TOPIC: SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO SELF

FACILITATOR: PROFESSOR

MASALAKULANGWA

KAIRUKI MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY

PRESENTERANTONY RESPICHFIDES MWANDUMARY TORONGEI

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES DEFINITION OF TERMS MAIN BODY SUMMARY CONCLUSION REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION A sociological approach to self begins

with the assumption that there is a reciprocal relationship between the self and society

The self influences society through the actions of individuals thereby creating groups, organizations, networks, and institutions. And reciprocally society influences the self through it’s shared language and meanings that enable a person to take the role of other(engage in social interaction and reflect upon oneself)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES The nature of self People’s actions that verify who they are

“Looking-Glass Self” Stages of Self Presentation of Self

DEFINITION OF TERMS Ephemeral- (Of a period of time) going

by. Eg., “She detested him more with every passing second.”

Reflexivity- Directed back on itself. Abstract- of or existing in theory rather

than practice. Covert- secret or disguised Encapsulate- to be enclosed Consciousness-awake, aware, knowing Dichotomy- contrast between two

things that are entirely different.

THE INDIVIDUAL we all have various perceptions, feelings, and beliefs about who we are and what we are like. How do we come to develop these? Do they change as we age?

SELF Self emerges out of the mind, as arising and developing out of social interaction, and patterned social interaction as forming the basis of social structure.

NATURE OF SOCIETY In general, Sociologists are interested in

understanding the “Nature of society structure”, it’s forms and patterns, the ways in which it develops and is transformed.

I. The traditional symbolic interactionist

perspective known as situational approach

II. Structural approach to the symbolic interactionist perspective.

SITUATIONAL APPROACHTO SELF AND SOCIETY

Sees society as always in the process of being created through the interpretations and definitions of actors in situations

CONSEQUENCE OF SITUATIONAL APPROACH

Society is thought to be in a state of flux with no real organization or structure(unstable)

STRUCTURAL APPROACH TO SELF AND SOCIETY We do not see society as

tentatively shaped. Instead we assume that society is stable and durable

LEVELS TO STRUCTURAL APPROACH

1st level: Looking at the patterns of behavior of one individual over time and come to know that individual.

By pooling several such patterns across similar individuals, we can come to know individuals of a certain type.

LEVELS TO STRUCTURAL APPROACH………(CONTINUED)2nd level Looking at patterns of behavior across

individuals to see how these patterns fit with the patterns of others to create larger patterns of behavior.

PEOPLE’S ACTIONS THAT VERIFY WHO THEY ARE….THE SCIENTIST It is interesting how people act to verify

their conception of who they are. A scientist may act in ways that make it

clear to herself, as well as to others, that she is careful, logical, and experimentally inclined

These are individual patterns of behavior and help us understand the individual scientist.

The same patterns may be part of a larger social structure.

LOOKING-GLASS SELF We learn who we are by

interacting with others. Our view of ourselves, then, comes not only from direct contemplation of our personal qualities but also from our impressions of how others perceive us

3 PHASES OF SELF IDENTITY AND CONCEPT

1st Phase We imagine how we present ourselves to others-to relatives, friends, even strangers on the street.

2nd Phase We imagine how others evaluate us

Attractive IntelligentShyStrange

3rd Phase Finally we develop some sort of feeling about ourselves, such as respect or shame as a result of these impressions

CRITICAL ASPECT TO LOOKING-GLASS SELF Self results from an individual’s

imagination of how others view him or her. As a result, we can develop self identities based on incorrect perceptions of how others see us

STAGES OF SELF George Herbert Mead continued

Cooley’s exploration of interactionist theory.

He developed a useful model of the process by which the self emerges. Defined by three distinct stages

The Preparatory Stage The Play StageThe Game Stage

THE PREPARATORY STAGE Children merely imitate the people

around them, especially family members with whom they continually interact.

As they grow older, children become more adept at using symbols to communicate with others

Symbols are the gestures, objects, and language that form the basis of human communication.

Children in the preparatory stage begin to understand the use of symbols.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF SYMBOL TO SOCIALIZATION (…THE PLAY STAGE)

As children develop skill in communicating through symbols, they gradually become more aware of social relationships.

Child begin to pretend to be other people. Just as an actor “becomes” a character

THE GAME STAGE The child no longer just plays roles, but

begins to consider several actual tasks and relationships simultaneously

Children grasp not only their own social positions but also those of others around them

This is the final stage of development under Mead’s model.

The child can now respond to numerous members of the social environment

THE CONCEPT OF MEAD’S MODEL When an individual acts, he or she takes

into account an entire group of people. At the game stage, children can take a

more sophisticated view of people and the social environment. They understand what specific occupations and social positions are.

Thus the child has reached a new level of sophistication in observing individuals and institutions

THEORY OF THE SELF BY MEAD The self begins at a privileged, central position

in a person’s world. Young children picture themselves as the focus of everything around them and find it difficult to consider the perspectives of others.

As people mature, the self changes and begins to reflect greater concern about the reactions of others.

Parents, friends, co-workers, coaches and teachers are often among those who play a major role in shaping a person’s life.

Significant others, referring to those individuals who are most important in the development of the self

THE PRESENTATION OF SELF How do we manage our “self”?

How do we display to others who we are?

Erving Goffman, suggested that many of our daily activities involve attempts to convey impressions of who we are.

With this we understand the sometimes subtle yet critical ways in which we learn to present ourselves socially

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT (…..GOFFMAN)

Early in life, the individual learns to slant his or her presentation of the self in order to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences.

DRAMATURGICAL APPROACH

People resemble performers in action.

FACE WORK(ANOTHER ASPECT OF SELF) How often do you initiate some

kind of face-saving behavior when you feel embarrassed or rejected?

We feel the need to maintain a proper image of the self if we are to continue social interaction

In some cultures, people engage in elaborate deceptions to avoid “losing face”

SUMMARY Goffman’s work on the self represents a

logical progression of sociological studies begun by Cooley and Mead on how personality is acquired through socialization and how we manage the presentation of the self to others.

Cooley stressed the process by which we come to create self; Mead focused on how the self develops as we learn to interact with others; Goffman emphasized the ways in which we consciously create images of ourselves for others

CONCLUSION The various bases of the self is challenging given

that there are multiple personal identities, multiple role identities and multiple social identities. How can we conceptualize this interrelationship?

Educational background and Occupational status and roles significantly influence identity

Different social situations also compel people to attach themselves to different self-identities which may cause some to feel marginalized, thus travelling between different groups and self-identifications. These different selves lead to constructed images dichotomized between what people want to be(the ideal self) and how other see them (the limited self)

REFERENCES1. Stryker, S., and Burke, P.J. (2000). The past,

present and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quartely, 63, 284-297

2. Stryker, S.(1980). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. Menlo Park: Benjamin Cummings.

3. McCall,G. J., and Simmons, J. L. (1978). Identities and interactions. New York. Free Press.

4. Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

5. Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic intertionism. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

6. Richard, T. Schaefer. (2005). Sociology. Socialization. 9th Edition. McGraw Hill. De Paul . United States. New York. Page 84-87