Factors Affecting Oneself by Shella May Landayan

*The factors that I have cited below are self-research, noting the different facts and theories presented in Psychology and Sociology, and our own hand-outs in Social Arts. I organized the information I have gathered, and based from my own personal opinions, I prove this set of factors relatively true, adding my personal experiences as objects of attestation.

1. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

A distinct identity or perception of the self is greatly influenced by a person’s interaction with the different persons in his/her life. The interactions are based upon communication, cohabitation (living with each other) and socialization. A person’s moral standards, principles and cultural expectations are molded from these, and therefore become his set of behavior throughout his/her lifetime.

A. First level Interpersonal- ‘FAMILIAL’: THE FAMILY

The first relationship that a human person has to establish is with that of his family. The family is the most important nurturer of a child’s physiological and emotional needs, the guide of a person’s most crucial stage in life- between the age of three to pre-teen years, wherein the mental, social and emotional aspects of behavior begin to grow rapidly. Like a reflection in the mirror, a child ‘copies’ the parent’s understanding of the world. He is then subjected to follow dos and don’ts his parents would set up. He then learns to measure his own self-worth according to how the family perceives him as a person.

My testimony:

“ My family cultivated upon me several aspects of moral and acceptable behavior. I am taught the ideals of respect, dignity, honor, courtesy, honesty, enthusiasm and love of learning. I admit that to learn all these, I had to be punished- for as a child I was very playfully bright, talkative and impulsive. I would want everything I please then, until my father emphasized frugality and patience, “Anak, intindihin niyo na hindi lahat ng bagay kaya nating bilhin.” This set the rule of...