Understanding The Self: A Comprehensive Overview PDF

**Understanding the self** **SELF CONCEPT** - Self-concept is an individual\'s perception of self and is what helps make each individual unique. - Positive and negative self-assessments in the physical, emotional, intellectual, and functional dimensions change over time. - Self-con...

**Understanding the self** **SELF CONCEPT** - Self-concept is an individual\'s perception of self and is what helps make each individual unique. - Positive and negative self-assessments in the physical, emotional, intellectual, and functional dimensions change over time. - Self-concept affects the ability to function and greatly influences health status. **DIMENSION OF SELF CONCEPT** - **Self-knowledge** - Who am I? - **Self-expectation** \--Who or what do I want to be? - **Social self** - How person perceived by others? - **Self-evaluation** \--How well do I like myself? **SELF KNOWLEDGE** *Global self* - is the term used to describe the composite of all basic facts, qualities, traits, images and feelings one holds about oneself. It includes: 1. Basic facts: sex, age, race, occupation, cultural background, sexual orientation 2. Person\'s position with social groups 3. Qualities or traits that describe typical behaviors, feelings, moods and other characteristics (generous, hot-headed, ambitious, intelligent, sexy) **SELF EXPECTATIONS** - Expectations for self flow from various sources. - The ideal self constitutes the self one want to be. - Self expectations develop unconsciously early in childhood and are based on image of role models such as parents SELF EVALUATION *Self esteem* - is the evaluative and affective component of self concept 1. Self-esteem (strength, achievement, mastery, competence,..) 2. Respect needs or the need for esteem from others - sense of personal identity is what sets one person apart as a unique individual 1. **Identity** - includes a person\'s name, gender, ethnic identity, family status, occupation, and roles. - One's personal identity begins to develop during childhood and is constantly reinforced and modified throughout life. 2. **Body image** - Is an attitude about one's physical attributes and characteristics, appearance, and performance. - Is dynamic because any change in body structure or function, including the normal changes of growth and development, can affect it. 3. **Self-esteem** - Is the judgment of personal performance compared with the self-ideal. - Derived from a sense of giving and receiving love, and being respected by others. 4. **Role performance** - Refers to a set of expected behaviors determined by familial, cultural, and social norms. - The level of self-esteem is dependent upon the self-perception of adequate role performance in these various social roles. - **Self-Ideal** is the perception of behavior based on personal standards and self expectations. - **Self-ideal** serves as an internal regulator to support self-respect and self-esteem. **DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-CONCEPT** - Self-concept evolves throughout life and depends to an extent on an individual\'s developmental level **FORMATION OF SELF-CONCEPT** 1. Infant learns physical self different from environment. 2. If basic needs are met, child has positive feelings of self. 3. Child internalizes others people\'s attitudes toward self. 4. Child or adult internalizes standards of society. **FACTORS AFFECTING SELF-CONCEPT** - Altered Health Status - Experience - Developmental considerations - Culture - Internal and external resources - Culture - History of success and failure - Crisis or life stressors - Aging, illness, or trauma *True awakening involves embracing every aspect of yourself with love and acceptance, including everything you have been denying, hiding or trying to fix. To deny these thing is a judgment of them and judgment will keep you forever imprisoned within separation* ---LEONARD JACOBSON **\"\|\" EVERYONE HAS A PIECE THAT FITS THE MASTERPIECE** ***[WHO AM I? The philosophers said: ]*** 1. Know thyself. 2. An unexamined life is not worth living. 3. Each person has an immortal soul. 4. The body is the source of endless trouble. 5. The soul is superior to the body 6. The self is a thinking thing. 7. The self exists because of memory. 8. There is no self, only a bundle of different perceptions. 9. The self transcends experiences. 10. The self is multi-layered. 11. The self is the way people behave. 12. The self is the brain. 