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PREFACE

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF is a three (3) unit course with 3 hours lecture every week for 54
hours in the semester. The nature of this course deals with the identity, factors and forces that impact
the improvement and care of individual identity. The pronouncement to go on oneself has inspired in
numerous and varied ways to follow. Among the questions that are frequently asked by many people
”Who am I” asking this question are usually troubled with their identity and are exploring for the
awareness of themselves. The incongruity is that if you look more on to view who you are, the much
flimsy you are apt to look about yourself.

This course is supposed to help the search of the concerns and issues on self and identity and
it seeks to fit this end by consolidating all the personal with the scholarly matters discussed in the day
to day experiences of students.

In this course it is divided into three major parts: The first part [Unit I]seeks to help and
understand the construction of the self from several perspectives such as, philosophy, sociology,
anthropology, and psychology as also the traditional division between the East and West each
searching to give answers to the question of“ who am I”.

The second part [Unit II] looks for some of the several views of the self, such as the physical,
sexual, spiritual, political, material, and digital self the period of the new generation [GEN Z].

The final part [Unit III] identifies the three areas of interest for young generations, such as,
learning, goal setting, and managing stress. It also gives a more applicable application of the ideas
delivered in this course. Enables them the personal experience of developing themself, helping them
to plan for self-regulated learning, goal setting, and self-care. (CHED Training Second Batch
Generation).

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All parts of this book are reserved and belong to the author.
Reproducing any parts of this book without permission from
the author is prohibited.

Clarinda A. Reyes
Eric G. Claudio
Authors

Karen Jann M. Aquino


Crisanto D. de Jesus
Mary Claire D. Calura
Melissa Belinda P. Faronilo
Elizabeth S. Manuel
Venus A. Vitles
Co-Authors

Andrelenz Buenaventura
Maureen Joyce Santiago
Contributors

Copyright 2020 by NEUST


All Rights Reserved

Printed and Published by:


Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
Gen. Tinio Street, Quezon District, Cabanatuan City
Telephone No. (044) 463-1201

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE i

INTRODUCTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING THE SELF


“WHO AM I” iv

Unit 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE 1

Philosopher’s Perspective of the Self 2

Self From the Perspective Sociology 8

Self From the Perspective of Anthropology 12

Self From the Perspective of Psychology 15

The Self From Eastern and Western 19

UNIT II: UNPACKING THE SELF 39

The Physical Self 24

The Sexual Self 28


Sex and Human Values 28

Material/Economic Self 34
I Shop Therefore I am, I have Therefore I am 34

Spiritual Self 38
Spirituality and Religion 38

Political Self 44
Developing a Filipino Identity 44

The Digital Self 48


I,Me,Myself, My User ID Online 48

UNIT III: MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF 53

Learning to be a better Student 53

Setting Goals for Success 57


Setting Goals for the Self 57

Stressors Responses 61
What is Stress 61

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INTRODUCTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SELF

WHO AM I?

This question is frequently asked by many people. Asking this


question is typically struggling with their identity and are exploring for a
sense of them. The incongruity is that the more you search to identify
who you are, the more flimsy you are likely to feel about yourself.

The identity of the self should be seen as an on-going process. We


should grasp a streaming awareness of the self, where we are constantly
re-organizing, re-framing, re-considering and re-thinking ourselves.
Awareness of insufficiency, the question "Who am I?" are frequently
asked.

To get nearly aware of your feelings, hopes, thoughts, and fears


are evidently suggested. It is important to prosecute your sense of self as
malleable. It is good to understand that we are so part of that world and
supposedly exists in a state of moving potential. The goal is to approach
that potential and keeping the parts of our identity that go along to work
as well. This process is commonly known as positive disintegration. This
allows us to seek equilibrium between the utmost antecedently
discussed and enter into a human relationship with the self that
dedicates to our own development.

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Unit 1- THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES
Overview

In this unit, students will understand the construction of the self from several perspectives.
The student will also reflect on a concrete experience from a holistic point of view.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit, I am able to:


1. explain the different representations and conceptualizations of the self from various
philosophical views;
2. examine the different influences, factors and forces that shape the self;
3. evaluate how the self has been represented across the different perspectives;
4. analyze the development of one’s self and identity; and
5. explain the concept of Philosophy and Self.

Setting Up

Activity 1.1

WHO I AM?
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

List three (3) things that you are:


1.
2.
3.
List three (3) things that you are not:
1.
2.
3.
What is something that represents you? (e.g. song, animal, object, symbols, etc.) Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What do you like best about yourself? and what do you like least about yourself?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What three (3) things would you like to change most about yourself?
1.
2.
3.
Who are two (2) people you most admire?
1.
2.
What do you admire about them?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What matters to you most in life?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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What do you stand for (Principles)?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What makes you happy?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do you want to impact the lives of others?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence:
Dear self,
I want to ____________________________________________________ because
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“WHO AM I” open the link and watch the video presentation https://youtu.be/N5oRhCOyeAg

Lesson Proper

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF


PHILOSOPHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

What is Philosophy? It is a study of getting knowledge through inquiries and rational thinking
that bear on responding questions regarding the state and nature of an individual and the universe we
live in. From the Greek words “ Philos meaning love and Sophia” meaning wisdom.

SOCRATES

First Martyr of philosophy knowledge of education.


He is being charged with corruption of minors. He was made
to choose between death and exile with the drinking of
Hemlock.
He died as a martyr that fought against ignorance
and narrow mindedness. His philosophy underlies the value
of the impression of knowing oneself.
He believed men’s goal in life is to acquire happiness.
He said happiness motivates us to act towards or avoid
things that could have negative effects in our lives. Like, by
fully knowing oneself a person will be able to achieve
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica happiness.
He believed that every man is dualistic, composed of body and soul. According to him, all
individuals have an imperfect and impermanent aspect which is the body. The universe is
composed of physical and mental things that are the basis of the concept of duality in the self.
The body is a physical thing that is not perfect and temporary. It might be physically nice and
perfect today but changes through the years.
The soul is a mental thing and is permanent. It lives and evident in the body today hence, it
separates when we die. Even without the physical body, the soul can exist since it is mental.

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PLATO
Plato is a student of Socrates. He wrote various
literature that tackles politics, human nature, and constituted
the concept of virtue and intelligence. Father of Academy a
place where sharing and learning of knowledge happens and
later became one of the pillars and foundation of what schools
and education is now in the present.
Preceded the concept of Socrates in knowing thyself,
according to him, a person who is a follower of truth and
wisdom will not be enticed by vices and will always be
correct/moral/ethical.
He believed that the soul is divided into 3 different
parts that have different views, leading to different behaviors.
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica
He supported the idea of duality and added that there are 3 concepts of the soul.
1. Appetitive soul is the part of the person that is motivated by want and need to satisfy oneself.
This satisfaction involves physical needs and pleasures and desires, objects and situations.
2. Spirited Soul is a brave part of a person. The one who desires to do something or to right the
wrong that they observe. This is very competitive and is very active. Competitiveness drives one
to anticipate positive results and winning.
3. Rational soul is the drive of our lives. The part that thinks and plans for the future. It decides
what to do when to do it and the possible results one could have depending on their actions.

ST. AUGUSTINE
A Saint and a philosopher of the church. He
follows the concept that God embraces us all, he said
that everything will be better if we are with God. For
him God and his teachings affect several aspects in life.
He relates our existence to God being modeled in his
likeness though being alive means that we are still far
from God and has yet to be true with him.

Image credits to pinterest.com


The soul can be immortal through communion with the divine. He viewed that dual nature
of self in the circumstance where one is not perfect and immortal. The soul is capable of
immortality through the communion with the Christian God. While in-universe, the body will live
in virtue, longing to be with God.

RENE DESCARTES
Is a French Philosopher not able to be the
father of modern philosophy because of his radical use
of a systematic and early scientific method to help his
assumptions? He believes in modern dualism or the
existence was presented with the evidence from
experiments as well as philosophical reasoning.
He is famous to be the advocate of methodical doubt.
He defined the roles of the mind and body to the belief
of one’s existence and sense of self. He is also known
for the statement “cogito ergo sum” [I think
therefore I am].
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica
He viewed the dual nature of self where the mind is a thinking thing that makes a man,
and the body is a mere machine. Cogito is the mind enabling our fundamental existence. The body
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is just an extension of it. He proved that this statement is completely true.
According to him “I am thinking” and “I exist” is a combination of “ cogito ergo sum” ‘I
think therefore I am ‘.

JOHN LOCKE
Is an English philosopher and physician.
Considered to be the father of classical liberation and
his works made up of the way to various revolutions to
fight the utter powers of monarchs and rules of his
time that led to the improvement of governance,
politics, and economic system that we know today.

Image credits to psychology.wikia.org


For him, the self is most delineated by the idea “Tabula Rasa” [blank slate] He believed
that the experiences and perceptions of an individual are necessary for the establishment of who
that person can become. He said that a person is born with knowing nothing and that is capable to
input learning from the experiences, failures, references, and observation of the person.
He viewed that consciousness is the center of the self. According to him the personal
identity and psychological continuity define who we are which means if we have memory versions
of ourselves through time, then we can still define ourselves as such.

DAVID HUME
He is a Scottish Philosopher, he focused his
work in the field of empiricism, skepticism, and
naturalism. Self is a collection of different impressions
and does not exceed the physical kingdom. He said
there is no permanent self because impressions of
things are based on our experiences where we can
make our concepts and knowledge. Hence, it might
improve or totally be replaced.

Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

He anchored his definition of the self on the empiricist school of thought. He cited that
the self is nothing but a collection of impressions. He defined experiences as either impressions
or ideas. According to him, impressions are products of our direct experiences while ideas are
copies of our impressions.

IMMANUEL KANT

A German philosopher that is famous for his works on


empiricism and rationalism.
He establishes that the compendium of impressions
and different contents is what it only takes to describe a
person. Knowing of different emotions that we have such as
impressions and behavior is only a portion of yourself.

Image credits to philosophers.co.uk


He defined the self as an organizing principle that combines experiences. According to him,
the mind permits us to recognize not only things that are present in this universe but also those

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that are not present but are experienced anyways, that he called the “apparatuses of the mind”

SIGMUND FREUD
He is the father of psychoanalysis. He is famous for his
work on human nature and the unconscious. He also believed
that man has different constructs of personality that interacts
with each other. He also conceptualizes the various levels of
consciousness that give an idea of how a person develops a sense
of self.
Man has three [3 ] aspects of Personality.

Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

image credits to simplypsychology.org


He detailed the idea of a multi-layered self. There are three levels of consciousness:
Conscious- mind includes mental abilities that we are presently aware of.
Preconscious- activities that are not currently active but stored in our memory.
Unconscious- activities that are totally unaware of,
The three levels of awareness: Id [driven by pleasure principle] Ego [ reality]
Superego [conscience]
“Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory on Instincts Motivation, Personality and Development” open
the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vFf5CS27-Y

GILBERT RYLE
He gained first-class honors at Queen’s
College, Oxford, and became a lecturer at Christ
Church College in 1924. His first book, The Concept of
Mind (1949), is considered a modern classic. He
challenges the traditional difference between body
and mind as delineated by René Descartes. According
to him the Traditional Cartesian dualism, commit a
serious confusion when searching beyond the human
body. It views the mind as an additional mysterious
thing not subject to observation or to mechanical laws,
rather than as the form or organizing principle of the
body.
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica
He contradicts the duality idea of the self, particularly the non-physical self. The self is
just a brand we call all the behaviors we make as individuals.

PAUL CHURCHLAND
A Canadian philosopher who focuses on the
idea that people should improve our association and
use of worth in distinguishing the self.
The self is defined by the motility of our brain.
His work turns around folk psychology or common
sense psychology. The main philosophy is the idea of
“ eliminative materialism “ [debates that people’s
common sense understanding of the mind is false and
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the mental states that man are into are not existing;
applies the understanding of behavior and emotions]
Image credits to wordassociation1.net
He was a materialist who believed that nothing but a physical entity exists. His manger the idea of a
non-physical mind as the place of consciousness. He supported the self-based on brain states rather than in
mental states.

MAURICE JEAN JACQUES MERLEAU-PONTY


A French phenomenological philosopher,
powerfully influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin
Heidegger. He is famous for his works on
existentialism and phenomenology. Self-regarded that
the body and mind are not separate entities instead
those two elements are one and the same. He creates
the concept of the phenomenology of perception [unity
of the function of the mind and the body ] which is
divided into three division:

Image credits to pinterest.com


The body that both obtains the experiences as well as incorporates like experiences in the
different perceptions.
The Perceived world is the accumulation of the perception and merged by the experiences of the
body.
The people and the world enable one to not only be able to integrate the other objects in the
universe but also to be able to experience the cultural aspect and associate to some.

Assessing Learning

Quiz 1.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Date______________________
Name___________________________________ Instructor: _________________________
Course/Year/Section______________________

Direction: In your own words, state what is the meaning of self for each of the following philosophers. After
doing so, explain how your concept of self is compatible with how they conceived of the self. 2 points each
1. Socrates_____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Plato________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. St.Agustine__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Rene Descartes_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. John Locke___________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
6. David Hume__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Immanuel Kant_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Sigmund Freud_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________ 6
9. Gilbert Ryle__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Merlou-Ponty_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
SELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY

Learning Objectives
At the end of the unit, I am able to:
1. describe the self as a social structure.
2. explain the four stages of role development in child socialization.
3. analyze the importance of socialization for individuals and society.
4. explain the nature versus nurture debate.
5. describe both the conformity of behavior in society and the existence of individual
uniqueness.
6. learn the roles of families and peer groups in socialization.
7. understand how we are socialized through formal institutions like schools, workplaces, and
the government.
8. explain how people are socialized into new roles at age-related transition points.

