The Material Self Uts

GE 01 Understanding the Self Ma. Glenda N. Barcelon, RPm

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Unpacking the SELF

The Material

SELF

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UNPACKING Self-Expression

Get Involved Creative Thinking ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

Our wanting to have and possess has a connection with another aspect of the self –THE MATERIAL SELF ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

THE MATERIAL SELF  Tangible objects, people or places that carry the designation “my, mine”. • Two Categories: 1. The Bodily Self 2. Extracorporeal Selfextended self -William James, 1890ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

THE MATERIAL SELF Arms

Bodily Self

Legs

Bodily Self

Father and Mother Cellphones Laptops

Extracorporeal Self

Painting

Extracorporeal Self Extracorporeal Self

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Mine My

“We regard our possessions as part of ourselves. We are what we have and possess.” ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

Possessions as Symbolic Expressions of Identity (Symbolic Communicational Model) This outfit is s---o you!

My ancestral land is all that I am!

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The Role/Function of Possessions Levi-Strauss (1965) Possessions do not just have value; they are not merely economic commodities. They are also vehicles and instruments for realities of another order: • influence • power • sympathy • social status • emotions

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From early years to old age, possessions are symbols of ourselves and of our identity.

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CHILDHOOD Our relationship with stuffs start early. The idea that we can own something, possess it as a part of ourselves is one that children grasp by the age of two.

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A comfort object or security blanket is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or at bedtime for children.

Founding Father of Child Psychology

THE ENDOWMENT EFFECT We value item much more highly just as soon as we own them ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

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ADOLESCENCE As children mature into teens, we see possessions starting to act as a crutch for the self. Materialism peaked at middle adolescents, just when self-esteem tended to be lowest.

Giving children and adolescents a sense of self-worth and accomplishment is an effective antidote to the development of materialism.

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Hoarding Disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with hording disorder experiences distress at thought of getting rid of the items. Excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs.

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Hoarding objects Hoarding characters seek to save that which they have already obtained. They hold everything inside and do not let go of anything. They in a sense focus on what is not alive (material things) oNegative qualities: rigidity, sterility, obstinacy, compulsivity, and lack of creativity oPositive qualities: orderliness, cleanliness and punctuality

ADULTHOOD

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As our lives unfold, our things embody our sense of selfhood and identity still further, become external receptacles for our memories, relationships and travels. Possessions are extensions of the physical body and the sense of self that reflects who a person is.

Understanding the self can be examined through its different components

William James The Principles of Psychology

1. Its constituents 2. The feelings and emotions they arouse –self-feelings 3. The actions to which they prompt –self-seeking and self-preservation ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

•The constituents of self are composed of the: 1. MATERIAL SELF 2. SOCIAL SELF 3. SPIRITUAL SELF 4. PURE EGO. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

MATERIAL SELF Body Clothes Immediate Family

Home

Material Selfma.glendabarcelon_UTS Investment Diagram

BODY • The innermost part of our material self • We invest in our body • We strive hard to make sure that our body functions well and good • We do have preferential attachment or intimate closeness to certain body parts because of its value to us ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

CLOTHES • An essential part of the material self • “The Philosophy of Dress” by Herman Lotze –any time we bring an object into the surface of our body, we invest that object into the consciousness of our personal existence taking in its contours to be our own and making it part of the self. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

CLOTHES • The fabric and style of the clothes we wear bring sensations to the body to which directly affect our attitudes and behavior. • Clothing is a form of selfexpression. • We choose and wear clothes that reflect our self (Watsons 2014) ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

IMMEDIATE FAMILY • Our parents and siblings hold a great important part of our self • What they do or become affect us • When an immediate family member dies, part of our self dies too. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

IMMEDIATE FAMILY • When their lives are in success, we feel their victories as if were the one holding the trophy • In their failures, we are put to shame or guilt • When they are in disadvantage situation. There is an urgent urge to help like a voluntary instinct of saving one’s self from danger • We place huge investment in our immediate family when we see them as the nearest replica of our self

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HOME • The earliest nest of our selfhood • Our experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on particular parts and things in our home ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

What does it mean to be materialistic? • To be materialistic means to have values that put a relatively high priority on making a lot of money and having many possessions, as well as on image and popularity, which are almost always expressed via money and possessions. Tim Kasser, PhD a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, specializing in materialism and well-being. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

Why are some people materialistic and others not? • Research shows two sets of factors that lead people to have materialistic values. First, people are more materialistic when they are exposed to messages that suggest such pursuits are important, whether through their parents and friends, society, or the media. Second, and somewhat less obvious — people are more materialistic when they feel insecure or threatened, whether because of rejection, economic fears or thoughts of their own death. Tim Kasser, PhD a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, specializing in materialism and well-being. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

How have media, particularly social media, influenced materialism in the world today? • The research shows that the more that people watch television, the more materialistic their values are. That’s probably because both the shows and the ads send messages suggesting that happy, successful people are wealthy, have nice things, and are beautiful and popular. One has to remember that the vast majority of media are owned by a few for-profit corporations that make money by selling advertising, and the purpose of advertising is to sell products. Tim Kasser, PhD a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, specializing in materialism and well-being. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

What is the difference between being extremely materialistic and being a compulsive shopper? Is a materialistic person at risk of becoming a compulsive shopper? • Materialism is about values and desire for money, possessions and the like. Compulsive consumption is when a person feels unable to control the desire to consume, often because she or he is trying to fill some emptiness or overcome anxiety. Materialism and compulsive consumption are related to each other. In a recent meta-analysis of the association between materialism and people’s well-being, we found that the correlation between people’s materialism and the extent they reported problems with compulsive consumption was strong and consistent across many studies. Tim Kasser, PhD a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, ma.glendabarcelon_UTS Illinois, specializing in materialism and well-being.

What might be some positive aspects of materialism? • Materialism is associated with lower levels of well-being, less prosocial interpersonal behavior, more ecologically destructive behavior, and worse academic outcomes. It also is associated with more spending problems and debt. From my perspective, all of those are negative outcomes. • But from the point of view of an economic/social system that relies on spending to drive high levels of profit for companies, economic growth for the nation and tax revenue for the government, consumption and over-spending related to materialism may be viewed as a positive. Tim Kasser, PhD a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, ma.glendabarcelon_UTS Illinois, specializing in materialism and well-being.

LATER LIFE AND BEYOND As a person grows older… • An aging person would wish that whatever defines who she is would stay with her—photos, jewelries, small appliances

• Sentimentality, memories of friends and experiences… photo albums give a sense of continuity ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

The attachment to our things deepen with the passage of time. Older people don’t just form bonds with their specific belongings, they seem to have affection for material things.

William James: SELF “A man’s self is the sum total of all what he CAN call his.” Possessions are a part or an extension of the SELF. ma.glendabarcelon_UTS

Thank you! 

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