Lesson 6: Physical Self

• Physical self - he concrete and tangible dimensions of the body. It is

  affected by two factors: biological and environmental.
• Biological factor (Heredity) - The transmission of traits from parents to offspring. Each individual has 23 pairs of chromosomes, and within them, are the genes which dictate the possible traits of a person.
• 46 chromosomes in total
• Genotype - The specific genetic information embedded in the genes of

  organisms. Not all result in physical characteristics or traits.
• Phenotype - The physical manifestation of a genetic trait. Ex. Hair & Skin

  Color, Presence of Freckles
• Maturation - It is the completion of the growth of a genetic character in a person. Throughout the process, an individual’s specific traits and characteristics unfold and are revealed. In the physical aspect, this maturation is called puberty
• Environmental Factors - As a person grow up, they encounter outside influences that shape and change their physical self, like people from an individual’s social network, societal expectations, and cultural practices. For social networks, this may include one’s family and friends.
• According to Santrock (2014), self understanding is the individual’s cognitive

  representation of self. It consists of substance and self conceptions. It can range from being simple to complex, and involve many dimensions of the self. It also changes throughout the life of a person, as they grow up
• Physical characteristics - These are defining, observable and tangible traits of person. This includes things such as facial features, hair style and texture, clothing style, and many more. A characteristics you can observe just. Form looking at a person.
• Erik Erikson - He believed that from a young age. the body and the intellectual skills of an individual will be vital, and serve as a basis or reference for whether a person has become independent and competent.
• William James - believed that the body serves as the initial source of sensation, and that. It is necessary for the maintenance of personality.
• Puberty - It is the period of rapid physical changes which is triggered by a neuroendocrine process in the brain
• Girls experience puberty two or three years earlier than boys, and experience

  menarche.
• Boys then experience spermarche or semenarche, after two to three years.
• Pituitary Gland - It is the master endocrine gland, responsible for the

  control and regulation of other endocrine glands, including the gonads.
• Gonads - Responsible for the production and secretion of hormones

  responsible for puberty.
• Menarche - A girl’s first menstrual flow.
• Spermarche/Semenarche - A boy’s first ejaculation or nocturnal emission
• Psychodynamic Perspective - Freud’s theory of the ego was primarily known as body ego, that solidifies the importance of body in understanding the self. The body and its evolving mental representations form the basis of a sense

  of self (Krueger, 2002)
• 3 Stages of the Development of the Body Self:

  1. Early psychic experience
  2. Body Surface boundaries
  3. Body's internal States
• Early Psychic Experience - the body in which sensations like tactile like in infants enable babies to discriminate bodies from their surroundings, which contribute to the sense of self.
• defining body surface boundaries which is the stage of being awareness of body image in contrast to surface boundaries.
• distinguishing of the body’s internal states which is the stage of having cohesion of the body.
• Cognitive- Behavioral Perspective -makes multiple distinctions to facilitate precise conceptual and operational definitions of body-image related

  variables.
• Cognitive behavioral model of body image recognizes multiple determinants of body image with a distinction between those determinants that are historical versus those determinants that are proximal or concurrent that predispose or influence how people come to think, feel, and act in relation to

  their body.
• Feminist Perspective - Relies on the social construction in which there is a possibility of individuals to experience their bodies in distorted ways (especially, women). women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies as a systematic social phenomenon rather than a result of individual pathology (McKinley, 2002). This happens because society, especially in Western cultures, tends to separate the mind and body.
• Factors that affect perception of the Physical Self

  Personal Factors

  A. Introspection and Self-reflection

  B. Self-perception Theory

  C. Self Concept

  D. Personal Identity
• A. Introspection and Self-reflection

  Looking inward is one of the simplest ways to achieve self

  knowledge. Introspection is the process by which one observes and

  examines one’s internal state (mental and emotional) after

  behaving in a certain way.
• b. Self-perception Theory

  As stated by Hewstone and Bem (2015) Self-perception theory explains that since one’s internal state is difficult to interpret, people can infer their inner states by observing their own behavior – as if they are an outside observer.
• c. Self-concept

  According to Hewstone, et al., (2015), self concept is a cognitive representation of self-knowledge which includes the sum total of all beliefs that people have about themselves. It is a collection of all individual experience involving one’s characteristics, social roles, values, goals and fears
• d. Personal Identity

  This is the concept a person has about himself that develops over

  the years. This includes aspects of his life that he was born into

  like family, nationality, gender, physical traits as well as the

  choices he makes, such as what he does for living, who his

  friends are and what he believes in
• Factors that affect perception of the Physical Self (SOCIAL FACTORS)

  A. Attachment Process and Social Appraisal - According to Bowlby (1969), people learn about their

  value and lovability when they experience how their mothers or caregivers care for them and respond to their needs.
• b. Maintaining, Regulating, and expanding the self in interpersonal

  relationships
• c. The Looking-glass Self Theory

  Charles Horton Cooley stated that a person’s self grows out of

  society’s interpersonal interactions and the perception of others.

  The view of oneself comes from a compilation of personal qualities

  and impressions of how others perceive the individual.
• d. Social Comparison

  The work of Leon Festinger in 1954 introduced another way of

  understanding oneself by comparing one’s traits, abilities, or opinions to

  that of others. Social Comparison is a process of comparing oneself with

  others in order to evaluate one’s own abilities and opinions.
• There are two types of social comparison:

  Upward Social Comparison

  Downward Social Comparison
• Upward social comparison - happens when an individual compares

  themselves to others who are better than them.
• Downward social comparison happens when an individual compares

  themselves to someone who is in a worse situation than they are in

  especially when they are feeling low.
• e. Social Identity Theory (Collective Identity)

  This was formulated by tajfel and Turner 1973 which provides a

  framework about how people achieve understanding about themselves

  by being a member of their group. This idea assumes that as a member

  of the group they will not be discriminated against by an out-group. It

  will enhance their self-esteem because they feel secured with the

  shield of group membership where they belong. Social groups include

  gender, ethnicity, religion, profession, political membership and

  business organizations.
• Culture - A social system that is characterized by the shared meanings that are attributed to people and events by its members.