TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE i

INTRODUCTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

“WHO AM I” v

Unit 1: THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE 1

Philosopher’s Perspective of the Self 3

References 10
Self From the Perspective of Anthropology 12
Sociology 14
References 17

Self From the Perspective of Anthropology 19

Anthropology 20
References 22

Self From the Perspective of Psychology 24

Psychology 27
References 31

The Self From Eastern and Western 33

Eastern and Western Philosophy 34
References 37

UNIT II: UNPACKING THE SELF 39

The Physical Self 44

References 46-47

The Sexual Self 49

Sex and Human Values 54
References 58

Material/Economic Self 60
I Shop Therefore I am, I have Therefore I am 64
References 67

Spiritual Self 70
Spirituality and Religion 72
References 75

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Political Self 79
Developing a Filipino Identity 81
References 83

The Digital Self 86

I,Me,Myself, My User ID Online 88
References 93

UNIT III: MANAGING AND CARING FOR THE SELF 97

Learning to be a better Student 99

References 102

Setting Goals for Success 105

Setting Goals for the Self 106
References 109

Stressors Responses 113

What is Stress 115
References 122

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Lesson Proper

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

PHILOSOPHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE SELF

What is Philosophy? It is a study of getting knowledge through inquiries and rational thinking
that bear on responding questions regarding the state and nature of an individual and the universe we
live in. From the Greek words “ Philos meaning love and Sophia” meaning wisdom.

SOCRATES

First Martyr of philosophy knowledge of

education. He is being charged with corruption of
minors. He was made to choose between death and
exile with the drinking of Hemlock.
He died as a martyr that fought against
ignorance and narrow mindedness. His philosophy
underlies the value of the impression of knowing
oneself.
He believed men’s goal in life is to acquire happiness.
He said happiness motivates us to act towards or
avoid things that could have negative effects in our
lives. Like, by fully knowing oneself a person will be
able to achieve happiness.

Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

He believed that every man is dualistic, composed of body and soul. According to
him, all individuals have an imperfect and impermanent aspect which is the body. The
universe is composed of physical and mental things that are the basis of the concept of
duality in the self.
The body is a physical thing that is not perfect and temporary. It might be
physically nice and perfect today but changes through the years.
The soul is a mental thing and is permanent. It lives and evident in the body today
hence, it separates when we die. Even without the physical body, the soul can exist since it
is mental.

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PLATO

Plato is a student of Socrates. He wrote various

literature that tackles politics, human nature, and
constituted the concept of virtue and intelligence. Father
of Academy a place where sharing and learning of
knowledge happens and
later became one of the pillars and foundation of what
schools and education is now in the present.
Preceded the concept of Socrates in knowing
thyself, according to him, a person who is a follower of
truth and wisdom will not be enticed by vices and will
always be correct/moral/ethical.
He believed that the soul is divided into 3
different parts that have different views, leading to
different behaviors.

Image credits to Encyclopedia

Britannica

He supported the idea of duality and added that there are 3 concepts of the soul.

1. Appetitive soul is the part of the person that is motivated by want and need to satisfy
oneself. This satisfaction involves physical needs and pleasures and desires, objects and
situations.
2. Spirited Soul is a brave part of a person. The one who desires to do something or to
right the wrong that they observe. This is very competitive and is very active.
Competitiveness drives one to anticipate positive results and winning.
3. Rational soul is the drive of our lives. The part that thinks and plans for the future. It
decides what to do when to do it and the possible results one could have depending on
their actions.

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ST. AUGUSTINE

A Saint and a philosopher of the

church. He follows the concept that God
embraces us all, he said that everything will
be better if we are with God. For him God and
his teachings affect several aspects in life.
He relates our existence to God being modeled
in his likeness though being alive means that
we are still far from God and has yet to be
true with him.

Image credits to pinterest.com

The soul can be immortal through communion with the divine. He viewed that
dual nature of self in the circumstance where one is not perfect and immortal. The soul is
capable of immortality through the communion with the Christian God. While in-universe,
the body will live in virtue, longing to be with God.

RENE DESCARTES
Is a French Philosopher not able to be
the father of modern philosophy because of
his radical use of a systematic and early
scientific method to help his assumptions? He
believes in modern dualism or the existence
was presented with the evidence from
experiments as well as philosophical
reasoning.
He is famous to be the advocate of
methodical doubt. He defined the roles of the
mind and body to the belief of one’s existence
and sense of self. He is also known for the
statement “cogito ergo sum” [I think
therefore I am].
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

He viewed the dual nature of self where the mind is a thinking thing that makes a
man, and the body is a mere machine. Cogito is the mind enabling our fundamental
existence. The body is just an extension of it. He proved that this statement is completely
true.
According to him “I am thinking” and “I exist” is a combination of “ cogito ergo sum” ‘I
think therefore I am ‘.

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JOHN LOCKE

Is an English philosopher and

physician. Considered to be the father of
classical liberation and his works made up of
the way to various revolutions to fight the
utter powers of monarchs and rules of his
time that led to the improvement of
governance, politics, and economic system
that we know today.

Image credits to psychology.wikia.org

For him, the self is most delineated by the idea “Tabula Rasa” [blank slate] He
believed that the experiences and perceptions of an individual are necessary for the
establishment of who that person can become. He said that a person is born with knowing
nothing and that is capable to input learning from the experiences, failures, references,
and observation of the person.
He viewed that consciousness is the center of the self. According to him the
personal identity and psychological continuity define who we are which means if we have
memory versions of ourselves through time, then we can still define ourselves as such.

DAVID HUME

He is a Scottish Philosopher, he
focused his work in the field of empiricism,
skepticism, and naturalism. Self is a collection
of different impressions and does not exceed
the physical kingdom. He said there is no
permanent self because impressions of things
are based on our experiences where we can
make our concepts and knowledge. Hence, it
might improve or totally be replaced.

Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

He anchored his definition of the self on the empiricist school of thought. He

cited that the self is nothing but a collection of impressions. He defined experiences as
either impressions or ideas. According to him, impressions are products of our direct
experiences while ideas are copies of our impressions.

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 IMMANUEL KANT

A German philosopher that is famous for his

works on empiricism and rationalism.
He establishes that the compendium of impressions
and different contents is what it only takes to
describe a person. Knowing of different emotions
that we have such as impressions and behavior is
only a portion of yourself.

Image credits to philosophers.co.uk

He defined the self as an organizing principle that combines experiences.

According to him, the mind permits us to recognize not only things that are present in this
universe but also those that are not present but are experienced anyways, that he called
the “apparatuses of the mind”

SIGMUND FREUD

He is the father of psychoanalysis. He is famous

for his work on human nature and the unconscious. He
also believed that man has different constructs of
personality that interacts with each other. He also
conceptualizes the various levels of consciousness that
give an idea of how a person develops a sense of self.
Man has three [3 ] aspects of Personality.

Image credits to Encyclopedia

Britannica
He detailed the idea of a multi-layered self. There are three levels of consciousness:
Conscious- mind includes mental abilities that we are presently aware of.
Preconscious- activities that are not currently active but stored in our memory.
Unconscious- activities that are totally unaware of,
The three levels of awareness: Id [driven by pleasure principle] Ego [ reality]
Superego [conscience]

“Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory on Instincts Motivation, Personality and Development” open

the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vFf5CS27-Y

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 image credits to simplypsychology.org

GILBERT RYLE

He gained first-class honors at Queen’s

College, Oxford, and became a lecturer at
Christ Church College in 1924. His first
book, The Concept of Mind (1949), is
considered a modern classic. He challenges
the traditional difference between body and
mind as delineated by René Descartes.
According to him the
Traditional Cartesian dualism, commit a
serious confusion when searching beyond
the human body. It views the mind as an
additional mysterious thing not subject to
observation or to mechanical laws, rather
than as the form or organizing principle of
the body.
Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica
He contradicts the duality idea of the self, particularly the non-physical self. The
self is just a brand we call all the behaviors we make as individuals.

8
PAUL CHURCHLAND

A Canadian philosopher who focuses

on the idea that people should improve our
association and use of worth in distinguishing
the self.
The self is defined by the motility of
our brain. His work turns around folk
psychology or common sense psychology.
The main philosophy is the idea of
“ eliminative materialism “ [debates that
people’s common sense understanding of the
mind is false and the mental states that man
are into are not existing; applies the
understanding of behavior and emotions]
Image credits to wordassociation1.net
He was a materialist who believed that nothing but a physical entity exists. His manger the
idea of a non-physical mind as the place of consciousness. He supported the self-based on brain
states rather than in mental states.

MAURICE JEAN JACQUES MERLEAU-PONTY

A French phenomenological
philosopher, powerfully influenced by
Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. He is
famous for his works on existentialism and
phenomenology. Self-regarded that the body
and mind are not separate entities instead
those two elements are one and the same. He
creates the concept of the phenomenology of
perception [unity of the function of the mind
and the body ] which is divided into three
division:

Image credits to pinterest.com

The body that both obtains the experiences as well as incorporates like experiences in the
different perceptions.
The Perceived world is the accumulation of the perception and merged by the
experiences of the body.
The people and the world enable one to not only be able to integrate the other objects in
the universe but also to be able to experience the cultural aspect and associate to some.

9
References

Internet resources

MelSchwartz,L.C.S.W.,Retrieved from.,https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shift-
mind/201006/who-am-i

https://www.nourfoundation.com/events/Perspectives-on-the-Self/Conversations-on-Identity-and-
Consciousness.html

https://www.slideshare.net/shinpaiwa/understanding-the-self-lecture-1- philosophical-
perspectives

https://www.wattpad.com/715925505-understanding-the-self- philosophical-
perspective/page/2

https://www.coursehero.com/file/35714954/2-The-Self-from-Various-Perspective-
PhilosophyModulepdf/

10
Lesson Proper

Sociology

Why Socialization Matters

It is important because it helps uphold societies and cultures and it is also a key part of
individual development. Study exhibits that we are stirred by both:
 nature - is the hormonal and genetic and composition
 Nurture-it is the cultural surroundings in which we are upraised

Sociology is nearly concerned with the way that influences our behavior patterns. It is broad
by the manner of behavior differ from class and gender.

Self-development according to the psychological theories it has been broadened by

sociologists who explicitly examine the social interaction and the role of the society. Mead and Cooley
both impart importantly to the sociological understanding of the development of the self. Carol
Gilligan and Lawrence Kohlberg developed their concepts further, exploring how our awareness of
morality develops. Gilligan also added the concept of gender differences to Kohlberg’s theory. Human
beings are born, with natural traits and genetic makeup. All the same, individuals evolve through
social interaction. Both in the fields of psychology and sociology have represented the cognitive
process of development of the self and to understand how that “self” becomes socialized.

Sigmund Freud

Freud (1856–1939) A prestigious

Psychoanalyst. He is a modern scientist to put
away the theory about on how to develop the
meaning of self. He also thinks that sexual
development and personality were nearly
attached, and he separates the process of
maturation into overall psychosexual stages that
affect the child’s discovery through the physical
pleasures linked to :

Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

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 Charles Horton Cooley He pioneered the sociological
perspectives on the self-development [1864–
1929]. He declared that the people’s
understanding of the self is
constructed, ”looking glass self” in part, is their
conceptualization of how others see them
[Cooley, 1902]. People imagine how they must
look to some, on certain outfits, fix their hair,
and how they wear makeup. The perception
that our look is going to change how some
others view us.

Image credits to Encyclopedia Britannica

People always expect a particular reaction, and, if it is positive, we get it and feel good about
it. Cooley believed that self is not only based on some inner source of identity. In some other words,
people’s react like in a mirror in which we are reflected. “The imaginations people have of one
another are the solid facts of society” (Cooley, 1902).

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 George Herbert Mead
Social Self
Mead [1863–1931] precocious a more
elaborated sociological approach to the self. He
agreed that the self is an individual’s clear
individuality that developed only through social
interaction. He argued that the critical element
of the self is its capability for self-reflection, its
capacity to be “an object to itself” (Mead, 1934).
According to Mead, it broke the self-down into
two components
or “phases,” the “I” and the “me.”

