliefs affect others.

Base on Salvacion Villafuerte’s Assessment Questionnaire p.26 and Faith Medenilla Cuevo’s Understanding the self Test Your
Knowledge Questionnaire p.25

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

ESSAY

Describe some aspects of yourself that changed over time as effected by modernization of
society. Write down your thoughts and feelings in at least half a page, but not to exceed one
page (letter size).

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SUMMARY

The classical sociological perspective the self is viewed as a relatively fix set of views of who a
person is in relation to one’s self, other people, and to social systems. Our self is constructed through
interaction with other people. Thus, we are not mere a passive participant in the process of social interaction,
rather we have the power to influence how the process of socialization and its consequences will develop.

REFERENCES

Alata, E., et. al. (2018), Understanding the Self, Rex Book Store, Inc. (RBSI), Quezon City

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Cuevo, F., et. al. (2018), Understanding the Self, St. Andrew Publishing House, Bulacan
Johnson, B. (2003), Charles Horton Cooley: Looking Glass Self and the Effect of Primary Group,
www.study.com
Villafuerte, S., et. al. (2018), Understanding the Self, Nieme Publishing House Co. Ltd.
Quezon City
Wozniak, M. (2018), “I” and “Me”: The Self in the Context of Consciousness, www.frontiersin.org