Understanding The Self PDF

WMSU By Prof. Jennifer T. Composa (For instructional purposes only) WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY Part II. Chapter 6 Learning Outcomes Identify the stages of life and explain the physical changes that occur during each stage Recog...

WMSU By Prof. Jennifer T. Composa (For instructional purposes only) WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY Part II. Chapter 6 Learning Outcomes Identify the stages of life and explain the physical changes that occur during each stage Recognize the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to the physical development of the self Identify and describe the factors that affect body image Examine the impact of culture on body image and the self  Activity Answer the following questions Ø What part of your body do you like the least? and Ø What part of your body do you like the most? Ø Do you consider yourself as beautiful or average and why? - Buddha  is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed and examined. - It refers to the body. both physical extremities and internal organs work together for the body to perform many of its functions such as breathing, walking, eating, and sleeping among others. - the body's ability to perform its functions gradually changes through an individual's aging. Elizabeth Hurlock stages of development Prenatal Fertilization to birth Infancy birth to 2 weeks Babyhood 2 weeks of life to 2nd year Early childhood 2 yrs. old to 6 yrs. old Late Childhood 6 to 10 0r 12 yrs old Puberty 10 or 12 to 14 years old Adolescence 14 to 18 years old Early adulthood 18 to 14 years old Mddle adulthood 40 to 60 years old Late adulthood or 60 to death senescence  Two Factors Affecting Physical Growth and Development Heredity - is the biological process of inheritance of traits from parents to offspring. Environment - refers to the factors an individual is exposed to throughout life which includes learning and experiences. Physical Self refers to the body, this marvelous container and complex, finely tuned, machine with which we interface with our environment and fellow beings. The Physical Self is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed and examined.  William James considered body as the initial source of sensation and necessary for the origin and maintenance of personality. Sigmund Freud's construction of self and personality makes the physical body the core of human experience Erikson 1963, the role of bodily organs is especially important in early developmental stages of a persons life. Later in life, the development of physical as well as intellectual skills help determine whether the individual will achieve a sense of competence and ability to choose demanding roles in a complex society Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, the two most prominent figures of the Humanist tradition, have not discussed in detail the role of body in the process of self- actualization. According to Maslow's Need-Hierarchy theory once the physiological needs of a person are met, the individual becomes more concerned with the higher order needs. However, he writes that the body be given its due  In the Eastern traditions, especially the Indian, the various aspects of self, including the physical self, has received tremendous attention. One of the most important achievement of Indian tradition, i.e. the schools of Yoga, have regarded the body in different ways. These attitude range from the outright rejection of the body, because it is seen as the source of desires and attachments, to an appreciation of the body as the main vehicle spiritual growth and self realization. In Buddhist tradition the concept of Middle Path is of central importance in one's attitude towards the body. It involves neither full indulgence of one's all desires nor extreme asceticism or self-mortification Beauty and Age(ing) Effects of the multibillion pound business of the beauty industry The female/male body as some-thing that must always be perfected ORIGINS OF PERFECTION In ancient Greece, it was the Greek sculptor Polyclitus who was the first artist to devise a canon for the human body with the idea that certain proportions would operate as a model of perfection. The human head forms a Golden Rectangle with the eyes at the mid-point. The mouth and nose can each be placed at Golden Sections of the distance between the eyes and the bottom of the chin. With this information it is possible to construct a human face with dimensions exhibiting the Golden Ratio. This is exactly how some modern surgeons are creating beauty.  THE “GROOMING” INDUSTRY: THE BATTLE FOR WOMEN’S BODIES The beauty industry is a multibillion dollar business which is controlled by just a handful of multinationals that emerged in the first half of the twentiethth century, namely: Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Shiseido and Unilever. Fierce debate continues about whether such a business positions women as objects of consumption and consumerism, or conversely, as subjects who can determine their own subjectivity.  For Orbach, there is a strong cultural belief in a ‘perfectible body’ which, ironically, has made the body increasingly ‘unstable’ and ‘a site of serious suffering and disorder’ With the ubiquity of pernicious images of airbrushed perfection, young people (women in particular) have become increasingly focused on, and deeply dissatisfied with, the appearance of their bodies.  Germaine Greer comments that ‘[e]very woman knows that, regardless of her other achievements, she is a failure if she is not beautiful.’ Media presents images of women which make them feel deeply unhappy with themselves. Wolf calls this ‘the beauty myth.’ Wolf does not argue for women not to want to feel beautiful, but the problem for her resides in when women feel forced to wear make-up so as to not lose a job or just to feel womanly.  NIP ’N’ TUCK Natasha Walter, author of the acclaimed text Living Dolls, takes a dim view of a culture where breast implants, fake nails, spray tans and a myriad of other alterations and additions to the female body are suggested by the media to be liberating and empowering. For Walter they are blatantly not.  MALE BEAUTY It might also be argued that many more men are now also victims of the beauty industry with rising numbers of males getting waxed, using numerous beauty products and sometimes resorting to surgery for everything from rhinoplasty (nose shaping) to tummy tucks (abdominoplasty).  Indeed, the term “metrosexuality” has been coined (arguably, by the journalist Mark Simpson) to describe a type of young(ish) man, usually located within a metropolitan setting, who devotes a lot of time to beautifying his body and spending considerable amounts of money on contemporary fashion. Another argument has suggested that more pressure is now being placed upon men to regiment and sculpt their bodies’ musculature. MEDIA IMAGES Magazine articles can make readers feel dissatisfied with who they are. Some pieces can make women feel guilty about what they’ve chosen in the great debate about whether they should have children or a career or manage both. AGEING “Ageing” is now a key topic in cultural studies. Its popularity may be due to the fact that growing “old” is something which directly affects everyone, unlike other identifications such as, say, ethnicity or disability. This is why gerontophobia (fear of ageing) is such a powerful anxiety in that it is not simply a fear of a quantified, minority group but a terror that, one day, we might become part of that group  Like all identifications, ageing is not merely biological but cultural. Bodies will age biologically but how this is identified is culturally mutable and so what is deemed “old” will vary according to geographical and historical context. Many anti-ageing creams and lotions identify the signifiers of age as a “concern” that needs to be treated. Aging is a disease that needs to be treated……. Go-Monilla, Ma. Joycelyn and Ramirez, Normaliza (2018) Understanding The Self. Richardson, Niall and Locks, Adam (2014). “Body Image: Beauty and Age(ing)” in Body Studies: The Basics. New York: Routledge, pp. 30-48. www.all-about-psychology.com/the-concept-of-physical-self-in-psychology.html https://www.all-about-psychology.com/the-concept-of-physical-self-in- psychology.htm https://pixabay.com/images/search/elders/ https://www.pinterest.ph/saraherndon/metrosexuality https://www.plasticsurgery.org/.../breast-augmentation/implants https://www.123rf.com/stock- photo/sexy_women_body.html?sti=lbcrlqbdvcn39mkwlt|&mediapopup=3