THE PHYSICAL SELF: THE SELF AS can easily be distinguished with the naked

IMPACTED BY THE BODY eye

Self-understanding World Health Organization
- It is the individual’s cognitive - They Describes adolescents as young
representation of the self which consists of people whose age ranges from 10-19 yrs and
the substance and the content of self- are often thought of as a healthy group
conceptions.  10 to 19 years old
- The development of this in adolescence - The age bracket of
can be described from SIMPLE to adolescents as young people
PERPLEX and involves a number of aspects as described by World Health
of the self Organization
Growing up - According to healthy children.org,
- As children advance in age, their interests adolescence is divided into 3 periods: early
change and with these come changes in their adolescence (11-14y/o), middle adolescence
bodies. (15-17 y/o), late adolescence (18-21 y/o)
- An obvious change in teenagers are the
changes in their physical selves. THREE PERIODS OF ADOLESCENCE
- This transition period lasts from 18-22 yrs ACCORDING TO HEALTHY
of age CHILDREN ORG.
 10 to 12 years of age  Early adolescence (11-14y/o)
- The age bracket where  Middle adolescence (15-17 y/o)
puberty begins, they are now  Late adolescence (18-21 y/o)
in adolescent period
Physical self Youth in Nation-Building Act (1994)
- Refers to the concrete dimensions of the - It is the one that defined youth according
body, it is the tangible aspect of the person to ages which cover 15-30 yrs. This age
which can be directly observed and range was created by the National Youth
examined Commission
- Physical characteristics are the defining Puberty
traits or features of the person’s body and it - It is not the same as adolescence because
puberty ends prior to the end of adolescent
period. But he recognized puberty as the all other endocrine glands,
most essential marker of the beginning of including the gonads (ovaries
adolescence for girls and testes for boys)
- The changes that are experienced during  Chemical substances (Hormones)
puberty are different for boys and girls. - It is secreted by the gonads
- It is a brain-neuroendocrine process (sex glands) are distributed
occurring primarily in early adolescence that by the blood stream
triggers the rapid physical changes that throughout the body.
occur in the adolescent stage of human  Estrogen
development - It promote physical changes
- It is to be remembered that although such as increase in height,
human development is a progressive widening of the hips and
process, variations occur because of increase in fatty tissues in the
individual differences in such factors as breast of girls.
health, nurture and heredity.  Androgen and testosterone
 Menarche - It is responsible for the boy’s
- It is experienced by girls growth of facial and body
- The first menstrual flow hair, muscles and changes in
 Spermarche or semenarche the voice.
- It is experienced by boys  Secondary sexual changes
- The first ejaculation or - This is the rapid changes
nocturnal emission or wet which are physical changes
dreams that distinguish boys from
NOTE: girls
Girls reached puberty earlier than boys.  Primary sexual changes
Boys take two to three years before it - This is the changes in the
reaches semenarche reproductive organs that
 Pituitary gland prepare both boys and girls
- It is the master endocrine for procreation.
gland that controls growth
and regulates the functions of
 MALES SIMILARITIES FEMALES
PRIMARY SEX  Pubic hair PRIMARY SEX
CHARACTERISTICS  Oily skin CHARACTERISTICS
 Growth of scrotum &  Voice deepens  Increase in size of
testes  Acne vagina & uterus
 Secretion of hormones  Increase in height  Ovaries produce
related to sperm  Increase in body odour hormones to start the
production menstrual cycle
 Growth of penis
SECONDARY SEX SECONDARY SEX
CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS
 Body & facial hair  Hips widen
 More muscle mass  Development of
 Greater height than breasts
females  Distribution of fat to
 Broadening shoulders hips
 Body gets curvier