13. The self is embodied subjectivity. **PHILOSOPHERS** **Socrates (Classical Greek Athenian philosopher)** - **\"Know thyself\"**, claimed that knowledge is a virtue, ignorance a vice. - Virtue is sufficient for happiness. - ***An unexamined life is not worth living,*** projects the importance of continuous reflection and questioning and examining about everything for continuous gain of knowledge. - ***Each person has an immortal soul*** that surpasses the death of the body. **Plato (Classical Greek philosopher)** - The body is the source of endless trouble. - Well being of the soul - **3 aspects of self (soul)** \- Reason \- Physical desire \- spirit - Harmony starts with the balance of the soul, if there is balance of the soul, there is justice. - Concept of justice: Justice can only exist when you live in accordance to your nature (ex. If you are born thinker, but you become a labourer, then there is no justice and vice versa). The root of problems and injustices begins when you are not placed in your proper position in the society. **Augustine (Early Christian philosopher)** - Recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church - He integrated the ideas of Plato and Christianity - Since there is God who is transcendent, the self seeks to be united with God through faith and reason. - He saw the human being as a perfect unity of two substances: **soul and body** - ***The soul is superior to the body.*** **Rene Descartes (French philosopher)** - ***The self is a thinking thing***, distinct from the body***.*** - ***I think, therefore, I am. (cogito ergo sum)*** - He concluded that, if he doubted, then something or someone must be doing the doubting, therefore the very fact that he doubted proved his existence. - He postulated, that at birth the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa. - Our identity is not made up of material substance, it is tied to our consciousness. - Personal identity is made possible by self consciousness. - **The *self exists because of memory.*** **David Hume (Scottish philosopher)** - ***There is no \"self\", only a bundle of constantly changing perceptions*** passing through the theater of our minds. - -**Bundle Theory - Lack of Self** - The self is nothing but a bundle of experiences linked by the relations of causation and resemblance: - The empirically warranted idea of the self is just the idea of such a bundle. **Immanuel Kant (German Philosopher)** - The self is a unifying subject, an organizing consciousness that makes intelligible experience possible. - ***The self transcends experiences.*** - The mind shapes and structures experience. **Sigmund Freud (Austrian neurologist)** - ***The self is multi-layered:*** - **ID --** the it is a part of unconscious that contains all the edges and impulses , including what is called the libido , a kind of generalized sexual energy that is used for everything from survival instinct to appreciation of art. *[Instinct]* - **EGO --** the ego is the only part of the conscious personality. It\'s what the person is aware of when they think about themselves , and is what they usually try to protect to wards others. *[Reality]* - **SUPEREGO --** the superego consists of two system the conscience and ideal self. *[Morality]* **Gilbert Ryle (British philosopher)** - ***The self is the way the people behave.*** - ***\"I act, therefore, I am.\"*** - The Concept of Mind: The mind is not the seat of self but the behavior. **Paul Churchland (Canadian philosopher)** - ***The self is the brain.*** - Mental states will by superseded by brain states. - *Eliminative Materialism:* Physical brain, and not the imaginary mind, gives us our sense of self. **Maurice Merleau-Ponty (French phenomenological philosopher)** - ***The self is embodied subjectivity.*** - The body as the primary site of knowing the world. - Phenomenology of Perception - Consciousness, the world, and the human body as a perceiving thing are intricately intertwined and mutually \"engaged.\" - The world and the sense of self are emergent phenomena in an ongoing \"becoming.\" #### **SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SELF**: 1. **Self as Product of Modern Society** - Modernization → \"delocalized\" self → Free to seek own identity; free from customary constraints - Stability of one's self-identity no longer based on pre-given traditional broad definition of the self. **Problems**: 1\. The newfound freedom threatens the very authenticity of the self (e.g. love) 2\. Alienation (Marx) - human beings haunted by the very images they have created 3\. Objectification of the body (e.g. medical practice) **Solution**: For the individual to discover the \"true\" and \"authentic\" part of herself to realize her potentials, thus, the need to abolish repressive social constraints 2. **Self as a Necessary Fiction** - Self (Nietzsche): sum of individual\'s action, thoughts and feelings : Self as a representation; - Behind the action, there is no doer, the self is nothing more than a metaphor to understand the cause of human action. Self is necessary to impute moral responsibility to actors. - A true given self is not what unites these experiences, but it is the presumed unity of these experiences that gave rise to a concept of the self. 3. **Post-Modern View of the Self** - Self is a narrative, a text written and rewritten Manifestations: - Information technology dislocates the self, thus, self is "digitalized" in cyberspace - Global migration produces multicultural identities - Post-modern selves are "pluralized" selves - Self is a story, and it changes, it is dynamic. 