The Physical Self PDF

THE PHYSICAL SELF "I am not who I think I am. I am not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am". - Jason Silva Motivational Activity: "Mirror, mirror on the Wall" Procedure: Look at yourself using your cell phone. What do you see? Do you...

THE PHYSICAL SELF "I am not who I think I am. I am not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am". - Jason Silva Motivational Activity: "Mirror, mirror on the Wall" Procedure: Look at yourself using your cell phone. What do you see? Do you see yourself as you or do you see someone else? List down beautiful things you appreciate about your body and list down worst things you do not like about it. Processing: 1. How do you feel about the activity? 2. Was it difficult to identify beautiful things about your body? 3. Are there more beautiful than worst things about yourself? Why? Insights and Reflections: 1. Learn to accept your body. 2. Others may view your body differently; thus you react and you change sometimes based on the way others perceive you. "Are you ready to UNPACK and DISCOVER YOURSELF?" Reality-wise our society places particular high regard on physical characteristics. Oftentimes, sexy body with curvy body shapes, beautiful breasts, long legs, and long wavy hair are characteristics that are often seen as desirable in women. And for men, having strong muscular body, abs, and having a firm jawline make up handsome, good looking and desirable men. This is the expectation placed by both sexes and very much visible in social media. The context of being beautiful is having a body as defined by the society. A vast amount of media coverage implicitly favors, and in the case of the advertising industry explicitly promote models of attractiveness. Films, magazines and television all contribute to body shape images. Consumers are lurked into products that create beautiful body by distorting the reality of normal into the unreality of ideals such as the so-called ideal of women being size zero. To be attractive is to have acceptable physical characteristics rather than having positive personality traits such as kindness, sense of humor, intelligence, thoughtfulness and intelligence. GECC 108- Understanding the Self -Module 11-  6 Researches showed the role of physical appearance. Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection states that characteristics that give an animal or human the best chance of survival and of reproducing themselves will be prized. Psychologists would suggest that attraction based on physical characteristics is related to features which indicate healthiness and especially fertility. Another study by Viren Swami and Adrian Furnham (2006) suggested influence on attraction based on physical characteristics. Their research focused on the heterosexual male perspective. They pose the question of whether there are physical characteristics that are found to be attractive across cultures. If so, do these characteristics signal procreative potential as predicted by psychologists taking an evolutionary approach to explaining behaviour? Swami and Furnham conclude that there is research evidence to suggest that there are characteristics that have been shown to be attractive across cultures. The physical characteristics for female focus on body shape, especially the waist to hip measurement ratio (WHR). A WHR measure of 0.8 means that person's waist measurement is 80 per cent of their hip measurement. Thus, for a woman a WHR of around 0.7, is better than a high WHR, of 0.9 and over, in terms of health and fertility. In most cultures men will rate women with a 0.7 WHR as more attractive than a woman with a higher WHR. Popular evidence to support this is the fact that present day catwalk supermodels, as well as film stars of the 1950s such as Marilyn Monroe and, going back even further, the famous (armless) statue of the Venus de Milo all have WHRs in the 0.7 range. However, body weight may be even more important than WHR in determining attractiveness. Swami and Furnham report on research that shows some variation among cultures when they looked at this measure. Generally, in economically developed societies men tend to prefer women with a lighter build, while men in economically developing societies tend to prefer a heavier build. These cultural differences are explained by evolutionary psychologists suggesting that in societies where food supplies were poor or uncertain it was understandable women with a high body weight would be seen as better choice of partner. In economically developed societies these more basic considerations which are focused on survival in difficult environments are not relevant and other factors may come into play. The evolutionary approach is controversial, with most psychologists viewing it as much too simplistic, but it does offer a wide-ranging explanatory framework within which to begin to understand and interpret human behaviour. The work of Swami and Furnham above has introduced some of the cultural variation in what people consider to be attractive for potential intimate relationships. There are a range of other features that have been considered to influence attractiveness. Whereas signs of healthiness are most important and once these have been considered, signals of wealth or status GECC 108- Understanding the Self -Module II-  7 may be taken into account. In the last few decades in western societies people have often valued suntanned skin and slimmer builds as this indicates someone has the resources to eat a healthy diet and take part in exercise as well as go on expensive holidays or at least to a tanning salon. Interestingly with the dangers of sun tanning being researched and