Setting Up

Activity 1.2

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

REVALIDATING MYSELF
Ask three persons who are close to you (Friend, Classmate, Family, Colleagues) about your
own characteristics. On the space provided, write the details given to you by someone whom you
asked. Validate your answer whether you agree or disagree on it and explain your reason behind your
validation.

1. Name: ________________________ Relationship: (Friend, Family, Classmate) ______________

Characteristics given to you


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Validation: Do you Agree or Disagree? Explain


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Name: ________________________ Relationship:(Friend, Family, Classmate) _____________________

Characteristics are given to you


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Validation: Do you Agree or Disagree? Explain


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Name: ________________________ Relationship:(Friend, Family, Classmate) __________________

Characteristics are given to you


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Validation: Do you agree or disagree? Explain


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Lesson Proper

Sociology

Why Socialization Matters


It is important because it helps uphold societies and cultures and it is also a key part of
individual development. Study exhibits that we are stirred by both:
➢ nature - is the hormonal and genetic and composition
➢ Nurture-it is the cultural surroundings in which we are upraised
Sociology is nearly concerned with the way that influences our behavior patterns. It is broad
by the manner of behavior differ from class and gender.
Self-development according to the psychological theories it has been broadened by
sociologists who explicitly examine the social interaction and the role of the society. Mead and Cooley
both impart importantly to the sociological understanding of the development of the self. Carol
Gilligan and Lawrence Kohlberg developed their concepts further, exploring how our awareness of
morality develops. Gilligan also added the concept of gender differences to Kohlberg’s theory. Human
beings are born, with natural traits and genetic makeup. All the same, individuals evolve through
social interaction. Both in the fields of psychology and sociology have represented the cognitive
process of development of the self and to understand how that “self” becomes socialized.

Freud (1856–1939) A prestigious Sigmund Freud


Psychoanalyst. He is a modern scientist to put
away the theory about on how to develop the
meaning of self. He also thinks that sexual
development and personality were nearly
attached, and he separates the process of
maturation into overall psychosexual stages that
affect the child’s discovery through the physical
pleasures linked to :

Image
credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

Charles Horton Cooley He pioneered the sociological


perspectives on the self-development [1864–
1929]. He declared that the people’s
understanding of the self is constructed,
”looking glass self” in part, is their
conceptualization of how others see them
[Cooley, 1902]. People imagine how they must
look to some, on certain outfits, fix their hair,
and how they wear makeup. The perception
that our look is going to change how some
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica others view us.
People always expect a particular reaction, and, if it is positive, we get it and feel good about
it. Cooley believed that self is not only based on some inner source of identity. In some other words,
people’s react like in a mirror in which we are reflected. “The imaginations people have of one
another are the solid facts of society” (Cooley, 1902).
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Social Self George Herbert Mead
Mead [1863–1931] precocious a more
elaborated sociological approach to the self. He
agreed that the self is an individual’s clear
individuality that developed only through social
interaction. He argued that the critical element
of the self is its capability for self-reflection, its
capacity to be “an object to itself” (Mead, 1934).
According to Mead, it broke the self-down into
two components or “phases,” the “I” and the
“me.”
Image credits to everythingsociology.com
“Me” represents the part of the self as “I” on the others’ hand, represents the
“organized sets of attitudes” towards the self. It portion of the self that acts on its own drive or
is who we are in others eyes: our roles, our reacts to the organized attitudes of others like a
“personalities,” our public personas. novel, spontaneous, unpredictable portion of the
self. It is always caught up in a social process, in
which we turn back and forth between the I and
the Me.
The examples provided by Gallinero, et al., [p.24,2018] support this model.

Two sides of the self: “I” and “me”


Who I am How people see me

People pleaser Borin


Fun g
Loving Bossy
caring Pretty
Loyal Lazy
Honest Kin
Hard worker d
Anxious
Judgemental
On the inside On the outside

“Social Self Theory” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://study.com/academy/lesson/george-herbert-mead-the-self-me-i.html

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Assessing Learning

Quiz 1.2

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Direction: Encircle your answer.


1. Socialization, as a sociological term, describes:
a. How people interact during social situations.
b. How people learn societal norms, beliefs, and values.
c. A person’s internal mental state when in a group setting.
d. D. The difference between introverts and extroverts.

2. What occurs in Lawrence Kohlberg’s conventional level?


a. Children develop the ability to have abstract thoughts.
b. Morality is developed by pain and pleasure.
c. Children begin to consider what society considers moral and immoral.
d. Parental beliefs have no influence on children’s morality.

3. What is one way to distinguish between psychology and sociology?


a. Psychology focuses on the mind, while sociology focuses on society.
b. Psychologists are interested in mental health, while sociologists are interested in societal
functions. Psychologists look inward to understand behavior, while sociologists look
outward.
c. All of the above.

4. Which of the following is typically the earliest agent of socialization?


a. School
b. Family
c. Mass media
d. Workplace

5. Which of the following represents the part of the self in which one recognizes the “organized sets of
attitudes” of others toward the self.
a. Me
b. I
c. Self
d. Social self

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SELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANTHRHOPOLOGY

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson the students are able to:


1. Discover the meaning of Anthropology
2. Identify the subjects of inquiry and goals of Anthropology.
3. Explain anthropological perspectives on culture
4. Describe culture as a complex whole.
5. Identify aspects of culture and society.
6. Recognize the Value of Anthropology for the 21st Century

Setting Up

Activity 1.3
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

MY CULTURE IS MYSELF

Name three practices that you have acquired from your childhood years that are still existing today
and identify where have you accumulated those practices.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Of these practices, which of it influence your present self? How?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

Anthropology

What is Anthropology? It is the study of people, past and present. It centering on the understanding
the human condition in its cultural aspect. [Gallinero,et al.,2018,p27]

The anthropological perspective of self

It reckons the cultural origins and genetic of self. The self plays the role of socialization and
language, and the types of self bring forth the individual journeys to and through adulthood.

Anthropologists take an encompassing approach to the study of humanity. They acquire that
no understanding of human beings is complete without the study of the full range of the human
phenomenon. Aanthropologists’, as individuals, may concentrate their studies on a specific society or
aspect of the human being, but they put their findings into a wide theoretical perspective that seeks to

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add all of the human experience. This "holistic" approach is mirrored both in interest in the wide
variety of human beings and in a comprehensive approach to the study of human beings.

CULTURE IS EVERYTHING

The individual has, does, and thinks as a part of society. It implies all material possessions,
belief system, and set of behavior. Culture is a powerful agent information of the decisions and actions
of humans in the given situation. It consists of:
➢ Material includes all the concrete and visible parts of culture, which includes foods, clothes, and
even buildings. Material culture differs, as each society is designed by its environment and
history [Culinary Culture of the Philippines] is different from even that of its neighbor’s in Asia
like Singapore. Cultural differences exist when groups of people assign different meanings to
different life events and things. Hence, the self is embedded/attached in culture.
➢ Non- Material - it refers to the nonphysical concepts that people have about the culture,
including values, beliefs, norms, rules, morals, language, organizations, and institutions.

Culture is a method of inherited conceptions uttered in symbolic forms by means of which


people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life.

Anthropology considers human experience as an interaction of:


➢ Nature it refers to genetic inheritance which sets the individual's potentials. Means that to all of
the genetic and hereditary factors that influence who we are from our physical appearance to our
personality characteristics.
➢ Nurture refers to the sociocultural environment. It means that to all the environmental variables
that upshot who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our
social relationships, and our surrounding culture.
As Max Weber mentioned that anthropology has emphasized that culture is not the behavior itself but
the joint understandings that guide behavior and are explicit in behavior. Anthony Wallace and
Raymond Fogelson called this case as IDENTITY STRUGGLES.

CONCEPT OF SELF IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES

Culture and self are chromatic ideas that are to be understood in relation to one another. The
most essential philosophical task of the postmodern man today is to "work on yourself" just like in the
Socratic message "know thyself".
Robbins considered human beings as cultural animals as they make the meaning of objects,
persons, behaviors, emotions and events and behave in conformity with meanings they presume to be
true. Identity is interpreted as a disposition of basic personality properties acquired mostly during
childhood and, once integrated, more or less fixed.

The Self as Embedded in Culture

Human nature is mutually beneficial to culture. Identity Struggles is a difference between the
identity a person claims to possess and the identity attributed to that person by others. Ethnic or race
is relating to a population subgroup within a bigger or paramount national or cultural group with a
common national or cultural tradition.

To achieve self-identification, the individuals have to get over many hindrances like
traditionally established habits and externally imposed self-images.

Further research [Gallinero, et al., p28-29,2018] supports this claim, Catherine Raeff [2010] a
Developmental Psychologist, believed that culture can influence how you view the following:

Relationships
Culture influences how you get into and keep a relationship.
Ex. Relationships might be seen as voluntary or as duty-based. In Western countries, it is important to
choose whom to marry, on the other hand, some Eastern countries still exercise set up marriage.

Personality traits
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Culture influences whether and how you value traits, such as self-esteem, politeness, humility,
and assertiveness, also how you perceive hardship in life.

Achievement
Culture influences how you value specific types of individual and group achievements and
how you define success.

Expressing emotions
Culture influences how you express yourself and it will affect you emotionally.

Open the link for the PowerPoint Presentation https://prezi.com/go6zixmolgw-/an-


anthropological-conceptualization-of-self/

Assessing Learning

Quiz 1.3

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Direction: Identify is being asked in each statement below. Write your answers before each number.

_____________________1. It is the study of people, past, and present.


_____________________2. It plays the role of socialization and language, and the types of self bring forth the
individual journeys to and through adulthood.
_____________________3. It is a powerful agent in formation the decisions and actions of humans in the
given situation.
_____________________4. It includes all the concrete and visible parts of culture, which includes foods,
clothes, and even buildings.
_____________________5. It refers to genetic inheritance which sets the individual's potentials.
_____________________6. It refers to the nonphysical concepts that people have about the culture,
including values, beliefs, norms, rules, morals, language, organizations, and institutions.
_____________________7. He mentioned that anthropology have emphasized that culture is not behavior
itself but the joint understandings that guide behavior and are explicit in behavior.
_____________________8. It is a difference between the identity a person claims to possess and the identity
attributed to that person by others.
____________________9. A culture that influences how you express yourself and it will affect you
emotionally.
____________________10. To achieve it the individuals have to get over many hindrance like traditionally
established habits and externally imposed self-images.

13
SELF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PSYCHOLOGY

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit I am able to:


1. Explain the basic idea of reflexivity in human self-hood and how the “I”
encounters and makes sense of itself [“Me”].
2. Describe fundamental distinctions between three different perspectives on the self:
the self as actor, agent, and author.
3. Describe the development of the self’s sense of motivated agency from the
emergence of the child’s theory of mind to the articulation of life goals and values in
adolescence and beyond.
4. Describe the concept of personality.

Setting Up

Activity 1.4

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor:_________________________
JOHARI WINDOW

Instruction: There are four windows/quadrants that have different categories. Your task is to write
the information asked for every window.
1. Window 1: On the space provided, write eight (8) characteristics that you know about yourself
and are willing to share.
2. Window 2: Ask someone who could give you their thoughts and idea about yourself. Write at
least seven (7) details given to you by someone whom you asked.
3. Window 3: Write something about yourself that you are aware of but might not want others to
know. ( In this part, you are not forced to write information that is sensitive, but you can give
details that you think might be good to share.)
4. Window 4: Don’t write anything.

Window 1 Window 2
Known by Self Unknown by Self

Window 3 Window 4
Self-disclosure/Hidden Area Unknown Area

14
Lesson Proper

Psychology

The Self as Cognitive Construction

What is psychology and how it helps you understand yourself and know who you really are?
Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think, and feel. It also includes topics like how
the brain works, how our memory is organized, how people interact with groups, and how the
children learn about the universe. The real fact, everything that concerns human beings is a concern
of psychology. The process of the human brain to consciousness to memory, language, and reasoning.
Psychology will examine it so that the human being will understand how it is to be.

For better understanding some of the things that happen during cognitive development, it is
important first to scrutinize a few of the important concepts and ideas introduced by Jean Piaget a
clinical psychologist. He pioneered the theory of cognitive development. The theory dealt with the
nature of knowledge itself.

Piaget [1952] determined how children processed and made aware of the world around them
and finally developed a four-stage model of how the mind processes new data encountered.
[Gallinero, et al.,2018,p32] The three basic components of Piaget’s cognitive theory are the following:

1. Schemas/schemes are the building block of knowledge. These are the mental organization
individuals use to understand their environment and fate action.

2. Adaptation is the child’s process to encounter situational conditions.

3. Stages of Cognitive Development are the growing expertise of the child’s thought process.

Piaget said that the knowledge children acquire is organized into schemes or groupings of the same
action or thoughts.

What Role Do Schemas Play in the Learning Process?

Assimilation

It is commonly known as the process of getting new information that is already active in our
schemas. This operation is somewhat subjective for the reason we tend to change information and
experiences that could fit in with our pre-existing beliefs.

Accommodation

It is a procedure known as a part of adaptation involves that altering or changing the existing
schemas, as a result of a new experiences and information. During this process, a new schema might
be developed.

Equilibration

Piaget believed that this mechanism tries to attack equilibrium between assimilation and
accommodation. It is essentials to maintain a balance between assimilation [previous knowledge] and
accommodation [new knowledge]. It helps to explain how the children can move from one stage to
another.

“Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhcgYgx7aAA

15
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
STAGE AGE CHARACTERISTICS OF STAGE
Sensorimotor 0-2 The child learns by doing, looking, touching, and
sucking.
Preoperational 2-4 The child uses language, symbols, letters, and
numbers.
Concrete operations 7-11 Thinking stage. The child demonstrates conservation,
reversibility, serial ordering, and understanding of
cause and effect relationships.
Formal operations 11-15 Demonstrates abstract thinking.
Additional readings:
https://www.studocu.com/id/document/our-lady-of-fatima-
university/psychology/summaries/personality-theories/3083537/view
https://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive-development.html

Harter’s Self-Development Concept

Dr. Susan Harter, a psychologist, author, and professor elaborated on the emergence of self-
concept and asserted that the wide developmental changes observe across early childhood, later
childhood, and adolescence could be understood in a Piagetian framework.
Self-concept is an idea that referring to an individual's perception of "self" that remains
comparatively consistent and steady over time, contexts and developmental stages.
Self Esteem is the ideal self and self-concept. Planetary self-esteem refers to the overall mass
opinion of oneself at any time, on a scale of positive and negative an [Harter, 1993, Pg.88 as cited in
Kling et al 1999] Harter cited that, self-esteem can be observed as a degree of self-success in
academic, social and physical areas. Self-worthy Theory in Harter's theory was founded on social and
emotional development.

Further research [Gallinero, et al.,2018,p34] support this claim.

Development of Self-concept According to Harter are as follows:

➢ Early childhood. As the child describes the self in terms of concrete, observable characteristics,
like in physical attributes [I’m beautiful or I’m ugly or I’m witty], material possessions [I have
imported shoes and clothes, lots of toys], behaviors [I love wearing my clothes, and shoes], and
preferences [I like milk chocolates].
➢ Middle to later childhood. Self-described in terms of traits such as constructs [ex. timid, brave,
smart, approachable and shy] that would need the type of stratified organizational skills
characteristic of analytical thought development.
➢ Adolescence. Harter said this is the emergence of more abstract self-definitions, such as inner
thoughts, attitudes, motives, and emotions. For example A teenage girl in discovering her self-
conceptions she described herself as follows: “What am I like as an individual?” Complicated! [I’m
sensitive, friendly, outgoing, popular and tolerant though I can be also shy. I’m a beautiful, happy
person with my friends but at home, I’m more likely to be anxious around my parents and
family.[Harter,1990b,p.352]. In Piaget’s findings on the adolescent’s ability to construct-higher
order abstractions and the capacity to introspection. [Harter, 1999] is the use of abstract words
such as sensitive, outgoing, cheerful, and anxious as self- portrait is consistent.
➢ Emerging adults. The self for is emerging adults having sight of “possible self”. The “age of
possibilities” [Amett, 2004 a]. Australian research [Whitty,2002], early emerging adulthood
[ages17-22] was found to be a time of “grand dreams”, of being wealthy and having glamorous
occupation., hence beyond emerging adulthood [ages 28-33] the visions of a possible self-became
more realistic, if still optimistic.

Self-image there is a saying that self-image developed as they grow older and a strong one is
necessary.

William James and the Me-self; I-Self

16
As William James [1890/1981, p. 221] cited in the Principles of Psychology, it lies at the
middle of mental life. As he is commonly has known “the father of American psychology” a
philosopher, psychologist, and university professor. He gave one of the earliest self-theory on
psychological analyses. According to him [1950], the self has two elements the I-self [pure ego]and
the Me-self [object].
James went on to differentiate between three aspects of self-hood:
➢ material self - physical appearance [clothing, family, and home]
➢ social self -social skills and interpersonal relationships
➢ spiritual self- personality, character, defining values

[James,1950;Newman,2017;Pomerleau,2017,Damon&hart,1982]
Real vs. Ideal Self
The ideal self includes:
1. Notions influenced by your parents;
2. What you admire in others;
3. What the society sees as acceptable; and
4. What you think is best your interest.

The real self is the one who you are; it is how you behave in a certain situation. It is who you
are in reality, how you think, feel, or act.

The Importance Of Alignment


If the real self is aligned with the way that I want to be it is the ideal self, then I will feel
aware of my mental well-being or peace of mind. If the way that I am is not aligned with how I want to
be, is the incongruence, or the lack of alignment, it will result in mental distress or anxiety. The
greater the level of incongruence between the ideal self and real self, the greater the level of
resulting distress. Let's take a look at some specific examples:
Example: My ideal self-image includes honesty
When my parents question me why I was late coming home from a party, and I am honest and
tell them that I didn't want to leave the party because I was having such a great time, then despite the
complexity [like being scolded], I will feel aware of my mental well-being.
Hence, If I am not honest and tell them that my car wouldn't start, then the misalignment
between my real self and the ideal self will result in mental distress or anxiety. The reality that I lied
resulting in negative feelings.
“Multiple vs Unified Self” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhmJnlzjqY

True Self vs False Self

The true self is described by our real feelings and desires, on the other hand, the false self is a
side of us that has changed its behavior, inhibited feelings and forced needs aside in order to survive.
It presents the idea of the onion, the true self at the middle secured by outer layers of a false self.

According to John Bowlby and D. W. Winnicott, a developmental psychologist, children are


very adjusted to their parents’ feelings and needs. They unconsciously acknowledge that they need
their parents’ permission in order to survive, so they strive to meet their needs as much as possible.
The true self is the child’s real feelings, needs, desires and thoughts it is forced further and further
inside the bulb. Yes, we still have all of these feelings, needs, desires and thoughts, it’s just that the
altered false self dominates, it has to.
Hence, this striving is important in our younger years, it changes us. The false-self thought and
behavior patterns we develop during childhood stay with us as adults. On the other hand, they used to
be helpful; they often become a deterrent as we get older and gain more independence. While some
psychologists see the true self as black and white [true self is good, the false self is bad], some
maintain there are two types of false self a healthy false self and an unhealthy false self.

17
The Healthy False Self

The healthy false self is described as one which allows someone to be functional in society. It
enables politeness and social courtesy, even when we may not feel like it.

The Unhealthy False Self

The unhealthy false self comes from the same beginnings as the healthy false self. Yet, for our
long-term well-being, the effects of the unhealthy false self are rather different from those of its
opposite. This false-self is the one behind many dysfunctional behaviors, including narcissism and
addiction. As defined by D. W. Winnicott, the unhealthy false self as one that fits into society through
forced compliance rather than a desire to adapt.

Assessing Learning

Quiz 1. 4
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

1. Which 3 ways you can apply Harter's theory to practice? positive body language,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why it is important to give children unconditional praise and showing interest in what the child is
doing?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Does it provide strong and nurturing relationships with individuals or a group of children.Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Discuss the theory of self-concept, self-image, or self-esteem?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18
THE SELF FROM EASTERN AND WESTERN

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit I am able to:


1. Explain the concept of eastern and western thoughts.
2. Differentiate Eastern to Western thoughts.

Setting Up

Activity 1.5

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

FINISH THE SENTENCE

I do believe in____________________________________________________________________

I think my country is_______________________________________________________________

I think Filipinos are _______________________________________________________________

I give importance to _______________________________________________________________

I am inclined to behave_____________________________________________________________

I like to_________________________________________________________________________

When I confront challenges I usually _________________________________________________

Part of me wants to________________________________________________________________

I tend to compare myself ___________________________________________________________

My Family taught me _____________________________________________________________

My Community taught me__________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper
Eastern and Western Philosophy

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY


Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Christianity**,Rational, Scientific,
Integral, Yoga, Islam, Taoism, Zen Logical schools
East Main Principles West
• Cosmological unity • Feeling oneself as an element of
• Life is a journey towards eternal realities that are the Divine
beyond the realities that surround us • Life is a service (to
• Circular view of the universe, based on the perception God, money, business, etc.)
of eternal recurrence • The Linear view of the universe
• Inner-world dependent and life, based on the Christian
• Self-liberation from the false "Me" and finding the true philosophy where everything
"Me". The highest state is believed to be a state of 'no- has its beginning and the end.
self', where neither self-worth nor self-importance has • Outer-world dependent
any real meaning. • Self-dedication to the goal (big
19
• Behavioral ethics dream, life
vision, happiness, personal
success, etc.)
East Living Principles West
VIRTUE ETHIC
"To be able under all circumstances to practice five things "One can live magnificently in this
constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, world if one knows how
generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness to work and how to love."
and kindness." Confucius Leo Tolstoy
"Be satisfied with whatever you have, and enjoy the same. "Refrain from doing ill; for one all-
When you come to know that you have everything, and you powerful reason, lest our children
are not short of anything, then the whole world will be should copy our misdeeds; we are
yours." Lao Tzu all too prone to imitate whatever is
"The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as base and depraved." Juvenal
the deed; The deed develops into habit, And habit hardens "There is no real excellence in all
into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, this world which can be separated
And let it spring from love born out of concern for all from right living."
beings." Buddha David Starr Jordan
East The “Me” Concept West
"Me" is here and now. The true “Me”
in every human being is a part of
Eternal reality of the universal truth: self-liberation through
the Divine that needs to become
getting rid of the false "Me" and discovering the true "Me"
apparent. True “Me” is given
and doesn’t have to be cognizable.
East Search for Absolute Truth West
• More focused on INDIVIDUAL
• HOLISTIC approach – all events in the universe are
EVENTS and the role of the
interconnected
person
• Searching INSIDE YOURSELF – by becoming a part of
• Searching outside yourself -
the universe through meditation and right living
through research and analysis
Search for Truth and
East West
Fundamental Research
• The truth needs TO BE
• The truth is GIVEN is does not to have been proved. PROVED.
• The philosophic base for and culture of fundamental • The philosophic base for and
research is WEAKER. culture of fundamental
research is STRONGER.
INDIVIDUALISM/
East West
COLLECTIVISM
A human being has an
A human being is an integral part of the universe and
individualistic nature and is an
society. People are fundamentally connected. Duty towards
independent part of the universe
all others is a very important matter.
and society.
COLLECTIVISM is stronger.
INDIVIDUALISM is stronger.
East Goals and Key to Success West
SPRITUAL MATERIALISTIC
"The secret of success in life, and
subsequently of making money, is
to enjoy your work. If you do,
"Live a virtuous life and adhere to performing your
nothing is hard work – no matter
duties." Confucianism
how many hours you put in." Sir
"The Three Armies can be deprived of their commanding
Billy Butlin
officer, but even a common man cannot be deprived of his
"Success is that old ABC – ability,
purpose." Confucius
breaks and courage." Charles
"If you really want everything, then give up everything." Lao
Luckman
Tzu
"Flaming enthusiasm, backed by
"He is able who thinks he is able." Buddha
horse sense and persistence, is the
quality that most frequently makes
for success." Dale Carnegie
20
The Eastern and Western thought about the self

Eastern concept of the self

➢ Confucianism is the identity and self-concept of an individual who is interlocking with the
identity and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its feelings as well as its occurrence.
[Self-Cultivation is the final purpose of life].
➢ Taoism is the self that is not just an extension of the family or the community it is also a part of
the world, one of the forms and manifestations of the Tao.[Selflessness]
➢ Buddhism is the self that is seen as a deception, born out of ignorance, of trying to clasp and
control things, or human-centered needs, hence, the self is also the source of all these agonies.

Western concept of the self

The ancient Grecian philosophers view humans as the holders of irreplaceable values. In
medieval times, Thomas Aquinas, philosopher, and saint believed that the body constitutes
individuality. The individual was the focus of renaissance thought, with Rene Descartes famous “I
think therefore I am” as the epitome of the Western idea of the self. [Gallinero, et al., 2018,p44] [The
focus is always looking towards the self]

Frank Johnson [1985], psychiatrist and professor outlined four categories on how the
term “self” is used in the contemporary western discussion. [Gallinero, et al., 2018,p45]

➢ Analytical is an inclination to see actuality as an aggregate of parts.


➢ Monotheistic is engaged in the tendency toward unitary explanations of phenomena and a
closed system view of self.
➢ Individualistic is a quality of western thinking where self-expression and self-actualization are
essential ways of establishing who one is, as well as discovering satisfaction in the world.
➢ Materialistic/rationalistic is western thinking tends to disregard explanations that do not use
analytical reasoning modes of thinking [Johnson, 1985; Goldin,2000].

Eastern and western differences

The Western culture is more individualistic and trying to look for the meaning of life there
and now with self at the canter as it is already given and part of the divine, while in the Eastern
philosophy is drawn much more into groups or society or people’s actions and thoughts as one in
order to look for meaning in life as they try to get rid of the false “me” concept and find meaning in
discovering the true “me” in relation to everything around them, or as part of a bigger scheme.

Additional reading: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cultures_east-


west-phylosophy.html

21
Assessing Learning

Quiz 1.5
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Why are Filipinos known for being a collectivistic culture?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you personally agree that you are a collectivist? If yes, why?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If not, share a specific personal experience why you think you are individualism and not collectivist.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

22
UNIT II. UNPACKING THE SELF

Overview
This lesson gives you an insight into the concept of beauty, self-esteem, and body image that shapes
your physical self.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, I am able to:


1. differentiate the physical self to other aspects of the self;
2. distinguish self-esteem from body image with respect on culture;
3. discover the impact of culture on the standard of beauty; and
4. construct a self-illustration of my physical self.

Setting Up

PHYSICAL SELF
Activity 2.1.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: In the table provided below illustration, make a list of your observed beauty
standard in the Philippines.

THE STANDARD

Source: 123rf.com
MALE FEMALE
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.