4. **Self as Artistic Creation** - : unity of the self is not pre-given but accomplished through conscious effort; - : we can recreate ourselves to get hold of the present, forgive the past and plan the future. - Rorty: contingencies of selfhood -- conceal the "ugly" by reinterpreting the overall aesthetic contours of the self. - This does not mean that by rewriting the narrative of herself she will discover something deep about herself\... redescribing one's self is just a way of reinterpreting and redescribing one's past 5. **Self Creation and Collective Identity** - Memories (photographs, videos) play significant role in creating the self and identity - Self creation is formed within "imagined communities" - Self creation along cultural lines must be done in maximum cultural recognition of differences among and between individuals and cultural groups. - Selves as bodies moving in space obtain their nature from cultural traditions, embodied in various social institutions. - These are preserved in collective narrative, which becomes the reservoir for the project of self creation. - The most important reservoir for self-identity is national identity. 6. **Self Creation and the Struggle for Cultural Identity** - A challenge of self-identity amidst recognition of racial and ethnic identities - Self creation is necessarily grounded on collective solidarities. **Social Construction of the Self** - Self is not discovered, it is made through the socialization process. BUT, individuals are not just hapless victims of socialization. - Individual is an active, strategizing agent that negotiates for the definition of himself. **Beyond self creation** - Search for self-identity is a product of modern society but this is complicated by the socio-cultural sensibilities of postmodernity, new information technologies and globalization. Yet the project of self creation is embedded within imagined communities. - The self constantly lives in this paradox: to pursue self creation within pre-given, not wilfully chosen social circumstances. #### **ANTHROPOLOGY** - The study of human societies and cultures and their development - **Culture** is the set of unwritten norms of conduct that guide the behavior of a group - study of humanity - how I feel about life - Culture is the acquired pair of glasses through which we see life. **Culture Filters "On automatic"** - we see and interpret behavior through our own cultural filter (cultural programming) - parents, friends, and relatives were simply passing on the message - forming stereotypes about people who were different from us (politician, igorot, homeless) **Dilemmas of a Society** - Hierarchy vs Equality - Individualism vs Collectivism - Performance vs. Caring - Uncertainty vs Let it be - Flexibility vs Discipline **Three Ways we can Relate to Culture** **CONFRONT** you believe that your behaviors are the right behavior **CONFORM** when you adapt your way to behave, when you conform to the whole society **COMPLAIN** what happens is that you will isolate yourself into social bubbles of foreigners living in segregation with the society **The challenge of becoming culturally competent** - Diversity is an inside job. - Diversity goes beyond race and gender - No one is the target of blame for current to past inequities. - Human beings are ethnocentric - The human species resists changes, continuing to seek homeostasis. - Human beings find comfort and trust in likeness - It is difficult for people to share power - All of these truisms about the human species do not make people mean-spirited or cruel. - It just makes us humans. Nevertheless, these realities make dealing with diversity a challenge. *\"I THINK PSYCHOLOGY AND SELF-REFLECTION IS ONE OF THE MAJOR CATASTROPHES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.\" WERNER HERZOG* *You cannot feel connected with others when you have disconnected from yourself. -Jacqui Olliver* **Psychology** - **The self as a cognitive construction** - **The Self as a Proactive and Agentic** **Who Am I?** William James (1890) - Me Self and I self - \"A man\'s self is the sum total of all that he can call his, not only his body and psychic powers, but his clothes and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors and friends, his reputation and works, his lands and horses, and yacht and bank account.