publicized people with tans or at least sunburned skin are now viewed more negatively. There are numerous examples, taken from different cultures, of more unusual physical adornments that have been consi dered to be attractive. In China the practice of female foot-binding was carried out for hundreds of years before being banned in 1911. The process was started when girls were about five years old and the ideal was to have feet no longer than four inches. As you can imagine this was an extremely painful process and girls and women were often unable to walk more than the shortest distance. This was a status symbol and only carried out on girls from wealthy families who would be expected to marry into a similarly wealthy family. Girls from poorer backgrounds would be expected to work, which would be impossible with bound feet. Similarly in Renaissance Europe women would often blacken their teeth to appear more attractive. The explanation for this is that sugar was only available to the very wealthy and sugar did cause teeth to rot and turn black so by painting your teeth black you could appear to be of high economic status and therefore a desirable person. THE SELF AS IMPACTED BY THE BODY The Physical Self refers to the body being the vehicle for our expression in the world. Our sensory organs pick up information from the environment and we react to it. This is the concrete and tangible aspect of a person that can be seen, observed and examined. How about the physical self being related to self-identity? William James, a renowned psychologist indicated that (a) the self is the sum total of all a man can call his/hers (body, family, clothes, reputation, etc.) which forms his/her identity and (b) the body is the initial source of sensation and necessary for the origin and maintenance of personality. What is the implication of this? The body is a way, an instrument, a form of expression in which we make sense of the world. THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BODY IMAGE and SELF-ESTEEM: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY Motivational Activity: What is your concept of beauty? The concept of body image is related to the concept of beauty. One's perception of his/her body leads to either pleasing/satisfying or unpleasing/unsatisfying feelings. Body image is an important aspect of identity which is being developed at the Stage of Adolescence. What about the society's concept of beauty? Culture and history influence standards of beauty. Beauty and appearance norms are connected to ideals of appearance and hard work. And there two kinds of beauty, (a) Internal Beauty which GECC 108- Understanding the Self -Module II-  8 refers to inner qualities of a person, and (b) the External Beauty which refers to the physical characteristics of a person. The Body What is the difference between the Body Image and Identity? image is the representation of an individual subject to all kinds of distortion from early experiences. It strongly influences one's behavior. This mental image serves as a driving force. Thus, having a positive or negative body image can influence perception of the self (https: / /www.psycholoutoday.com/ int' / basics/body-image) On the other hand, Identity encompasses the memories, experiences, relationships, and values that create one's sense of self. Erik Erikson Psychosocial Stages of Development proposed eight (8) stages of lifecycle that each contained a conflict, with the resolution of those conflicts leading to the development of personality. (https: / /www. psychologytoday. com / intl/ basics /identity). Self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about, evaluates or perceives himself/herself. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. Baumeister (1999) once said, the individual's belief about himself or herself, including the person's attributes and who and what the self is". What is the implication of such? A person who appreciates his/her physical body has a positive self-concept which also affects his/her self- esteem. Thus, his/her self-esteem is also positive or high. Observation: "Much emphasis is given to the External Beauty rather than the Internal Beauty as what our culture is telling us. Beauty is judged by numbers". Being beautiful means having a perfect body. THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN UNDERSTANDING BODY IMAGE & SELF-ESTEEM Culture is shared patterns of thoughts, beliefs, behaviors and habits in both material and symbolic realms. What does culture say about body image and self-esteem? Recent Researches: (1) A study on "Culture influences young people's self-esteem: Fulfillment of value priorities of other individuals important to youth" revealed that young respondents base their self-esteem not on their own personal values - which seem to have little or no influence on their self-regard - but on the fulfillment of the value priorities of other individuals in their cultural environments. The researchers noted that their respondents' self-esteem was based, in all GECC 108- Understanding the Self -Module II-  9 doing one's duty, cultures, on four key factors: controlling one’s life, doing, benefiting others and achieving social status (2014). For example, participants in the survey who live in cultural contexts that prize values such as individual freedom and leading a stimulating life (in Western Europe and certain regions of South America ) are more likely to derive their self-esteem from the impression of controlling their lives. On the other hand, for those living in cultures that value conformity, tradition and security (certain parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia) are comparatively more likely to