Image credits to everythingsociology.com

“I” on the others’ hand, represents the
“Me” represents the part of the self as portion of the self that acts on its own drive or
“organized sets of attitudes” towards the self. It reacts to the organized attitudes of others like a
is who we are in others eyes: our roles, our novel, spontaneous, unpredictable portion of the
“personalities,” our public personas. self. It is always caught up in a social process, in
which we turn back and forth between the I and
the Me.

The examples provided by Gallinero, et al., [p.24,2018] support this model.

Two sides of the self: “I” and “me”

Who I am How people see me

People pleaser Boring

Fun Bossy
Loving Pretty
caring Lazy
Loyal Kind
Honest
Hard worker Judgemental
Anxious

On the inside On the outside

“Social Self Theory” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://study.com/academy/lesson/george-herbert-mead-the-self-me-i.html

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References

Gallinero,W.B., Reyes, C.A.,Claudio, E.G., Alegado, A.M.,Understanding the Self. Two sides of Self,
2018, 24,: Mutya Publishing House, Inc.:Malabon City

Internet sources

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/theories-of-self-
development/#:~:text=Sociological%20Theories%20of%20Self%2DDevelopment,-
One%20of%20the&text=Later%2C%20George%20Herbert%20Mead%20(1863,thr
ough%20the%20eyes%20of%20others.

https://laulima.hawaii.edu/access/content/user/kfrench/sociology/Th e%20Three%20Ma
in%20Sociological%20Perspectives.pdf

Video Presentation:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/george-herbert-mead-the-self-me- i.html

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Lesson Proper

Anthropology

What is Anthropology? It is the study of people, past and present. It centering on the understanding
the human condition in its cultural aspect. [Gallinero,et al.,2018,p27]

The anthropological perspective of self

It reckons the cultural origins and genetic of self. The self plays the role of socialization and
language, and the types of self bring forth the individual journeys to and through adulthood.

Anthropologists take an encompassing approach to the study of humanity. They acquire that
no understanding of human beings is complete without the study of the full range of the human
phenomenon. Aanthropologists’, as individuals, may concentrate their studies on a specific society or
aspect of the human being, but they put their findings into a wide theoretical perspective that seeks to
add all of the human experience. This "holistic" approach is mirrored both in interest in the wide
variety of human beings and in a comprehensive approach to the study of human beings.

CULTURE IS EVERYTHING

The individual has, does, and thinks as a part of society. It implies all material possessions,
belief system, and set of behavior. Culture is a powerful agent information of the decisions and actions
of humans in the given situation. It consists of:
 Material includes all the concrete and visible parts of culture, which includes foods, clothes, and
even buildings. Material culture differs, as each society is designed by its environment and
history [Culinary Culture of the Philippines] is different from even that of its neighbor’s in Asia
like Singapore. Cultural differences exist when groups of people assign different meanings to
different life events and things. Hence, the self is embedded/attached in culture.
 Non- Material - it refers to the nonphysical concepts that people have about the culture,
including values, beliefs, norms, rules, morals, language, organizations, and institutions.

Culture is a method of inherited conceptions uttered in symbolic forms by means of which

people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life.

Anthropology considers human experience as an interaction of:

 Nature it refers to genetic inheritance which sets the individual's potentials. Means that to all of
the genetic and hereditary factors that influence who we are from our physical appearance to our
personality characteristics.
 Nurture refers to the sociocultural environment. It means that to all the environmental variables
that upshot who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our
social relationships, and our surrounding culture.
As Max Weber mentioned that anthropology has emphasized that culture is not the behavior itself but
the joint understandings that guide behavior and are explicit in behavior. Anthony Wallace and
Raymond Fogelson called this case as IDENTITY STRUGGLES.

20
CONCEPT OF SELF IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES

Culture and self are chromatic ideas that are to be understood in relation to one another. The
most essential philosophical task of the postmodern man today is to "work on yourself" just like in the
Socratic message "know thyself".
Robbins considered human beings as cultural animals as they make the meaning of objects,
persons, behaviors, emotions and events and behave in conformity with meanings they presume to be
true. Identity is interpreted as a disposition of basic personality properties acquired mostly during
childhood and, once integrated, more or less fixed.

The Self as Embedded in Culture

Human nature is mutually beneficial to culture. Identity Struggles is a difference between the
identity a person claims to possess and the identity attributed to that person by others. Ethnic or race
is relating to a population subgroup within a bigger or paramount national or cultural group with a
common national or cultural tradition.

To achieve self-identification, the individuals have to get over many hindrances like
traditionally established habits and externally imposed self-images.

Further research [Gallinero, et al., p28-29,2018] supports this claim, Catherine Raeff [2010] a
Developmental Psychologist, believed that culture can influence how you view the following:

Relationships
Culture influences how you get into and keep a relationship.
Ex. Relationships might be seen as voluntary or as duty-based. In Western countries, it is important to
choose whom to marry, on the other hand, some Eastern countries still exercise set up marriage.

Personality traits
Culture influences whether and how you value traits, such as self-esteem, politeness, humility,
and assertiveness, also how you perceive hardship in life.

Achievement
Culture influences how you value specific types of individual and group achievements and
how you define success.

Expressing emotions
Culture influences how you express yourself and it will affect you emotionally.

Open the link for the PowerPoint Presentation https://prezi.com/go6zixmolgw-/an-

anthropological-conceptualization-of-self/

21
References

Gallinero, W.B., Reyes, C.A.,Claudio, Eric G.,Alegado, A.M.,Understanding the Self. The Self
Embedded in Culture, 2018, 27-29,: Mutya Publishing House, Inc.,Malabon City

Internet sources

https://www.plutobooks.com/9781783715244/anthropology-of-the-
self/#:~:text=The%20Individual%20in%20Cultural%20Perspec tive&text=Western
%20society%20is%20individualised%3B%20we,ways%20of%2 0looking%20at%2
0ourselves.

PowerPoint Presentation:
https://prezi.com/go6zixmolgw-/an-anthropological- conceptualization- of-self/

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Lesson Proper

Psychology

The Self as Cognitive Construction

What is psychology and how it helps you understand yourself and know who you really are?
Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think, and feel. It also includes topics like how
the brain works, how our memory is organized, how people interact with groups, and how the
children learn about the universe. The real fact, everything that concerns human beings is a concern
of psychology. The process of the human brain to consciousness to memory, language, and reasoning.
Psychology will examine it so that the human being will understand how it is to be.

For better understanding some of the things that happen during cognitive development, it is
important first to scrutinize a few of the important concepts and ideas introduced by Jean Piaget a
clinical psychologist. He pioneered the theory of cognitive development. The theory dealt with the
nature of knowledge itself.

Piaget [1952] determined how children processed and made aware of the world around them
and finally developed a four-stage model of how the mind processes new data encountered. [Gallinero,
et al.,2018,p32] The three basic components of Piaget’s cognitive theory are the following:

1. Schemas/schemes are the building block of knowledge. These are the mental organization
individuals use to understand their environment and fate action.

2. Adaptation is the child’s process to encounter situational conditions.

3. Stages of Cognitive Development are the growing expertise of the child’s thought process.

Piaget said that the knowledge children acquire is organized into schemes or groupings of the same
action or thoughts.

What Role Do Schemas Play in the Learning Process?

Assimilation

It is commonly known as the process of getting new information that is already active in our
schemas. This operation is somewhat subjective for the reason we tend to change information and
experiences that could fit in with our pre-existing beliefs.

Accommodation

It is a procedure known as a part of adaptation involves that altering or changing the existing
schemas, as a result of a new experiences and information. During this process, a new schema might
be developed.

27
Equilibration

Piaget believed that this mechanism tries to attack equilibrium between assimilation and
accommodation. It is essentials to maintain a balance between assimilation [previous knowledge] and
accommodation [new knowledge]. It helps to explain how the children can move from one stage to
another.

“Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhcgYgx7aAA

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

STAGE AGE CHARACTERISTICS OF STAGE

The child learns by doing, looking, touching, and

Sensorimotor 0-2 sucking.

The child uses language, symbols, letters, and

Preoperational 2-4 numbers.

Thinking stage. The child demonstrates

Concrete operations 7-11 conservation, reversibility, serial ordering, and
understanding of cause and effect relationships.

Demonstrates abstract thinking.

Formal operations 11-15

Additional readings:
https://www.studocu.com/id/document/our-lady-of-fatima-
university/psychology/summaries/personality-theories/3083537/view
https://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive-development.html

Harter’s Self-Development Concept

Dr. Susan Harter, a psychologist, author, and professor elaborated on the emergence of self-
concept and asserted that the wide developmental changes observe across early childhood, later
childhood, and adolescence could be understood in a Piagetian framework.
Self-concept is an idea that referring to an individual's perception of "self" that remains
comparatively consistent and steady over time, contexts and developmental stages.
Self Esteem is the ideal self and self-concept. Planetary self-esteem refers to the overall mass
opinion of oneself at any time, on a scale of positive and negative an [Harter, 1993, Pg.88 as cited in
Kling et al 1999] Harter cited that, self-esteem can be observed as a degree of self-success in academic,
social and physical areas. Self-worthy Theory in Harter's theory was founded on social and emotional
development.

28
Further research [Gallinero, et al.,2018,p34] support this claim.

Development of Self-concept According to Harter are as follows:

 Early childhood. As the child describes the self in terms of concrete, observable characteristics,
like in physical attributes [I’m beautiful or I’m ugly or I’m witty], material possessions [I have
imported shoes and clothes, lots of toys], behaviors [I love wearing my clothes, and shoes], and
preferences [I like milk chocolates].
 Middle to later childhood. Self-described in terms of traits such as constructs [ex. timid, brave,
smart, approachable and shy] that would need the type of stratified organizational skills
characteristic of analytical thought development.
 Adolescence. Harter said this is the emergence of more abstract self-definitions, such as inner
thoughts, attitudes, motives, and emotions. For example A teenage girl in discovering her self-
conceptions she described herself as follows: “What am I like as an individual?” Complicated! [I’m
sensitive, friendly, outgoing, popular and tolerant though I can be also shy. I’m a beautiful, happy
person with my friends but at home, I’m more likely to be anxious around my parents and
family.[Harter,1990b,p.352]. In Piaget’s findings on the adolescent’s ability to construct-higher
order abstractions and the capacity to introspection. [Harter, 1999] is the use of abstract words
such as sensitive, outgoing, cheerful, and anxious as self- portrait is consistent.
 Emerging adults. The self for is emerging adults having sight of “possible self”. The “age of
possibilities” [Amett, 2004 a]. Australian research [Whitty,2002], early emerging adulthood
[ages17-22] was found to be a time of “grand dreams”, of being wealthy and having glamorous
occupation., hence beyond emerging adulthood [ages 28-33] the visions of a possible self-became
more realistic, if still optimistic.

Self-image there is a saying that self-image developed as they grow older and a strong one is
necessary.

William James and the Me-self; I-Self

As William James [1890/1981, p. 221] cited in the Principles of Psychology, it lies at the
middle of mental life. As he is commonly has known “the father of American psychology” a
philosopher, psychologist, and university professor. He gave one of the earliest self-theory on
psychological analyses. According to him [1950], the self has two elements the I-self [pure ego]and
the Me-self [object].
James went on to differentiate between three aspects of self-hood:
 material self - physical appearance [clothing, family, and home]
 social self -social skills and interpersonal relationships
 spiritual self- personality, character, defining values

[James,1950;Newman,2017;Pomerleau,2017,Damon&hart,1982]

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Real vs. Ideal Self

The ideal self includes:

1. Notions influenced by your parents;
2. What you admire in others;
3. What the society sees as acceptable; and
4. What you think is best your interest.

The real self is the one who you are; it is how you behave in a certain situation. It is who you are in
reality, how you think, feel, or act.

The Importance Of Alignment

If the real self is aligned with the way that I want to be it is the ideal self, then I will feel
aware of my mental well-being or peace of mind. If the way that I am is not aligned with how I want to
be, is the incongruence, or the lack of alignment, it will result in mental distress or anxiety. The
greater the level of incongruence between the ideal self and real self, the greater the level of
resulting distress. Let's take a look at some specific examples:
Example: My ideal self-image includes honesty
When my parents question me why I was late coming home from a party, and I am honest and
tell them that I didn't want to leave the party because I was having such a great time, then despite the
complexity [like being scolded], I will feel aware of my mental well-being.
Hence, If I am not honest and tell them that my car wouldn't start, then the misalignment
between my real self and the ideal self will result in mental distress or anxiety. The reality that I lied
resulting in negative feelings.
“Multiple vs Unified Self” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhmJnlzjqY

True Self vs False Self

The true self is described by our real feelings and desires, on the other hand, the false self is a
side of us that has changed its behavior, inhibited feelings and forced needs aside in order to survive.
It presents the idea of the onion, the true self at the middle secured by outer layers of a false self.

