GEN. ED.
002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
Chapter 4: The Physical Self
Why Do I Look Like Myself?
• Gregor Mendel first figured out how genes are passed from parents to offspring in plants,
including humans.
• Genetics definitely has a hand on our physical appearance.
• Our biology dictates that our looks are a result of the genes transferred to us by our parents.
• From our skin tone, hair color, to our height, our physical features are evidence that we are our
parents’ children.
Cultural Standards of Beauty
• Different cultures have different standards of beauty.
• Examples of beauty from different countries
• In the Philippines, the construction of local standards of beauty can be traced from our colonial
influences. (Spaniards, the Americans, and the Japanese).
Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD
• Those who are suffering from BDD are so obsessed about their appearance, thus think about
their flaws, real or not, incessantly and uncontrollably (Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Quest for
perception, 2012)
• Those who are diagnosed with this disorder are very much preoccupied by a perceived physical
flaw that is either absent or so trivial that only the one suffering from it sees it as a problem,
being so much distressed about it, that daily routines are affected (Wilhelm, 2006).
• Those who are suffering from this disorder are so self-anxious that they seek cosmetic surgeries
to finally solve their body issues. (Plastic Surgery)
Anorexia Nervosa is defined as “a serious mental illness where people are of low weight due to limiting
their energy intake. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, or background. As well as restricting the
amount of food eaten, they may do lots of exercise to get rid of food eaten.” (Anorexia, 2017).
Body Shaming is criticizing yourself or others because of some aspect of physical appearance (Vargas,
2014), has resulted in the loss of self-confidence of those who have been thin-shamed or fat-shamed.
Body Image Disturbance - indeed, body image represents how we think, feel, perceive, and behave
regarding our bodies.
Two components
1. The perceptional component which refers to how we accurately perceive our body size.
2. The attitudinal component which refers to how we think and feel about the size and/or shape
of our body, which if not correctly processed, will result to body dissatisfaction (Greene, 2011).
THE FILTERED SELF
• Today’s youngsters are sadly the victims of such since we live at a time when our self-approval
depends on the likes, shares, and comments of our social media posts.
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
• When our filtered photos look better than unfiltered ones, and the virtual world agrees, we
tend to keep everything that way. There is that possibility, however, that the more we approve
of the filtered us, the more that we disregard our real, unfiltered physical selves.
Chapter 5: The Sexual Self: Enter If You Dare
Sexuality
-“Is a central aspect of being human throughout life encompasses sex, gender identities and
roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. It is experienced and
expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles
and relationships. While sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always
experienced or expressed”. (WHO, 2006a)
-Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic,
political, cultural, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors.
Sex - refers to a persons characterization as female or male birth, typically based on appearance of
external genitalia or other biological characteristics including chromosomes.
Gender - Refers to social characteristics that may be (or not be) aligned with a person’s sex adopted by
an individual as their gender identity.
Gender expression - is how you demonstrates your gender (based on traditional gender roles) through
the ways you act, dress, behave, interact.
Biological Sex
• Refers to the objectively measurable organs, hormones, and chromosomes.
• Female= vagina, ovaries, xx chromosomes; male=penis, testes, XY chromosomes
• Intersex = a combination of the two.
Secondary sex characteristics are traits that differ between the two sexes but are not part of the
reproductive system; they include breasts in females and facial hair in males (King, 2014). As the SSC
manifest in the stage of puberty, there is a concurrent development happening in the brain.
Puberty is the one to three-year process of hormonal and physical change that causes the young person
to reach sexual maturity, girls usually entering it about a year (or two) earlier than boys (Cole, 2010).
Gender Identity
-Is how you, in your head, think about yourself.
-It is the chemistry that composes you (e.g. hormonal level) and how you interpret what that
means
Types
a. CISGENDER/CIS consistent is with the sex they were assigned at birth
b. TRANSGENDER – does not match the sex they were assigned at birth.
c. AGENDER – people who do not identify with any gender
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
d. NON-BINARY – people who “do not identify strictly as a boy or girl – they could identify as both,
or neither, or as another gender identity”.
Sexual Orientation - Is who you are physically, spiritually, and emotionally attracted to, based on their
sex/gender in relation to your own.
Types
a. Homosexual – sexually attracted to members of the same sex (King, 2014)
b. Bisexual – sexually attracted to people of both sexes
c. Heterosexual - sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex
d. Pansexual/Omnisexual-can be sexually attarcted to any sex or gender identity
e. Asexual – not sexullay attarcted to any sex or gender.