23
1. What have you observed from your list of beauty standards in the Philippines?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Do you think your beauty standards came from you own perception? Why yes, or why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Do you think that there should be a standard of beauty? Why yes, or why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

THE PHYSICAL SELF

The physical self refers to the body that can be observed and examined. It is the aspect of the self
that consists of the extremities and internal organs, both with a vital function of maintaining one’s life.
As one aged, these critical functions gradually change. During infancy and old age, physical efficiency
performs at least. Its peak is early adulthood and slowly declines into the middle age (Go-Monilla &
Ramirez, 2018, p. 97).

THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BODY IMAGE AND SELF-ESTEEM

Morris Rosenberg (1965) defined self-esteem as one’s attitude toward oneself (Ackerman, 2020).
It is one’s self-worth or self-respect as a person. It is how much you appreciate and adores yourself. It
involves a variety of feelings about yourself, the appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors (Cherry,
2019). He devised the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a test that measures self-worth by rating both
positive and negative feelings about the self.

Body image covers the emotional attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of a person towards their
own body. It relates to what a person believes and feels about their body. This also includes how they
control and sense their body (Brazier, 2017).

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (2015), body image and self-esteem
influence each other. It is hard to value yourself when you do not like your body. The reverse is also
true: if you cannot see the positive side of yourself and treat it with respect, you do not value it.

Culture has a great influence on a person’s self-esteem and body image. It can be positive,
negative, or both (Brazier, 2017). The traditions practiced culturally can either hurt or help us in our
life. The culture that we are surrounded by has a substantial influence on how we feel about ourselves
and how we think about our bodies. It can either be favorable to or resistant to the building of a
healthy body image and self-esteem. For example, dieting and body appearance have been a focus of
Western Culture. It is the same as in other cultures as digitally retouched photos become a norm in
society. This kind of mentality negatively influences an individual’s body image (Karges, 2015).

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY

People value physical appearance in different cultures. They tend to worry about how they look,
how people will now to look at them, and what people will say about them. The standard of beauty
changes through time as the preference of the people varies from time to time. What may be
considered the standard of beauty in one culture may be different in other cultures. It goes well with
attractiveness as what may be attractive to another one may not be appealing to another. The culture

24
is greatly influenced by society; thus, the concept of beauty is embedded by it (Palean et al., 2018, p.
74).

Across the globe, culture dictates what is beautiful. What is perceived as beautiful in Egyptian
women are slim, high-wasted, narrow hips, and long black hair. Contrastingly, during the Renaissance
period, women with a full figure or curvy and rounded hips were considered beautiful. During the
Medieval Age, gorgeous are chubby, fat or plump women like in some ancient tribes (e.g., Africa). In
Asian countries (Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia), which used to be beautiful, are women
with flat noses. The standards of beauty change over time due to culture. Traditionally considered
most attractive are those humans who have clear skin, thick shiny hair, well-proportioned bodies, and
symmetrical faces. Beauty is deemed necessary throughout history, with features that indicate youth,
health, excellent genes, and fertility (DeMello, 2014, pp. 173-205).

Body art and body modification like body piercing are also considered beautiful in various
cultures. In Ethiopia, Kara people use body painting to attract the opposite sex (exploring-africa.com,
2020). Scarification, or scarring the skin to produce marks, is being practiced by the Masai people in
Tanzania to represent beauty and family pride to women and strength, courage, and bravery to the
men (newtimes.co.rw, 2010). Other tribes in Ethiopia, like the Mursi and Suri, women wear lip plates
that determine their beauty. The larger the lip plate, the more beautiful a woman is (Agbo, 2018).
Maria Jose Cristerna, the Mexican vampire woman, reinvented herself through body piercings to
empower herself (Valentine, 2015). Plastic surgery is also a form of body modification that is popular
nowadays due to the influence of social media (Walker et al., 2019). Printed materials (magazines,
billboards, newspapers, and others), television (entertainment, fashion and, other shows) and the
social media (influencer, vloggers, and others) profoundly influence the standard of beauty of the
culture. What is perceived as beautiful is copied; thus, it is unrealistic and unachievable.

The standard of beauty is not absolute as per culture. There will always a constant struggle to
look at the perfect measure of beauty. The usual definition of beauty is reliant on culture dictated by
society. Self-image problem arises when your beauty standards do not match with your looks
(Gallinero et al. 2018, p. 61). There is a struggle of convincing the self because of their set standards.
Remember that no two persons are alike. Everyone is unique, and that makes one stand out amongst
the crowd. Besides, inner beauty should never be forgotten as it is part of a person’s development.

Refer to links below for additional information:


Philippines (April) | 100 Years of Beauty - Ep 6 by Cut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIsAeFYZFXE
Female Beauty Around The World by Buzzfeed Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9Dp6D91fI
USA Men (Samuel) | 100 Years of Beauty - Ep 12 by Cut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-tJ5erxh4Y
Men's Standards Of Beauty Around The World by Buzzfeed Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tneKwarw1Yk

Assessing Learning

Quiz 2.1.1
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Test I. Directions: Encircle the letter that corresponds to your answer.


1. It is all about the appearance.
a. Sexual Self c. Material self
b. Physical Self d. Digital Self

2. Culture is usually not the basis when setting the standards of beauty.
a. True
b. False

3. Refers to a person’s beliefs about his or her own worth and value.
a. Self-confidence c. Self-esteem

25
b. Body image d. Self-worth

4. Is the way one sees the physical self and the thoughts and feelings that result from that
perception
a. Body presentation c. Self-esteem
b. Body imaged d. Self-representation

5. A test that measures self-worth by rating both positive and negative feelings about the self
a. 16PF c. Baron EQ
b. Rosenberg’s Self-esteem scaled d. Guilford-Zimmerman

Test II. Directions: Answer the statements/questions completely and comprehensively.

1. Differentiate Self-Esteem from Body Image.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How does culture affect our standard of beauty? Cite some examples to support your answer.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

26
THE SEXUAL SELF

Overview

This lesson will provide you with understanding of how sexual self impacts one’s development.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, I am able to:


1. review the human reproductive system;
2. distinguish biological, physiological and psychological aspects of human sexuality discuss
issues with consumerism; and
3. widen knowledge on youth sexual and reproductive health.

Setting Up

Activity 2.2.1
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: Answer the following questions completely and comprehensively.

1. What are the male and female secondary sex characteristics?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How does sex hormones affect a person’s general health? What are the factors that affect
levels of male and female sex hormones?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the sexual behavious of humans and animals? Are there similarities or differences?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love? What other theories or principles that explain
the occurrence of attraction?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is the difference between sex and gender?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What are the dynamics of LGBTQ and SOGIE?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

27
Lesson Proper

Have you ever wished you could talk about sex openly? Ask questions and discover your sexual
self? Let’s admit it, you know to yourself that you want to. It does not mean we discussed sex we are
liberated and this is not actually embarrassing to talk about. By understanding and putting these
topics into mind, you will understand your sexual self- better and clarify uncertain thoughts and
feelings.

Sex and Human Values

Conceding that values are both personal and cultural, most sex researchers and educators
struggle to preserve their writings on sexuality value free. In research when they label the sexually
reserved individuals as “erotophobic” and as “high sex guilt” they explicit their own values.
Furthermore, we improve our lives by knowing ourselves, by realizing that others share our
feelings, by understanding what is likely to please or displease our loved one. Behold the increasing
realization that some types of sexually explicit material can lead people to devalue or hurt others.

Sex Drive

Psychologist thinks that sex drive peaks during the teens and early twenties (Hyde, 1982). The
drive declines gradually during the middle forties, another sharp decline in sexual activity appears in
the late sixties (Solnick and Corby, 1983).

Sex and Gender are parts of you that need to be continuously explored. These two remains to be
used interchangeably however current literature has provided us enough information to differentiate
one from the other. The emergence and/or development of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and
Expression termed as SOGIE is also an important topic in understanding one’s sexual self.

These are further explained in YouTube Video URLs below:

Sex Determination: More Complicated Than You Thought


(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMWxuF9YW38)
Hear Kids' Honest Opinions on Being a Boy or Girl Around the World | National Geographic
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B3ea7IGwLA)
EXPLAINER Part 1: What you need to know about SOGIE
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n7ollEPm2Q)
EXPLAINER: What you need to know about SOGIE Part 2
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H3UgGzzm_Q)

What makes us human is our sexuality. It is an innate function to survive through reproduction.
Definitely, sex is beyond merely the act of procreation but answers to both psychological and spiritual
needs. Aside from sensuality that evokes many emotions it also entails the interaction between two
human beings – to touch and be touched, to love and be loved.

Sexual behavior brings connectedness. Sexuality may humanize or dehumanize, validate or


invalidate and incarnate or disincarnate existence. It makes a person comforted, loved and sometimes
euphoric.

At a deeper level, sexuality is linked with birth and death, an association found in Freud’s notion
of Eros and Thanatos. Although ultimately death prevails over sex, sex affirms life. The instinctual
sexual energy or Eros expressed in the childbearing, art relationships transcends nonexistence. Life
continues for the new generation where one can be fondly remembered by important others. This
close psychological connection between sex and life or the absence of it is a concrete reminder of the
existential inseparability of this cycle.

Additional Readings:
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012
(https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/03/18/implementing-rules-and-regulations-of-republic-
act-no-10354/)

28
Psychosexual Development

The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud cited that children go through a sequence of
psychosexual stages that lead to the development of the adult personality. Freud’s theory defined how
personality developed over the course of childhood. Whereas the theory is well-known in psychology,
it has always been quite controversial, both during Freud's time and in modern psychology. These are
named psychosexual stages because each stage signifies the fixation of libido (roughly translated as
sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body.

Image credits to Simply Psychology

Liking and Loving (Interpersonal attraction)

To like somebody or to have a desire to be in a relationship with somebody is called interpersonal


attraction. We like being with people, we enjoy the company of others.

Physical Attractiveness

We are attracted to those who are physically attractive. Surely, the attraction here is relative.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Some men find women with long hair are attractive but some
men like women with short hair to see their neck area.

LOVE vs. LUST

LUST LOVE
✓ focus on a person's looks and body. ✓ spend quality time together with other
than sex
✓ interested in having sex, but not in ✓ get lost in conversations and forget
having conversations about the hours passing
✓ keep the relationship on a fantasy ✓ honestly listen to each other's feelings,
level, not discuss real feelings. make each other happy.
✓ want to leave soon after sex rather ✓ motivates you to be a better person.
than cuddling or breakfast the next
morning.
✓ ✓ want to get to meet his or her family
✓ are lovers, but not friends and friends

SEXUAL RESPONSE

It refers to the order of physical and emotional changes that arise as a person becomes sexually
aroused and partakes in sexually exciting activities, including intercourse (coitus) and masturbation.
Perceptive how your body reacts during each phase of the cycle can improve your relationship and
help you find the cause of any sexual difficulties. The sexual response cycle has four phases:

29
R
e
s
o
l
Orgasm u
Plateau t
Excitement i
o
n

Both men and women encounter these phases, though the phasing usually is different. For
instance, it is improbable that both partners will reach orgasm at the same time. The intensity of the
reaction and the time spent in each phase differs from person to person. Knowing these differences
may help partners better understand one another's bodies and responses, and develop the sexual
experience.

LGBTQ

Terms to understand:

1. Lesbian - A woman who is primarily attracted to women.


2. Gay- A man who is primarily attracted to men; sometimes a broad term for individuals primarily
attracted to same-sex.
3. Bisexual- An individual attracted to people of their own and opposite gender.
4. Transgender- A person whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth.
5. Transsexual- An outdated term that originated in the medical and psychological communities for
people who have permanently changed their gender identity through surgery and hormones.
6. Queer- An umbrella term to be more inclusive of the many identities and variations that make-up
the LGBTQ + community.
7. Intersex- An individual whose sexual anatomy or chromosomes do not fit with the traditional
markers of “female” and “male”.

Same- Sex Attraction

Homosexual behavior is likely to present in all societies and cultures and has been documented
on all six settled continents. The homosexuality-heterosexuality distinctions is not always a clear one.
Not only do some people self-identity as bisexual, but others may also change their sexual preference
over the course of their lives (Chivers, Seto, & Blanchard, 2007). Researchers are trying to understand
why some people are more strongly attracted to members of the same sex than are other people.

Forms of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Image credits to slideshare.net

30
Contraception Methods:

Generally, procreation is the basic reason for the sexual act hence couples should have this in
mind.

A. Artificial Method- this method can be 7. IUD


stopped when couples decided to have a B. Natural Method- this method is
child again. encouraged by the church because it does
1. Pills not use chemicals and therefore has no
2. Injection (Depo Provera) side effects on the part of the partners.
3. Implants 1. Calendar Method
4. Cervical Sponge 2. Abstinence
5. Spermicidal Gel 3. Mucus Method
6. Condom 4. Basal Body Temperature Method

Assessing Learning

Quiz 2.2.2

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: Answer the following questions completely and comprehensively.

Name three factors that influence sexual orientation and gender identity [5pts]
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Name three family planning methods [5pts]


_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Presently, how well do you know your sexual self? Rate from 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10
being the highest. Support your answer. [10pts]
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

31
THE MATERIAL/ECONOMIC SELF

Overview

This lesson gives you a perception of how the things that we own shape our material self.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, I am able to:


1. develop mindfulness regarding the material self;
2. describe the interrelationship between consumer culture and the material self;
3. discuss issues with consumerism; and
4. equip me to be a responsible consumer.

Setting Up

Activity 2.3.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

LET’S GO SHOPPING!