According to John Bowlby and D. W. Winnicott, a developmental psychologist, children are

very adjusted to their parents’ feelings and needs. They unconsciously acknowledge that they need
their parents’ permission in order to survive, so they strive to meet their needs as much as possible.
The true self is the child’s real feelings, needs, desires and thoughts it is forced further and further
inside the bulb. Yes, we still have all of these feelings, needs, desires and thoughts, it’s just that the
altered false self dominates, it has to.
Hence, this striving is important in our younger years, it changes us. The false-self thought and
behavior patterns we develop during childhood stay with us as adults. On the other hand, they used to
be helpful; they often become a deterrent as we get older and gain more independence. While some

30
psychologists see the true self as black and white [true self is good, the false self is bad], some
maintain there are two types of false self a healthy false self and an unhealthy false self.

The Healthy False Self

The healthy false self is described as one which allows someone to be functional in society. It
enables politeness and social courtesy, even when we may not feel like it.

The Unhealthy False Self

The unhealthy false self comes from the same beginnings as the healthy false self. Yet, for our
long-term well-being, the effects of the unhealthy false self are rather different from those of its
opposite. This false-self is the one behind many dysfunctional behaviors, including narcissism and
addiction. As defined by D. W. Winnicott, the unhealthy false self as one that fits into society through
forced compliance rather than a desire to adapt.

References

Gallinero, W.B., Reyes, C.A., Claudio, E.G., Alegado, A. M.,Understanding the Self. The Self
Embedded in Culture, 2018, 28-29, 32- 34,38,: Mutya Publishing House, Inc., Malabon
City

Internet resources

https://www.studocu.com/id/document/our-lady-of-fatima-
university/psychology/summaries/personality- theories/3083537/view

https://www.studocu.com/id/document/our-lady-of-fatima-
university/psychology/summaries/personality- theories/3083537/view

https://www.learning-theories.com/piagets-stage-theory-of-cognitive- development.html

https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~jfkihlstrom/SocialCognitionWeb/Self/S elf_supp.htm

https://www.slideshare.net/HCEfareham/harters-theory

https://study.com/academy/lesson/ideal-self-vs-real-self-definition- lesson-
quiz.html#:~:text=In%20psychology%2C%20the%20real%20se lf,is%20who%20w
e%20actually%20are.&text=The%20ideal%20self%2C%20on% 20the,we%

https://www.growththruchange.com/2018/03/06/really-true-self-vs- false-
self/#:~:text=True%20Self%20vs%20False%20Self,aside%20in %20order%20to%
20survive.

31
Lesson Proper

Eastern and Western Philosophy

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Christianity**,Rational,
Integral, Yoga, Islam, Taoism, Zen Scientific, Logical schools
East Main Principles West

 Cosmological unity
 Feeling oneself as an
 Life is a journey towards eternal realities that are beyond the element of the Divine
realities that surround us
 Life is a service (to
 Circular view of the universe, based on the perception of
God, money, business,
eternal recurrence
etc.)
 Inner-world dependent
 The Linear view of the
 Self-liberation from the false "Me" and finding the true "Me". universe and life, based
The highest state is believed to be a state of 'no-self', where on the Christian
neither self-worth nor self-importance has any real meaning.
philosophy where
 Behavioral ethics everything has its
beginning and the end.
 Outer-world dependent
 Self-dedication to
the goal (big dream, life
vision, happiness, personal
success, etc.)
East Living Principles West

VIRTUE ETHIC

"To be able under all circumstances to practice five "One can live magnificently
things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are in this world if one knows
gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness how to work and how
and kindness." Confucius to love."
Leo Tolstoy
"Be satisfied with whatever you have, and enjoy the
same. When you come to know that you have everything, "Refrain from doing ill; for
and you are not short of anything, then the whole world one all-powerful reason, lest
will be yours." Lao Tzu our children should copy
our misdeeds; we are all too
"The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests prone to imitate whatever is
as the deed; The deed develops into habit, And habit base and depraved."
hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways Juvenal
with care, And let it spring from love born out of concern
for all beings." Buddha "There is no real excellence in
all this world which can be

34
 separated from right living."
David Starr Jordan

East The “Me” Concept West

"Me" is here and now. The true
“Me” in every human being is a
Eternal reality of the universal truth: self-liberation
part of the Divine that needs to
through getting rid of the false "Me" and discovering the
become apparent. True “Me” is
true "Me"
given and doesn’t have to be
cognizable.
East Search for Absolute Truth West

 More focused
on INDIVIDUAL
 HOLISTIC approach – all events in the universe are EVENTS and the role of
interconnected the person
 Searching INSIDE YOURSELF – by becoming a part of  Searching outside
the universe through meditation and right living yourself - through
research and analysis

Search for Truth and

East West
Fundamental Research

 The truth needs TO BE

PROVED.
 The truth is GIVEN is does not to have been proved.
 The philosophic base for
 The philosophic base for and culture of fundamental
and culture of
research is WEAKER.
fundamental research
is STRONGER.

INDIVIDUALISM/
East West
COLLECTIVISM

A human being has an

A human being is an integral part of the universe and individualistic nature and is an
independent part of the
society. People are fundamentally connected. Duty towards
universe and society.
all others is a very important matter.
COLLECTIVISM is stronger. INDIVIDUALISM is
stronger.

East Goals and Key to Success West

SPRITUAL MATERIALISTIC

35
 "The secret of success in life,
and subsequently of making
money, is to enjoy your work.
If you do, nothing is hard
"Live a virtuous life and adhere to performing your work – no matter how many
duties." Confucianism hours you put in." Sir Billy
"The Three Armies can be deprived of their commanding Butlin
officer, but even a common man cannot be deprived of his "Success is that old ABC –
purpose." Confucius ability, breaks
"If you really want everything, then give up everything." Lao and courage." Charles
Tzu Luckman

"He is able who thinks he is able." Buddha "Flaming enthusiasm, backed

by horse sense and
persistence, is the quality that
most frequently makes
for success." Dale Carnegie

The Eastern and Western thought about the self

Eastern concept of the self

 Confucianism is the identity and self-concept of an individual who is interlocking with the
identity and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its feelings as well as its occurrence.
[Self-Cultivation is the final purpose of life].
 Taoism is the self that is not just an extension of the family or the community it is also a part of
the world, one of the forms and manifestations of the Tao.[Selflessness]
 Buddhism is the self that is seen as a deception, born out of ignorance, of trying to clasp and
control things, or human-centered needs, hence, the self is also the source of all these agonies.

Western concept of the self

The ancient Grecian philosophers view humans as the holders of irreplaceable values. In
medieval times, Thomas Aquinas, philosopher, and saint believed that the body constitutes
individuality. The individual was the focus of renaissance thought, with Rene Descartes famous “I
think therefore I am” as the epitome of the Western idea of the self. [Gallinero, et al., 2018,p44] [The
focus is always looking towards the self]

Frank Johnson [1985], psychiatrist and professor outlined four categories on how the
term “self” is used in the contemporary western discussion. [Gallinero, et al., 2018,p45]

 Analytical is an inclination to see actuality as an aggregate of parts.

 Monotheistic is engaged in the tendency toward unitary explanations of phenomena and a
closed system view of self.
 Individualistic is a quality of western thinking where self-expression and self-actualization are
essential ways of establishing who one is, as well as discovering satisfaction in the world.
 Materialistic/rationalistic is western thinking tends to disregard explanations that do not use
analytical reasoning modes of thinking [Johnson, 1985; Goldin,2000].

36
Eastern and western differences

The Western culture is more individualistic and trying to look for the meaning of life there
and now with self at the canter as it is already given and part of the divine, while in the Eastern
philosophy is drawn much more into groups or society or people’s actions and thoughts as one in
order to look for meaning in life as they try to get rid of the false “me” concept and find meaning in
discovering the true “me” in relation to everything around them, or as part of a bigger scheme.

Additional reading: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cultures_east-

west-phylosophy.html

References

Gallinero, W.B., Reyes, C. A., Claudio, E.G., Alegado, A.M., Understanding the Self. Western
concept of the self, 2018, 44-45,: Mutya Publishing House, Inc., Malabon City

Internet sources

https://prezi.com/p/tobpvdqtdh9f/the-self-in-western-and-eastern- thought/

http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cultures_ east-west-
phylosophy.html

37
Lesson Proper

THE PHYSICAL SELF

The physical self refers to the body that can be observed and examined. It is the aspect of the self
that consists of the extremities and internal organs, both with a vital function of maintaining one’s life.
As one aged, these critical functions gradually change. During infancy and old age, physical efficiency
performs at least. Its peak is early adulthood and slowly declines into the middle age (Go-Monilla &
Ramirez, 2018, p. 97).

THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BODY IMAGE AND SELF-ESTEEM

Morris Rosenberg (1965) defined self-esteem as one’s attitude toward oneself (Ackerman, 2020).
It is one’s self-worth or self-respect as a person. It is how much you appreciate and adores yourself. It
involves a variety of feelings about yourself, the appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors (Cherry,
2019). He devised the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a test that measures self-worth by rating both
positive and negative feelings about the self.

Body image covers the emotional attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of a person towards their
own body. It relates to what a person believes and feels about their body. This also includes how they
control and sense their body (Brazier, 2017).

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (2015), body image and self-esteem
influence each other. It is hard to value yourself when you do not like your body. The reverse is also
true: if you cannot see the positive side of yourself and treat it with respect, you do not value it.

Below are illustrations of having a good body image and self-esteem and poor body image and
self-esteem and its effect on your mental health

Good body image and self-esteem

Source: Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division
44
Poor body image and self-esteem
Source: Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division

Culture has a great influence on a person’s self-esteem and body image. It can be positive,
negative, or both (Brazier, 2017). The traditions practiced culturally can either hurt or help us in our
life. The culture that we are surrounded by has a substantial influence on how we feel about ourselves
and how we think about our bodies. It can either be favorable to or resistant to the building of a
healthy body image and self-esteem. For example, dieting and body appearance have been a focus of
Western Culture. It is the same as in other cultures as digitally retouched photos become a norm in
society. This kind of mentality negatively influences an individual’s body image (Karges, 2015).

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY

People value physical appearance in different cultures. They tend to worry about how they look,
how people will now to look at them, and what people will say about them. The standard of beauty
changes through time as the preference of the people varies from time to time. What may be
considered the standard of beauty in one culture may be different in other cultures. It goes well with
attractiveness as what may be attractive to another one may not be appealing to another. The culture
is greatly influenced by society; thus, the concept of beauty is embedded by it (Palean et al., 2018, p.
74).

Across the globe, culture dictates what is beautiful. What is perceived as beautiful in Egyptian
women are slim, high-wasted, narrow hips, and long black hair. Contrastingly, during the Renaissance
period, women with a full figure or curvy and rounded hips were considered beautiful. During the
Medieval Age, gorgeous are chubby, fat or plump women like in some ancient tribes (e.g., Africa). In
Asian countries (Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia), which used to be beautiful, are women
with flat noses. The standards of beauty change over time due to culture. Traditionally considered
most attractive are those humans who have clear skin, thick shiny hair, well-proportioned bodies, and
symmetrical faces. Beauty is deemed necessary throughout history, with features that indicate youth,
health, excellent genes, and fertility (DeMello, 2014, pp. 173-205).
45
 Body art and body modification like body piercing are also considered beautiful in various
cultures. In Ethiopia, Kara people use body painting to attract the opposite sex (exploring-africa.com,
2020). Scarification, or scarring the skin to produce marks, is being practiced by the Masai people in
Tanzania to represent beauty and family pride to women and strength, courage, and bravery to the
men (newtimes.co.rw, 2010). Other tribes in Ethiopia, like the Mursi and Suri, women wear lip plates
that determine their beauty. The larger the lip plate, the more beautiful a woman is (Agbo, 2018).
Maria Jose Cristerna, the Mexican vampire woman, reinvented herself through body piercings to
empower herself (Valentine, 2015). Plastic surgery is also a form of body modification that is popular
nowadays due to the influence of social media (Walker et al., 2019). Printed materials (magazines,
billboards, newspapers, and others), television (entertainment, fashion and, other shows) and the
social media (influencer, vloggers, and others) profoundly influence the standard of beauty of the
culture. What is perceived as beautiful is copied; thus, it is unrealistic and unachievable.