Sexual Violence
• Rape (within marriage or dating relationships; by strangers)
• Sexual abuse/molestation of children
• Forced abortion
• Unwanted sexual advances or sexual harassment, including demanding sex in return for favors.
• Forced marriage or cohabitation, including the marriage of children
• Violent acts against the sexual integrity of women: female genital mutilation and obligatory
inspections of virginity
• Sexual abuse of mentally or physically disabled people.
• Denial of the right to use contraception or to adopt other measures to protect against sexually
transmitted disease
• Forced prostitution and trafficking of people for the purpose of sexual exploitation
REPUBLIC ACT 9262
“AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR PROTECTIVE
MEASURES FOR VICTIMS, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”.
(a) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);
(b) National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW);
(c) Civil Service Commission (CSC);
(d) Commission on Human rights (CHR)
(e) Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC);
(f) Department of Justice (DOJ);
(g) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG);
(h) Philippine National Police (PNP);
(i) Department of Health (DOH);
(j) Department of Education (DepEd);
(k) Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); and
(l) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
Chapter 6: Cogito Ego Consume: Consumer Culture and the Material Self
What is Material Self?
• William James states that the material self is comprised of our body, the clothes we wear, our
immediate family, and the home where we live.
• In other words, is the materials representation of yourself.
• This pertains to the materials or physical or tangible elements in your life.
• These tangible elements may include your house, car, jewelry, money, gadgets, bags, shoes,
and the like.
Part of Material Self
a. Home- our experiences in our life is often take place here. We treat our home as part of our
self.
b. Immediate Family-They are part of our material self.
c. Clothes - we choose what clothes to wear, and we come up with an identity with them.
d. Body - innermost part of the material self.
Consumer Behavior
- Is the study of how people buy, use, and dispose of certain objects.
- This likewise includes decisions about products, goods, services, ideas, or even lifestyle
practices (Perner 2020).
- Is influenced by several factors, which include a) psychological factors, b) social factors, c)
cultural factors, and d) personal factors (Chand 2014).
Why do we still want to buy something we do not need?
• Often, we want to buy something. We think if we really want to buy it. Our minds sometimes
argue over whether to buy it or not and, in the end, decide what to do.
• Freud suggested that the reason for this has something to do with the conflicting processes
between the id, ego, and superego, which work unconsciously.
o Id- driven by the “pleasurable principle. The id wants only to achieve pleasure and
satisfaction and wants it without delay. Freud believed that we are born with this.
o Ego- driven by the “reality principle”. The ego resides between id and superego and
evaluates which one has a better idea and, at the same time, considers reality.
o Superego- Frued believed that this is the last part that is developed and is given to us by
our family and society. Superego is like a book that contains all the rules of the world. We
think that the superego is always right. However, it is not. It is blindly accepting the rules of
the world without thinking about them.
Best buys: Consumer Culture and the Self
• Necessity is the mother of consumption.
• We consume because we need to.
• Essentials like food and clothing are bought, and so is shelter. In our every waking moment, we
transact for goods and services.
• The role of products and services in our lives are now above their literal purpose, for they have
become the means through which we express our “lifestyle”.
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
How Do I Decide What To Buy?
According to Philip Kotler (1980), there are five stages in the so-called Buyer Decision Process:
1. Needs Arousal/Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation Behavior
4. Purchase decision
5. Post-purchase feelings
The Calvinist Principle
• For Calvin, it is through the consumption of material goods that people can truly fulfill God’s
desires (Van Tassel and McAharen, 1969). This should be done moderately.
• He also added that a person’s hard work justifies his/her consumption.
• Thus, the rich are assumed to be the industrious lot whose wealth is willed by God.
The Marxist Perspectives
• “No production without a need. But consumption reproduces that need.”
• If some academic disciplines consider consciousness as the factor that determines society, Karl
max suggest the opposite: it is society that determines consciousness.
• More specifically, economic imperatives dictate how we think or decide.
• Materials life, with its modes of production, defines the processes of the self; social, political,
or spiritual (Marx,1964).
Commodity Fetishism
• A rather primitive belief that inanimate objects can be imbued with god-like powers.
