Self From Anthropological Perspective

Self from
Anthropological
Perspective
The Self and the Person in
Contemporary Anthropology
• Anthropology is the study of people, past and present.
• It focuses on understanding the human condition in its cultural aspect.
• In general sense, Anthropology is concerned with understanding
how humans evolved and how they differ from one another.
• Anthropology is a very dynamic field, and anthropological literature offers
several different definitions of the “self”.
A Unit But Unitary
• Anthropologist and professor, Katherine Ewing

(1990) described the self as encompassing the
“physical organism, possessing psychological
functioning and social attributes”.
• This definition portrays the “self” as implicitly and
explicitly existing in the mind comprised of
psychological, biological and cultural processes.
A Unit But Unitary
• Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux (2002)

conceptualized the implicit and explicit aspects of
the self (Kemp, 2012).
• Explicit Self: aspect of the self that you are consciously
aware of.
• Implicit Self: the one that is not immediately
available to the consciousness.
A Unit But Unitary
• LeDoux’s view on how the “self” was developed

asserted that it is framed, maintained, and affected
biologically, mentally, and socially.
• According to LeDoux (2002), “the self is not static; it
is added to and subtracted from by genetic
maturation, learning, forgetting, stress, ageing, and
disease.”
Self as Representation
• Ewing (1989) asserted that a “self” is illusory.

• “People construct a series of self- representations that are based on
selected cultural concepts of person and selected ‘chains’ of personal
memories.
• Each self-concept is experienced as whole and continuous, with its
own history and memories that emerge in a specific context to be
replaced by another self- representation when the context changes”.
• By representation, Ewing meant culturally shaped ‘self’ concepts that
one applies to oneself (Quinn, 2014);
• It is the mental entities that are supposed to represent the self”
(Schlichtet, 2009).
Self as Representation
• According to Ewing (1990), people from all cultures

have been observed to be able to rapidly project
different self-representations, depending on the
context of the situation.
• The person is unaware of these shifts; however
he/she will still experience wholeness and
continuity despite these shifts.
The Self Embedded in Culture
• Cultural Anthropologists have argued that the self is culturally shaped

and infinitely variable.
• “Cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, and transform
the human psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for humankind than in
ethnic divergences in mind, self, and emotion (Shweder, 1991).
• The basic idea is that the principles of how the mind works cannot be
conceived of as universal, but that it is as varied as the culture and
traditions that people practice all over the world.
Two Ways Of How The Self Is Constructed
These self- construals are also embedded in culture.

Construal is an interpretation of the meaning of something; hence, in
this sense, the meaning of “self”.
• The independent construct is • The interdependent construct is

characteristic of individualistic typical of the collectivist culture
culture, such as in North in East Asia stressing the essential
America and Europe. connection between the
• Individualistic culture represents individual to other people.
the self as separate, distinct with
emphasis on internal attributes
or traits, skills and values.
The Self Embedded in Culture
• Developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff

(2010), believed that culture can influence how you
view:
• relationships, personality traits, achievement,
and expressing emotions.
Relationships
• Culture influences how you enter into
and maintain relationships.
• For example, relationships may be seen
as voluntary or as duty-based.
• In Western societies, it is essential for a
person to choose whom to marry while
some Eastern societies still practice
arranged marriage.
Personality Traits
• Culture influences whether (and

how) you value traits, like
humility, self-esteem,
politeness, assertiveness, and
so on, as well as how you
perceive hardship or how you
feel about relying on others.
Achievement
• Culture influences how you

define success and whether
you value certain types of
individual and group
achievements.
Expressing Emotions
• Culture influences what will

affect you emotionally, as well
as how you express yourself,
such as showing your feelings
in public or keeping it private.

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Self from

• Anthropologist and professor, Katherine Ewing

• Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux (2002)

• LeDoux’s view on how the “self” was developed

• Ewing (1989) asserted that a “self” is illusory.

• According to Ewing (1990), people from all cultures

• Cultural Anthropologists have argued that the self is culturally shaped

These self- construals are also embedded in culture.

• The independent construct is • The interdependent construct is

• Developmental psychologist Catherine Raeff

• Culture influences whether (and

• Culture influences how you

• Culture influences what will

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