CvSU Vision CvSU Mission
The premier university in historic Cavite recognized Cavite State University shall provide excellent, equitable and relevant
for excellence in the development of morally upright educational opportunities in the arts, science and technology through quality
and globally competitive individuals. instruction and responsive research and development activities.
It shall produce professional, skilled and morally upright individuals for
global competitiveness.
Republic of the Philippines
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
Imus Campus
Cavite Civic Center, Palico IV, City of Imus, Cavite 4103
(046) 686-7607/ (046) 471-6607
www.cvsu.edu.ph
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
LESSON 2 : FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is one of the disciplines in the social
sciences which aims to discover the ways by which
the social surrounding/environment influences
people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
Though the main focus is in understanding the
human societies, the need to know and be aware of
social processes may make people see themselves
better when they realize how the social world
impacts on their existence.
Born: February 1863, Massachusetts,
USA
Graduated and taught grade
school at Oberlin College
Enrolled at Harvard University (1887)
During the span of his career, he
wrote and published many articles
and book reviews but did not publish
any book.
It was his students who put together
his numerous writings and edited
them for publication.
GEORGE HERBERT Died: Heart failure in 1931
MEAD
MEAD’s SOCIAL SELF
Social Behaviorism is the approached used to describe the
power of the environment in shaping human behaviour.
He described the self as a ‘dimension of personality that is
made-up of the individual’s self-awareness and self-image’
(Macionis, 2012).
According to Mead, the self cannot be separated from the
society. This, he explained through a set of stages which the
person undergoes in the course of his development:
STAGES EXISTENCE OF SELF CHARACTERISTICS
Preparatory Stage None Imitates another
Play Stage Developing Role-taking
Game Stage Present Generalized other
1. The PREPARATORY STAGE
Mead believed that a self did not exist at birth. Instead, it develops
over time. Its development is dependent on social interaction and
social experience.
At this stage, children’s behaviour are primarily based on
imitation. It was observed that children imitate the
behaviours of those around them. As these children grow,
they become familiar with the symbols (verbal and non-
verbal) that people use in their interactions. The symbols are
the bases of communication.
At the first stage, knowing and understanding the symbols are
important for this will constitute their way of communicating with
others throughout their lives. (Schaefer, 2012)
2. The PLAY STAGE
At this stage, skills at knowing and understanding the symbols of
communication is important, for this constitutes the basis for
socialization. Through communication, social relationships are formed.
Now children begin to role play and pretend to be other people. Role-
taking in the play stage according to Mead, is the process of mentally
assuming the perspective of another person to see how this person
might behave or respond in a given situation. (Schaefer, 2012)
The play stage is significant in the development of the self. It is at this
stage where the child widens his perspective and realizes that he is not
alone and that there are others around him whose presence he has to
consider.
3. The GAME STAGE
Age: about eight or nine years and does more than just
role-take
The child begins to consider several tasks and various types
of relationships simultaneously. Through the learnings that
were gained in stage two, the child now begins to see not
only his perspective but at the same time the perspective of
others around him.
The child now has the ability to respond not just to one but
several members of his social environment.
‘generalized other’
The term Mead used to explain the behaviour of the
person when he sees/considers other people in the
course of his actions.
Through the generalized other, the person realizes
that people in society have cultural norms, beliefs
and values which are incorporated into each self.
This realization forms the basis of how the person
may evaluate himself (self-evaluation).
MEAD’s Theory of the Self
The self is not present at birth but begins as a central character
in a child’s world. Children see themselves as the center of their
‘universe’ and is having difficulty understanding others around
them.
As they grow and mature, there is a change in the self. Begins
to see other people and is now concerned about people’s
reactions. People around him, particularly his family, play a
major role in the formation of the self. They are the significant
others who strongly influence his development (Schaefer, 2012).
The “I” and “ME”
He explained that the person’s capacity to see the self through others
implies that the self is composed of two parts, the I self and the Me self:
I Self – When the person initiates or performs a social action,
the self functions as a subject. This subjective element of the
self is I.
Ex. I will go on a date. I will cook dinner tonight.
Me Self – When the person takes the role of the other, the self
functions as an object. The objective element of the self is Me.
Ex. The choice for the best drawing was awarded to me.
Students around school voted for me.
The formation of the self is not the end of the process of
socialization.
It continues for as long as the person is alive.
The self may change based on life circumstances that
have strong impact on it. Events such as death of a loved
one, disease or disability may reshape the self.
Though a person may have no control over such
events, he has control over how he reacts and deals with it
which is still an important aspect of the self (Macionis, 2012).
OTHER SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
CHARLES HORTON an American sociologist
made use of the
COOLEY (1864-1929) sociopsychological approach
to understanding how societies
work.
Earned his doctorate at the
University of Michigan and
taught at the same university as
a sociology professor.
Discussed the formation of the
self through interaction (Human
Nature and the Social Order,
1902)
People learn who they are through their social interaction with
other people. Although seeing oneself is based on contemplating
one’s personal qualities, the view of the self is also significantly
influenced by the impression and perception of others.
He called this the looking-glass self or the self that is a product
of social interaction. Cooley believed that the process of developing
a self has three phases:
1. People imagine how they present themselves to others.
ex. You dress-up elegantly for the prom.
You greet your teachers politely in the school’s hallway.
2. People imagine how others evaluate them.
ex. Others will see you as pretty and attractive by
the way you fix yourself.
Others will see you as courteous and well-bred.
3. People develop some sort of feeling about themselves
as a result of those impressions.
ex. You may see yourself as confident or inferior.
It is noticed that Cooley in his three phases made use
of the word imagine. This may mean that there is a possibility
that people develop self-identities based on the wrong
perception of how others see them. Wrong perceptions,
however, can still change based on positive social
experiences.
I am not what I think I am
I am not what You think I am
I am what I think You think I am
ERVING GOFFMAN A Canadian-American sociologist
(1922-1982) Known for his role in the
development of Modern
American Sociology
In his work, The Presentation of the
Self in Everyday Life, he wrote
how he observed that people
early in their social interactions
learned to slant their presentation
of themselves in order to create
preferred appearances and
satisfy particular people.
Impression management – the process of altering
how the person presents himself to others.
He sees similarities of real social interaction to a
theatrical presentation. This is the reason for the
label dramaturgical approach to his view.
Face-work – a phrase used to describe another
aspect of the self. This was usually observed in
situations where face-saving measures are resorted
to in the maintenance of a proper image of the self
in frustrating or embarrassing situations.
The End