\" **Me-self: Empirical Self (William James)** 1. 1. 1. **Material Self** --- *mine, \"my arm, my bag\"* - Tangible objects, people, or places that carry the designation of mine - Bodily self & Extracorporeal self (beyond the body,e.g- emotional investment) 2. **Social Self ---** \"*ours\" e.g., our parents, siblings, romantic partners* - How we are regarded and recognized by others Relational self: interpersonal relationships 3. **Spiritual Self** --- *Inner or psychological self, subjective being* - Self-perceived abilities, attitudes, emotions, interests, values, motives **I-self** 4. **Individual Self ---** **Individual traits, abilities and possessions** - Spiritual self and aspects of the material self (body, possessions, initials) Example: I am tall. I am shy. 5. **Relational Self ---** *Other people with whom we have a personal relationship* - Aspects of the social self - Example: I am Noah\'s dad. 6. **Collective Self** --- *Social roles, social categories, and social group membership* - Aspects of social self - Example: I am a Filipino. **GLOBAL** - **Gestalt**: The whole is more than the sum of its parts. - **Humanistic**: The person is a total person and cannot be reduced into parts. **DIFFERENTIATED** - **Psychoanalysis**: The psyche is divided into the id, ego, superego. - The Self as divided into dimensions: *physical*, *emotional*, *behavioral*, *social, moral*. - The self as personality divided into traits. **REAL AND IDEAL SELF-CONCEPTS** *Karen Horney's Psychoanalytic Social Theory* - Feeling alienated from self, they create an idealized self-image. - The idealized self-image includes *3 aspects: neurotic search for glory, claims, & pride.* - Incongruence leads to self-hatred. **Real Self: Self-realization** **Multiple vs. Unified Selves** **[Multiple (Trait Theories) ]** - Big Five Personality Factors ( McCrae & Costa) 1. Openness to experience 2. Conscientiousness 3. Extraversion 4. Agreeableness 5. Neuroticism - Catell's Theory of Personality Traits *Ability, Motivation, Temperament* **[Unified]** - **Jung**: Self-realization - **Adler**: StrivSelf-realization - **Maslow**: Self-actualization - **Rogers**: Actualize the perceived self - **May**: Rediscover selfhood -- an accurate perceived self **True Self vs. False Self: Defense Mechanisms** - **Freud**: Distort reality to keep the unconscious from entering the cMechanism - **Horney**: To maintain idealized self- concepts - **Adler**: Safeguarding tendencies (e.g. aggression, excuses, withdrawal ) **TRUE SELF vs. FALSE SELF** **[True SELF]** - Like their bodies - Appreciate their qualities - Do not compare yourself with others - Speak to yourself kindly - Proactive - Accept your emotions and know how to express them - Optimistic - Welcome the praise of others - Confident - Look for challenge and adventure - Live the present moment **[False SELF]** - Pessimistic - Take no risks - Focus on faults - Happy to imitate others - Critical of themselves - Blaming - Look defeated and depressed - Repress their emotions - Suspicious of praises - Compare themselves with others - Narcissistic (feeling you exists Only when you enjoy the attention of the other) - Think they are important because of their possessions **The Self as Proactive and Agentic** - Bandura's Concept of Self-Regulation - **Self- Observation:** monitor our own performance - **Judgmental Process:** self-evaluation - **Self-reaction**: create incentives for our own actions through self- reinforcement or self-punishment **PSYCHOANALYTIC SOCIAL THEORY** - Social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences ae largely responsible for shaping personality. - People whose need for love and affection satisfied develop basic hostility towards their parents and eventually basic anxiety. **COPING WITH BASIC ANXIETY** 1. **MOVING TOWARD PEOPLE** - the need for affection and approval, pleasing others and being liked by them. - the need for a partner one whom they can love and will solve all problems 2. **AGAINST THE PEOPLE** - The need for power, the ability to bend wills and achieve control over others. - The need to exploit others to get them better of. - The need for personal admiration for both inner and outer qualities to be valued. 