SM Mall of ASIA is known as one of the largest malls in Asia. The mall is located near Pasay
City, Metro Manila (Caparas, 2013).
Directions: Imagine yourself going to this mall to shop for the whole day with no restrictions
on the money. You can buy anything inside this mall at your delight. List down five (5) items that you
want to buy. Indicate their brand names, estimated prices, and the total amount. On the last column of
the table, categorize each as a “Need” or a “Want”.

Source: vigattintourism.com
Photo by Jun Acullador of flickr.com
Items Brand Name Estimated Price Need/Want
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Total: Total Total
Needs: Wants:

33
1. What have you observed from the items that you have listed?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Do you think your purchases are reasonable? Why yes? Why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Which among all the items that your purchase reminds you of yourself? Explain briefly.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which has the most number, the want, or the needs? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

I SHOP THEREFORE I AM: I HAVE THEREFORE I AM?

That famous statement is part of an artwork created by Barbara Kruger. It describes the
material consumption in the year 1987. It was from Rene Descartes’ philosophy of "I think therefore I
am" and she gave it a twist that fits the idea of material consumption. The idea is that it is not what
we think but what we own that identifies who we are. We became a society that focuses on “what they
have rather than who they are.” The society gives off a vibe that material possessions, as well as social
image, define who we are. The more in-depth personal attributes like accomplishments and ideas
were pushed aside. She exposes society as a modern consumer-driven society (publicdelivery.com,
2011; Hai, 2018).

William James (1980) suggested that the self is everything that is considered by the individual
as his or hers. It includes his/her body and his/her material possessions and reputation and beliefs. In
conclusion, the self is comprised of the material self, manifested by his/her material possessions (Go-
Monilla & Ramirez, 2018, p. 134). As what William James stressed that the total of man is not only his
body and his psychic powers but also his material possessions (Leary, 1990).

The Basic Components of the Material Self, according to William James (1980):

1. Body - The innermost part of the material self. Taking good care of it will help you experience life to
the fullest.

2. Clothes- Considered important to people alongside the soul and the body. The styles and brands of
clothes become symbols that are the representation of the self.

3. Material Component
3a. Family and friends - These are people whom you are psychologically connected. They helped
shape and influence yourself and your identity.
3b. House- A place where many aspects of your life developed. It also gives you comfort and security.
Accumulation of a house reflects the wealth and hard labor.
3c. Cars-Also considered as a material possession as it also reflects the wealth and hard labor.
3d. Pets- It could be an expression of one’s social status, pride, prestige since owning a dog or a cat
with breeds is very expensive.

34
SHAPING THE WAY WE SEE OURSELVES
The Role of Consumer Culture on our Sense of Self and Identity
Oxford bibliographies (2017) describe the consumer culture as a form of material culture
facilitated by the market. It represents a relationship between the consumer and the goods or services
he or she uses or consumes. Through Consumer culture, you are allowed to express who you are by
reinforcing an economic system of freewill or constrained. There is the freedom to choose and be
constrained with options offered commercially.

Consumer culture is also a system of consumption of commercial products. Consumer culture


represents a social arrangement wherein lived culture, social resources, ways of life, and material
resources depend on the markets. The consumer culture focuses on the consumption of market-made
commodities (Arnould & Craig, 2005).

Merriam dictionary (2020) defined identity as the distinguishing character or personality of an


individual. It is who you are, how you perceive yourself, how others see you, and the characteristics
that describe you (yourdictionary.com, 2020). Material possessions are considered an extension of
your identity. Belk (1988) suggested that possessions contribute to the reflection of identity. It is a
fact that that we learn, define, and remind ourselves of who we are by our possessions. This
identification started early in life as an infant learning to differentiate oneself from the environment
and then from others who may envy possessions. In general, as you age, the importance of material
possessions decreases but remains high throughout life. It is a form of self-expression, happiness, and
a reminder of experiences and accomplishments. It also accumulates your story, who you are, where
you come from, and perhaps where you are going.

Despite being the extension of your identity, the desire for it has a negative effect on one’s sense
of self and identity. Materialism refers to giving to much importance to material possessions and
excessively being concern with its acquisition. As mentioned above, the association of identity to
material possession started at the early age of life; the etiology of materialism arises from society and
culture (Belk, 1988).

Social media play a massive part in the consumption of commercial products. Through the
internet, television, and magazines, endless options of advertised products are available (Go-Monilla
& Ramirez, 2018, pp. 136-137). Consumerism is the human desire to acquire products and goods in
excess of one's basic needs. Basic needs refer to sufficient food, clothing, and shelter. The consumerist
culture involves people who spend more on cars, gadgets, and clothes to keep up with trends and
upgrades instead of savings or investments (Baker, 2016).

Additional instructional materials:


Movie entitled: Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
Learning from consumer culture by Tori Flower TED Talks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS1sKdOTg6Y
History of ideas – consumerism by The School of life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Unq3R--M0

Conscious Consumption

Options are endless when shopping. Marketing strategies have been evolving to cater to the needs
and want of consumers. Being in a consumer culture, shopping is part of your life. As a consumer, you
have the power to control your expenditures as you have your free will to choose. The struggle of
conscious consumption usually starts when the discipline of shopping ends. Conscious consumption is
practicing being a responsible buyer (Gallinero, et al., 2018). Being a responsible buyer means you
should know how to separate your wants from your needs. Below are tips that you can use when
shopping:

Tips to get most of your money


Adapted from the Federal Trade Commission (2009)
Try to shop around before purchasing. We must remember that the “sale” price isn’t
always the “best” price. Search for information
can help you get the best price for the item you
35
want.
Take time to read sale ads. Some items are limited only to specific quantities
or available to selected stores. Make some call
ahead to ensure that the store has the item in
stock and if they ‘be willing to hold the item for
you.
Do not forget to consider the time and Take into consideration the time, and travel cost
travel costs. before shopping. What if the item is across town,
and you need to travel just to acquire it? Are you
saving or not?
Check for price-matching policies. Fish out for competitors’ prices and compare. You
might find a good deal by comparing and
contrasting.
Use the internet for price references. Surf the net to compare and contrast prices. You
can also shop online but consider the shipping
costs and delivery time.
Bargain offers that are based on purchases Offers like “buy one, get one free,” “free gift with
of additional merchandise should be purchase,” or “free shipping with minimum
computed. purchase” seems tempting. It is not a great deal if
you don’t want or need the item.
Some shops have sale adjustments. Some items go into the sale after a week that you
purchase it. Try to ask the store if they have sale
adjustments where you can get a credit or refund
for the discounted amount if it is applicable.
Ask first the refund and return policies for Refund and return policies for sale items or
sale items. clearance sale differ from regular items.

Assessing Learning

Quiz 2.3.2

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Test I. Directions: Identify what is being asked below.

________________1. Defines that the self is everything that is considered by the individual as his or hers.
________________2. It is practicing being a responsible buyer.
________________3. Refers to giving to much importance to material possessions and excessively being
concern with its acquisition.
________________4. This could be an expression of one’s social status, pride, prestige since owning one
breed is very expensive.
________________5. The human desire to acquire products and goods in excess of one's basic needs.

Test II. Directions: Answer the following questions completely and comprehensively.

Explain Barbara Kruger’s statement: I Shop Therefore


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How is the statement relatable to your current expenses/purchases? Cite an example to support
your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
36
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE SPIRITUAL SELF

Overview

This lesson explores the essence of spirituality, how distinct it is from religiosity, the
influences that form one's spirituality and how it affects one 's self.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, I am able to:


1. differentiate spirituality from religion;
2. describe the practice of religion, belief in supernatural being and power;
3. explain the concept of “dungan”, spirit or soul;
4. evaluate ways of finding and creating meaning in life.

Setting Up

Activity 2.4.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

MY OWN MANDALA
Directions: Mandala is a symbolic picture of the universe and spirituality. It helps to transform
ordinary minds into enlightened ones. Using any coloring materials, color the Mandala
below based on your preference. Also, write your name inside the circle on the center.

Reflective questions

1. What comes to your mind when you first heard the word Mandala?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

37
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What did you feel doing the activity?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Are you going to share your work to other people? Why or Why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Given another chance, are you going to recreate your Mandala with your own design?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION

Oftentimes, many people define spirituality and religion synonymously. There are also times
that these two terms are interchangeably used. Conversely, they are definitely different concepts. But,
they play an important role in our lives.
Spirituality came from the Latin word spiritus which means breath of life. Jafari, Loghmani
and Puchalski (2014) defines spirituality as a way an individual seeks and communicates the meaning
of one’s experiences in relation to self, to nature, and to the moment. It is a connection to something
bigger than you, of significant, reverent, or sacred. On the other hand, religion came from the Latin
word religio that means an obligation, bond, reverence and religare that means to bind. Many scholars
define religion as the relationship of an individual to God, and involves doctrines, beliefs and rituals
connected with the same a group that has shared same faith. An individual can be both religious and
spiritual but being religious does not mean you are a spiritual person.

Religion Vs. Spirituality : What is the difference? (Brady, 2019)


Religion Spirituality
Object referral Self-referral

38
Objective vs. Subjective Focuses on the external (houses of Focuses on the inward
Experience worship, books of scripture, journey (internalization and
eternal rituals) awareness of one’s soul)
Structures and rule based No set of external rules,
construct restrictions and rigid
Organized vs. Formless (moral rules, laws and doctrines) structure
(pathless path of self-
discovery)
Deeply rooted in tradition, ritual, more flexible and adaptive
Traditional vs. Evolutionary creed, and doctrine (embraces change and the
Approach (transmitted through history) evolution of consciousness)
About faith direct experience of the soul
Belief vs. Spiritual (Unconditional acceptance and or divinity
Experience surrender to the divine)
Concepts of original sin, divine Discards the remains of fear
judgment, God’s wrath, or eternal and worry in favor of a more
Fear vs. Love punishment can loving, compassionate
approach to life—and death

The differences between spirituality and religion are not the outright judgment of which is
better than the other. One’s spiritual and religious beliefs and practices may still vary from one
person to another.

Characteristics of a Spiritual Person

Howell (2013) made a research on the personal and societal benefits of spirituality. Based on
the responses, here the top five characteristics of a spiritual person.
1. A spiritual person is gracious. Spirituality encourages someone to be positive and expresses
gratitude, shows generosity on time and resources, one’s overall life indeed.
2. A spiritual person is compassionate. Living a spiritual life lets a person to feel good even on
small things in life. He or she looks at the world with empathy.
3. A spiritual person is flourishing. Spirituality enables a person to have positive relationships,
high self-esteem and lets him or her look at the meaning and purpose in life.
4. A spiritual person is self-actualized. Spirituality practices help a person to focus on their
internal values for personal growth. A spiritual person concentrates on the fulfillment of one’s
goal and that is to become a better individual.
5. A spiritual person takes time to savor life experiences. Living a spiritual life makes a person
more aware of his or her day to day activities and gives an experience positive emotions
related to small pleasures in life.

Within the self lies the best way to improve spirituality. Constant thought and contemplation
on decisions and options in life, cultivating empathy and compassion for other humans, and having
confidence in a higher being will improve spiritual awareness. It's not only finding meaning in life but
also how it brings meaning to life.

THE PRACTICE OF RELIGION: BELIEF IN SUPERNATURAL BEING AND POWER

As you grow older, you start to ask questions rooted in religious orientations. You have
probably compared one religion from another. However, you make realizations and observations until
you found the meaning of that goes beyond your religious orientations.

Functions of Religion

Cognitive enables human to explain the unexplainable phenomena


Social maintains social order by encouraging socially acceptable behavior
and discouraging inappropriate behavior
Emotional / controls the forces which they feel they have no control

39
Conflict Resolution uses religion as a way of diffusing anger and hostility
Reinforcement of Group allow people to express common identity and strengthens group
Solidarity identity and belonging

Religiosity follows the belief systems and practices associated with a tradition in which there
is agreement about what is believed and practiced.

The supernatural concepts are a part of any human society. One must develop a view of cultur
al relativism to research spiritual beliefs, and try to recognize beliefs from the viewpoint of an emic or
insider. Imposing one culture's meanings or beliefs onto another is likely
to lead to misunderstandings. Despite the wide range of supernatural beliefs found in cultures around
the world, some common elements are shared by most belief systems.

Sashur Henninger-Rener, an anthropologist – research, identified the common elements of


religion in relation to the belief in supernatural being and power.
Elements of Religion

1. Cosmology. This explains the origin or history of the world. Religious cosmologies offer a "big
picture" of how human life was created and the forces or powers at work in the universe
2. Belief in the Supernatural. This pertains to the realm beyond direct human experience. The
belief may involve a god or gods, but it's not a necessity. Quite a few religious beliefs involve more
abstract ideas about supernatural forces.
3. Rules of Behavior. Such principles describe proper behavior for individuals and society as a
whole, and are geared towards harmonizing individual acts with moral beliefs.
4. Rituals. Religious rituals or procedures which are typically supervised by religious experts. These
may be oriented toward the supernatural, such as rituals designed to please the gods, but at the
same time addressing the needs of individuals or of the entire community.

THE CONCEPT OF “DUNGAN”, SPIRIT OR SOUL

The word "dungan" originates from the Ilonggos according to Magos (1986). The Ilonggos'
dungan or soul, which is normally not seen by the human eye. According to the Visayans, this can
leave the body voluntarily like when the person is asleep. If a person can see himself in his dreams it
means that the physical body has been replaced by his "other self". It was profoundly impressed
amongst the ancient Filipinos that a person who was asleep does not suddenly awaken. So a person
who is sleepy is first called softly and louder and louder gradually to give the soul a chance to return
to its body.
Traveling off the dungan outside of the body will be accident-free. It can be stuck in a
container or poured out from a vessel of liquid. The owner will only be able to wake up after the soul
has returned home safely. Anything that happens to the dungan does indeed happen to the human
body. It is also suspected that another reason for the soul's voluntary withdrawal is if the body is
seriously maltreated (Magos, 1986).