• In this context, this can pertain to how certain goods are given high monetary value with no
regard for the labor that went into its creation, thus effectively becoming but fetishized
commodities stripped off their human essence (Felluga, 2005).
Alienation
• Labor in capitalist societies is often imposed and non-voluntary, hence why most employees
avoid it like plague when outside work premises (Marx, 1964).
• Under such conditions, individuals work to afford gratifying commodities (from vacations to
luxury items), but never for its own sake.
• Thus, work becomes completely separate (or “alien”) from the individual, as it contains little to
be need-satisfying value. This therefore leads to worker apathy, and eventually to alienation
from one’s labor.
Chapter 7: The Spiritual Self
Spiritual Self
• Basically, spirituality is your sense of connectivity to something bigger than yourself and beyond
what is present.
• This involves a search for individual purpose and meaning of life.
• Your spiritual self is your own identity, apart from external evaluations and validations. It is who
you think you are and what you feel about yourself.
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
• Two things should be considered in spiritual self, the two-fold characterization of one’s faith
which belief and practice.
• One’s belief is what sets the foundation for one’s action. This is not recognizable unless one
declares one’s faith or we can clearly see it from the action of the religious practitioner.
• The religious practice, on the other hand, is the action which manifests the belief of that
person.
• The strength of the spiritual self is determined by the depth of the person’s belief.
• One’s identity of spiritual self is deeply tied to the center of their religion and worship.
• Religion is the belief in and reverence for something holy and sacred. On the other hand,
religiosity is the adherence to and involvement in a belief system and practices associated with
religious activity.
• Religiosity is your perception of how strongly you adhere to your religious beliefs and practices.
You can say that you are spiritual but not religious.
Logotherapy
- Logotherapy is a psychotherapy introduced by Dr. Viktor Frankl, who is considered the father
of Logotherapy.
- The main belief of logotherapy is that “man’s primary motivational force is search of meaning.”
- It aids individuals to find personal meaning of life, whatever life situation they may be.
- In logotherapy, meaning can be discovered by (a)creating a work or doing a deed,
(b)experiencing something or encountering someone and (c)the attitude toward unavoidable
suffering.
Sources of meaning according to Viktor E. Frankl
• Frankly strongly believes that man’s ultimate task is to search for meaning in life. The meaning
of life depends on finding a purpose and taking responsibility for yourself and other people.
Sources of meaning according to Frankl:
1. (Purposeful) Work – doing something significant for yourself and for others, giving meaning to
your life.
2. Love – You only see the worth or essence of an individual if you love them. Loving someone
other than yourself gives you a reason to live with and to live for.
3. Suffering (courage during the difficult times) – Suffering is not necessary to find meaning, but
you can still find meaning in suffering if it is unavoidable by turning personal misfortune into a
victory and one’s dilemma into your personal success.
Three ways of Discovering Meaning of Life
1. Creative Value – Realizing the importance of doing something in service of others.
2. Experiential Value – Life is meaningless alone; connecting with other people gives you
meaningful relationships.
3. Attitudinal Value – Everything you love may be taken from you, but your freedom to choose to
respond or react to any suffering will remain within you.
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
Chapter 8: The Political Self: The Filipino Citizen
• The Philippines as we know it today has only emerged in the 1890’s after over three centuries
of colonization of the Spaniards.
• Liberation from the last colonizers, the Japanese, only occurred in 1946.
• Foreign culture, beliefs, language, and religion have made a huge dent on our own by setting a
foundation to the contemporary Filipino identity and culture.
• Individuals race, ethnicity, and physical characteristics are not the only factors that make a
person’s national identity.
• Through common goals, principles, and values of its people, a nation empowers itself.
Citizenship
• Is the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen.
• Active citizenship urgers people to get involve in public affairs from their local, regional,
national, and global communications to change the world for the better (Nosko and Szeger
2013; Hawthorn 2019).
• Participation in a democratic processes is an example of active citizenship (may include but not
limited to, protesting, campaigning, voting, and volunteering).
Who is a Filipino?
Technically, according to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Filipino citizens are
• Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines.
• Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
Citizenship upon reaching the age of majority, and
• Those who are naturalized accordance with law.
• However, citizenship is not the only marker of being a Filipino.
• Culture and history have greatly influenced the manner Filipinos learn, live and behave to date.
