MATERIAL SELF  Thus, no matter how much or how little

a person owns materially, they will

OBJECTIVES: always strive hard to gain more.
 Develop an Understanding of material MATERIALISM
self  when you give more importance to
 Describe the essential components of material possessions than intangible
Material Self values. 
 Develop the qualities of a wise buyer.  Materialistic people are obsessed with
having material possessions, and this
WILLIAM JAMES person may be considered
 A Harvard psychologist in the late 19th an IMPULSIVE Buyer, which means they
century are making an unplanned purchase.
 Wrote a book entitled "The Principles of  It is based on irrational thinking, and
Psychology" in 1980 Marketers were taking advantage of
 according to him, understanding the this behavior of their customers to
self can be examined through its boost sales.
different components

MATERIAL SELF - refers to the tangible

elements of the self (Body, clothes, immediate EMOTIONAL SELF
family, and home)
What is Emotion?
SOCIAL SELF - encompasses our interaction with
 An essential aspect of understanding
ourselves and other people. (relatives, friends,
the self is acknowledging the presence
schoolmates, workmates) of emotions.
MATERIAL SELF - reflects our values, morals,   Emotions serve as a driving force in
and beliefs. (views on the essence of being how one acts and behaves. It plays a
part in making decisions, embracing
human and life)
certain lifestyles, and relating to others.
MATERIAL SELF  Emotions are the lower-level responses
occurring in the brain, which create
 comprises everything a person owns, biochemical reactions in the body, and,
like their car, house, clothes, and even consequently, cause changes in one’s
their family and friends. physical state.
 As stated by William James, the self is
all a person believes to be their EMOTIONS, FEELINGS, AND MOODS
contribution to their material self.
 For example, they own gadgets, shoes,  EMOTION - is a biological experience
and clothes, and all of these are their and response
contribution to their material self.  FEELINGS -  have been defined as the
 Somehow material self is also a mental portrayal of what is going on in
reflection of someone’s success or your body when you have an emotion
failure or a symbol of one’s social and are the by-product of your brain
status. perceiving and assigning meaning to the
emotion. In other words, feelings are
 subjective experiences that frame the SOCIAL THEORIES - posits that emotions occur
interpretation of emotion. within the course of social interactions and
 MOOD -  is an affective state. In social settings.
contrast to emotions or feelings, moods
are less specific, less intense, and less  
likely to be provoked or instantiated by
FUNCTION OF EMOTION
a particular stimulus or event. Moods
are typically described as having either ADAPTIVE - one of the most important
a positive or negative valence. functions of emotions is preparing the body for
action. In this sense, each emotion, regardless
THE EMOTIONAL COMPONENTS of any positive or negative connotations, is
helpful.
SUBJECTIVE FEELING COMPONENT - this is
where an individual experiences the feelings. SOCIAL - emotions communicate our state of
mind and express what is happening inside. In
ACTION TENDENCY COMPONENT - once the addition, they also facilitate social interaction.
emotion is identified, the body moves into
action. MOTIVATIONAL -  The relationship
between motivation and emotions is
APPRAISAL COMPONENT - cognitively analyzing bidirectional. There is constant feedback
the emotion, the individual can pick up on the between emotions and motivation and vice
situations, actions, environments, or individuals versa.
that are causing the emotion.
WHAT IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
MOTOR COMPONENT - this is the
communicative function of expressing what we EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE -  refers to the
are experiencing (facial expressions, hand ability to identify and manage one’s own
gestures, body movements, etc.). emotions, as well as the emotions of others.
Emotional intelligence is generally said to
PHYSIOLOGICAL COMPONENT - this component include at least three skills:
supports all others and is the chemical reaction
our body experiences.  Emotional awareness, or the ability to
identify and name one’s own emotions.
 The ability to harness those
THEORIES OF EMOTION emotions and apply them to tasks like
thinking and problem solving; and
PHYSIOLOGICAL THEORIES - suggest that the ability to manage emotions, which
responses within the body are responsible for includes both regulating one’s own
emotions. emotions when necessary and helping
NEUROLOGICAL THEORIES - propose that others to do the same
activity within the brain leads to emotional DEFINITION OF EMOTION REGULATION
responses.
EMOTION REGULATION -  is generally used to
COGNITIVE THEORIES  - argue that thoughts describe a person’s ability to manage and
and other mental activities are essential in respond to an emotional experience effectively.
forming emotions. People unconsciously use emotion regulation
strategies to cope with difficult situations many worldviews, compassion, service, and
times throughout each day. inner peace.
 It is not anchored on any religious
Most of us use a variety of emotion regulation
orientation.
strategies and can apply them to different
 it is a personal, subjective experience
situations to adapt to the demands of our
that varies from person to person.
environment.