The Visayan dungan has a secondary sense of "willpower." A good dungan is the mental and
psychological capacity to control one's way of thinking or convince others to. An individual with a lot
of willpower is said to "have a good dungan." The constant companionship of two people (sometimes
under the same roof) can lead to a spiritual rivalry between the two dungans and the defeat of the one
with the weaker dungan.
One may conclude that "dungan" or "spirit" is something that cannot be seen and touched, and
goes beyond our senses. It's also something that science can't describe.

FINDING AND CREATING MEANING [Frankl]

According to Frankl (1959), the meaning of life lies in finding a purpose and taking
responsibility for oneself and others. A person can face all the "how" questions of life by having a clear
"why." He / She can only make the world a better place by feeling safe and confident of the goal that
motivates him or her.

40
There are 3 ways to find meaning in one's life according to Frankl in his novel, Man's Quest
For Meaning.

By Doing a Deed
Realizing artistic quality comes not from the ‘greatness' of the mission, but how one treats and
executes his or her mission. It is not the ‘radius' of the action which is essential, but how one
feels the ‘circle' of his / her mission – how respectfully one performs them.

By Experiencing a Value
Explore all facets of life in-depth, being open and receptive to all life has to bring. Deep
emotional feelings, i.e. wonder and sunset happiness, a pleasure in close contact with others,
sharing a child's sorrow, etc. Support all of the emotions; don't refuse them; float with them,
but don't get trapped.

By Realizing Attitudinal Value


Accept with great bravery all the sufferings caused by an unchanging destiny. Out of your
misery draw power of intent. Intrinsically, human life should never be meaningless. Life
challenges us and puts various circumstances before us.

Assessing Learning

Quiz 2.4.2
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Direction: Answer completely and comprehensively the following questions below.

1. What is the difference between spirituality and religion?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Explain what is “Dungan”.


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Regardless of your religion, how do you practice your faith?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Share your personal life experience/s where you found meaning of life out of it. Explain.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

41
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

42
THE POLITICAL SELF

Overview

This lesson lets you integrate political aspect of self and identity through critical thinking.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, I am able to:


1. safely share one's the political preferences or conviction; and
2. understand how personal ideologies are constructed.

Setting Up

Activity 2.5.1

Name: _____________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: __________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions:

1. Create a virtual group through the internet. Divide the group into two. Tackle any emerging issues
in your community.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Directions: Create a collage of the person you want to be in the next 10 years.

43
Lesson Proper

Generally, when speaking about national identity, the center tends to be on being a citizen of a
country. The role of culture on identity should never be underestimated. It can be varied as his/her
heritage. [Gallinero,et al.,2018,p108]

Developing a Filipino Identity: Values, Traits, Community and Institutional Factors

Filipino students may deepen their understanding of their political selves through a list of socially
relevant movies which can be found in this link (https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/movies-music-
tv/75285/10-new-pinoy-films-for-the-woke-a1943-20181006-lfrm)

Filipinos are of Malays descent with traces of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood.
According to the United Nations, the Philippines has a population of 109 million in midyear of 2020.
Having been colonized by the West and an active trading system among neighboring Southeast Asian
countries, the Filipino people are a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.

The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie took from the Malays, close family relations
inherited from the Chinese, piousness came from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity are our
dominant features. Positive relationships are a core value for Filipino communities, also known as
“Personalism.” These involve sensitivity and regard for others, understanding, helping out, and
consideration for others’ limitations. Children are taught to respect older family members, older
adults and authority. It is considered the norm to seek the advice of and accept the decisions of older
adults; and are obligated to care for aging parents, and maintain emotional ties with family members
throughout the life span. Religion is central to our lives and serves as a means of coping with life’s
adversities. The Philippines is divided geographically and culturally into regions, and each regional
group is recognizable by distinct traits and dialects. Hospitality, cheerful disposition, welcoming
character and passionate about life are what distinguishes us from the rest of ASEAN. These are the
strengths of the Filipino character and in some ways our weaknesses.

Psychologist, educator, and [former] chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. Dr.
Patricia B. Licuanan wrote that the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino character are rooted in
factors, like [Gallinero, et al.,2018,p109]

1. The home environment 6. Religion


2. The social environment 7.The economic environment
3. Culture and Language 8.The political environment
4. History 9. Mass media
5. The educational system 10.Leadership and role models.

According to her, in-home environment, Filipino children are family-oriented. In the social
environment, it is characterized by survival of the fittest that makse them [Filipinos] group-oriented
[1994].
Furthermore, in culture and language show openness to international elements with no primary
consciousness of our cultural core [Licuanan, 1994]. The colonial mentality of the Filipinos is a good
example of this.

While, in the Philippine educational system helps in casting the strengths and weaknesses of the
Filipinos [Licuanan,1994]. Various Filipinos are rooted in our economic environment, hardships and
struggles pushed them to work harder. Some choose to leave their family to work abroad for better
living.

She also cited that our political environment and government structures and systems are
troubled with problems [Graft and Corruption]. On the other hand, the mass media reinforce our
colonial mentality. It is shown on TV, magazines, newspaper, etc. Nowadays, the mass media in fact
part of Filipino life.
Ever since Filipinos highly respect authority, we learn on our leaders and role models [1994].

44
Strengths of the Filipino Character:

The Filipino characteristics listed below are not complete, hence, these are the most we have in
common. Filipino traits are as follows [Gallinero,et al.,2018p110]:

1. Pakikipagkapwa-tao
2. Family orientation
3. Joy and humor
4. Flexibility,adaptability, and creativity
5. Hard work and industry
6. Faith and religiosity
7. Ability to survive

Weaknesses of the Filipino character:

1. Extreme personalism 5. Colonial mentality


2. Extreme family-centeredness 6. Kanya-kanya syndrome
3. Lack of discipline 7. Lack of self-analysis and
4. Passivity and lack of initiative self-reflection
Citizenship and Democracy

Democracy is a Greek word that means demos [people’s rule]. It is a form of government in which
the supreme power is vested in the hands of the people. As stated by the famous President Abraham
Lincoln, democracy is a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

The idea of democracy is interpreted in many forms. In general, it implies majority rule, minority
and individuals have equality of opportunities and under law, civil rights and liberties.

Who is the citizen of the Philippines

Is the one who is a member of a state who was accorded with full civil and political rights subject
to disqualifications provided by law, and who is protected inside and outside of the state where
he/she is a citizen.

Self and Politics

Man is considered a political animal. His/her thoughts about political happenings show his/her
personality and beliefs.
Political socialization is a learning process by which individuals acquire political knowledge,
beliefs and attitudes that helps develop a sense of self. The family is the major socializing agent. As
children grow up, schools, peer groups and the media also become important agents of political
socialization.

Assessing Learning

Activity 2.5.2
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: Answer the following questions completely and comprehensively.

1. Describe the manner of discussing your ideas in your virtual group. How about against the
other group.

45
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How do you manage conflicting ideas among family and friends?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. In formal settings such as in the classroom, school or workplace, how will you be able to voice
one’s beliefs without hurting others
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the traits you have listed?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. In terms of character, how far or near are you to this ideal person?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What are the things that you will be working on for you to achieve your goal?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

46
THE DIGITAL SELF

Overview

This lesson looks at the role of technology and the internet informing the digital self of a person
with an emphasis on using social media network sites and applications.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, I am able to:


1. examine my self and my online identity;
2. describe selective self-presentation and impression management;
3. infer on the impact of my online interactions to me and others; and
4. determine the boundaries of my online self.

Setting Up

Activity 2.6.1

Name: _____________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: __________________________ Instructor: _________________________

WHAT’S APPS?

Directions: On the first space provided, write the name of the social media applications. Below its
name, evaluate how frequent (always, often, sometimes, or never) do you use each social
media application.

What did you notice with your answers from the activity?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is/are your reason/s in using social media?


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
47
Do you consider social media an important part of yourself? Why or why not?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

I, ME, MYSELF AND MY USER ID ONLINE IDENTITY

In the emergence of the use of technology in our lives, this made us create a new self of our
identity. This identity extends to the digital world using any social media applications like Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Aside from these applications, we also engage ourselves in different
internet websites that create our virtual world that is different from our real world. Thus, we create
our own online identity or can be termed as a digital self.
Many from the millennial and Gen Z generations are being tagged as digital natives because they
depend most of the time on the functions of technology.
In 1988, Russell Belk, Chair in Marketing, Schulich School of Business at York University, proposed
the concept of extended self even during that time that digital technology was limited to personal
computers. Nowadays, access to computers can be done using mobile phones, laptops, and other
digital devices. Through these, we can exchange ideas and can communicate and connect with others.
According to Belk (2013), the extended self can be presented in different factors:
dematerialization, re-embodiment, sharing, co-construction of self, and distributed memory.
These factors are actually changes and progressions evaluated for our understanding of oneself, the
nature of possessions, and our connections or associations with things in an advanced world, the
digital world.
First, dematerialization relates to our possessions like photos, videos, music, and
information which at present are all immaterial and cab be all stored in different electronic devices
that we can access anytime. Second, re-embodiment describes how we can post, upload and view
photos of our faces online that we have become online ‘avatars’. Using social media and computer
software, we can easily change our appearance distinguishing our online self and our actual
appearance. Third, with the use of the internet, sharing pertains to transferring pieces of our true
personal information or change information we would like anyone can access in the digital world. In
relation to this, fourth, co-construction of self explains how we socially involve ourselves in a digital
environment by communicating and interacting and the same time constructing and our individual
and extended sense of self. And last, distributed memory shows that non-digital objects like events,
people, and even memories are now being recorded and shared in the digital world. Thus, this
provides a sense of past being archived in different social media and can be viewed later on.
Further, the concept of extended self is alive and well in the digital world (Belk, 2013).
However, number of differences are being observed because of the challenges and changes of new
possibilities offered in our digital world.

SELECTIVE SELF PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Self-presentation is the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a
favorable impression that corresponds to one’s ideals. Myers (2008) explained it as you want to
present the desired image of yourself both to other people (external audience) and to yourself
(internal audience). As social beings, we adjust our words and actions to suit our audiences. There is
varying degrees of how we behave in front of other people.

Why does selective self-presentation happen?


There is selective self-presentation because people want to manage the impression on how
society views them. This comes into two forms: self-enhancement and self-deprecation. Self-
enhancement entails bringing forth the good qualities of one's personality to strengthen an
individual's social views. While self-deprecation primary aims to limit self-portrayal by displaying
more humble features or characteristics of oneself.

48
Self-Presentation Goals
1. To arise from getting others to do what one wants
2. To gain respect, power, liking, or other desirable social rewards
3. To make certain impressions on others to maintain a sense of who they are

Impression management refers to the information controlling activity to guide the opinions of
others in the service of personal or social objectives. This shows how humans seem motivated not
only to perceive themselves in self-enhancing ways but also to present themselves favorably to
others.

Self-Presentation and Impression Management Strategies (Jones, 1990)


1. I
n Self-Presentational Impression Prototypic Self-Presentational
g Strategy Sought Behaviours Risks
r
a 1. Ingratiation Likable Compliments, Insincere,
t favors Deceitful
i
a 2. Self-promotion Competent Boasting, Conceited, Fraudulent
t Showing off
i 3. Intimidation Powerful, Threats Reviled,
o Ruthless Indecisive
n 4. Exemplification Virtuous, Self-denial, Hypocritical, Self-
- Y Moral Martyrdom righteous
o5. Supplication Helpless Self-deprecation Manipulative,
u Demanding

wish other people to like you by letting people agree with you, say nice things about you, do
favors for you, and possess positive interpersonal qualities.

2. Self-promotion
- You seek to convince people of your competence by getting people to think we are capable,
intelligent, or talented.
3. Intimidation
- You sometimes show people your authority and you are to be feared off by displaying that you
are tough, powerful or ruthless.
4. Exemplification
- You try to make the impression that you are morally superior or righteous by portraying an
exaggerated degree that you suffered poor treatment or has endured excessive hardships.
5. Supplication
You publicly overstress your weaknesses and deficiencies to play helpless in order to attract
others’ sympathy and get what you want.

How you present yourself and manage other’s impressions are part of your online identity. It
is you faithfully reflect on how you think of yourself. Presenting yourself online is sometimes a
concern of misrepresenting yourself. Further, it is very important to know sincerity and authenticity
in establishing relationships with others in the online social world.

IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTIONS ON THE SELF

Our interaction with others is very different now that we are living in the digital age.
Everything can be accessed in just one click. You can build hundreds to thousands of friends around
the world which you can actually create an online community. Social media applications and social
networking sites provide us an opportunity to widen our connections and relationships. Despite our
differences, the internet or virtual world connects us with others and meets with our similarities.
However, people we interact may influence the way we think ourselves so let us not forget that our
online interactions have an impact also on ourselves.