The standard of beauty is not absolute as per culture. There will always a constant struggle to
look at the perfect measure of beauty. The usual definition of beauty is reliant on culture dictated by
society. Self-image problem arises when your beauty standards do not match with your looks
(Gallinero et al. 2018, p. 61). There is a struggle of convincing the self because of their set standards.
Remember that no two persons are alike. Everyone is unique, and that makes one stand out amongst
the crowd. Besides, inner beauty should never be forgotten as it is part of a person’s development.

Refer to links below for additional information:

Philippines (April) | 100 Years of Beauty - Ep 6 by Cut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIsAeFYZFXE

Female Beauty Around The World by Buzzfeed Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9Dp6D91fI

USA Men (Samuel) | 100 Years of Beauty - Ep 12 by Cut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-tJ5erxh4Y

Men's Standards Of Beauty Around The World by Buzzfeed Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tneKwarw1Yk

References

Books:

DeMello, M. (2014). Beautiful bodies. In Body studies: An Introduction. New York, NY.
Routledge.

Go-Monilla, M. J. A & Ramirez, N. C. (2018). Understanding the Self. Quezon City: C & E
Publishing, Inc.

Gallinero, W. B., Reyes, C. A., Claudio, E. R. & Alegado, A. M. (2018). Understanding the Self.
Malabon City. Mutya Publishing House, Inc. Malabon City

Palean, E. D. V., Nazarion, M. B. D., Valero, J. B. G., Descartin, I. K. L. & Morales-Nuncio, E. (2018).
Introspection: Understanding the Self. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

46
Internet sources:

Ackerman, C. E. (2020). What is Self-Esteem? A Psychologist Explains. Retrieved from:

https://positivepsychology.com/self- esteem/

Agbo, N. (2018). The Ethiopian Tribe Where A Lip Plate Makes You More Attractive. Retrieved
from: https://guardian.ng/life/the- ethiopian-tribe-where-a-lip-plate-makes-you-more-
attractive/

Brazier, Y. (2014). What is body image? Retrieved from:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249190

Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division. (2019). Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Mental
Health. Retrieved from: https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/infosheet/body-image-self-
esteem-and-mental-health

Karges, C. (2015). How Cultural Traditions Can Shape Body Image. Retrieved from:
https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/how-cultural-traditions-can-shape-body-
image#:~:text=Cultural%20Traditions%20Can%20Help%20or,body%20image%20and%20s
elf%2Desteem.

Kendra, C. (2013). Signs of Healthy and Low Self-Esteem. Retrieved from:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868
Printable Blank Faces. (2020). Retrieved from:
http://freestuff4kids.net/printable-blank-faces/
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press. Retrieved from:
https://fetzer.org/sites/default/files/images/stories/pdf/selfmeasures/Self_Measures_f
or_Self-Esteem_ROSENBERG_SELF-ESTEEM.pdf

The Kara Body Painting and Modifications (2020). Retrieved from:

https://www.exploring-africa.com/en/ethiopia/kara-or- karo/kara-body-painting-and-
modifications

Tribal Scars and Scarification (2010). Retrieved from:

https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/81680

Valentine, C. (2013). Maria Jose Cristerna – The Mexican Vampire Woman. Retrieved from:
https://oddculture.com/maria-jose-cristerna- the-mexican-vampire-woman/

Vector - Opposite wordcard for male and female illustration by blueringmedia (2020). Retrieved
from: https://www.123rf.com/photo_80862554_stock-vector- opposite-wordcard-for-
male-and-female-illustration.html

Walker, C. E., Krumhuber, E. G., Dayan, S. & Furnham, A. (2019). Effects of social media use on desire
for cosmetic surgery among young women. Retrieved from:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-019-00282-1

47
Lesson Proper

Have you ever wished you could talk about sex openly? Ask questions and discover your sexual
self? Let’s admit it, you know to yourself that you want to. It does not mean we discussed sex we are
liberated and this is not actually embarrassing to talk about. By understanding and putting these
topics into mind, you will understand your sexual self- better and clarify uncertain thoughts and
feelings.

Sex and Human Values

Conceding that values are both personal and cultural, most sex researchers and educators
struggle to preserve their writings on sexuality value free. In research when they label the sexually
reserved individuals as “erotophobic” and as “high sex guilt” they explicit their own values.
Furthermore, we improve our lives by knowing ourselves, by realizing that others share our
feelings, by understanding what is likely to please or displease our loved one. Behold the increasing
realization that some types of sexually explicit material can lead people to devalue or hurt others.

Sex Drive

Psychologist thinks that sex drive peaks during the teens and early twenties (Hyde, 1982). The
drive declines gradually during the middle forties, another sharp decline in sexual activity appears in
the late sixties (Solnick and Corby, 1983).

Sex and Gender are parts of you that need to be continuously explored. These two remains to be
used interchangeably however current literature has provided us enough information to differentiate
one from the other. The emergence and/or development of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and
Expression termed as SOGIE is also an important topic in understanding one’s sexual self.

These are further explained in YouTube Video URLs below:

Sex Determination: More Complicated Than You Thought

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMWxuF9YW38)

Hear Kids' Honest Opinions on Being a Boy or Girl Around the World | National Geographic
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B3ea7IGwLA)

EXPLAINER Part 1: What you need to know about SOGIE

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n7ollEPm2Q)

EXPLAINER: What you need to know about SOGIE Part 2

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H3UgGzzm_Q)

What makes us human is our sexuality. It is an innate function to survive through reproduction.
Definitely, sex is beyond merely the act of procreation but answers to both psychological and spiritual
needs. Aside from sensuality that evokes many emotions it also entails the interaction between two
human beings – to touch and be touched, to love and be loved.

54
 Sexual behavior brings connectedness. Sexuality may humanize or dehumanize, validate or
invalidate and incarnate or disincarnate existence. It makes a person comforted, loved and sometimes
euphoric.

At a deeper level, sexuality is linked with birth and death, an association found in Freud’s notion
of Eros and Thanatos. Although ultimately death prevails over sex, sex affirms life. The instinctual
sexual energy or Eros expressed in the childbearing, art relationships transcends nonexistence. Life
continues for the new generation where one can be fondly remembered by important others. This
close psychological connection between sex and life or the absence of it is a concrete reminder of the
existential inseparability of this cycle.

Additional Readings:

The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012

(https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/03/18/implementing-rules-and-regulations-of-republic-
act-no-10354/)

Psychosexual Development

The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud cited that children go through a sequence of
psychosexual stages that lead to the development of the adult personality. Freud’s theory defined how
personality developed over the course of childhood. Whereas the theory is well-known in psychology,
it has always been quite controversial, both during Freud's time and in modern psychology. These are
named psychosexual stages because each stage signifies the fixation of libido (roughly translated as
sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body.

Image credits to Simply Psychology

55
Liking and Loving (Interpersonal attraction)

To like somebody or to have a desire to be in a relationship with somebody is called interpersonal

attraction. We like being with people, we enjoy the company of others.

Physical Attractiveness

We are attracted to those who are physically attractive. Surely, the attraction here is relative.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Some men find women with long hair are attractive but some
men like women with short hair to see their neck area.

LOVE vs. LUST

LUST LOVE
 focus on a person's looks and body.  spend quality time together with
other than sex
 interested in having sex, but not in  get lost in conversations and forget
having conversations about the hours passing
 keep the relationship on a fantasy  honestly listen to each other's
level, not discuss real feelings. feelings, make each other happy.
 want to leave soon after sex rather  motivates you to be a better person.
than cuddling or breakfast the next
morning.
 want to get to meet his or her family
 are lovers, but not friends and friends

SEXUAL RESPONSE

It refers to the order of physical and emotional changes that arise as a person becomes sexually
aroused and partakes in sexually exciting activities, including intercourse (coitus) and masturbation.
Perceptive how your body reacts during each phase of the cycle can improve your relationship and
help you find the cause of any sexual difficulties. The sexual response cycle has four phases:

R
e
s
o
l
Orgasm u
Plateau t
Excitement i
o
n

56
 Both men and women encounter these phases, though the phasing usually is different. For
instance, it is improbable that both partners will reach orgasm at the same time. The intensity of the
reaction and the time spent in each phase differs from person to person. Knowing these differences
may help partners better understand one another's bodies and responses, and develop the sexual
experience.

LGBTQ

Terms to understand:

1. Lesbian - A woman who is primarily attracted to women.

2. Gay- A man who is primarily attracted to men; sometimes a broad term for individuals primarily
attracted to same-sex.
3. Bisexual- An individual attracted to people of their own and opposite gender.
4. Transgender- A person whose gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth.
5. Transsexual- An outdated term that originated in the medical and psychological communities for
people who have permanently changed their gender identity through surgery and hormones.
6. Queer- An umbrella term to be more inclusive of the many identities and variations that make-up
the LGBTQ + community.
7. Intersex- An individual whose sexual anatomy or chromosomes do not fit with the traditional
markers of “female” and “male”.

Same- Sex Attraction

Homosexual behavior is likely to present in all societies and cultures and has been documented
on all six settled continents. The homosexuality-heterosexuality distinctions is not always a clear one.
Not only do some people self-identity as bisexual, but others may also change their sexual preference
over the course of their lives (Chivers, Seto, & Blanchard, 2007). Researchers are trying to understand
why some people are more strongly attracted to members of the same sex than are other people.

Forms of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Image credits to slideshare.net

57
Contraception Methods:

Generally, procreation is the basic reason for the sexual act hence couples should have this in
mind.

A. Artificial Method- this method can be stopped when couples decided to have a child again.
1. Pills
2. Injection (Depo Provera)
3. Implants
4. Cervical Sponge
5. Spermicidal Gel
6. Condom
7. IUD
B. Natural Method- this method is encouraged by the church because it does not use chemicals
and therefore has no side effects on the part of the partners.
1. Calendar Method
2. Abstinence
3. Mucus Method
4. Basal Body Temperature Method

Resources

Frando M.F.,Isip L.A.,[2019]. Understanding the self,:Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

GenderIt.Org, Feminist Reflection on Internet Policies, Gender, sexuality and the internet ,
20 August 2014 , Retrieved from https://www.genderit.org/edition/gender-sexuality-and-
internet

Grisham, Lori, USA TODAY Network, June 1, 2015 | Updated July 22, 2016, Retrieved from
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation- now/2015/06/01/lgbtq-questioning-
queemeaning/26925563/

Harrison, Richard J. 2018 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/science/human-reproductive- system

Lucas D. & Fox, J. (2020). The Psychology of Human Sexuality. Retrieved from:
https://nobaproject.com/modules/the-psychology-of- human-sexuality

Moini, J. 2012, Anatomy and Physiology for Health Professions, 2nd Edition, Sudbury
Mass: Jones & Barlett Learning

Internet resources

https://nurseslabs.com/family-planning-methods/

58
Lesson Proper

I SHOP THEREFORE I AM: I HAVE THEREFORE I AM?

That famous statement is part of an artwork created by Barbara Kruger. It describes the
material consumption in the year 1987. It was from Rene Descartes’ philosophy of "I think therefore I
am" and she gave it a twist that fits the idea of material consumption. The idea is that it is not what
we think but what we own that identifies who we are. We became a society that focuses on “what they
have rather than who they are.” The society gives off a vibe that material possessions, as well as social
image, define who we are. The more in-depth personal attributes like accomplishments and ideas
were pushed aside. She exposes society as a modern consumer-driven society (publicdelivery.com,
2011; Hai, 2018).

William James (1980) suggested that the self is everything that is considered by the individual
as his or hers. It includes his/her body and his/her material possessions and reputation and beliefs. In
conclusion, the self is comprised of the material self, manifested by his/her material possessions (Go-
Monilla & Ramirez, 2018, p. 134). As what William James stressed that the total of man is not only his
body and his psychic powers but also his material possessions (Leary, 1990).