SPIRITUAL SELF
3 PRECEPTS OF SPIRITUALITY
An aspect of self that is associated with an
individual’s process of seeking and expressing 1. meaning and purpose that go beyond
meaning and how he or she is connected to the the physical realities of life.
self, to others, to the moment, and to 2. Connections to different aspects of
everything else that composes his or her his/her existence
environment, including the sacred and 3. being sacred and transcendent.
significant (Puchalski, 2014).

SPIRITUAL SELF - is an ongoing, personal

“SPIRITUAL ME”
journey contextualized by believing in a higher
being, culture, relationships, nature, and the The "spiritual me" is described based on these
discovery of meaning in one’s life. three major contexts.
SPIRITUALITY  One's inner thinking and feeling
Spirituality talks about MEANING AND PURPOSE  "The true, the intimate, the ultimate,
that go beyond the physical realities of life. the permanent me that “a person
seeks.”
 The concept of the “whole person” is  the "core" and "sanctuary of our life,
usually associated with the idea of “the highest level of self-organization,
human beings as more advanced than the "material me"
having physical  and  psychological; and the "social me."
however, a third aspect of being human
is as important as the two SPIRITUAL SELF IN THE DIFFERENT
precedents: the spiritual aspect. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Highlighting the mind-body-spirit PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES:
connection, the spiritual self
is  an  ongoing, personal life journey  Psychodynamic theories for spiritual
contextualized by the belief in a higher identity development imply
being, culture, relationships, nature, that individuals may develop a sense of
and the discovery of meaning in one’s their spiritual selves in connection and
life. continuity with God.

Characteristics of SPIRITUALITY 1. According to Erikson (1996),

 Individual the  objects  that shape the spiritual
self include one's parents and God.
 Spiritual attributes include the need for
Erikson purported that the parent-child
a spiritual quest, ecumenical
 relationship is "transferred" to a God- agreement about what is believed and
spiritual-child relationship. practiced.

 It is a formal attachment to the set of

beliefs, values, and practices of a
COGNITIVE THEORIES: particular religious sect.
 It includes specific practices,
 Cognitive theorists conceptualize
proscriptions, and participation in a
identity development as a meaning-
community that shares the same beliefs
making process. From his research with
and practices.
children, Elkind (1997) posited that
 Religiosity can be the starting point for
developing individuals have a "cognitive
spirituality.
need capacity" to know that life has
permanence, specifically that their lives
have permanence (i.e., that they have
BENEFITS OF SPIRITUALITY
eternal identities).
 He further proposed that religion The search for sacredness and transcendence
answers the question of permanence can bring positive consequences to life.
and fills subsequent "need capacities":
needs to symbolize, relate to, and  A spiritual person finds contentment
understand God. and serenity in his or her life
circumstances.
NARRATIVE THEORIES:  Spiritual well-being entails wisdom, self-
transcendence, acceptance of life, and
 Narrative theorists proposed that
meaningful existence.
individuals achieve spiritual identities
 Questions such as “am I a good
by linking their life stories to the
person?” and “how can I live my life to
narratives of a religious community
the fullest?” are answered through
system and their ongoing stories of
spirituality.
personal revelation from God.
 These spiritual narratives may give  Spirituality allows one to become
individuals a sense of life continuity resilient amidst challenges and
through eternal life stories and roadblocks that occur in daily life.
connection to God through spiritual Parents should foster quality parent-child
self-to-God story themes. relationships to have a significant favorable
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SPIRITUAL influence on one’s spiritual orientation.
IDENTITY: Schools should introduce programs and
interventions, which include retreats,
 the religious orientation
recollections, seminars, and worship.
 personality characteristics
 previous spiritual experiences of the Teachers should utilize teaching strategies that
person foster contemplation, reflection, and self-
evaluation can strengthen one’s spiritual well-
RELIGIOSITY
being.
The adherence to a belief system and practices
associated with a tradition in which there is
The best way of enhancing spirituality lies cyberspace. The technological tools and
within the SELF: It is not about finding meaning channels surrounding individuals and
in life but how meaning is applied to life. online activities that people engage in,
one’s online identity enables him or her
to participate in a virtual society.