49
In 2018, David Cross, chief editor at Web Hosting Media, published his review on the
positive and negative effects of social media on our lives. This shows how big the impact of our online
interactions. He explained that there is nothing wrong with the platform itself but the problem is on
the way a lot of us use it and play a role in our lives.
Here are the impacts of online interaction taken from Cross (2018).
The Improvements Social Media Brought The Toxic Reflections of Social Media (The
About (The Positive) Negative)
1. It Can Save You In Case Of An 1. It’s Incredibly Addictive
Emergency 2. Self-Image Issues
2. Enhanced Connectivity 3. The Illusion of Control
3. It Can Be Used As a Voice to Reason 4. It Can Make You Feel Lonely
4. It’s a Place for Content Discovery 5. A Fear of Missing Out
5. Helps in Getting Help 6. It Drives More Sadness than Happiness
6. Provides an Awesome Marketing Tool 7. The Delusion That It Elevates Your
Mood
8. The Rise of Cyber Bullying

We may experience differently the impact of our online interactions using different digital
applications and sites. It can be both honestly connect us and help us communicate more efficiently.
Nevertheless, how we use it depends on how we make decisions (Cross, 2018).

BOUNDARIES OF THE SELF ONLINE

Public Self vs. Private Self

The American Psychological Association defines the public self as “information about the self,
or an integrated view of the self, that is conveyed to others in actions, self-descriptions, appearance,
and social interactions..” And private self as “the part of the self that is known mainly to oneself, such
as one’s inner feelings and self-concept.” Your public self or private self may vary depending on your
audience of such impressions.
Wilson (2008) explained that the millennial generation has a characteristic of the
phenomenon of public identity than private identity. There is a belief that members of this generation
have not been afforded a sense of privacy. Examples of this are the posting, sharing of information,
capturing everyday activities and the like made by the online users.
The distinction between public and private becomes unclear because of the effects of the
popularity of social networking sites and applications where you can manage your account on what to
share or not and what to show between the real and unreal.

Personal Identity vs. Social Identity

Personal identity is best described using Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory. According to


Erickson (1968), an individual can move from two opposite poles: identity synthesis and identity
confusion. Identity synthesis explains that an individual combines and integrates relevant earlier
identification in a unique way while identity confusion describes that an individual does not hold yet
meaningful identification that could provide him or her with a sense of direction. You may search
your sense of self or personal identity by intensely exploring on your personal values, beliefs, and
goals. He also added that the success of this process may lead to the virtue of fidelity. This means that
you will be able to commit yourself to others on the basis of accepting others regardless of the
presence of the ideological differences.
On the other hand, Tajfel and Turner (1968) refers to social identity as how an individual
defines himself/herself as a member of a social group.
Social identity processes include social categorization, social identification, social comparison,
positive group distinctiveness. Social categorization helps individuals to navigate the social world by
distinguishing between in-group and out-group members. It is providing information about others,
economizing social perception, and reduces uncertainty as long as a clear set of expectations about
others and the self are provided. It enables that the mere act of categorizing people into groups was
enough to lead to in-group favoritism and out-group derogation. Social identification involves the
individual’s awareness of, value attribution to, and affective experience linked to one’s group
membership. Social comparison is a fundamental process to understand who we are, what are our
positive qualities, and we do this by exchanging feedbacks in the interactions with meaningful others.
50
Positive group distinctiveness is the appreciation of one’s own in-group as basis to achieve,
maintain, and enhance group distinctiveness to motivate individuals to join social groups (Tajfel &
Turner, 1979).

Gender and Sexuality Online

In the previous lesson, you already have the idea of what is gender and sexuality. Here in this
topic, the discussion will focus on the issues related to gender and sexuality online. Gender and
sexuality is part of our identity.
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been reported to possess a degree of anonymity on
the Internet which makes the gender of online communicators insignificant or invisible. In
comparison to norms of patriarchal superiority historically found in face to face contact, this
supposedly encourages women and men to contribute and be respected equally for their efforts
(Walther, 2007).

10 TIPS FOR SETTING BOUNDARIES ONLINE


Taken from Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.

1. Give yourself permission. Give yourself permission to set boundaries and say no.
2. Consider your purpose. Think ahead about how you’d like to use social media by
considering what kinds of information you want out there.
3. Set boundaries surrounding time. Figure out what works best for you to maintain
connections — without feeling stressed and overwhelmed
4. Take things slowly. Give yourself time to get to know the person before revealing too
much about yourself not just talking romantic relationships but interactions of all kinds.
5. Ask for clarification. Respond and ask for clarification to avoid misinterpretation of a
person’s message online.
6. Be honest about your feelings. Let them know authentically and honestly how it made
you feel.
7. Practice the three-strikes-you’re-out rule. Take some type of action that limits their
contact with you when they’ve crossed another boundary of yours.
8. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Give them the benefit of the doubt by keeping in mind
that everyone has different comfort levels to avoid jumping to conclusions.
9. Honor your feelings and comfort level. Pay attention to your own emotions and comfort
level.
10. Be thoughtful in your own responses. Take a moment to think through what you’d like
to say and never respond in anger or in impatience.

Assessing Learning

Activity 2.6.2

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

I. Write TRUE if the statement is correct, FALSE if not.


__________1. Your digital self may be a representation of your real self and/or unreal self.
__________2. How you present yourself and manage other’s impressions are part of your online
identity.
__________3. An online user shows his/her personal identity even without considering his social
identity.
__________4. Boundaries online are based on personal decision you set.
__________5. A person can build a community his/her friends with others in the virtual world despite
of their differences.

51
II. Identify what is being asked below.
________________________1. It is the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a
favorable impression that corresponds to one’s ideals.
________________________2. This refers to the information controlling activity to guide the opinions of
others in the service of personal or social objectives.
________________________3. This explains that an individual combines and integrates relevant earlier
identification in a unique way.
________________________4. It describes that an individual does not hold yet meaningful identification that
could provide him or her with a sense of direction.
________________________5. This primary aims to limit self-portrayal by displaying more humble features
or characteristics of oneself.

III. Answer the following questions completely and comprehensively.

1. How does self-presentation happen?


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Cite your personal experiences of setting your boundaries online.


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

52
UNIT III. MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF
Overview

This unit focuses on three areas of concern for young students – learning, goal setting
and stress management. It also provides a more practical application of the notions discussed
in the subject and enables them to experience hands-on development of self-help plans for
self-regulated learning, goal setting, and self-care.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit I am able to:


1. Recognize the theoretical foundations of managing and caring for the self;
2. Obtain and practice new skills for better management and caring for the self;
3. Use the new skills to better one’s quality of life.

Setting Up

Activity 3.1.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE:

Dear Self,

A bad study habit I want to change is____________________________________________because_____________________


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

Learning to be a Better Student

How Learning Occurs

What happens in the brain while learning?

Learning happens at synapses, the


junctions between neurons. We can sum it up into
four steps: 1) How neurons react to new
information 2) How we make new information
easy to learn 3) How the brain stores new
information 4) How we learn new information.

The first one is how neurons react to new


information. When we learn something new, the
performance of newly associated synapses

53
change. For example “Jin starts attending dance classes. He takes it twice a week.” When Jin starts
attending dance classes, the synapses working on this new information or skill changes their
performance. Next, how we make new information easy to learn; an element comes along the new
information obtained. An element is like an image, an emotion or a sound to which we relate the new
information. In the first example, Jin started attending dance classes; so now he associates dance with
exercise and stress release. So he uses dance as a stress reliever and as a form of exercise, because of
this it is easier for him to learn about dancing. After that we have how the brain stores new
information. The brain sets apart space where this new information is stored. The more synapses fire
when the new information is used, the more its allocated brain space grows. Since Jin enjoys dancing,
he now takes it five times a week. Because of the time and effort on learning how to dance grow, the
brain creates more space for it. Lastly, how we learn new information effectively. The more synapses
on the new information fire, the more we learn it. According to his dance teacher, Jin’s regular
practice pays off so he gets better and better.

The Information Processing Model

Image credits to LearnUpon

The Information Processing Model is a type of learning model that treats the brain as if it is a
computer. Under this we have the following:

1. Sensory Memory – we gather information from our environment. It is the temporary first
interaction with any information. Sensory memory includes Iconic memory (what we initially see)
and Echoic memory (what we initially hear). Since we cannot process all sensory memory, we
concentrate on working memory instead.
2. Working Memory – our current thoughts. We process information from our environment.
Through working memory, we get to focus more on visual and spatial information and verbal
information one at a time or at the same time with the help of our central executive. Working
memory is responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information. The episodic buffer
bridges us to long-term memory.
3. Long-term Memory – we decide based on our environment. Long-term memories are prior
knowledge and memories. There are three types of memories under this: a) Explicit memories are
facts or events that we can describe clearly and definitely; b) Episodic memories are event-related
memories, and c) Implicit memories which are influenced by interpretation.

Metacognition

According to John Flavell, “Metacognition” is “cognition


about the cognitive phenomenon”, or basically “thinking about
thinking.” Metacognition imports deep thinking in which cognitive
processes involved in learning are actively controlled. It has two
aspects:

1. Self-appraisal – people’s personal reflections


Image credits to KQED about their knowledge states and abilities and their affective
states concerning their knowledge, abilities, motivation and

54
characteristics as learners. Such reflections answer questions about “what you know, how you think,
and when and why to apply knowledge or strategies”.

2. Self-management of cognition – this refers to “Metacognition in action”, meaning


mental processes that help to “compose aspects of problem-solving”. It is the mental process of
planning on how one can succeed at a task.

Learning to be a better Student

Different learning techniques

1. Elaborative interrogation – it focuses on enhancing memory by generating an explanation of


why a specifically stated fact or concept is true.
2. Self-explanation – explaining how new information is related to known information, or
explaining steps taken during problem-solving. It generates inferences about causal
connections and conceptual relationships that enhance understanding.
3. Summarization – writing down summaries of texts to be learned.
4. Highlighting/underlining – marking important phrases from the materials to be learned while
reading in a single study session.
5. Keyword mnemonic – using keywords and mental imagery to associate verbal materials.

How Habits Are Formed

Every habit starts with a psychological pattern called a “habit loop” which is a three-part
process. First is the cue or trigger that orders your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior
unfold. Then the action or routine is the behavior itself. And lastly, the reward which is something that
your brain likes that aids in remembering the “habit loop” in the future.

Image credits to Help Scout

“How Habits are Formed – The Power of Habit” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg1VAhv6KHg

Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulation is the process of controlling thoughts, behaviors, and emotions for the purpose
of acquiring information or skills. By engaging in self-regulated learning, one can independently track
down his own progress and manage his own development. Self-regulated learners take full ownership
of their learning where they are commonly described as more engaged in learning, more confident to
learn and perform better on tests.

55
Assessing Learning

Quiz 3.1.1
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: In your own words, explain the following terms briefly. (2 points each)

Self-regulation
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Self-appraisal
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Long-term memory
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Metacognition
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Habit
loop________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

56
SETTING GOALS FOR SUCCESS

Overview

This unit focuses on three areas of concern for young students – learning, goal setting and
stress management. It also provides more practical application of the notions discussed in the
subject and enables them to experience hands-on development of self-help plans for self-
regulated learning, goal setting, and self-care.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit I am able to:


1. Recognize the theoretical foundations of managing and caring for the self;
2. Obtain and practice new skills for better management and caring for the self;
3. Use new skills to better one’s quality of life.

Setting Up

Activity 3.2.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE:


DEAR SELF,
My short-range goals to complete by the first day of the semester are_____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Proper

Setting Goals for the Self

Goal Setting Leads to a Meaningful Life

A goal makes life worth living so it is important to set goals that will lead you to success. A
goal is defined simply as what the individual is consciously trying to do. It directs attention and action.
Goals motivate people to develop strategies that will enable them to perform at the required goal
levels. People more often than not experience disappointments, stress, and mental health problems
when they fail to reach their life goals. In this lesson, you will develop and practice goal-setting skills
that will help you manage and care for yourself better.

57
Goal Setting Concepts and Theories
To strengthen your understanding of your need for goals, here are some concepts and theories
that explain the human need for goals.
1. Bandura’s Self Efficacy
According to Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, self-efficacy is the confidence in having
the ability to perform certain behaviors. It is the people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce
effects. It distinguishes between response-outcome expectancy and efficacy expectation. Response-
outcome expectancy is a person’s estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes. On the
other hand, efficacy expectation is the assurance that one can successfully execute the behavior
required to produce the outcomes.

2. Dweck’s Growth Mindset


Carol Dweck, a social psychologist, described how people have two types of mindsets: the fixed
mindset and the growth mindset. She found that students’ mindsets played a key role in their
motivation and achievement. Most people are not aware of which mindset they have until it manifests
in their behaviors, especially in how they react to failure.
GROWTH MINDSET FIXED MINDSET
Believes in hard work, learning, and has a Believes in natural abilities and has a fixed
growth theory of intelligence proposition of intelligence
Views failure as an opportunity to grow Views failure as a limitation to one’s abilities

3. Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory


Goal-setting theory is outlined regarding the effectiveness of specific, difficult goals; the
relationship of goals to affect; the mediators of goal effects; the relation of goals to self-efficacy; the
moderators of goal effects; and the generality of goal effects across people, tasks, countries, time
spans, experimental designs, goal sources (i.e., self-set, set jointly with others, or assigned), and
dependent variables. This theory emphasizes the important relationship between goals and
performance.

Five Principles of Effective Goal Setting


1. Clarity – goals need to be specific. Specific goals allow you to know what to reach for and allow you
to measure your own progress.
2. Challenge – it must be difficult but attainable. A goal that is too easily achieved will not boost
performance. It must be difficult and specific for it to boost performance. However, there is a limit
to this effect. If the goal becomes too difficult, your performance might suffer because you reject
the goals as unreasonable and unattainable. A major factor of the attainability of a goal is self-
efficacy.
3. Commitment – an established need to achieve the goal is necessary to gain commitment. Goals
need to be accepted and viewed as an important matter. Having goals may not be effective if you
view those goals as threatening.
4. Feedback – feedback must be provided on goal attainment. It helps you attain your goals in a way
that determines how well you are doing. It also aids in determining which part of their
performance needs improvement.
5. Task complexity – you should be realistic with your sub-goals and your timeline.