3. **MOVING** **AWAY FROM PEOPLE** - The need for self- sufficiency and independence and autonomy. - The need for perfection - The need to restrict life practices to within narrow boarders, to live as inconspicuous life as possible. **THE REAL SELF** - The real self is a source of values that are in the best interest of human development, regardless of culture - A process of actualizing this self and unhealthy development as a process of becoming alienated from it. - The real self is not a fixed entity but a set of \"intrinsic potentialities\" - The Possible Self and is difficult to actualize - "The alive, unique, personal center of ourselves\" the actualization of which is the meaning of life and alienation from which may be called a \"psychic death\" - The real self is the repository of \"the healthy conscience,\" which is \"the reaction of our true self to the proper functioning or the malfunctioning of our total personality - These include \"an atmosphere of warmth\" that enables children to have and express their \"own feelings and thoughts,\" the \"good will\" of others to supply their \"many needs. - The good values is that which fosters self- realization and the bad is that which obstructs life - Self- realizing people know what they really think, feel, and believe; they are able to take responsibility for themselves and to determine their values and aims in life. - Their judgments and decisions are in the best interest both of their own growth and that of other people. - They want to have good relations with others and care about their welfare, but they have their center of gravity in themselves and are able to say no if others make irrational demands or attempt to impinge upon their selfhood **THE IDEAL SELF** - A poor fit between child and environment sets in motion a process of self- alienated development in which an idealized image replaces the real self as the primary source of motivation and sense of identity - People developed an idealized image of themselves. - The impossible self - Can never be actualized because it transcends human possibilities and is full of contradictions. - Also, give rise to the term "The Actual Self" which is who we really are at any given time - Gives rise to the third self, the "despised self" which is what we feel ourselves to be when we fail to live up to the unrealistic demands we make for ourselves, **THE THREE ASPECTS OF THE IDEALIZED SELF- IMAGE** 1. **The Neurotic Search for Glory**- referred to the comprehensive drive to actualize the ideal self. All of the drives for glory have in common the reaching out for greater knowledge, wisdom, virtue, or powers than are given to human beings; they all aim at the absolute, the unlimited, the infinite *Three Components* I. **The Need for Perfection** --- The drive to mold the whole personality into the idealized self. They try to achieve perfections by erecting a complex set of "should" and "should not" II. **The Neurotic Ambition ---** The compulsive drive towards superiority III. **The Drive towards a Vindictive Triumph ---** The drive for a vindictive triumph grows out of the childhood desire to take revenge for real or imagined humiliations 2. **Neurotic Claims -** rooted in unhealthy imaginative fantasies, they are largely unconscious expectations that reality should conform to one\'s neurotic needs. - They are wishes and wants that turn into entitlements. - For that reason they tend to be unrealistic, egocentric, sometimes vindictive (especially when frustrated) 3. **Neurotic Pride-** A false pride based, not on a realistic view of the true self, but on a spurious image of the idealized self. - Neurotics imagine themselves to be glorious, wonderful and perfect, so when others fail to treat them with special consideration, their neurotic pride is hurt. **Neurotic Person** a. **Neurotic need for affection and approval -** Indiscriminate need to please others and to be liked and approved of by others. b. **Neurotic Need for a Partner** - Center of gravity entirely in the \"partner,\" who is to fulfill all expectations of life and take responsibility for good and evil. c. **Neurotic Need to restrict -** one\'s life within narrow borders Urge to save rather than to spend; Dread of making any demands d. **Neurotic need to restrict one\'s life within the narrow** - urge to save rather than to spend dread of making any demands e. **Neurotic Need for Power -** Essential disrespect for others, their individuality, their dignity, their feelings, the only concern being their subordination f. **The neurotic need to exploit others and by hook or crook get the better of them -** Various foci of exploitation\-- money (bargaining amounts to a passion), ideas, sexuality, feelings g. **The neurotic need for social -** recognition or prestige All things\--inanimate objects, money, persons, one\'s own qualities, activities, and feelings\--evaluated only according to their prestige value h. **The neurotic need for personal admiration -** Inflated image of self (narcissism); Need to be admired not for what one possesses or presents in the public eye but for the imagined self i. **The neurotic ambition for personal achievement -** Relentless driving of self to greater achievements, though with pervasive anxiety j. **The neurotic need for self- sufficiency and independence** - Necessity never to need anybody, or to yield to any influence, or to be tied down to anything, any closeness involving the danger of enslavement k. **The neurotic need for perfection and unassailability** - Feelings of superiority over others because of being perfect **WHAT IS HEREDITY?