The Basic Components of the Material Self, according to William James (1980):

1. Body - The innermost part of the material self. Taking good care of it will help you experience life to
the fullest.

2. Clothes- Considered important to people alongside the soul and the body. The styles and brands of
clothes become symbols that are the representation of the self.

3. Material Component

3a. Family and friends - These are people whom you are psychologically connected. They helped
shape and influence yourself and your identity.
3b. House- A place where many aspects of your life developed. It also gives you comfort and security.
Accumulation of a house reflects the wealth and hard labor.
3c. Cars-Also considered as a material possession as it also reflects the wealth and hard labor.
3d. Pets- It could be an expression of one’s social status, pride, prestige since owning a dog or a cat
with breeds is very expensive.

SHAPING THE WAY WE SEE OURSELVES

The Role of Consumer Culture on our Sense of Self and Identity

Oxford bibliographies (2017) describe the consumer culture as a form of material culture
facilitated by the market. It represents a relationship between the consumer and the goods or services
he or she uses or consumes. Through Consumer culture, you are allowed to express who you are by
reinforcing an economic system of freewill or constrained. There is the freedom to choose and be
constrained with options offered commercially.

64
 Consumer culture is also a system of consumption of commercial products. Consumer culture
represents a social arrangement wherein lived culture, social resources, ways of life, and material
resources depend on the markets. The consumer culture focuses on the consumption of market-made
commodities (Arnould & Craig, 2005).

Merriam dictionary (2020) defined identity as the distinguishing character or personality of an

individual. It is who you are, how you perceive yourself, how others see you, and the characteristics
that describe you (yourdictionary.com, 2020). Material possessions are considered an extension of
your identity. Belk (1988) suggested that possessions contribute to the reflection of identity. It is a
fact that that we learn, define, and remind ourselves of who we are by our possessions. This
identification started early in life as an infant learning to differentiate oneself from the environment
and then from others who may envy possessions. In general, as you age, the importance of material
possessions decreases but remains high throughout life. It is a form of self-expression, happiness, and
a reminder of experiences and accomplishments. It also accumulates your story, who you are, where
you come from, and perhaps where you are going.

Despite being the extension of your identity, the desire for it has a negative effect on one’s sense
of self and identity. Materialism refers to giving to much importance to material possessions and
excessively being concern with its acquisition. As mentioned above, the association of identity to
material possession started at the early age of life; the etiology of materialism arises from society and
culture (Belk, 1988).

Social media play a massive part in the consumption of commercial products. Through the
internet, television, and magazines, endless options of advertised products are available (Go-Monilla
& Ramirez, 2018, pp. 136-137). Consumerism is the human desire to acquire products and goods in
excess of one's basic needs. Basic needs refer to sufficient food, clothing, and shelter. The consumerist
culture involves people who spend more on cars, gadgets, and clothes to keep up with trends and
upgrades instead of savings or investments (Baker, 2016).

Additional instructional materials:

Movie entitled: Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
Learning from consumer culture by Tori Flower TED Talks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS1sKdOTg6Y

History of ideas – consumerism by The School of life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Unq3R--M0

Conscious Consumption

Options are endless when shopping. Marketing strategies have been evolving to cater to the needs
and want of consumers. Being in a consumer culture, shopping is part of your life. As a consumer, you
have the power to control your expenditures as you have your free will to choose. The struggle of
conscious consumption usually starts when the discipline of shopping ends. Conscious consumption is
practicing being a responsible buyer (Gallinero, et al., 2018). Being a responsible buyer means you
should know how to separate your wants from your needs. Below are tips that you can use when
shopping:

65
Tips to get most of your money
Adapted from the Federal Trade Commission (2009)

Try to shop around before purchasing. We must remember that the “sale” price
isn’t always the “best” price. Search for
information can help you get the best price
for the item you want.
Take time to read sale ads. Some items are limited only to specific
quantities or available to selected stores.
Make some call ahead to ensure that the
store has the item in stock and if they ‘be
willing to hold the item for you.
Do not forget to consider the time and Take into consideration the time, and
travel costs. travel cost before shopping. What if the
item is across town, and you need to travel
just to acquire it? Are you saving or not?
Check for price-matching policies. Fish out for competitors’ prices and
compare. You might find a good deal by
comparing and contrasting.
Use the internet for price references. Surf the net to compare and contrast
prices. You can also shop online but
consider the shipping costs and delivery
time.
Bargain offers that are based on Offers like “buy one, get one free,” “free gift
purchases of additional merchandise with purchase,” or “free shipping with
should be computed. minimum purchase” seems tempting. It is
not a great deal if you don’t want or need
the item.
Some shops have sale adjustments. Some items go into the sale after a week
that you purchase it. Try to ask the store if
they have sale adjustments where you can
get a credit or refund for the discounted
amount if it is applicable.
Ask first the refund and return policies Refund and return policies for sale items or
for sale items. clearance sale differ from regular items.

66
References

Books:
Gallinero, W. B., Reyes, C. A., Claudio, E. R. & Alegado, A. M. (2018). Understanding the Self. Malabon
City. Mutya Publishing House, Inc.,Malabon City
Go-Monilla, M. J. A & Ramirez, N. C. (2018). Understanding the Self. Quezon City: C & E Publishing,
Inc.
Journal:

Arnould, E. & Craig, J. (2005). Consumer culture theory (CCT): twenty years of research.
Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (4), 868-882.
Internet resources:
Baker, J. A. (2016). The good and bad sides of consumerism. Retrieved from:
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/the-good-and- bad-sides-of-consumerism

Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the Extended Self. Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 15,
Issue 2, September 1988, Pages 139–168. Retrieved from:
https://doi.org/10.1086/209154

Caparas, K. (2013). SM Mall of Asia: One of the Largest Malls in Asia.

Retrievedfrom:https://www.vigattintourism.com/tourism/articl es/SM-Mall-of-Asia-One-
of-the-Largest-Malls-in-Asia

Federal Trade Commission. (2009). Shopping Tips. Retrieved from:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0106-shopping-tips

Hai, Y. (2018). Barbara Kruger: Slogans that shake the art world. Retrieved from:
https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/cctp- 802-spring2018/2018/05/04/barbara-
kruger-slogans-that- shake-the-artworld/

Merriam-webster.com. (2020). Identity. Retrieved from: https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/identity

Leary, D. E. (1990). William James on the Self and Personality: Clearing the Ground for Subsequent
Theorists, Researchers, and Practitioners.
Retrievedfrom:https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewconte
nt.cgi?article=1023&context=psychology-faculty-publications

Oxfordbibliographies.com. (2017). Consumer Culture. Retrieved from:

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com

Publicdelivery.org. (2011). Barbara Kruger’s I shop therefore I am – What you should know.
Retrieved from: https://publicdelivery.org/barbara-
krugershop/#:~:text=The%20phrase%20means%20that%20pr
ovided,rather%20by%20what%20they%20owned

Yourdictionary.com. (2014). Identity. Retrieved from:

https://www.yourdictionary.com/identity
67
Lesson Proper

SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION

Oftentimes, many people define spirituality and religion synonymously. There are also times
that these two terms are interchangeably used. Conversely, they are definitely different concepts. But,
they play an important role in our lives.
Spirituality came from the Latin word spiritus which means breath of life. Jafari, Loghmani
and Puchalski (2014) defines spirituality as a way an individual seeks and communicates the meaning
of one’s experiences in relation to self, to nature, and to the moment. It is a connection to something
bigger than you, of significant, reverent, or sacred. On the other hand, religion came from the Latin
word religio that means an obligation, bond, reverence and religare that means to bind. Many scholars
define religion as the relationship of an individual to God, and involves doctrines, beliefs and rituals
connected with the same a group that has shared same faith. An individual can be both religious and
spiritual but being religious does not mean you are a spiritual person.

Religion Vs. Spirituality : What is the difference? (Brady, 2019)

Religion Spirituality
Object referral Self-referral
Objective vs. Subjective Focuses on the external Focuses on the inward journey
Experience (houses of worship, books (internalization and awareness
of scripture, eternal rituals) of one’s soul)
Structures and rule based No set of external rules,
construct restrictions and rigid structure
Organized vs. Formless (moral rules, laws and (pathless path of self-
doctrines) discovery)
Deeply rooted in tradition, more flexible and adaptive
Traditional vs. ritual, creed, and doctrine (embraces change and the
Evolutionary Approach (transmitted through evolution of consciousness)
history)
About faith direct experience of the soul or
Belief vs. Spiritual (Unconditional acceptance divinity
Experience and surrender to the divine)
Concepts of original sin, Discards the remains of fear
divine judgment, God’s and worry in favor of a more
Fear vs. Love wrath, or eternal loving, compassionate
punishment can approach to life—and death

The differences between spirituality and religion are not the outright judgment of which is
better than the other. One’s spiritual and religious beliefs and practices may still vary from one
person to another.

72
Characteristics of a Spiritual Person

Howell (2013) made a research on the personal and societal benefits of spirituality. Based on
the responses, here the top five characteristics of a spiritual person.

1. A spiritual person is gracious. Spirituality encourages someone to be positive and expresses

gratitude, shows generosity on time and resources, one’s overall life indeed.

2. A spiritual person is compassionate. Living a spiritual life lets a person to feel good even on
small things in life. He or she looks at the world with empathy.

3. A spiritual person is flourishing. Spirituality enables a person to have positive relationships,

high self-esteem and lets him or her look at the meaning and purpose in life.

4. A spiritual person is self-actualized. Spirituality practices help a person to focus on their

internal values for personal growth. A spiritual person concentrates on the fulfillment of one’s
goal and that is to become a better individual.

5. A spiritual person takes time to savor life experiences. Living a spiritual life makes a person
more aware of his or her day to day activities and gives an experience positive emotions
related to small pleasures in life.

Within the self lies the best way to improve spirituality. Constant thought and contemplation
on decisions and options in life, cultivating empathy and compassion for other humans, and having
confidence in a higher being will improve spiritual awareness. It's not only finding meaning in life but
also how it brings meaning to life.

THE PRACTICE OF RELIGION: BELIEF IN SUPERNATURAL BEING AND POWER

As you grow older, you start to ask questions rooted in religious orientations. You have
probably compared one religion from another. However, you make realizations and observations until
you found the meaning of that goes beyond your religious orientations.

Functions of Religion

Cognitive enables human to explain the unexplainable phenomena

Social maintains social order by encouraging socially acceptable
behavior and discouraging inappropriate behavior
Emotional / controls the forces which they feel they have no control
Conflict Resolution uses religion as a way of diffusing anger and hostility
Reinforcement of Group allow people to express common identity and strengthens
Solidarity group identity and belonging

73
 Religiosity follows the belief systems and practices associated with a tradition in which there
is agreement about what is believed and practiced.

The supernatural concepts are a part of any human society. One must develop a view of cultur
al relativism to research spiritual beliefs, and try to recognize beliefs from the viewpoint of an emic or
insider. Imposing one culture's meanings or beliefs onto another is likely
to lead to misunderstandings. Despite the wide range of supernatural beliefs found in cultures around
the world, some common elements are shared by most belief systems.

Sashur Henninger-Rener, an anthropologist – research, identified the common elements of

religion in relation to the belief in supernatural being and power.
Elements of Religion

1. Cosmology. This explains the origin or history of the world. Religious cosmologies offer a "big
picture" of how human life was created and the forces or powers at work in the universe
2. Belief in the Supernatural. This pertains to the realm beyond direct human experience. The
belief may involve a god or gods, but it's not a necessity. Quite a few religious beliefs involve more
abstract ideas about supernatural forces.
3. Rules of Behavior. Such principles describe proper behavior for individuals and society as a
whole, and are geared towards harmonizing individual acts with moral beliefs.
4. Rituals. Religious rituals or procedures which are typically supervised by religious experts. These
may be oriented toward the supernatural, such as rituals designed to please the gods, but at the
same time addressing the needs of individuals or of the entire community.

THE CONCEPT OF “DUNGAN”, SPIRIT OR SOUL

The word "dungan" originates from the Ilonggos according to Magos (1986). The Ilonggos'
dungan or soul, which is normally not seen by the human eye. According to the Visayans, this can
leave the body voluntarily like when the person is asleep. If a person can see himself in his dreams it
means that the physical body has been replaced by his "other self". It was profoundly impressed
amongst the ancient Filipinos that a person who was asleep does not suddenly awaken. So a person
who is sleepy is first called softly and louder and louder gradually to give the soul a chance to return
to its body.
Traveling off the dungan outside of the body will be accident-free. It can be stuck in a
container or poured out from a vessel of liquid. The owner will only be able to wake up after the soul
has returned home safely. Anything that happens to the dungan does indeed happen to the human
body. It is also suspected that another reason for the soul's voluntary withdrawal is if the body is
seriously maltreated (Magos, 1986).

