self andsociety

"The self is the individual as known to the individual" (Murphy 1947).

The self as defined by Murphy above shows a definition of the self described as in internal occurrence but this idea is then subject to outside contributions - family, friends, colleagues - society in which you live. The definitions of self all seem to highlight a reflective process to achieve its identification (looking inwardly to determine who I am?) but could this identification process be possible without societal interactions.

This essay will examine the reciprocal relationship between the self and society and the theories and research into this relationship (however acknowledgement is made as to the breadth of this area of social psychology and has due to limited time and space decided to concentrate on self construction, gender and cultural influences).

The self and its existence within society is a topic which is a topic which has engaged psychologists from the 1800s through to the present. The modern theories of the self still echo the teachings of William James, who first notioned towards the self's intrins

When we remove the social environment in which we live do the words we use to describe ourselves still have meaning - do they still apply. When listing descriptions of ourselves we tend to use words which apply to our "selves" as living in a social environment or how we interact within our relationships, seeing self-concept "as existing not within people but between them" (Vivien Burr, 1995). "I am shy, confident, a good listener, jealous, moody", if placed in a new environment devoid of contact would these descriptions still apply? These words lose all meaning if an individual lived alone on a desert island, without the presence of a social environment can a person claim to be "confident". Would such words carry meaning when devoid of the context in which they are used i.e. within a social interaction. The flip side of this is to claim that people are predisposed to act in these ways but only do so when the environmental cues are present.

As shown above the social environment in which we live can have an effect on how we perceive ourselves, however not all humans live in similar social circumstances - we are also subject to cultural differences. Research into the cultural differences between humans have identified two perspectives which influence how the self is seen. They are the: "Independent" and "Interdependent" view of "the self" (Aronson et al, P154). The "Independent" view is shared more by those socialised within a "Western" environment, their self-concepts are more influenced by the internal thoughts of the individual. This is contrast with the "Interdependent" view, which finds the self defined in-terms of the individuals relationships with other people (i.e. your thoughts and feelings are also determined by those of the people who surround you).