Understanding The Self

LESSON 3  At the deepest level, anthropology raises

ANTHROPOLOGICAL philosophical questions which it tries to
PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF respond to by exploring human lives under
“Me and My Culture” different conditions.
 Anthropology is the study of man and its
culture.

Anthropology primarily offers two kinds

of insight.
 First, the discipline produces knowledge
about the actual cultural variation in the
world; studies may deal with:
>the role of caste and wealth in Indian
village life;
>technology among highland people in New
Guinea;
>religion in southern Africa;
India's caste system is among the world's >food habits in northern Norway;
oldest forms of surviving social >the political importance of kinship in the
stratification. Middle East; or
The system which divides Hindus into rigid >notions about gender in the Amazon basin.
hierarchical groups based on their karma  In Anthropology, the knowledge about
(work) and dharma (the Hindi word for global cultural variation in order to be able
religion, but here it means duty) is generally to say anything interesting about one’s
accepted to be more than 3,000 years old. region, topic or people is necessary.
 
 Second, anthropology offers methods and
theoretical perspectives enabling the
practitioner to explore, compare and
understand these varied expressions of the
human condition. (professional skills)
Two (2) concepts important in the
field of Anthropology:
Boas, born in 1864, was German, but
emigrated to the USA after several lengthy
stays in the country in the 1880s and 1890s.
As a professor at Columbia University. He
contributed the two important concepts
The most popular religions in South Africa
which defining American anthropology:
A new report reveals that the vast majority
cultural relativism and historical
of South Africans describe their religious
particularism.
affiliation as ‘Christian’ while 5.2% say that
1. Cultural relativism is the view that every
they are not affiliated to any religion in
society, or every culture, has to be
particular. Business Tech, 10 June 2016
understood on its own terms, from within,
and that it is neither possible nor particularly
According to Eriksen (2004) Anthropology
interesting to rank societies on an
represents certain fundamental insights evolutionary ladder.
concerning the human condition, applicable 2. Historical particularism, which is closely
in many everyday situations. related to cultural relativism, consists of the
 Anthropology is the comparative study of view that every society has its own, unique
culture and society, with a focus on local history, which is to say that there are no
life.
‘necessary stages’ that societies pass mirror for perceiving ourselves (Cooley,
through. 1902).
Example:
III. THE SELF EMBEDDED IN > If your teacher says you are a good writer,
CULTURE being a writer may become a part of
The Self-Concept your self-concept.
The set or collection of ideas, images, > If your father criticizes you most of the
beliefs or schemas a person has about the time, you may think you are never good
self comprises the multidimensional and enough.
multifaceted self-concept (Markus & Surf, > If your friend says someone likes you, you
1987).As such, we can have many ways of may come to believe that you are an
viewing ourselves. At any given moment, attractive person.
we are only looking at a specific part of our Culture defines the self
self-concept. This working self-concept, or In cultural psychology, the self and culture
the self-concept of the moment, is best are seen as mutually constitutive. That is
understood as self-knowledge that is active cultural meanings and practices construct
and changing. This means that our self- psychological processes, which in turn
concept is not fixed or static. transform these cultural meanings and
practices. In a sense, culture and the self
How we see ourselves may change through construct each other. The individual self
time. It depends on: develops within a particularculture that
what we are thinking of at a particular structures how the self is to think, feel, act.
moment. In turn, the interaction of many individual
the current situation we are in. selves transforms the cultural system.
our social experiences.
Our sense of self, referred to as our self-
This view of the self-concept reminds us concept or our self-construal, is shaped by
that the self is constantly embedded in a our cultural context (Matsumoto &Juang,
historical and social context. 2004). Different produce different self-
Determinants of the Self concepts in their members. This means that
Some of the social influences that even through the self is a basic
develop our self-concept are the roles we psychological concept that is commonly
play in everyday life, the social identities we assumed to have a universal nature, the
form as members of the groups, and the meaning of the self varies across different
social comparisons we make when we cultural contexts. Moreover, the meaning of
compare ourselves with others. the self differs from one culture to another.
 In playing our roles as students or teachers,
children or parents, our roles become part of Example:
who we are. How do we define the self in Filipino
As members of different groups, we develop culture?
social identities like that of being Catholic, Is the meaning of the self for Filipinos the
or being Taguigeno. same as the meaning of the self for
We also compare ourselves with others to Americans? For the Japanese? For
decide if we are really smart, if we are really Europeans? For Asians
good in sports, or if we can really sing.
Aside from these social roles, social Developmental Psychologist Catherine
identities, and social comparisons, other Raeff (2010) believed that culture can
people’s perception of who we are, the influence how you view: relationships,
culture that surrounds us also shape our personality traits, achievement and
self-concept (Matsumoto &Juang, 2004). expressing emotions.
According to Julia Bech(2016) in a study
How others perceive us influence how published in the Journal of Personality and
we see ourselves. Charles H. Cooley Social Psychology, emotional complexity
described this phenomenon as the looking- varies a lot between countries.
glass self, our tendency to use others as a
 Culture’s influences to an
individual in terms of:
1. Relationships
Culture influences how you enter into and
maintain relationships. Some culture seen
relationship as voluntary or duty-based. In
Western societies, it is essential to choose
whom to marry while some Eastern
societies still practice arranged marriage. 
2. Personality traits
Culture influences whether and how you
value traits like: humility, self-esteem,
politeness, assertiveness, and so on. As
well, how you perceive friendships or how
you feel about relying on others.
3. Achievement
Culture influences how you define success,
and whether you value certain types of
individual and group achievements
4. Expressing emotions
Culture influences what will affect you
emotionally as well as how you express
yourself, such as showing your feelings in
public or keeping it private.
 Individualist and Collectivist
Culture
According to Kashima (2001), the cultural
differences can be examined in terms of two
contrasting worldviews began with the work
of Hofstede as well as Shweder and Bourne
in the 1980s.
Accordingly, there are cultures that
emphasize individuality (e.g., individualist,
independent); and cultures that emphasize
sociality (e.g., collectivist, interdependent).
Triand is is widely acknowledged as the
leading proponent of the individualism and
collectivism construct.