The Visayan dungan has a secondary sense of "willpower." A good dungan is the mental and
psychological capacity to control one's way of thinking or convince others to. An individual with a lot
of willpower is said to "have a good dungan." The constant companionship of two people (sometimes
under the same roof) can lead to a spiritual rivalry between the two dungans and the defeat of the one
with the weaker dungan.
One may conclude that "dungan" or "spirit" is something that cannot be seen and touched, and
goes beyond our senses. It's also something that science can't describe.

74
FINDING AND CREATING MEANING [Frankl]

According to Frankl (1959), the meaning of life lies in finding a purpose and taking
responsibility for oneself and others. A person can face all the "how" questions of life by having a clear
"why." He / She can only make the world a better place by feeling safe and confident of the goal that
motivates him or her.

There are 3 ways to find meaning in one's life according to Frankl in his novel, Man's Quest
For Meaning.

By Doing a Deed
Realizing artistic quality comes not from the ‘greatness' of the mission, but how one treats and
executes his or her mission. It is not the ‘radius' of the action which is essential, but how one
feels the ‘circle' of his / her mission – how respectfully one performs them.

By Experiencing a Value
Explore all facets of life in-depth, being open and receptive to all life has to bring. Deep
emotional feelings, i.e. wonder and sunset happiness, a pleasure in close contact with others,
sharing a child's sorrow, etc. Support all of the emotions; don't refuse them; float with them,
but don't get trapped.

By Realizing Attitudinal Value

Accept with great bravery all the sufferings caused by an unchanging destiny. Out of your
misery draw power of intent. Intrinsically, human life should never be meaningless. Life
challenges us and puts various circumstances before us.

References

Brady, A. (2019). Religion vs. Spirituality: What Is the Difference?

https://chopra.com/articles/religion-vs-spirituality-what-is-the- difference

Frankl, V. (1959). Man’s search for meaning : An Introduction to Logotherapy. Especially Part 2 :
basic Concepts of Logotheraphy. 149 - 210

Jafari, N., Loghmani, A., & Puchalski, C. M. (2014). Spirituality and health care in Iran: time to
reconsider. Journal of religion and health, 53(6), 1918-1922.

Howell, R. T. (2013) Why Be Spiritual? Five Benefits of Spirituality.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cant-buy- happiness/201302/why-be-
spiritual-five-benefits- spirituality

Magos, A. (1986). The Ideological Context of Ma-aram Practice in Mariit. In the Enduring
Ma- aram Tadition : An Etnography of Kinaray-a Village in antique. New Day
Publishers. 46-62

75
Lesson Proper

Generally, when speaking about national identity, the center tends to be on being a citizen of a
country. The role of culture on identity should never be underestimated. It can be varied as his/her
heritage. [Gallinero,et al.,2018,p108]

Developing a Filipino Identity: Values, Traits, Community and Institutional Factors

Filipino students may deepen their understanding of their political selves through a list of socially
relevant movies which can be found in this link (https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/movies-music-
tv/75285/10-new-pinoy-films-for-the-woke-a1943-20181006-lfrm)

Filipinos are of Malays descent with traces of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood.
According to the United Nations, the Philippines has a population of 109 million in midyear of 2020.
Having been colonized by the West and an active trading system among neighboring Southeast Asian
countries, the Filipino people are a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.

The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie took from the Malays, close family relations
inherited from the Chinese, piousness came from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity are our
dominant features. Positive relationships are a core value for Filipino communities, also known as
“Personalism.” These involve sensitivity and regard for others, understanding, helping out, and
consideration for others’ limitations. Children are taught to respect older family members, older
adults and authority. It is considered the norm to seek the advice of and accept the decisions of older
adults; and are obligated to care for aging parents, and maintain emotional ties with family members
throughout the life span. Religion is central to our lives and serves as a means of coping with life’s
adversities. The Philippines is divided geographically and culturally into regions, and each regional
group is recognizable by distinct traits and dialects. Hospitality, cheerful disposition, welcoming
character and passionate about life are what distinguishes us from the rest of ASEAN. These are the
strengths of the Filipino character and in some ways our weaknesses.

Psychologist, educator, and [former] chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. Dr.
Patricia B. Licuanan wrote that the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino character are rooted in
factors, like [Gallinero, et al.,2018,p109]

1. The home environment 6. Religion

2. The social environment 7.The economic environment
3. Culture and Language 8.The political environment
4. History 9. Mass media
5. The educational system 10.Leadership and role models.

According to her, in-home environment, Filipino children are family-oriented. In the social
environment, it is characterized by survival of the fittest that makse them [Filipinos] group-oriented
[1994].
Furthermore, in culture and language show openness to international elements with no primary
consciousness of our cultural core [Licuanan, 1994]. The colonial mentality of the Filipinos is a good
example of this.

81
 While, in the Philippine educational system helps in casting the strengths and weaknesses of the
Filipinos [Licuanan,1994]. Various Filipinos are rooted in our economic environment, hardships and
struggles pushed them to work harder. Some choose to leave their family to work abroad for better
living.

She also cited that our political environment and government structures and systems are
troubled with problems [Graft and Corruption]. On the other hand, the mass media reinforce our
colonial mentality. It is shown on TV, magazines, newspaper, etc. Nowadays, the mass media in fact
part of Filipino life.
Ever since Filipinos highly respect authority, we learn on our leaders and role models [1994].

Strengths of the Filipino Character:

The Filipino characteristics listed below are not complete, hence, these are the most we have in
common. Filipino traits are as follows [Gallinero,et al.,2018p110]:

1. Pakikipagkapwa-tao
2. Family orientation
3. Joy and humor
4. Flexibility,adaptability, and creativity
5. Hard work and industry
6. Faith and religiosity
7. Ability to survive

Weaknesses of the Filipino character:

1. Extreme personalism 5. Colonial mentality

2. Extreme family-centeredness 6. Kanya-kanya syndrome
3. Lack of discipline 7. Lack of self-analysis and
4. Passivity and lack of initiative self-reflection
Citizenship and Democracy

Democracy is a Greek word that means demos [people’s rule]. It is a form of government in which
the supreme power is vested in the hands of the people. As stated by the famous President Abraham
Lincoln, democracy is a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

The idea of democracy is interpreted in many forms. In general, it implies majority rule, minority
and individuals have equality of opportunities and under law, civil rights and liberties.

Who is the citizen of the Philippines

Is the one who is a member of a state who was accorded with full civil and political rights subject
to disqualifications provided by law, and who is protected inside and outside of the state where
he/she is a citizen.

82
Self and Politics

Man is considered a political animal. His/her thoughts about political happenings show his/her
personality and beliefs.
Political socialization is a learning process by which individuals acquire political knowledge,
beliefs and attitudes that helps develop a sense of self. The family is the major socializing agent. As
children grow up, schools, peer groups and the media also become important agents of political
socialization.

Reference

Gallinero,W.B., Reyes, C.A., Claudio, E.G., Alegado,A.M., Understanding the Self. Developing a
Filipino Identity: Values, Traits, Community and Institutional Factors,2018,109-110,:
Mutya Publishing House,Inc. Malabon City

We Are Filipino. (2018). Retrieved from:

https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/opinion/filipino-identity- a1502-20181205-l
frm3

The Filipino People. Retrieved from: https://ammanpe.dfa.gov.ph/2016-06-30-08-29-54/the-

filipino- people

Cultural Values. Retrieved from:

https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/filipino/fund/cultural values.html

83
Lesson Proper

I, ME, MYSELF AND MY USER ID ONLINE IDENTITY

In the emergence of the use of technology in our lives, this made us create a new self of our
identity. This identity extends to the digital world using any social media applications like Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Aside from these applications, we also engage ourselves in different
internet websites that create our virtual world that is different from our real world. Thus, we create
our own online identity or can be termed as a digital self.
Many from the millennial and Gen Z generations are being tagged as digital natives because they
depend most of the time on the functions of technology.
In 1988, Russell Belk, Chair in Marketing, Schulich School of Business at York University, proposed
the concept of extended self even during that time that digital technology was limited to personal
computers. Nowadays, access to computers can be done using mobile phones, laptops, and other
digital devices. Through these, we can exchange ideas and can communicate and connect with others.
According to Belk (2013), the extended self can be presented in different factors:
dematerialization, re-embodiment, sharing, co-construction of self, and distributed memory.
These factors are actually changes and progressions evaluated for our understanding of oneself, the
nature of possessions, and our connections or associations with things in an advanced world, the
digital world.
First, dematerialization relates to our possessions like photos, videos, music, and
information which at present are all immaterial and cab be all stored in different electronic devices
that we can access anytime. Second, re-embodiment describes how we can post, upload and view
photos of our faces online that we have become online ‘avatars’. Using social media and computer
software, we can easily change our appearance distinguishing our online self and our actual
appearance. Third, with the use of the internet, sharing pertains to transferring pieces of our true
personal information or change information we would like anyone can access in the digital world. In
relation to this, fourth, co-construction of self explains how we socially involve ourselves in a digital
environment by communicating and interacting and the same time constructing and our individual
and extended sense of self. And last, distributed memory shows that non-digital objects like events,
people, and even memories are now being recorded and shared in the digital world. Thus, this
provides a sense of past being archived in different social media and can be viewed later on.
Further, the concept of extended self is alive and well in the digital world (Belk, 2013).
However, number of differences are being observed because of the challenges and changes of new
possibilities offered in our digital world.

SELECTIVE SELF PRESENTATION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Self-presentation is the act of expressing oneself and behaving in ways designed to create a
favorable impression that corresponds to one’s ideals. Myers (2008) explained it as you want to
present the desired image of yourself both to other people (external audience) and to yourself
(internal audience). As social beings, we adjust our words and actions to suit our audiences. There is
varying degrees of how we behave in front of other people.

Why does selective self-presentation happen?

There is selective self-presentation because people want to manage the impression on how
society views them. This comes into two forms: self-enhancement and self-deprecation. Self-
enhancement entails bringing forth the good qualities of one's personality to strengthen an
88
individual's social views. While self-deprecation primary aims to limit self-portrayal by displaying
more humble features or characteristics of oneself.

Self-Presentation Goals
1. To arise from getting others to do what one wants
2. To gain respect, power, liking, or other desirable social rewards
3. To make certain impressions on others to maintain a sense of who they are

Impression management refers to the information controlling activity to guide the opinions of
others in the service of personal or social objectives. This shows how humans seem motivated not
only to perceive themselves in self-enhancing ways but also to present themselves favorably to others.

Self-Presentation and Impression Management Strategies (Jones, 1990)

1. I
n Self-Presentational Impression Prototypic Self-Presentational
g Strategy Sought Behaviours Risks
r
a 1. Ingratiation Likable Compliments, Insincere,
t favors Deceitful
i
a 2. Self-promotion Competent Boasting, Conceited, Fraudulent
t Showing off
i 3. Intimidation Powerful, Threats Reviled,
o Ruthless Indecisive
n 4. Exemplification Virtuous, Self-denial, Hypocritical, Self-
- Moral Martyrdom righteous
5. Supplication Helpless Self-deprecation Manipulative,
Demanding

wish other people to like you by letting people agree with you, say nice things about you, do
favors for you, and possess positive interpersonal qualities.

2. Self-promotion
- You seek to convince people of your competence by getting people to think we are capable,
intelligent, or talented.

3. Intimidation
- You sometimes show people your authority and you are to be feared off by displaying that you
are tough, powerful or ruthless.

4. Exemplification
- You try to make the impression that you are morally superior or righteous by portraying an
exaggerated degree that you suffered poor treatment or has endured excessive hardships.

5. Supplication
You publicly overstress your weaknesses and deficiencies to play helpless in order to attract
others’ sympathy and get what you want.