DIGITAL IDENTITY - People generally have

“ROLE IDENTITIES”. These are the characters
and roles an individual creates as a member of a
DIGITAL SELF particular social group. In an online
 Generations are not designed only by a environment, one role identity is vitally
fixed range of years.  important for him or her to project himself or
herself in the said environment.
 GENERATIONS are formed due to the WHAT MAKES UP A PERSON’S DIGITAL
evolution of specific patterns of shifts in IDENTITY?
demographics, societal factors, and
parenting styles—leading to the distinct  The posts one makes on social media
mindsets that notably divide one platforms, the online names one
generation from another. creates, the internet friends one
acquires, and the things one “likes,
 There were changes and innovations comments on, and shares” become part
that is happening in every generation. of an individual's digital identity.
In this module, we will see the  Some people's digital identities are an
evolution of the generation and how extension of who they are.
technology paved the way to what we Personalities, interests, values, and
call our DIGITAL SELF. activities often manifest in people’s
online activities, especially on social
THE DIGITAL SELF media platforms, where they relate to
 It refers to a mask people wear when others in online environments. Our
engaging in the technological world. digital possessions, such as photos,
 In an online environment, one role videos, statuses, texts, and emails, are
identity is vit lly important for him or essential in shaping our digital self.
her to project himself or herself in the SOCIAL MEDIA 
said environment. Amidst the
technological tools and channels  the website and application that make
surrounding individuals and online it easier to create and share
activities that people engage in, one’s information, ideas, and interests. It also
online identity enables him or her to allows people to develop other forms of
participate in a virtual society. self-expression via virtual communities
 Online activities such as chatting, and networks. 
blogging, and even shopping online  Social Media has features that will
would require the person to establish enable people to communicate with
a “digital identity,” which is defined as specific groups sharing common
the identity a person claims in interests (through chat, video call, or
 posting status and photos) and become  The generation of Jazz, Swing, Frank
members of virtual communities, locally Sinatra, and Micky Mouse.
or globally.  The generation of pre-feminism, stay-
 These features make for more efficient at-home moms, and loyal men in their
ways of socializing and communicating lifetime job.
with others and enable these  Known to be hard working and keeping
communities to impact thoughts and silent, children were expected to be
behavior. seen but not to be heard.
SELF IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY BABY BOOMERS ( BORN BETWEEN 1946
AND 1964)
 With the rise of technology, ways of
socializing have significantly changed. In  Upbringing in the 1950s and early 1960s
the past, face-to-face interactions grounded them in non-individualistic
within physical communities could only attitudes, which is perhaps why they
establish interpersonal relationships. took the ironic step of
Nowadays, people can interact with exploring the self in groups (such as est,
each other even if they are not consciousness-raising groups,
physically present in the same place— and protest meetings)
one of the innovations that improved  Most executive positions are
people’s interaction and socialization occupied today and are accustomed to 
processes in social media. being the center of attention.
 These advancements in technology and  They expect to live
the creation of social media applications in a world that accommodates them, pri
happen as the generation evolves; let us marily because it always has.
also determine the various  They were raised to question authority,
characteristics of these generations and stand up
how technology works during their for themselves, and voice their opinions
time. , and they certainly do so.
 They have an unending quest
to succeed; they put tremendous
THE GREATEST GENERATION  pressure on themselves, work
( BORN BETWEEN 1901 AND 1924) extremely long hours, and
 Experience The Great Depression and consider working hard to be a
World II. badge of honor.
 Models of Teamwork for overcoming
depression. GENERATION X 
 Did not experience Advance Technology  Gen X was born from 1964 to 1980s: a
like refrigerators, electricity, TV, much busier world
airplane, and radio. with little time for them.
SILENT GENERATION "BUILDERS/ THE  Children of this generation spent less
MATURES" ( BORN BETWEEN 1924 AND 1945) time in
social settings and more time watching t
 They are born and experience post- elevision, where they learned to add,
war happiness.
 spell, and tie their shoes. They are the most educated
(Sesame Street) generation in history.
 Although previous  Extremely achievement oriented
generations had come home from scho  They are the first generation to
ol to have used
parents who fetched them milk and coo technology their entire lives, so they ex
kies and helped them with homework,  pect
Gen X students grew up in homes to use it everywhere, including the class
that required them to be much more in room.
dependent and self-reliant.
WHO ARE THE iGEN?
 As the first latchkey generation,
children of dual-income parents,  Born 1995 or later
divorced grew up with cellphones Instagram
parents, and hardworking single parents page before starting High School
got their after-school snacks and did ho  They are also called Generation Z
mework all by themselves. Do not remember a time before the
 In the classroom, they are self- internet
motivated, provided they see  Other Characteristics of iGen or Gen Z
the learning as relevant and place more are:
excellent value on work-life balance and  In No Hurry- they tend to relax and nit
fun than did their workaholic parents. in a hurry to grow up 
 Internet, Video games, and  Internet- Most teenagers would wake
MTV generation – Technologically adept up and sleep with their phones at their
hands. Everything can be searched or
done online.
GENERATION Y/ MILLENIALS 
 In Person no More- More interaction
 Generation Y,  born 1980’s to 1994 on social media and much more friends
 This generation was born in their Social Media App than in
primarily to Baby person. 
Boomer parents who delayed  Insecure- many teens post only
childrearing until their successes online, so many don’t
they were financially secure. realize that their friends also fail at
 Millennials were born to things.
parents who wanted, planned for, cheri  “I felt like I was the only one not there…
shed, and protected them. I was thinking; they have a
 Many parents of Millennials good them without time.”
put their careers on  Insulated but not Intrinsic- iGen’ers
hold, worked alternative schedules, long childhood: more carefully protecte
or worked from home to be with d by parents and wants to be protected.
their children. And they have a general
 Homeschooling (parents attitude of avoiding risk and danger.
educating their children)  Indefinite- “Pornography, especially on 
grew exponentially for this generation.  the internet, has desensitized teens
into not enjoying or wanting sex
 and intimacy”, iGens has easy access to In an attempt to share that self with the world,
every pornographic material. we engage our decoy selves to manage the day-
 Irreligious- more iGen’ers are being rais to day anxieties and challenge that come
ed in nonreligious before us.
households, more iGen’ers have decide
Russel Belk (1988) believed that our major 
d not to belong to a religion
possessions are a major contributor to and 
 Inclusive-Embracing equality is not just
reflection of our identities.
an expectation but a requirement
Stone (1996) and Hemetsburger (2005) claim
that the digital web allows us to try out
different personas that differ from our
real life identities.
ONLINE VERSUS OFFLINE SELF: Which one is
the Real YOU? WHY WOULD WE EVEN WANT TO DO THIS?

