Sociology and Anthropology PDF

# Sociology "Not only is the self entwined in society; it owes society its existence in the most literal sense." -Theodor Adorno ## Activity 2 “THE TRAITS THAT I ACQUIRED" 1. Make a list of the traits/vices that you have acquired from your society/community. Examples: * Positive: Being active...

# Sociology "Not only is the self entwined in society; it owes society its existence in the most literal sense." -Theodor Adorno ## Activity 2 “THE TRAITS THAT I ACQUIRED" 1. Make a list of the traits/vices that you have acquired from your society/community. Examples: * Positive: Being active in church, Participating in Youth Organization etc. * Negative: Smoking, Drinking Alcohol, Gambling etc. 2. Compare your list with your seatmate. 3. Discuss why you have acquired those traits or vices. 4. Group sharing will follow. ## The Self as a Product of Modern Society Among Other Constructions Sociologists are concerned with questions about the person in the community. For example, they ask questions, like: * "How does society influence you?" * "How do you affect society?" * More importantly, "Who are you as a person in the community?" Sociology posits that socially formed norms, beliefs, and values come to exist within the person to a degree where these become natural and normal (Elwell, 2003), thus, developing the person's self-identity. Modernization has significantly changed society, and this has affected how an individual builds and develops his or her self-identity. Pre-modern society was centered on survival. People behaved according to social rules and traditions while the family and the immediate environment provided supervision on how to get through life. Choosing where to live, what line of work to do, and even who to marry was very limited (Hermannsdóttir, 2011). Modernization, however, has improved people's living conditions. A person in the modern society is free to choose where to live, what to do, and who to be with. However, stability has also decreased as traditions and traditional support systems, such as the family, have decreased in importance. In modern societies, individualism is dominant, and developing one's self-identity is central (Giddens, 1991). ### Key characteristics of modernity are: According to Giddens (1991), the most patent, major characteristics of modernity are: 1. **Industrialism**, the social relations implied in the extensive use of material power and machinery in all processes of production; 2. **Capitalism**, a production system involving both competitive product markets and the commodification (putting a price tag) of labor power. 3. **Institutions of surveillance**, the massive increase of power and reach by institutions, especially in government; and 4. **Dynamism**, the most evident characteristic of a modern society. Dynamism is characterized as having vigorous activity and progress. In a modern society, life is not a predetermined path with limited options based on location, family, or gender, it is a society full of possibilities. Everything is subject to change, and changes happen much more rapidly than ever before in human history. ## Social groups and social network Sociologist George Simmel expressed that people create social networks by joining social groups. A social group is described as having two or more people interacting with one another, sharing similar characteristics, and whose members identify themselves as part of the group. An example of a social group is your family, your barkada, your classmates. Meanwhile, social network refers to the ties or connections that link you to your social group (Khan Academy, WEB). The connection you have with your family is your blood relation; the connection you have with your barkada is your friendship; and the connection you have with your classmates is the common interest to learn. A social group is either **organic** or **rational**. An **organic group** is naturally occurring, and it is highly influenced by your family. This is usually formed in traditional societies because there is little diversity in these communities. Sociologist George Simmel stated that you join these groups because your family is also a part of it, in the first place. He called it **organic motivation**. Simmel noted that the positive effect of organic groups is **rootedness**. This means the foundation of the social network runs deep, thus, giving the person a sense of belongingness. The downside, however, is that organic groups imply less freedom and greater social conformity. You are expected to act and behave according to your community's standards (Allan, 2012). **Rational groups** occur in modern societies. Modern societies are made up of different people coming from different places. The family in modern societies is not the main motivation when joining rational social groups. Rational groups are formed as a matter of shared self-interests; moreover, people join these groups out of their own free will. Simmel called this **rational motivation**. Rational groups imply greater freedom, especially the freedom of movement. Relationships based on self-interest are not as embedded as organic relationships. Interests change and when they do, group members change. The relationship between rational social networks is tenuous, and the person feels no meaningful connection with the others (Allan, 2012). ## Mead and the Social Self "A multiple personality is in a certain sense normal." -George Herbert Mead Have you ever watched someone do something? Of course you have. Even as babies we watch others, like mom or dad, do something. Why do we do that? It's how we learn. We learn to do things; we learn what's safe and what's not. When we watch other people, we learn a lot about ourselves. Moreover, when we watch others, we also come to understand people. We understand why they behave the way they do; what identity they claim; and what role they play in society. On the other hand, while you get to know yourself and understand others by watching people, how can you understand yourself? Can you "watch" yourself as objectively as you do the others? This is the question that sociologist George Mead explored. George Herbert Mead was a sociologist from the late 1800s. He is well known for his "theory of the Social Self." Mead's work focused on how the "self" is developed. His theory is based on the perspective that the self is a product of social interactions and internalizing the external (i.e., other people's) views along with one's personal view about oneself. Mead believed the "self" is not present at birth; rather it develops over time through social experiences and activities. ### Developing the self Mead developed a concept that proposed different stages of self-development. These stages are language, play, and game. According to Mead, self-development and language are intimately tied. Through shared understanding of symbols, gestures, and sound, language gives the individual the capacity to express himself or herself while at the same time comprehending what the other people are conveying. Language sets the stage for self-development. The second stage for self-development is play. At this level, individuals role-play or assume the perspective of others. Role-playing enables the person to internalize some other people's