Understanding the Self - Focused Study Notes

Course Overview & Administrative Information

  • Course Details: SCSC 11n – Understanding The Self (3 units, General Education Course).

  • Institution & Authors: Visayas State University (VSU), Department of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences (DLABS), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), 2020. Authored by Bethlehem C. Ponce, Jose II S. Bagulaya, May C. Pascual, and Romeo J. Toring, Jr.

  • VSU Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.

  • VSU Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.

Perspectives on the Self (Module 1)

  • Philosophical Perspective:

    • Ancient Period:

    • Socrates: Dialectic method ("Know Thyself"); self-knowledge via internal dialogue and admitting ignorance.

    • Plato: Dualism; World of Forms vs. physical world. Soul consists of appetitive, spiritual, and rational parts (reason must govern desires and emotions).

    • Aristotle: Realism; substance composed of matter and form. Grounding ideals in physical reality.     

      Plato and Aristotle in Raphael's School of Athens

    • Medieval Period:

    • Augustine of Hippo: Evil, coldness, and darkness as privation (absence of good/light). Inner emptiness is resolved by drawing closer to God.

    • Thomas Aquinas: Scholasticism; understanding human essence through ultimate purpose (serving and glorifying God).

    • Renaissance Period:

    • Francis Bacon: Inductive method; relying on empirical proof and experimentation rather than unverified assumptions.

    • René Descartes: Methodic doubt; Cogito ergo sum ("I think, therefore I am"). Thinking confirms existence.

    • Thomas Hobbes: Selfish human nature; "Man is a wolf to other men." Social contract and government (Leviathan) needed to maintain order.

    • Modern Existentialism:

    • Soren Kierkegaard: Stages of life (Aesthetic, Ethical, Religious); reaching the religious stage requires a leap of faith.

    • Friedrich \: Overcoming societal constraints to become an Übermensch; three metamorphoses (Camel, Lion, Child); concept of Eternal Recurrence.

    • Martin Heidegger: Dasein ("Being"); concepts of Being-in-itself, Being-thrown-in-the-world (accepting unchosen circumstances), and Being-unto-death (death gives life urgency and purpose).     

      Summary of Philosophical Perspectives Across Historical Periods

    • Eastern / Oriental Thoughts:

    • Siddhartha Gautama Buddha: Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path; Middle Way to reach nirvana (enlightenment) by relinquishing attachments and desires.

    • Confucius: Self-cultivation through filial piety, humaneness, and ritual consciousness; Golden Rule: "Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you."

  • Sociological Perspective:

    • Symbolic Interactionism: Focuses on micro-level social realities. Premised on: (1) acting based on attached meanings, (2) differing meanings among people, and (3) meanings changing over time.

    • Looking-Glass Self (Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead): Individuals shape their self-concept based on how they believe others perceive them.

    • Impression Management (Erving Goffman): Altering or manipulating self-presentation to project a specific image to an audience.   

      Comparison of Looking-Glass Self and Impression Management

    • Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills): Connecting personal individual challenges to broader historical and structural social issues.

  • Anthropological Perspective:

    • Enculturation: Internalizing and adopting the native culture passed down through family and community from birth.

    • Collective Identity: Shared behaviors, language, traditions, and norms within a specific cultural group.

    • Personal Identity: Individuality formed by navigating, adopting, or resisting collective cultural norms.

    • Acculturation: Adapting to new cultural practices when encountering different cultures; involves culture shock and reverse culture shock.

  • Psychological Perspective:

    • Dual Selves (William James): "I" as pure ego (the thinking/acting subject); "Me" as empirical self (Material, Social, and Spiritual self).

    • Real Self vs. Ideal Self (Carl Rogers): Real self is actual self-concept; ideal self is what one aspires to be. Large discrepancies lead to incongruence and cognitive dissonance.

    • Human Agency (Albert Bandura): Capacity to exercise control over life through four core features: Intentionality, Forethought, Self-reactiveness, and Self-reflectiveness.

Aspects of the Self (Module 2)

  • Physical & Extended Self:

    • Body Aspects (Anthony Giddens): Bodily appearance, demeanor (behavior presented in social settings), and sensuality.