Participation in virtual environments may entail  First, of course, we want to meet the
changes affecting a person’s sense of self. expectation of others; Research shows
over 50% of women would edit their
 In fact, in cyberspace, people can create
social media photos to look better and
multiple digital identities. People are likely to
meet the expectations that the media
behave differently when engaged in social
and magazines have set.
media interactions since physical presence is
 Through these, they might feel that
not required of them. Social media enables
others also like them. We want to boost
individuals to adopt identities independent of
our self-esteem; people upload photos
one’s physical image. According
and statuses online that they think will
to Turkle (1995), people can redefine
receive ‘likes’ and positive feedback in
themselves online. Assumptions made in the
which ultimately helps their egos and
virtual world are different from those in real
gain their confidence. To feel a sense of
life.
belonging, Some of us want to fit in
There is a “TRUE SELF” that is the instinctive with the crowd and upload things that
core of our personality and must be nurtured are ‘down with the trend’ - for instance,
and realized, and there is also a “FALSE SELF” or who notices the number of people
“CURATED SELF” that is created to protect the posting pictures of their food
“true self” from insult and danger. increasing? It didn’t come from
anywhere.
Social media also enables people to create fake
 To have a bigger sense of freedom, real
identities. Individuals can create different social
life, digital platforms allow us to express
media accounts to hide their authentic selves.
ourselves in any way we want to
This is called ONLINE DISEMBODIMENT. This
without anyone there to judge us
makes people less likely to display their  “real
physically and, of course, to strive to be
selves” to others, especially strangers. To share
our ideal selves, Digital Apps, such
that self with the world, we engage our decoy
as Facetune, that allow us to improve
selves to manage the day-to-day anxieties and
our appearances on photos (through
challenges that come before us.
teeth whitening, skin smoothing, and
body shape editing) helps consumers to
 express as their ‘ideal’ self online and
inevitably feel better about themselves.

People adopt fake identities, they are likely to

engage in behaviors that they would not do in
real life interactions. This effect is known
as ONLINE DISINHIBITION (Suler, 2004). There
are two kinds of this disinhibition:

 BENIGN DISINHIBITION - occurs when

people tend to self-disclose more on
the internet than they would in real life
or go out of their way to help someone
or show kindness.
 TOXIC DISINHIBITION  - happens when
they use rude language, bully or
threaten others on online platforms,
and go to websites with contents of
violence, crime and pornography.

WHY DO PEOPLE ENGAGE IN SUCH BEHAVIOR?

 People engage in online disinhibition due to

several factors. Somehow, these factors
contribute to bridging social gaps and
expressing oneself in a way that one will not do
in face-to-face interactions.

 Anonymity- we can hide our true

identity.
 Virtual invisibility- we can make fake
identities and could not be physically
seen.
 In asynchronous communication-where,
there is no need to deal with another
person’s reaction or feedback
immediately.
 Personal introjection- people tend to
assign an identity to the other person
that is also a reflection of their self