89
 How you present yourself and manage other’s impressions are part of your online identity. It
is you faithfully reflect on how you think of yourself. Presenting yourself online is sometimes a
concern of misrepresenting yourself. Further, it is very important to know sincerity and authenticity
in establishing relationships with others in the online social world.

IMPACT OF ONLINE INTERACTIONS ON THE SELF

Our interaction with others is very different now that we are living in the digital age.
Everything can be accessed in just one click. You can build hundreds to thousands of friends around
the world which you can actually create an online community. Social media applications and social
networking sites provide us an opportunity to widen our connections and relationships. Despite our
differences, the internet or virtual world connects us with others and meets with our similarities.
However, people we interact may influence the way we think ourselves so let us not forget that our
online interactions have an impact also on ourselves.
In 2018, David Cross, chief editor at Web Hosting Media, published his review on the
positive and negative effects of social media on our lives. This shows how big the impact of our online
interactions. He explained that there is nothing wrong with the platform itself but the problem is on
the way a lot of us use it and play a role in our lives.
Here are the impacts of online interaction taken from Cross (2018).

The Improvements Social Media Brought About (The Positive)

1. It Can Save You In Case Of An Emergency
2. Enhanced Connectivity
3. It Can Be Used As a Voice to Reason
4. It’s a Place for Content Discovery
5. Helps in Getting Help
6. Provides an Awesome Marketing Tool

The Toxic Reflections of Social Media (The Negative)

1. It’s Incredibly Addictive
2. Self-Image Issues
3. The Illusion of Control
4. It Can Make You Feel Lonely
5. A Fear of Missing Out
6. It Drives More Sadness than Happiness
7. The Delusion That It Elevates Your Mood
8. The Rise of Cyber Bullying

We may experience differently the impact of our online interactions using different digital
applications and sites. It can be both honestly connect us and help us communicate more efficiently.
Nevertheless, how we use it depends on how we make decisions (Cross, 2018).

BOUNDARIES OF THE SELF ONLINE

Public Self vs. Private Self

The American Psychological Association defines the public self as “information about the self,
or an integrated view of the self, that is conveyed to others in actions, self-descriptions, appearance,
and social interactions..” And private self as “the part of the self that is known mainly to oneself, such

90
as one’s inner feelings and self-concept.” Your public self or private self may vary depending on your
audience of such impressions.
Wilson (2008) explained that the millennial generation has a characteristic of the
phenomenon of public identity than private identity. There is a belief that members of this generation
have not been afforded a sense of privacy. Examples of this are the posting, sharing of information,
capturing everyday activities and the like made by the online users.
The distinction between public and private becomes unclear because of the effects of the
popularity of social networking sites and applications where you can manage your account on what to
share or not and what to show between the real and unreal.

Personal Identity vs. Social Identity

Personal identity is best described using Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory. According to

Erickson (1968), an individual can move from two opposite poles: identity synthesis and identity
confusion. Identity synthesis explains that an individual combines and integrates relevant earlier
identification in a unique way while identity confusion describes that an individual does not hold yet
meaningful identification that could provide him or her with a sense of direction. You may search
your sense of self or personal identity by intensely exploring on your personal values, beliefs, and
goals. He also added that the success of this process may lead to the virtue of fidelity. This means that
you will be able to commit yourself to others on the basis of accepting others regardless of the
presence of the ideological differences.
On the other hand, Tajfel and Turner (1968) refers to social identity as how an individual
defines himself/herself as a member of a social group.
Social identity processes include social categorization, social identification, social comparison,
positive group distinctiveness. Social categorization helps individuals to navigate the social world by
distinguishing between in-group and out-group members. It is providing information about others, economizing
social perception, and reduces uncertainty as long as a clear set of expectations about others and the self are
provided. It enables that the mere act of categorizing people into groups was enough to lead to in-group
favoritism and out-group derogation. Social identification involves the individual’s awareness of, value
attribution to, and affective experience linked to one’s group membership. Social comparison is a fundamental
process to understand who we are, what are our positive qualities, and we do this by exchanging feedbacks in
the interactions with meaningful others. Positive group distinctiveness is the appreciation of one’s own in-
group as basis to achieve, maintain, and enhance group distinctiveness to motivate individuals to join social
groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).

Gender and Sexuality Online

In the previous lesson, you already have the idea of what is gender and sexuality. Here in this topic, the
discussion will focus on the issues related to gender and sexuality online. Gender and sexuality is part of our
identity.
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been reported to possess a degree of anonymity on the Internet
which makes the gender of online communicators insignificant or invisible. In comparison to norms of
patriarchal superiority historically found in face to face contact, this supposedly encourages women and men to
contribute and be respected equally for their efforts (Walther, 2007).

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 10 TIPS FOR SETTING BOUNDARIES ONLINE
Taken from Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.

1. Give yourself permission. Give yourself permission to set boundaries and say no.
2. Consider your purpose. Think ahead about how you’d like to use social media by
considering what kinds of information you want out there.
3. Set boundaries surrounding time. Figure out what works best for you to maintain
connections — without feeling stressed and overwhelmed
4. Take things slowly. Give yourself time to get to know the person before revealing
too much about yourself not just talking romantic relationships but interactions of
all kinds.
5. Ask for clarification. Respond and ask for clarification to avoid misinterpretation of
a person’s message online.
6. Be honest about your feelings. Let them know authentically and honestly how it
made you feel.
7. Practice the three-strikes-you’re-out rule. Take some type of action that limits
their contact with you when they’ve crossed another boundary of yours.
8. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Give them the benefit of the doubt by keeping in
mind that everyone has different comfort levels to avoid jumping to conclusions.
9. Honor your feelings and comfort level. Pay attention to your own emotions and
comfort level.
10. Be thoughtful in your own responses. Take a moment to think through what
you’d like to say and never respond in anger or in impatience.

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References

American Psychological Association. Dictionary of Psychology. Retrieved from:

https://dictionary.apa.org

Belk, R. W. (2013). Extended self in a digital world. Journal of consumer research, 40(3), 477-500.

Cross, D. (2018) Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Our Lives. Retrieved
from:https://webhostingmedia.net/social-media- effects/

Erikson, E. (1968). Identity, youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

Myers, D. G. (2008). Social Psychology 9th Edition. McGraw-Hill.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel &
W.G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7-24). Chicago: Nelson.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S.
Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33- 47). California:
Brooks/Cole.

Tartakovsky, M. (2018). 10 Tips for Setting Boundaries Online. Psych Central. Retrieved on July 16,
2020, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/10-tips-for-setting-boundaries- online/

Walther (2007). Selective self-presentation in computer mediated communication: Hyperpersonal

dimensions of technology, language and cognition.Computers in Human Behavior . 23.
2538 – 2557.

Wilson, J. L (2008). The Conflation of Public and Private Identity.

Retrievedfrom:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stor ies-the-self/200812/the-
conflation-public-and-private-identity

"What is the difference between selective self-presentation and social identity deindividuation?" eNotes
Editorial, 16 Mar. 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-difference-
selective-self-presentation-social-1738025. Accessed 16 July 2020.

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Lesson Proper

Learning to be a Better Student

How Learning Occurs

What happens in the brain while learning?

Learning happens at synapses, the

junctions between neurons. We can sum it up into
four steps: 1) How neurons react to new
information 2) How we make new information
easy to learn 3) How the brain stores new
information 4) How we learn new information.

The first one is how neurons react to new

information. When we learn something new, the
performance of newly associated synapses change.
For example “Jin starts attending dance classes.
He takes it twice a week.” When Jin starts attending dance classes, the synapses working on this new
information or skill changes their performance. Next, how we make new information easy to learn; an
element comes along the new information obtained. An element is like an image, an emotion or a
sound to which we relate the new information. In the first example, Jin started attending dance
classes; so now he associates dance with exercise and stress release. So he uses dance as a stress
reliever and as a form of exercise, because of this it is easier for him to learn about dancing. After that
we have how the brain stores new information. The brain sets apart space where this new
information is stored. The more synapses fire when the new information is used, the more its
allocated brain space grows. Since Jin enjoys dancing, he now takes it five times a week. Because of
the time and effort on learning how to dance grow, the brain creates more space for it. Lastly, how we
learn new information effectively. The more synapses on the new information fire, the more we learn
it. According to his dance teacher, Jin’s regular practice pays off so he gets better and better.

The Information Processing Model

Image credits to LearnUpon

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 The Information Processing Model is a type of learning model that treats the brain as if it is a
computer. Under this we have the following:

1. Sensory Memory – we gather information from our environment. It is the temporary first
interaction with any information. Sensory memory includes Iconic memory (what we initially see)
and Echoic memory (what we initially hear). Since we cannot process all sensory memory, we
concentrate on working memory instead.

2. Working Memory – our current thoughts. We process information from our environment.
Through working memory, we get to focus more on visual and spatial information and verbal
information one at a time or at the same time with the help of our central executive. Working
memory is responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information. The episodic buffer
bridges us to long-term memory.
3. Long-term Memory – we decide based on our environment. Long-term memories are prior
knowledge and memories. There are three types of memories under this: a) Explicit memories
are facts or events that we can describe clearly and definitely; b) Episodic memories are event-
related memories, and c) Implicit memories which are influenced by interpretation.

Metacognition

According to John Flavell,

“Metacognition” is “cognition about the
cognitive phenomenon”, or basically “thinking
about thinking.” Metacognition imports deep
thinking in which cognitive processes
involved in learning are actively controlled. It
has two aspects:

1. Self-appraisal – people’s
personal reflections about their knowledge
states and abilities and their affective states
Image credits to KQED concerning their knowledge, abilities,
motivation and characteristics as learners.
Such reflections answer questions about
“what you know, how you think, and when and why to apply knowledge or strategies”.

2. Self-management of cognition – this refers to “Metacognition in action”, meaning

mental processes that help to “compose aspects of problem-solving”. It is the mental process of
planning on how one can succeed at a task.

Learning to be a better Student

Different learning techniques

1. Elaborative interrogation – it focuses on enhancing memory by generating an explanation of

why a specifically stated fact or concept is true.

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2. Self-explanation – explaining how new information is related to known information, or
explaining steps taken during problem-solving. It generates inferences about causal
connections and conceptual relationships that enhance understanding.
3. Summarization – writing down summaries of texts to be learned.
4. Highlighting/underlining – marking important phrases from the materials to be learned while
reading in a single study session.
5. Keyword mnemonic – using keywords and mental imagery to associate verbal materials.

How Habits Are Formed

Every habit starts with a psychological pattern called a “habit loop” which is a three-part
process. First is the cue or trigger that orders your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior
unfold. Then the action or routine is the behavior itself. And lastly, the reward which is something that
your brain likes that aids in remembering the “habit loop” in the future.

Image credits to Help Scout

“How Habits are Formed – The Power of Habit” open the link and watch the video presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg1VAhv6KHg

Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulation is the process of controlling thoughts, behaviors, and emotions for the purpose
of acquiring information or skills. By engaging in self-regulated learning, one can independently track
down his own progress and manage his own development. Self-regulated learners take full ownership
of their learning where they are commonly described as more engaged in learning, more confident to
learn and perform better on tests.

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References

An Introduction to Working Memory. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ldatschool.ca/introduction-

working-memory/

What is Metacognition? (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/metacognition/

Jarett, C. (2018, December 7). Research Digest: Self-explanation is a powerful learning technique,
according to 64 studies involving 6000 participants. Retrieved from
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/12/07/meta-analysis-of-64-studies-involving-6000-
participants-finds-that-self-explanation-is-a-powerful-learning-technique/

Habits: How They Form and How To Break Them. (2012, March 5). Retrieved from
https://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-
break-them

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Lesson Proper

Setting Goals for the Self

Goal Setting Leads to a Meaningful Life

A goal makes life worth living so it is important to set goals that will lead you to success. A goal is
defined simply as what the individual is consciously trying to do. It directs attention and action. Goals
motivate people to develop strategies that will enable them to perform at the required goal levels.
People more often than not experience disappointments, stress, and mental health problems when
they fail to reach their life goals. In this lesson, you will develop and practice goal-setting skills that
will help you manage and care for yourself better.

Goal Setting Concepts and Theories

To strengthen your understanding of your need for goals, here are some concepts and theories
that explain the human need for goals.