perspectives; hence, he or she develops an understanding of how the other people feel about themselves (and about others, too) in a variety of situations. Meanwhile, the game stage is the level where the individual not only internalizes the other people's perspectives, he or she is also able to take into account societal rules and adheres to it. According to Mead, the self is developed by understanding the rule, and one must abide by it to win the game or be successful at an activity. ### Two sides of self: "I" and "Me" Mead sees the person as an active process, not just a mere reflection of society. He further proposed two interactive facets of the self: the "I" and "me." The "me" and the "I" have a didactic relationship, which is like a system of checks and balances. According to Mead, "me" is the product of what the person has learned while interacting with others and with the environment. Learned behaviors, attitudes, and even expectations comprise the "me." The "me" exercises social control over the self. It sees to it that rules are not broken. On the other hand, the "I" is that part of the self that is unsocialized and spontaneous. It is the individual's response to the community's attitude toward the person. The "I" presents impulses and drives. It enables him or her to express individualism and creativity. The “I” does not blindly follow rules. It understands when to possibly bend or stretch the rules that govern social interactions. It constructs a response based on what has been learned by the "me." # Anthropology "Indeed, much of the self is learned by making new memories out of old ones." -Joseph E. Ledoux ## Activity 3 A-PAIR-SHARE ACTIVITY ON "ME AND MY CULTURE" Compare your culture with your partner's culture. What's the beauty of both cultures? Do you religiously practice your cultural customs and traditions, like celebrating fiestas, Christmas, and the like, or everything has changed because of consumerism (the actions of people who spend a lot of money on goods and services)? ## The Self and the Person in Contemporary Anthropology What is anthropology? What is its view about the concept of "self"? Anthropology is the study of people, past and present. It focuses on understanding the human condition in its cultural aspect. In a general sense, anthropology is concerned with understanding how humans evolved and how they differ from one another. Anthropology is a very dynamic field, and anthropological literature offers several different definitions of "self." This discussion, however, will tackle the widely acceptable definitions of “self” in modern anthropology. ### A unit but unitary One definition of "self" in modern anthropology characterizes the term in its most general, ordinary, and everyday use. Anthropologist and professor, Katherine Ewing (1990), described the self as encompassing the "physical organism, possessing psychological functioning and social attributes." This definition portrays the "self" as implicitly and explicitly existing in the mind comprised of psychological, biological, and cultural processes. Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux (2002) conceptualized the **implicit** and **explicit** aspects of the self (Kemp, 2012). The aspect of the self that you are consciously aware of is the **explicit self** while the one that is not immediately available to the consciousness is the **implicit aspect**. This concept can be traced to the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud's "level of consciousness;" however, LaDoux's view on how the "self was developed asserted that it is framed, maintained, and affected biologically, mentally, and socially. According to LeDoux (2002), “the self is not static; it is added to and subtracted from by genetic maturation, learning, forgetting, stress, ageing, and disease." This is true of both the implicit and explicit aspects of the self. ### Self as representation Ewing (1989) asserted that a "self" is illusory. "People construct a series of self-representations that are based on selected cultural concepts of person and selected 'chains' of personal memories. Each self-concept is experienced as whole and continuous, with its own history and memories that emerge in a specific context to be replaced by another self-representation when the context changes." By self-representation, Ewing meant culturally shaped "self" concepts that one applies to oneself (Quinn, 2014); "it is the mental entities that are supposed to represent the self” (Schlichtet, 2009). According to Ewing (1990), people from all cultures have been observed to be able to rapidly project different self-representations, depending on the context of the situation. The person is unaware of these shifts; however, he/she will still experience wholeness and continuity despite these shifts. ### The Self Embedded in Culture How individuals see themselves, how they relate to other people, and how they relate to the environment are deeply defined by culture. If one finds the view that the "self" is a product of society, then it is plausible that the ways of how the self is developed are bound to cultural differences as well. Cultural anthropologists have argued that the self is culturally shaped and infinitely variable. "Cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, and transform the human psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, self, and emotion” (Shweder, 1991, p. 72). The basic idea is that the principles of how the mind works cannot be conceived of as universal, but that it is as varied as the culture and traditions that people practice all over the world. Cultural psychologists distinguished two ways of how the self is constructed. These are the independent and interdependent constructs. These self-construals are also imbedded in culture. Construal is an interpretation of the meaning of something; hence, in this sense, the meaning of "self." The independent construct is characteristic of individualistic culture, such as in North America and Europe. Individualistic culture represents the self as separate, distinct, with emphasis on internal attributes or traits, skills, and values. The interdependent construct is typical of the collectivist culture in East Asia stressing the essential connection between the individual to other people. Developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff (2010), believed that culture can influence how you view: relationships, personality traits, achievement, and expressing emotions. #### Relationships Culture influences how you enter into and maintain relationships. For example, relationships may be seen as voluntary or as duty-based. In Western societies, it is essential for a person to choose whom to marry while some Eastern societies still practice arranged marriage. #### Personality traits Culture influences whether (and how) you value traits, like humility, self-esteem, politeness, assertiveness, and so on, as well as how you perceive hardship or how you feel about relying on others. #### Achievement Culture influences how you define success and whether you value certain types of individual and group achievements. #### Expressing emotions Culture influences what will affect you emotionally, as well as how you express yourself, such as showing your feelings in public or keeping it private.