    • Extended Self (Russell Belk): External possessions, family, home, and social ties defined as part of "mine."

    • Cultural Modification: Physical standards and body alterations (e.g., Kayan neck rings, Mursi lip plates, cosmetic surgery) reflect dynamic cultural beauty ideals.

  • Sexual Self:

    • Erogenous Zones & Psychosexual Stages (Sigmund Freud): Concentrated areas of pleasure sensitivity across Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, and Genital stages.

    • Sexual Response Cycle (William Masters & Virginia Johnson): Four distinct phases: Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm, and Resolution.

    • Chemistry of Love (Helen Fisher): Lust (driven by testosterone and estrogen), Attraction (dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin), and Attachment (oxytocin, vasopressin).

    • SOGIE: Distinguishes Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression.

    • Reproductive Health: Modern contraceptive methods (e.g., condoms, pills, IUD, injectables, implants, ligation, vasectomy) and prevention of STIs (Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV/AIDS).

  • Material / Economic Self:

    • Hierarchy of Needs (Abraham Maslow): Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization.

    • Self-Congruity Theory: Consumer choices aligned with self-image across Positive Self-Congruity, Positive Self-Incongruity, Negative Self-Congruity, and Negative Self-Incongruity.

    • Retail Cues: Atmospheric, location, merchandise, price, and promotion cues shaping consumer patron images.

  • Spiritual Self:

    • Indigenous Filipino Concepts: Dungan (animistic soul/willpower residing in living bodies; becomes kalag after death).

    • Logotherapy (Viktor Frankl): Pursuing meaning in existence through three primary sources: Work (achievement), Love (relationships), and Courage (attitude during unavoidable suffering).

    • Religious Pluralism: Respecting diverse spiritual pathways as complementary routes toward divine understanding and moral living.

  • Political Self:

    • Political Motivations: Driven by Self-interest, Social Identification (group alignment), and Altruism (selfless community care).

    • Filipino Political Identity Drivers: Shaped by family values, historical anti-colonial revolutions, educational institutions, and digital/social media.

  • Digital Self:

    • Digital Dimensions (Belk): Dematerialization, Re-embodiment (avatars/filters), Sharing, Co-construction of Self, and Distributed Memory.

    • Digital Escapism: Utilizing virtual environments, online gaming, or media consumption to temporarily detach from physical realities; risk of gaming disorder.

Managing and Caring for the Self (Module 3)

  • Learning to be a Better Student:

    • Brain Anatomy & Hemispheres: Left hemisphere (analytical, logical, language) and Right hemisphere (visual, spatial, creative) connected by the corpus callosum.

    • Cerebral Lobes: Frontal (executive functions, planning, reasoning), Temporal (auditory, speech, memory), Parietal (sensation, intelligence), Occipital (visual processing).

    • Conditioning Theories: Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's stimulus association) and Operant Conditioning (Skinner's reinforcement and punishment).

    • High-Utility Study Strategies (Dunlosky et al.): Practice testing (self-testing) and Distributed practice (spreading study sessions over time).

    • Self-Regulated Learning (Zimmerman): Three-phase cycle: (1) Forethought phase, (2) Performance phase, and (3) Self-reflection phase.

  • Setting Goals for Success:

    • SMART Criteria: Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

    • Sources of Self-Efficacy (Albert Bandura): Mastery experiences, Social modeling, Social persuasion, and Psychological/emotional states.

    • Mindsets (Carol Dweck): Growth Mindset (viewing intelligence/abilities as developments achievable through effort and learning from failure) vs. Fixed Mindset (believing traits are static and innate).

  • Taking Charge of One's Health:

    • Stress Dynamics (Hans Selye): Eustress (constructive, motivating stress) vs. Distress (destructive, performance-impairing stress).

    • SELF-CARE Resilience Model:

    • Stay positive

    • Exercise and eat well

    • Learn

    • Face your fears

    • Connect and disconnect

    • Acknowledge and accept

    • Relax and sleep well

    • Express emotions