** - Heredity is the sum of all the traits passed on through genes from parents to children. It is the transmission of characteristics from parents to their offspring through the genes (Feldman, 2007) - Heredity causes both similarities and differences in people. **What can we inherit from our parents?** - Your skin, hair, and eye color are inherited traits, as are your facial features, body build, and height - Bodily structures such as length and proportion of the limbs, the shape of the nose, color blindness, shortness of fingers, curly or straight hairs, texture of the skin, etc...(Feldman, 2007) - Mental and physical abilities are also inherited. You have little, if any, control over your inherited traits. **PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT** **Prenatal Period (conception -- birth)** - Germinal stage - Embryonic stage - Fetal stage **Infancy Period (birth -- 24 months)** - Time of extreme dependence - Development of language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination and social learning **Early Childhood (end of infancy -- 6 yrs. old)** - Preschool years -- self-sufficient and care for one's self. - School readiness skill -- following instructions, identifying letters. - Playing stage - Elementary school years - Fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are mastered - Self- control increases. **Adolescence (12 years -- 22 years of age)** - Rapid physical changes -- height, weight, body contour, and development of sexual characteristics - Puberty stage -- sexual maturity υ Cognitive -- logical, abstract, and idealistic - Peer pressure **Adulthood (late teens -- senescence stage)** - Early adulthood - Middle adulthood - Late adulthood **Early adulthood (late teens -- 30 years old)** - Time of establishing personal and economic independence - Time of career development - Time of reflection for family life **Middle Adulthood (35 years -- 60 yrs. old)** - Time of expanding personal and social involvement and responsibility - Reaching and maintaining satisfaction in one's career. - Responsibility in assisting the next generation in becoming competent, mature individuals. **Late adulthood (60 years old -- until death)** - Time of adjustment to decreasing strength and health - Time of reflection (life review) - Time of retirement and adjustment to new social roles. **THE GENDERBREAD PERSON** - Gender is one of those things everyone thinks they understand, but most people don\'t. Like Inception. - Gender isn\'t binary. It\'s not either/or. - In many cases it\'s both/and. A bit of this, a dash of that. - This tasty little guide is meant to be an appetizer for gender understanding. It\'s okay if you\'re hungry for more. In fact, that\'s the idea. **BIOLOGICAL SEX** - A medical term used to refer to the chromosomal, hormonal, and anatomical characteristics that are used to classify an individual as female or male or intersex. **Intersex** - An umbrella term that refers to a variety of chromosomal, hormonal, and anatomical conditions in which a person does not seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. **SEXUAL ORIENTATION** - A person's identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are sexually attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, etc. **Heterosexuality** - An enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction primarily or exclusively to people of a different gender. People who are heterosexual often identify as "straight." **Homosexuality** - An enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction primarily or exclusively to people of the same gender. People who are homosexual often identify as "gay" or "lesbian." **Bisexuality** - An enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to people of more than one gender. People who are bisexual often identify as "bisexual." **Asexuality** - An enduring absence of sexual attraction. People who are asexual often identify as "asexual." **Pansexual** - Not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity **GENDER IDENTITY** - A person's deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. **Transgender** - An umbrella term referring to an individual whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth. **Heterosexual transgender woman** - born with male genitalia, identify self as a woman, and attracted to woman **Homosexual transgender woman** - born with male genitalia, identify as a woman, and attracted to women **Transgender** - denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. Identity is opposite of the sex they are born with **Transvestite (Cross-dresser)** - a person, typically a man, who derives pleasure from dressing in clothes primarily associated with the opposite sex. **Transsexual** - a person who emotionally and psychologically feels that they belong to the opposite sex. Those who have undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS). A person who has undergone treatment in order to acquire the physical characteristics of the opposite sex. υ **Cisgender** - denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex. Those whose SOGIE are in tune with their physical presuppositions **GENDER EXPRESSION** - The external display of one's gender, through a combination of appearance, disposition, social behavior, and other factors, generally measured on a scale of masculinity and femininity **Gender norms** - A culturally-defined set of roles, responsibilities, rights, entitlements, and obligations, associated with being female and male, as well as the power relations between and among women and men, boys and girls. **MSM** --- Men who have sex with men. Men may be considered MSM if they engage in sex with other men, regardless of whether or not they identify as gay or bisexual. **LGBT**--- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. This acronym is commonly used to refer to gender and sexual minority communities. Variations exist that add, omit or reorder letters (e.g., LGBTI, LGB, GLBT) **GSM** --- The majority of the world's population is presumed heterosexual and male or female. Gender and sexual minorities are everyone else, people whose gender, sexual orientation, or sexual characteristics are different. **Gender Role** - Set of prescriptions for behavior related to sex and gender -- what behaviors are appropriate for a person holding a particular position within a particular social context - Cultural expectations about attitudes, actions and personality traits of being women and men **Gender stereotypes** --- are strongly-held and over generalized beliefs about the characteristics of women and men including their physical characteristics, typical behaviors, occupational positions, or personality traits **Stereotype** --- a concept held about a person or group of people that is based on superficial, irrelevant characteristics. **Gender stereotype** --- a concept held about a person or group of people that is based on being male or female. **Sexism** --- prejudice about males and/or females leading to unequal treatment. **Benevolent** sexism --- acceptance of positive stereotypes of males and females that leads to unequal treatment. **What is LUST?** - Lust is defined as very strong sexual desire - Lust (Kush, 2013) is defined as craving for sexual gratification which is linked with testosterone in both men and women **What is LOVE?** - Love is an intense feeling of deep affection - Love is a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. - Love includes all of the qualities of friendship plus three more such as: - Sexual desire - Priority over other relationships - Caring to the point of self-sacrifice - Love is a complex neurobiological phenomenon, relying on trust, belief, pleasure and reward activities within the brain (Esch & Stefano, 2005) - Love is both neurochemical and hormonal process which involves the chemical process such as dopamine, norepinephrine, phenethylamine, serotonin, estrogen, testosterone, oxytocin, vasopressin, endorphins, and growth factors found in the brain parts like media insula, anterior cingulated frontal lobe, septal areas and amygdalae (Kush, 2013) **NEUROCHEMICALS --- FUNCTIONS** A. **Phenyethylamine (PEA)** --- Acts as stimulant in the release of norepinephrine and dopamine. It triggers falling in love and elates the feelings of love. B. **Norepinephrine (NE)** --- Physiological signs of falling in love such as excitement, tachycardia, flushed skin, sweaty palms C. **Dopamine (DA)** --- Involved in mate selection, stimulates the copulatory desire. It is a pleasure chemical, so the feeling of bliss is experienced. D. **Oxytocin** --- It fosters trust, happiness and bonding in females for the long-term attachment. Oxytocin creates feelings for hug and touch E. **Testosterone** --- Ignites raw lust in males and females. The physical attraction and sexual arousal in the females depend on testosterone levels. F. **Endorphins ---** Promote feelings of calmness, comfort and attachment. They also relieve pain, anxiety and reduce stress. G. **Serotonin (5-HT) ---** promotes feelings of contend relaxation togetherness, and warm feelings H. **Vasopression** --- It is released after sex and assures long-term commitment and helps loved ones to stay together. Vasopressin and oxytocin are flooded after sex for attaching life time relationships. These neurological ingredients promote faithfulness. Vasopressin saturates