Filipino Traits and Values
Positive traits
• respectful
• bayanihan
• religious
• hospitable
• cheerful
• hardworking
• close family ties
Negatives traits
• bahala na
• maňana habit
• colonial mentally
• crab mentally
• balat-sibuyas
• ningas cogon
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
Chapter 9: The Virtual You: The Self in the Cyberspace
1. The Self in the Age of Technology
• Social Media is defined as “an online platform which people use to build social networks or
social relations with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities,
backgrounds, or real-life connections.
• Through social media, a person may act and interact differently from one another. Hence, most
people will be less likely to show their true “self” to others online. This event is called online
disembodiment.
Extended Self in the Digital World
• Dematerialization. Documents, photos, videos, and music are now largely invisible that may be
stored locally or in the cloud.
• Reembodiment. Just like our possessions, we, too, have lost the constraints of our bodies.
People who join virtual communities are disembodied and reembodied as avatars.
2. Digital Identity; Who are you online?
• All the information online is posted by you or by those with access to your social media sites.
• All that people learn about you based on what you search for, where you search, what you post,
and what other post about you makes up your digital footprint.
• Every email, post, photo, and click you make online leaves a trail.
• Social identity that you establish in the virtual world is what makes up your inline identity or
internet persona.
3. Online Disinhibition effect
• The Online Disinhibition effect refers to the absence of social boundaries, restrictions,
reservations, and inhibitions when communicating online (O’Byrne 2018).
Two classifications of Online Disinhibition
a. Benign disinhibition describes behavior in which people disclose more about themselves on the
internet than they would in real life.
Examples: opening up about problems in real life, sharing deepest fears, and sharing your worst
experiences.
b. Toxic disinhibition undesirable behaviors online.
Examples are using rude language, threatening others online, viewing porn sites, etc.
Factors that influence Online Disinhibition
a. Anonymity (People Don’t Know Me)
• This is the confidence you feel every time you anonymously engage in online activities.
• You can easily disassociate your online identities from your offline.
• It helps you to feel less exposed.
b. Invisibility (People Can’t See Me)
• In this factor you can sometimes intentionally mispresent yourself to come across as an
entirely different person.
• In hiding your true physical and personal attributes away, you are effectively freeing
yourself up from the baggage of having to present yourself as you truly are.
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
GEN. ED. 002 Understanding the Self
UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF
c. Asychronicity (See you when I see you)
• Every time you send and e-mail or even a message on Facebook, time is on your side.
• You can compose, structure, and edit in a span of several minutes, sometimes an hour
or even more.
d. Solipsistic Introjection (Its all in the mind)
• Verbal cues, though ever-present, are not the accepted norm in interacting virtually.
• In this regard, you unconsciously recite in your head both the message you send and
those deployed your way.
• You play casting director for these voices, imagining how the pitch or intonation would
be if spoken out loud.
• Ultimately, you think of your voice when you read the messages. Thinking it is all
happening in your own personal psychic domain.
e. Dissociative Imagination (It’s All a play)
• Simply put, this is the faulty belief that online interaction is a game, and whose rules
can easily break with no perceive implications.
• Bouyed by the assumption that your real-life identity and digital avatars are separate
entities, and that the cyberspace is but an outlet for escape, you some resort doing
unspeakable things normally wouldn’t in real life.
• This notion often rationalizes criminal behavior online, particularly identity theft or even
sexual harassment.
f. Minimization of Status and Authority (Your Rules Don’t Work Online)
4. Selective Self-presentation and impression Management Online
• Self-presentation is the process of controlling how one is perceived by other people.
• To build positive images, a person may carefully select the information they provide
about themselves.
• In online world, individuals may resort providing false information about themselves.
• Moreover, a person may attempt to influence the perceptions of others about them.
This act is known as impression management.
5. What is digital citizenship?
• Digital citizenship refers to appropriate and responsible behavior with regard to the use
of technology.
• It is the ability to engage in the digital environment, drawing effective online
communication and participation competently and positively with the observance of
and respect to rights and dignity through the responsible use of technology.
References:
• Alata, Eden Joy P. et al. (2018). Understanding the Self. Manila: Rex Book Store
• Palean, Erlinda D. et. al. (2018). Introspection: Understanding the Self. Mandaluyog City: Books Atbp.
Publishing Corp.
• Dula, Rosalita M. et. Al. (2023) A Course Module for Understanding the Self. Manila: Rex Book
Store
Prepared by: Neňa Divina D. Fevidal, RL
Instructor
