Introduction to Anthropology

• Anthropology studies people and cultures both in the past and present.

Four Branches of Anthropology

• Archeology studies how people lived in the past.
• Archeologists analyze artifacts like pottery, tools, relics, ceramics, and weapons to understand past human life.
• Physical Anthropology studies human biology, including how people adapt to their environment and how bodies evolve over time.
• Physical Anthropologists also study non-human primates.
• Linguistic anthropology studies the evolution of language, how people speak, the words they use, and how language development influences thought and behavior.
• Cultural anthropology studies how people live in the present and how they may have lived in the past, including their tools and food; it is further related to sociology and social psychology.

Self and Contemporary Anthropology

• The SELF refers to implicit cultural values that guide peoples' lives.
• People adopt these cultural values and reflect specific sociocultural practices.
• Family history is the most influential factor in self-development.

Self as Embedded in Culture

• Culture encompasses knowledge, beliefs, morals, law, customs, arts, capabilities, and habits acquired as a member of society (Edward Taylor).
• Culture guides behavior through shared understanding.
• Culture comprises everything that shapes a group of people's way of life.
• There are two components of culture: material and non-material, the understanding of which is essential to see how they both influence the self.
• Material culture includes human technology consisting of physical manifestations of culture.
• Evolution of material culture can be attributed to technological advances and cultural exchanges.
• Non-material culture includes intangible creations like beliefs, values, norms, morals, rules, language, and organizations.
• Non-material culture shapes our perspective of society, ourselves, and the material world.
• Culture defines how individuals see themselves and relate to others, considering language, cultural, gender, religious, and economic diversity, to form a sense of self.

Influence of culture on relationships and personality traits

• Catherine Raeff, a developmental psychologist (2010) stated how culture affects relationships and personality traits.
• Culture influences how people enter into and maintain relationships and how adults encourage children to form relationships.
• Culture influences the value and importance placed on traits like humility, politeness, assertiveness, sympathy, and self-esteem.
• Culture influences how success is defined and the value placed on individual and group achievements.
• Culture influences how feelings are expressed, whether publicly, privately, openly, or discreetly.

Cultural Construction of Self and Identity

• In social anthropology, identity is used mostly in the context of ethnic identity, pointing out the similarity of the self with others within a group.
• Identity is understood as a disposition of basic personality features acquired mostly during childhood.
• Peacock (1986) views the individual as neither a robot nor entirely self-willed but as a cultural being existing in both freedom and the cultural mold of their society and historical epoch.
• There are two ways the SELF is viewed in different societies: egocentric and sociocentric.
• Egocentric: the self is seen as an autonomous and distinct individual defined as a replica of all humanity and capable of acting independently.
• Sociocentric: the self is contingent on a situation or social setting, where the view of the self is context-dependent.