Body-image - Adolescents with poor body images have

- It refers to the way one sees himself/herself negative thoughts and feelings about their
or the way he/she imagines how he/she appearance which can either be true or not
looks.  Healthy body image
- Recent research revealed that adolescents - It is made up of positive
with the most positive body images are thoughts, feelings and
engaged in health enhancing behaviour such acceptance of one’s body and
as a balanced diet and exercising regularly. over-all physical appearance
- In general, girls are less happy with this  Imaginary audience
than boys throughout puberty. - It refers to an egocentric state
where the individual
 imagines and believes that b. Self-Perception theory
many people are actively - It explains that since one’s internal state is
listening to or watching him difficult to interpret, people can infer their
or her inner states by observing their own behavior
 Spotlight effect c. Self-Concept
- This is what you call to the - It is a cognitive representation of self-
phenomenon in social knowledge which includes the sum total of
psychology all beliefs that people have about themselves
- It refers to the belief that - It is a collection of all individual
others are paying more experiences involving one’s characteristics,
attention to the person’s social roles, values, goals and fears. Thus, it
appearance and behaviour pertains to all characteristics the person
than they really are. enumerates when asked to describe who he
is
FACTORS THAT AFFECT  Physical self-concept
PERCEPTION OF THE PHYSICAL - The individual’s perception
SELF or description of his physical
Personal factor self, including his physical
a. Introspection and self reflection appearance
 Introspection d. Personal Identity
- The process by which one - It is the concept of a person has about
observes and examines one’s himself that develops over the years
internal state (mental and including aspects of his life that he was born
emotional) after behaving in into like family, nationality, gender, physical
a certain way. traits, the choices he makes (e.g. what he
- It is limited because people does for a living, who his friends are and
are commonly motivated to what he believes in.
keep unwanted thoughts and
experiences out of memory
and consciousness.
2. Social Factors c. The Looking-glass Self Theory
a. Attachment Process and Social - The view of oneself comes from a
Appraisal compilation of personal qualities and
- It is when people learn about their value impressions of how others perceive the
and lovability when they experiences how individual.
their mothers or caregivers care for them - In here, the self-image is shaped and
and respond to their needs. reflected from the social world. Other
 Caregiving people’s reaction would serve as a mirror in
- That is the consistent and which people see themselves particularly the
appropriately responds to the way in which they are perceived and judges
infant’s needs promote by others. Later in life, people internalize
positive self-concept other people’s appraisal of them through
- That is neglectful and more cognitively reflected processes.
unresponsive creates a  Reflected Appraisal
negative self-concept - These are inferences
believing that they are not regarding other’s appraisal of
worthy and that others cannot a person
be trusted. This is developed d. Social comparison
prior to achieving self- - Another way of understanding oneself by
awareness comparing one’s traits, abilities or opinions
b. Maintaining, Regulating and to that of others.
Expanding the Self in Interpersonal - A process of comparing oneself with
Relationships others in order to evaluate one’s own
- The sense of self is continuously shaped abilities and opinions
through ongoing interaction with others or
with significant relationship partners. TYPES OF COMPARISON
- They act as “private audiences” with 1. Upward social comparison
whom people carry an internal dialogue. - It happens when an individual compares
Oftentimes, however, people are not aware himself to others who are better than him.
that they are being influenced by these
private audiences.
EXAMPLE: e. Social Identity Theory (Collective
An adolescent male who values a well-built, Identity)
muscled physique compares himself to one - It is formulated by Tajfel and Turner in
who is a body builder to inspire him to do 1979
workouts to get the abs that he desires. - It provides a framework about how people
NOTE: achieve understanding about themselves by
On the negative, when an individual being a member of their group. People need
compares himself with someone better than positive social identity that is why they
him, he may experience inferiority, envy or connect to a wider social network
frustration - This idea assumes that as a member of the
2. Downward social comparison group they will not be discriminated by an
– It happens when an individual compares out-group.
himself to someone who is in a worse - It will enhance their self-esteem because
situation than he is especially when he is they feel secured with the shield of the
feeling so low. This may make himself feel group membership where they belong
better knowing that he is more fortunate
than this person

On the other hand, comparing oneself to a

less fortunate person may give rise to
feelings of superiority and arrogance.
Facebook is the biggest venue of social
comparison.
NOTE:
For a person to have a healthy self-image, it
is important to never compare oneself to
others. Rather one should set realistic
standards for himself.
 SELF IDENTITY
The person that someone truly is or the entire It is who a person believes she or he is,
person of the individual. representing a synthesis and integration of self-
understanding
The total characteristics/qualities of a person The traits and characteristics, social relations,
both known and unknown to others but known roles and social group memberships that define
to oneself who one is.
A way of making sense of some aspect or part
of self-concept

- It is what social media dictates, what

THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON fashion models look like, and how his/her
BODY IMAGE AND SELF ESTEEM: celebrity dresses and behaves.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEAUTY
Culture THE FILIPINO CONCEPT OF
- It is a social system that is characterized by BEAUTY
the shared meanings that are attributed to Eurocentrism
people and events by its members - a tendency to interpret the world in terms
NOTE: of European or Anglo-American values and
Young adolescents are forced to adhere to experiences. Filipinos with eurocentric
society’s definition of beauty lest they may features are seen everywhere in media. With
be labelled ugly or (pangit) their fair skin and tall noses.
Beauty The “tisoy” and “tisay” beauty standard
- It is the quality of being physically - It is strongly promoted in media today by
attractive or the qualities in a person or a casting actors that don’t physically resemble
thing that give pleasure to the senses of the everyday Filipino.
mind - The media is perpetuating the idea that the
European standard of beauty is the only
thing that can be deemed as beautiful.
Colorism – It is the over-all evaluation that a person
- The prejudicial or preferential treatment of has of himself which can be positive or
same-race people based solely on the color negative, high or low
of their skin - It is a measure of the person’s self-worth
- Although associated with cleanliness, based on some personal or social standard
being fair-skinned gives the impression of
beauty, health and wealth. Skin color, not to ADOLESCENT'S BODY IMAGE
the combination of an individual’s physical INCLUDES:
features, presently determines one’s level of 1. Perception of their physical self
attractiveness. when they look in the mirror.
NOTE: 2. Feelings of like or dislike about the
Young people who alter their physical selves physical self that they see.
are not aiming to be of another racial 3. Their thoughts and how they relate to
background, but rather of not wanting to their physical self.
possess the physical features associated with 4. Perception of how other people view
their racial group. them physically
Dark-skinned Filipinos
- The one who tends to have a negative body EFFECTS OF POSITIVE BODY
image. IMAGE
- They are the one who feel ashamed and 1. High self esteem
embarrassed of their bodies because they 2. Often spend more time taking care of
think they’re valued less compared to those their appearance.
with lighter skin. 3. The attention that he gets for his
Eurocentrism and colorism physical beauty elevates the level of
- These two have significant effects on the his self-esteem.
body image and identities of the common
Filipino ASPECTS OF CULTURE THAT MAY
LED TO AFOREMENTIONED
SELF ESTEEM AND THE IDEAL MISCONCEPTIONS:
BODY IMAGE 1. Society’s ideals of the perfect
Self-esteem physical form.
2. Images of perfection adolescents see
in all types of media (i.e. print,
television, film and internet). Mass
media is a powerful tool that
reinforces cultural beliefs and values.
3. Since a standard has been set by
society and reinforced by mass
media, any characteristic that does
not conform to the standard is
labelled as ugly