Blog #7: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES (SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM, LOOKING GLASS SELF, )

In sociological perspective, self-understanding is constructed through socializatization. Self is interpreted by the meanings of the symbols derived from social interaction (symbolic interactionism); by the perception of others (looking glass self); and by how one presents himself to his audience or through interaction with others (dramaturgy).

In this lesson, I learned a different approach on how I would be able to understand myself and other people. I realized that understanding myself is not just about interpreting my personal experiences but also about constructing social experience through social interaction. By evaluating the self through the perspective of people who I interact with, I would be able to understand myself better. Furthermore, I realized that in order for me  to understand other people, I need to interact with them. In short, socialization is important in understanding self and others.

APPLICATION: Understand self through others by interacting with them.

Blog #6: PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE (ERICKSON)

STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

With Erickson’s Psychosocial Perspective, I realized that as we grow older we meet significant people that help us in shaping our identity. I mentioned in my first blog that what I thought about human development was - before the lesson on bioecological theory -  it is shaped by our family. Eventually, I have come to realize that there are so many factors that affect human development. In the stages of psychosocial development, I discovered that the people who we interact with at each stage of our lives contribute in developing our identity. Furthermore, I also found out that at each stage, there is an interaction of opposite: positive and negative poles. As seen in the photo, at each stage a person encounters a crisis. According to Erickson, this crisis must be addressed so one can move to the next stage without conflict. To address this crisis, one will need the help of significant people at each stage. This implies how important social relationship is in developing our identity.

APPLICATION: Allow self to explore, meet new people, and engage in social interaction.

Blog #5: PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE (FREUD)

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Human Development has introduced me the role of sexuality and childhood experience in the development of one's identity. In this lesson, I was able to visit my childhood stage and reflect how my childhood experiences contributed to who I am today. Furthermore, I attempted to understand others' behavior, specifically the behavior of my brother who is two years older than me. I was curious why my brother behaves differently, given that we grew up together in the same environment. As I tried to remember our experiences, I realized that despite growing up in the same environment, we were treated differently. Because I am the youngest, the amount of attention I got from my parents was not the same as his. Aside from that, based on what I have learned from Freud’s theory I realized that sexuality could also be one of the reasons why we were treated differently from each other.

With that, I was able to understand not just myself but also other people, especially my brother and his behavior.

APPLICATION: If we want to understand the self and others, try to assess childhood experience and see how it has affected one's behavior.