1. Bandura’s Self Efficacy

According to Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, self-efficacy is the confidence in having
the ability to perform certain behaviors. It is the people’s beliefs about their capabilities to
produce effects. It distinguishes between response-outcome expectancy and efficacy expectation.
Response-outcome expectancy is a person’s estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain
outcomes. On the other hand, efficacy expectation is the assurance that one can successfully
execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes.

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2. Dweck’s Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck, a social psychologist, described how people have two types of mindsets: the
fixed mindset and the growth mindset. She found that students’ mindsets played a key role in their
motivation and achievement. Most people are not aware of which mindset they have until it manifests
in their behaviors, especially in how they react to failure.

GROWTH MINDSET FIXED MINDSET

Believes in hard work, learning, Believes in natural abilities and

and has a growth theory of has a fixed proposition of
intelligence intelligence
Views failure as an opportunity Views failure as a limitation to
to grow one’s abilities

3. Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory

Goal-setting theory is outlined regarding the effectiveness of specific, difficult goals; the
relationship of goals to affect; the mediators of goal effects; the relation of goals to self-efficacy; the
moderators of goal effects; and the generality of goal effects across people, tasks, countries, time
spans, experimental designs, goal sources (i.e., self-set, set jointly with others, or assigned), and
dependent variables. This theory emphasizes the important relationship between goals and
performance.

Five Principles of Effective Goal Setting

1. Clarity – goals need to be specific. Specific goals allow you to know what to reach for and
allow you to measure your own progress.
2. Challenge – it must be difficult but attainable. A goal that is too easily achieved will not
boost performance. It must be difficult and specific for it to boost performance. However,
there is a limit to this effect. If the goal becomes too difficult, your performance might suffer
because you reject the goals as unreasonable and unattainable. A major factor of the
attainability of a goal is self-efficacy.
3. Commitment – an established need to achieve the goal is necessary to gain commitment.
Goals need to be accepted and viewed as an important matter. Having goals may not be
effective if you view those goals as threatening.
4. Feedback – feedback must be provided on goal attainment. It helps you attain your goals in
a way that determines how well you are doing. It also aids in determining which part of
their performance needs improvement.
5. Task complexity – you should be realistic with your sub-goals and your timeline.

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SMART Goal Setting
What are SMART Goals? These are statements of the important results you are working to
accomplish. It is designed in a way to cultivate a clear and mutual understanding of what composes
expected levels of performance.

SMART criteria DESCRIPTION HOW TO

When setting a goal, be specific
What will be accomplished? What about what you want to
actions are you going to do to accomplish. It should include an
SPECIFIC
accomplish it? answer to the “W” questions:
Who, What, When, Where, Which,
and Why.
There should be a source of
information to measure or
determine whether a goal has
What data will measure the goal? been achieved. If you set a goal
MEASURABLE
How much? How well? that is going to take a few months
to complete, then set some
milestones by considering specific
tasks to accomplish.
Focus on how important a goal is
to you and what you can do to
make it attainable. Think about
Is the goal doable? Do you have
ACHIEVABLE hot to accomplish it; if you have
the needed skills and resources?
the tools/skills needed and if not,
consider what it would take for
you to attain them.
How does the goal support Focus on something that makes
RELEVANT broader goals? Why is the result sense with your broader goals.
important?
Anyone can set goals, but if there
is no realistic timing, there is a
greater chance that you’ll not
What is the time frame for
TIME-BOUND succeed. Provide a target date or
accomplishing the goal?
deadline to your goal. Having time
constraints also creates a sense of
urgency.

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References

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.),

Enc
yclopedia of
human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.
(Rep
rinted in H.
Friedman [Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego:
Aca
demic Press, 1998).

Bandura, A. (n.d.). Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change. Psychological

Review, 84(2), 191-215.

Dweck, C. (2015). Carol Dweck Revisits the 'GrowthMindset'.EDUCATION WEEK, 35(05), 20-24.
Retrieved
from/portal.cornerstonesd.ca/group/yyd5jtk/Documents/Carol%20Dweck%20Growth%20M
indsets.pdf

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (n.d.). New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 15(05).

Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Goal-Setting Theory of Motivation. International Journal of Management,

Business, and Administration, 15(1), 1-5. Retrieved from
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b0b8f55365f02045e1ecaa5/t/5b14d215758d46f98
51858d1/1528091160453/Lunenburg%2C+Fred+C.+Goal-
Setting+Theoryof+Motivation+IJMBA+V15+N1+2011.pdf

University of California. (2016). How to Write SMART Goals:

A Guide for Managers and Employees. Author. Retrieved from
https://www.ucop.edu/local-human
resources/_files/performance
appraisal/How%20to%20write%20SMART%20Goals%20v2.pdf

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Lesson Proper

A. What is Stress?

The term stress is derived from the Latin word stringere, which is defined as to draw tight.
Psychologists define stress as the psychological and physiological response to a condition that
threatens a person’s capacity to adjust to the inner and outer demands. No wonder people go into
binge eating; become irritable; and do various activities to relieve them from their stress.
In the 1930s, Hans Selye, a Canadian Scientist, started to use the term “stress” to mean the
environmental agent where an organism responds and adapts.
To understand what stress is, let us accept that it is a natural part of life. In fact, it is important
to have normal functioning of the body (Sevilla, et al., 2000). This is the reaction or response of the
body and mind to everyday challenges and demands. These responses could disrupt or threaten to
disrupt the physical or psychological functioning of the body.
Stress is usually perceived as negative; however, it may serve as a good source of motivation.
Stress often hits the individuals’ emotions and motivations, the individual’s ability to think clearly
(Cornista, et al, 2000). The events that often lead to stress are called stressors. Stressors can be
positive (getting married) or negative (funeral or death of a loved one).

Types of Stress

1. Eustress- Stress with beneficial effects. It is considered as good Stress. It is often a short-
term exciting feeling that improves performance. It can be handled with ease. Stress
experienced during a wedding; a new job; taking a new sport that results in personal
growth, joining groups that provide fulfillment, are examples of eustress.
2. Neustress – Neutral stress. Any situation that does not threaten nor make you happy. A
sensory stimulus with no direct effect on the person. Incidents that you hear in the news;
foods preferred by your neighbor can be the examples of eustress.
3. Distress – Stress with harmful effects. It can be a short-term or long-term unpleasant
feeling that decreases

4. Performance. It is something that is seen as difficult to handle and may cause anxiety.
Distress does more damage that could lead to depression and suicide. Stress experienced
during a funeral and loss of a job, are examples of distress.

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Sources of Stress

Sources of stress are called stressors that can be internal or external. Internal sources
of stress is those that involve physical, demographic, psychological , and personal characteristics.
External source of stress are those that are outside the individual. Examples of external stressors are
air pollution, noise, crowding, brown outs, COVID-19.

There are five major sources of stress, these are:

Signs and Symptoms of Stress

Behavioral Symptoms include nail-biting, foot or finger tapping, dieting, compulsive

eating, being agitated, and restlessness.

Emotional Symptoms include irritability and restlessness, aggressiveness, anxiety and

nervousness, withdrawal, substance abuse, lack of concentration, depression, loneliness and
isolation.

Physical Symptoms include aches and pains, dry mouth/throat, excessive sweating, nausea
or vomiting, indigestion, low energy, insomnia, aches, pains, tense muscles, loss of sexual desire.

Cognitive Symptoms this include problem in concentration, memory, decision, loss of sense
of humor, forgetful, orientation to the past, errors in judging distance

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Body’s Response to Stress

What happens to you if you experience stress? Your response could either be physiological or
psychological.

Physiological Response to Stress. Hans Selye (in Silverman, 1979) came up with his theory
on General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). According to Selye, stress results when the body’s normal
homeostatic mechanisms fail to provide the body with sufficient means to adapt to environmental
demands. Thus, he called the widespread bodily reaction as the general adaptation syndrome.

The General Adaptation Syndrome

1. The Alarm Reaction State. In this state, the individual is momentarily immobilized (e.g. in a state
of shock) followed by a rapid and intense mobilization of bodily response, which includes a high
degree of instinctive and skeletal muscle activity.

2. The Resistance Stage. This is the recovery and restoration period. In this stage, the individual
“adapts” to the stress. Externally, it appears to be a quiet stage, but the endocrine glands, the
anterior pituitary, and the adrenal cortex, in particular, are hard at work helping the individual to
adapt himself to the stressful situation.

3. The Exhaustion Stage. If the stress continues and the person is unable to maintain the resistance
level, exhaustion occurs and the alarm reaction is repeated. And if the stress persists, then serious
injury or even death may arise.
Psychological Responses to Stress

Among the documented responses to stress were anger, aggression, depression, anxiety,
inability, insatiable cravings, irrational fear, panic and apathy (Baron, 1998; Atkinson et al, 1996;
Zimbardo, 1992). The psychological response to stress may differ according to situations. Behavioral

117
manifestations as a psychological response to stress also vary. Examples of these manifestations are
increased use of medication, nervous tics or mannerisms, absentmindedness, increase or decrease in
eating and sleeping, smoking, increased use of alcohol, and reckless driving.

Psychological Responses to Stress

Behavioral Change Emotional Change Cognitive Change

   T
The way a person looks Anger Distorted perceptions

   S
Shaky voice Irritabilit Altered perception of
circumstances and situations

   I
Increase or decrease in Short-tempered Affected learning and thinking
eating

   M
Muscle spasms Hopelessness Difficulty in making sound
decisions

   T
Tensed facial Feeling trapped Reduces enjoyment
expressions

  C
Change in sleeping Helplessness
patterns

  A
Aggression Anxiousness

  H
Hand tremors Negative attitude

  j
Jumpiness Depression

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Open the Link and watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-t1Z5-oPtU

B. Stress Coping Strategies

Coping strategies are active efforts to eliminate or to get rid of stress. Strategies of individuals
to cope up with stress vary from one another. Some people try to deal directly with the anxiety-
producing situation, others may not.
Here are the approaches that individual use to cope up with their stress:

1. Emotion-focused – the individual exerts efforts to modify the unpleasant emotional

consequences of the stress. If the individual cannot change the stressful situation directly, he
or she can try to alter his or her perception of it or the emotions it produces.

2. Problem focused – the individual deals with the stressor itself. The strategies include
reducing, modifying, or eliminating the source of stress.

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 3. Proactive coping – the individual anticipates some stressful situations and take active
measures to avoid or minimize the consequences.

Dealing with Short-Term Stress

Short-term stress is a “burst” of reaction to something in the environment. It can affect the
body in many ways. These are some of the examples:
 Muscle tightening or increase body tension
 Dry mouth
 Faster heartbeat and breathing
 Extreme sweating
 Frequent trips to the bathroom
 Increased muscle spasms
 Headaches, fatigue and shortness of breath
 Cold hands, feet or skin
 Sick feeling in the stomach

To deal with the above short-term stress, the body needs to react rapidly, though adverse
effects to the individuals’ physical and mental performance may occur, particularly if there is no outlet
or reason for the stress.

Long-Term Strategies for Dealing with Stress

This is the strategy on how to deal with long-term stress.

1. Identify the cause of stress. Face or confront problems that caused stress. Take time to
know the serious stressors. Eventually, this will help in coming up with a strategy on how
to manage it.
2. Recognize what you can change. Accept what needs to be changed. The way you
respond to the problem should be change then find other ways to channel your
frustrations.
3. Reduce the intensity of your reaction. Change your reaction to the stress because your
response to the stressful situation might be too much or exaggerated.
4. Re-examine your attitudes and obligations. Prioritize your goals and needs. Try to
examine your life priorities and don’t forget to include yourself as one of those priorities.
5. Organize yourself. Working too much and subjecting yourself to fatigue causes too much
stress. Learn to say “no” to things that will not affect your job, school or relationship.
6. Develop an emotional support system and use them. Confide your problems to
someone – a parent, a close friend or your peers. It is very important to have someone to
share your bad or good feelings.
7. Let it all out. Overtly express, through tears or laughter, to ease your tension. It is better
to release your anger and frustration on the shoulder of a loved one to make you more
relaxed and relieved than any amount of time management, deep breathing, or rational
discussion.

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 C. Managing Stress

Managing and caring for the self is a holistic process. There are many aspects of the self that
needs attention. And there are various ways to prevent, minimize and manage stress.
Start managing your stress by first doing a self-care. Self-Care starts by taking charge of one’s
health. It is important to nurture not only our physical but especially our mental health.

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