SMART Goal Setting


What are SMART Goals? These are statements of the important results you are working to
accomplish. It is designed in a way to cultivate a clear and mutual understanding of what composes
expected levels of performance.

SMART criteria DESCRIPTION HOW TO

58
What will be accomplished? What When setting a goal, be specific about what you
actions are you going to do to want to accomplish. It should include an answer
SPECIFIC
accomplish it? to the “W” questions: Who, What, When, Where,
Which, and Why.
There should be a source of information to
measure or determine whether a goal has been
What data will measure the goal? achieved. If you set a goal that is going to take a
MEASURABLE
How much? How well? few months to complete, then set some
milestones by considering specific tasks to
accomplish.
Focus on how important a goal is to you and
what you can do to make it attainable. Think
Is the goal doable? Do you have the
ACHIEVABLE about hot to accomplish it; if you have the
needed skills and resources?
tools/skills needed and if not, consider what it
would take for you to attain them.
How does the goal support broader Focus on something that makes sense with your
RELEVANT
goals? Why is the result important? broader goals.
Anyone can set goals, but if there is no realistic
timing, there is a greater chance that you’ll not
What is the time frame for
TIME-BOUND succeed. Provide a target date or deadline to
accomplishing the goal?
your goal. Having time constraints also creates a
sense of urgency.

Assessing Learning

Quiz 3.2.2
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: True or False. Write TRUE if the statement is correct, otherwise write FALSE.
__________ 1. Some people experience disappointments, stress, and mental health problems when they
miss their life goals.
__________ 2. Carol Dweck described self-efficacy as the confidence in having the ability to perform
certain behaviors.
__________ 3. According to Albert Bandura there are two types of mindsets, the fixed mindset and the
growth mindset.
__________ 4. Growth mindset views failure as an opportunity to grow.
__________ 5. When you have a fixed mindset, you believe in innate abilities and have a fixed theory of
intelligence.
__________ 6. Commitment aids in determining which part of their performance needs improvement.
__________ 7. Feedback helps keep the goal on track.
__________ 8. Commitment is not needed to achieve a goal.
__________ 9. The easier the goal, the more that you feel motivated to achieve it.
__________ 10. For an effective goal-setting, one must be specific in detail to give a clearer direction to
the goal.

Quiz 3.2.3
Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________
Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Directions: Read and answer the following questions.


1. For you, what is the most important principle for Effective Goal-setting? (5points)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Why do you think goal-setting is also important to students? (5points)


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

59
3. In your opinion, what are the factors which make a goal unattainable?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
STRESSORS AND RESPONSES

Overview

This unit helps you to identify the aspects of learning, goal-setting and managing stress. You
will be provided with the practical application of the concepts discussed in the course to enable you to
get the hands-on experiences of developing your self-help plans for self-regulated learning, goal
setting, and self-care.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the Lesson, I am able to:


1. understand stress, its causes and effect to the individual,
2. demonstrate various ways of managing and caring for themselves, and
3. design and develop their own strategies in managing stress.

Setting Up

Activity 3.3.1

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

WORDLES

This is a form of Riddle or Word Puzzle. Identify the answer to the following words based on context. For each
puzzle, your task is to decipher a series of cryptic letters, words and patterns which, when combined, represent
a common word or phrase.

1. ___________________________________11._______________________________________
2. ___________________________________12._______________________________________
3. ___________________________________13._______________________________________
4. ___________________________________14._______________________________________

60
5. ___________________________________15._______________________________________
6. ___________________________________16._______________________________________
7. ___________________________________17._______________________________________
8. ___________________________________18._______________________________________
9. ___________________________________19._______________________________________
10. __________________________________20.______________________________________
Lesson Proper

A. What is Stress?

The term stress is derived from the Latin word stringere, which is defined as to draw tight.
Psychologists define stress as the psychological and physiological response to a condition that
threatens a person’s capacity to adjust to the inner and outer demands. No wonder people go into
binge eating; become irritable; and do various activities to relieve them from their stress.
In the 1930s, Hans Selye, a Canadian Scientist, started to use the term “stress” to mean the
environmental agent where an organism responds and adapts.
To understand what stress is, let us accept that it is a natural part of life. In fact, it is important
to have normal functioning of the body (Sevilla, et al., 2000). This is the reaction or response of the
body and mind to everyday challenges and demands. These responses could disrupt or threaten to
disrupt the physical or psychological functioning of the body.
Stress is usually perceived as negative; however, it may serve as a good source of motivation.
Stress often hits the individuals’ emotions and motivations, the individual’s ability to think clearly
(Cornista, et al, 2000). The events that often lead to stress are called stressors. Stressors can be
positive (getting married) or negative (funeral or death of a loved one).

Types of Stress

1. Eustress- Stress with beneficial effects. It is considered as good Stress. It is often a short-
term exciting feeling that improves performance. It can be handled with ease. Stress
experienced during a wedding; a new job; taking a new sport that results in personal
growth, joining groups that provide fulfillment, are examples of eustress.
2. Neustress – Neutral stress. Any situation that does not threaten nor make you happy. A
sensory stimulus with no direct effect on the person. Incidents that you hear in the news;
foods preferred by your neighbor can be the examples of eustress.
3. Distress – Stress with harmful effects. It can be a short-term or long-term unpleasant
feeling that decreases

4. Performance. It is something that is seen as difficult to handle and may cause anxiety.
Distress does more damage that could lead to depression and suicide. Stress experienced
during a funeral and loss of a job, are examples of distress.

61
Sources of Stress

Sources of stress are called stressors that can be internal or external. Internal sources
of stress is those that involve physical, demographic, psychological , and personal characteristics.
External source of stress are those that are outside the individual. Examples of external stressors are
air pollution, noise, crowding, brown outs, COVID-19.

There are five major sources of stress, these are:

Signs and Symptoms of Stress

Behavioral Symptoms include nail-biting, foot or finger tapping, dieting, compulsive


eating, being agitated, and restlessness.

Emotional Symptoms include irritability and restlessness, aggressiveness, anxiety and


nervousness, withdrawal, substance abuse, lack of concentration, depression, loneliness and
isolation.

Physical Symptoms include aches and pains, dry mouth/throat, excessive sweating, nausea
or vomiting, indigestion, low energy, insomnia, aches, pains, tense muscles, loss of sexual desire.

Cognitive Symptoms this include problem in concentration, memory, decision, loss of sense
of humor, forgetful, orientation to the past, errors in judging distance

Body’s Response to Stress

What happens to you if you experience stress? Your response could either be physiological or
psychological.

Physiological Response to Stress. Hans Selye (in Silverman, 1979) came up with his theory
on General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). According to Selye, stress results when the body’s normal
homeostatic mechanisms fail to provide the body with sufficient means to adapt to environmental
demands. Thus, he called the widespread bodily reaction as the general adaptation syndrome.

The General Adaptation Syndrome

Your mind and body go on high alert.


Alarm
This “fight-or-flight” response prepares

If exposure to a stressor continues, our


Resistance
body adapts and reacts to the stressor.

Fatigue/ If exposure to stress is prolonged, you 62


Exhaustion begin to tire and lose the ability to
1. The Alarm Reaction State. In this state, the individual is momentarily immobilized (e.g. in a state
of shock) followed by a rapid and intense mobilization of bodily response, which includes a high
degree of instinctive and skeletal muscle activity.
2. The Resistance Stage. This is the recovery and restoration period. In this stage, the individual
“adapts” to the stress. Externally, it appears to be a quiet stage, but the endocrine glands, the
anterior pituitary, and the adrenal cortex, in particular, are hard at work helping the individual to
adapt himself to the stressful situation.
3. The Exhaustion Stage. If the stress continues and the person is unable to maintain the resistance
level, exhaustion occurs and the alarm reaction is repeated. And if the stress persists, then serious
injury or even death may arise.
Psychological Responses to Stress

Among the documented responses to stress were anger, aggression, depression, anxiety,
inability, insatiable cravings, irrational fear, panic and apathy (Baron, 1998; Atkinson et al, 1996;
Zimbardo, 1992). The psychological response to stress may differ according to situations. Behavioral
manifestations as a psychological response to stress also vary. Examples of these manifestations are
increased use of medication, nervous tics or mannerisms, absentmindedness, increase or decrease in
eating and sleeping, smoking, increased use of alcohol, and reckless driving.

Psychological Responses to Stress


Behavioral Change Emotional Change Cognitive Change
✓ The way a person ✓ Anger ✓ Distorted perceptions
looks
✓ Shaky voice ✓ Irritability ✓ Altered perception of
circumstances and situations
✓ Increase or decrease ✓ Short-tempered ✓ Affected learning and thinking
in eating
✓ Muscle spasms ✓ Hopelessness ✓ Difficulty in making sound
decisions
✓ Tensed facial ✓ Feeling trapped ✓ Reduces enjoyment
expressions
✓ Change in sleeping ✓ Helplessness
patterns
✓ Aggression ✓ Anxiousness
✓ Hand tremors ✓ Negative attitude
✓ Jumpiness ✓ Depression

Open the Link and watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-t1Z5-oPtU

B. Stress Coping Strategies

Coping strategies are active efforts to eliminate or to get rid of stress. Strategies of individuals
to cope up with stress vary from one another. Some people try to deal directly with the anxiety-
producing situation, others may not.
Here are the approaches that individual use to cope up with their stress:

1. Emotion-focused – the individual exerts efforts to modify the unpleasant emotional


consequences of the stress. If the individual cannot change the stressful situation directly, he or
she can try to alter his or her perception of it or the emotions it produces.
2. Problem focused – the individual deals with the stressor itself. The strategies include reducing,
modifying, or eliminating the source of stress.
3. Proactive coping – the individual anticipates some stressful situations and take active measures
to avoid or minimize the consequences.

Dealing with Short-Term Stress

Short-term stress is a “burst” of reaction to something in the environment. It can affect the
body in many ways. These are some of the examples:

63
• Muscle tightening or increase body tension • Increased muscle spasms
• Dry mouth • Headaches, fatigue and shortness of breath
• Faster heartbeat and breathing • Cold hands, feet or skin
• Extreme sweating • Sick feeling in the stomach
• Frequent trips to the bathroom

To deal with the above short-term stress, the body needs to react rapidly, though adverse
effects to the individuals’ physical and mental performance may occur, particularly if there is no outlet
or reason for the stress.

Long-Term Strategies for Dealing with Stress

This is the strategy on how to deal with long-term stress.


1. Identify the cause of stress. Face or confront problems that caused stress. Take time to
know the serious stressors. Eventually, this will help in coming up with a strategy on how
to manage it.
2. Recognize what you can change. Accept what needs to be changed. The way you
respond to the problem should be change then find other ways to channel your
frustrations.
3. Reduce the intensity of your reaction. Change your reaction to the stress because your
response to the stressful situation might be too much or exaggerated.
4. Re-examine your attitudes and obligations. Prioritize your goals and needs. Try to
examine your life priorities and don’t forget to include yourself as one of those priorities.
5. Organize yourself. Working too much and subjecting yourself to fatigue causes too much
stress. Learn to say “no” to things that will not affect your job, school or relationship.
6. Develop an emotional support system and use them. Confide your problems to
someone – a parent, a close friend or your peers. It is very important to have someone to
share your bad or good feelings.
7. Let it all out. Overtly express, through tears or laughter, to ease your tension. It is better
to release your anger and frustration on the shoulder of a loved one to make you more
relaxed and relieved than any amount of time management, deep breathing, or rational
discussion.

C. Managing Stress

Managing and caring for the self is a holistic process. There are many aspects of the self that
needs attention. And there are various ways to prevent, minimize and manage stress.
Start managing your stress by first doing a self-care. Self-Care starts by taking charge of one’s
health. It is important to nurture not only our physical but especially our mental health.

64
Assessing Learning

Activity 3. 3.2

Name: ____________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________________


Course/Section: ________________________________________________ Instructor: _________________________

Direction: List down 5 examples of the following types of Stress:

Eustress Neustress Distress

1. 1. 1.

2. 2. 2.

3. 3. 3.

4. 4. 4.

5. 5. 5.

65
24 POSITIVE COPING STRATEGIES FOR STRESS

PHYSICAL AND LIFESTYLE STRATEGIES


1. Abdominal breathing and relaxation
2. Low-stress diet (limit fast foods/fried foods)
3. Regular exercise
4. Downtime (balance fun and work)
5. Mini-breaks (5 to 10 minute periods to relax during the day)
6. Time management
7. Sleep hygiene (at least 6 hours)
8. Choosing a non-toxic (non-smoking/conflict-free) environment
9. Material security (the basics; do you really need that designer shirt?)

EMOTIONAL STRATEGIES
10. Social support and relatedness
11. Self-nurturing (yes, you are worth it)
12. Good communication
13. Assertiveness
14. Recreational activities (“playtime”)
15. Emotional release
16. Sense of humor (ability to see things in perspective)

COGNITIVE STRATEGIES
17. Constructive thinking (ability to counter negative thinking)
18. Distraction (ability to distract yourself from negative pre-occupations)
19. Task-oriented (vs. reactive) approach to problems
20. Acceptance (ability to accept/cope with setbacks)
21. Tolerance for ambiguity (ability to see shades of gray)

PHILOSOPHICAL/SPIRITUAL STRATEGIES
22. Consistent goals or purpose to work towards a goal
23. Positive Philosophy of life
24. Religious/spiritual life and commitment

66
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