brain structure in sensing satisfaction for life long coupling. I. **Nerve growth factor (NGF) ---** Released in high levels when first fall in love, especially in young people, but return to initial level after one year **Stages of LOVE (Helen Fisher)** **STAGE 1**. **LUST** - This is the first stage of love and is driven by the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen in both men and women. **STAGE 2. ATTRACTION** - serotonin levels of new lovers were equivalent to the low serotonin levels of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder patients **STAGE 3. ATTACHMENT** - Oxytocin is a powerful hormone released by men and women during orgasm. It probably deepens the feelings of attachment and makes couples feel much closer to one another after they have had sex. The theory goes that the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond becomes. Vasopressin is another important hormone in the long-term commitment stage and is released after sex **THEORIES OF LOVE** These theories include: i. **Attachment theory** - This theory proposes that our primary motivation in life is to be connected with other people, because this is the only true security we will ever have. - John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth are researchers associated most often with this theory. - Several studies have tracked attachment style from toddlerhood through adulthood and have found that attachment styles can change over the life course, regardless of a child's early experiences. ii. **Reiss's Wheel Theory Of Love** - Sociologist Ira Reiss and his associates have proposed a "wheel theory" of love, that generated much research for several decades. - Reiss described four stages of love: *[rapport; self-revelation; mutual dependence; and personality need fulfillment.]* iii. **Sternberg's triangular theory of love** - Sternberg said that love has three important components: υ - **Intimacy**---encompasses feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bonding. - **Passion**---leads to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation. - **Decision/commitment**---has a short- and long-term dimension. A couple makes a short-term commitment to love each other, which can turn into a long-term commitment to stay in love. - According to Sternberg, the mix of intimacy, passion, and commitment can vary from one relationship to another. υ - Love can vary from one relationship in which there is no love to another relationship in which all kinds of love are present. iv. **Lee's Styles of Loving** - John Lee developed one the most widely cited and studied theories of love. According to Lee, *[there are six basic styles of loving: ]* - **EROS** --- love of beauty --- powerful physical attraction - **MANIA** --- obsessive love --- jealousy , possessiveness, and intense dependency - **LUDUS** --- playful love --- carefree quality , casualness , fun and games approach - **STORGE** --- compassionate love --- peaceful and affectionate love based on mutual trust and respect - **AGAPE** --- altruistic love --- self-sacrificing , kind , and patient - **PRAGMA** ---practical love --- sensible, realistic. v. **Exchange Theory** - Social scientists often describe love as a social exchange process. Romantic love and long-term relationships involve exchange and negotiation. **Functions of LOVE and LOVING** - **Love ensures human survival**---loving someone and being loved ensures the survival of our species. - **Love enhances our physical and emotional healt**h - numerous studies have shown a connection between our emotions and our physical and emotional health, and love is certainly one of those essential emotions. - **Love improves the quality of our lives** - love fosters self-esteem. From a solid basis of love, children can then go out and face the world with the emotional support of their families. υ - **Love is fun** - love doesn't appear out of nowhere, to get and keep love, one has be active and take some chances. **Narcissistic Personality** - **Narcissists** are people who have exaggerated feelings of power and self-importance. They believe that they are unique. - Narcissistic partners can be dangerous in a relationship. Depending, of course, on the person, they may become intensely jealous over meaningless things and try to control the partner - **Jealousy** is a form of control of one partner over another. The person exhibiting the jealousy or control tries to isolate the victim by becoming jealous of every minute they spend doing something besides paying attention to them. - **Stalking** behaviors include telephone harassment, following a person, threatening a person or their family, or now even cyberstalking. Many women live in fear for their lives because the men they once thought loved them are being abusive.