base their self-esteem on the feeling of doing their duty. Recommendation: These subtle processes can encourage people to act according to the expectations of the society they live in, thus helping maintain social solidarity. (https: / /www. sciencedaily. corn /releases/2014/ 02 / 140224081027. htm I (2) A study on "Women's body image and the role of culture: A review of the literature" showed that a significant proportion of women of different ethnicities are dissatisfied with their bodies and many are dieting to lose weight. The similarities between the groups indicated that the effect of non- Western cultures that previously promoted larger, more realistic body ideals is now diminishing. Thinner body ideals are now being reinforced for all women regardless of culture and ethnicity, thereby increasing the vulnerability towards developing a negative body image. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264658224 Women's_body image_and the rol e of culture A review of the literature, 2011) (3) A book on "Encyclopedia on Body Adornment by De Mello (2014) explained that all cultures everywhere have attempted to change their body in an attempt to meet their cultural standards of beauty, as well as their religious and/or social obligations. People modify and adorn their bodies as part of the complex process of creating and recreating their personal and social identities. Body adornment refers to physical alteration through the use of surgery, tattooing, piercing, scarification, branding, genital mutilation, implants of the body, the practice of physically enhancing the body by styling and decorating. Body modifications are either permanent or temporary. Watch the attached link to see an example: Pixee. the Famous Barbie Doll (https: / /www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlzL5We2ZP4) THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN UNDERSTANDING BODY IMAGE and SELF-ESTEEM (1) A study on "Effects of Media on Body Image and Self-Esteem (2015) indicated that the media has been found to be the most powerful conveyor of socio-cultural values regarding body ideals, size and weight, which has been linked to body dissatisfaction and in turn, related to other health concerns such as depression, low self esteem and eating disorders. GECC 108- Understanding the Self -Module II-  10 (https: / /esource.dbs.ie/ bitstream /handle/10788 / 2505/ ba_gorman_s 2015.pdf?seouence=18LisAllowed=y) (2) Body Image, Confidence, And Media Influence: A Study Of Middle School Adolescents (2013) showed that Hispanic females are the most likely to be influenced, followed by White females. Black females reported no influence. With respect to adolescent boys, only a few reported any influence at all.(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287568277_Body Image Confidenc e And_Mediainftuence A Study Of Middle School_Adolescents) (3) "Mass Media and Self-Esteem, Body Image, and Eating Disorder Tendencies" (2007) revealed a significant positive relationships between exposure to fashion or beauty magazines and (a) overall appearance dissatisfaction and (b) eating disorder tendencies were found. No relationship resulted from television exposure. In addition, risk of eating disorder tendencies was associated with (a) low self- esteem, (b) body dissatisfaction, and (c) overall appearance dissatisfaction. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274998493_Mass Media and Self- Esteem Body Image and Eating Disorder Tendencies) (4) Selfie-Esteem: The Relationship Between Body Dissatisfaction and Social Media in Adolescent and Young Women. The increase in usage of social media, especially Facebook and Instagram, may negatively affect adolescent girls and young women in regard to their self- confidence and body satisfaction (Lenhart, 2015). Lewallen and Behm- Morawitz (2016) suggest that adolescent girls and young women following fitness boards on Pinterest were more likely to report intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors, such as crash dieting or a radical exercise plan. Overall, the results of this study revealed that social media environments might influence adolescent girls and young women to engage in social comparison leading to feelings of inadequacy and body dissatisfaction (Alperstein, 2015). Furthermore, based on the results of this study and others, negative body image concerns appear to be higher for those who internalized negative messages and images (Alperstein, 2015; Bell, 2016). How to Develop a High Self-Esteem: 1) Identify troubling conditions or situations. Common triggers might include stressors, crisis. 2) Become aware of your thoughts and beliefs that might be positive, negative or neutral. They might be rational, based on reason or facts, or irrational, based on false ideas. 3) Challenge negative thoughts. Test the accuracy of your thoughts. Ask yourself whether your view is consistent with facts and logic or whether other explanations for the situation might be plausible. 4) Adjust your thoughts and beliefs. GECC 108- Understanding the Self -Module II-  1 1 https: / /www.mayoclinic.org/healthy- Lifestyle/adult-heatth/in-depth/self- esteem/art-20045374 OUTPUT PLAN Reflection Activity: Plastic Surgery Animation Open the link to watch https://www.youtube.corn/watch?v=085Hvkzd8tA Processing: 1. How do you feel about the video? 2. To what extent you are influenced by your culture and the social media as to how you view yourself? 3. If you are given an opportunity, would you change your body? Why? 4. What are your insights about it? Listen to a song by Christina Aguilera "Beautiful". Study and understand the lyrics. Make a Reflection Paper with the title, "On Being Beautiful"