Section 1: Personality DevelopmentSection 2: The Social Self

Section 3: Agents of Socialization

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CHAPTER 5Socializing the Individual

Personality DevelopmentObjectives:

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Identify the four main factors that affect the development of personality.

Explain how isolation in childhood affects development.

What is Personality?

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Sociologists define personality as the sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an individual.

What influences Your Personality? ParentsSiblingsEnvironmentWhat?

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Four Factors That Shape Personality Development

Factors that Shape Individual

Personality Development

Four Factors That Shape Personality Development

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Heredity – physical traits, aptitudes, inherited characteristics, biological drives

Factors that Shape Individual

Personality Development

Heredity

Factors That Shape Personality Development

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Parents – parental characteristics, such as age, education, religion, and economic status

Heredity

Factors that Shape Individual

Personality DevelopmentParents

Factors That Shape Personality Development

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Birth order – personalities are shaped by whether one has siblings

Heredity

Factors that Shape Individual

Personality DevelopmentParents

Birthorder

Factors That Shape Personality Development

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Cultural environment – determines the basic personality types found in a society

Heredity

Factors that Shape Individual

Personality Development

Parents cultural environment

Birthorder

Recipe for Personality

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Using the four “ingredients” we’ve discussed, what would you say the recipe is for personality?How much (proportionately) of each would

you include in your recipe?What “cooking” instructions would you

include?Do recipes differ from person to person?

Isolation in Childhood and Development

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Research shows that a healthy cultural environment is essential for a child’s full development

Isolation can lead to severe effects such as causing children to waste away and die or to have stunted development

Isolation in Childhood and Development

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In a few cases, feral children (wild or untamed) were found living with animals or isolated from human contact.

These children seemingly had no reasoning ability, no manners, and no ability to control bodily functions.

Sociologists feel that this strongly supports the conclusion that our personality comes from our cultural environment.

Isolation in Childhood and Development

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Anna and IsabelleStudied by Kingsley Davis

AnnaUnmarried woman/hostile grandfatherFoster homes, then consigned to attic roomMinimal care, undernourished, almost no

human contact.At age 6, could not walk, talk, or feed self.Died at age 10.

Isolation in Childhood and Development

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Anna and IsabelleStudied by Kingsley Davis

IsabelleUnmarried woman/hostile grandfatherConfined to dark room with deaf motherAlthough she did not have other social

interaction, did have contact with motherAfter intensive training, reached social level

of others her age.

Isolation in Childhood and Development

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GenieBasis of documentaryDiscovered 1970 at 13 years oldConfined from 20 months to small bedroomTotally silent environment, beated if she

made noise.After 8 years of intensive training, reached

level of 3rd grade student, did not progress more.

Still alive in adult care facility.

Institutionalization

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Psychologist Rene SpitzIn 1945, studied infants in an orphanage.

Children were given proper food and medical care.

Children were not held, hugged, or spoken to by staff (efficient, but very busy)

Confined from 20 to small bedroom1/3 of the children died within 2 yearsOf the survivors, fewer than 25% could walk,

dress themselves, or feed themselves.Led to conclusion that physical contact and

human interaction is important for social and psychological development.

Product of our cultural environments?

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Does the term Dalai Lama best describe a spiritual leader or an eastern religion?

If someone gave you some Lapsang souchong, would you spread it on bread or drink it?

Is Lhasa a type of dog or a capital city?In which country so you think yak butter is

an important part of the people’s diet – India, Russia, or Tibet?

The English translation of the word Chomolungma is “Goddess Mother of the World.” What do you think Chomolunga is?

Product of our cultural environments?

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The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Buddhism.

Lapsang souchong is a type of tea, therefore, you would drink it.

Lhasa is a capital city.Yak butter is an important part of the

people’s diet in Tibet.Chomolunga is a mountain, it is the Tibetan

name for Mount Everest.

Harry Harlow

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Did research with infant monkeys on how body contact relates to attachment

The monkeys had to chose between a cloth mother or a wire mother that provided food.

Harry Harlow

The monkeys spent most of their time by the cloth mother.

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Product of our cultural environments?

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With your seat partner(s), discuss and come up with a list of seven similar questions about American culture: things an American would know, but that someone from another culture might not.

Write your questions on a sheet of paper to turn in with all partner names included.

Don’t share your questions with other groups – let’s see how they do on your quiz!

Section Review and Assignment

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Answer the Following in a ParagraphWhat effect does the lack of human

interaction have on institutionalized children?

Define the Following: Personality, Heredity, Instinct, Feral Children

Section 2: The Social SelfObjectives:

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Explain how a person’s sense of self emerges.

Identify and describe the theories that have been put forth to explain the process of socialization.

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How I see myself How others see me

How Sense of Self Emerges

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Self is your conscious awareness of possessing a distinct identity that separates you and your environment from other members of society.

How Sense of Self Emerges

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Through interaction with social and cultural environments people are transformed into members of society

The interactive process through which people learn the basic skills, values, beliefs, and behavior patterns of a society is called socialization

Many psychologists/sociologists have studied the topic and have developed theories.

Theories of Socialization

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Sigmund Freud – Interaction of id, ego, and superego

John Locke – The Tabula Rosa Charles Horton Cooley – The Looking Glass

Self George Herbert Mead – Role-TakingJean Piaget – Cognitive DevelopmentLawrence Kohlberg – Moral Development

Sigmund Freud – Id, Ego, and Superego

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Each person has three parts to their mind/self that must interact properly

Id –responsible for satisfaction of physical desires. Develops first in all people.

Superego – conscience, encourages conformity to societal norms and values

Ego – resolves the conflicts between id and superego

If all do not balance, a person would have socialization problems.

John Locke – The Tabula Rosa

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Each person is a blank slate at birth, with no personality.

People develop personality as a result of their social experiences.

Moreover, infants can be molded into any type of person.

This theory emphasizes strictly environmental elements in the development of personality/self.

Charles Horton Cooley – The Looking Glass Self

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Infants have no sense of person or place. Children develop an image of themselves

based on how others see them. Other people act as a mirror, reflecting

back the image a child projects through their reactions to the child’s behavior.

Significant Othersomeone whose opinions matter to us and

who is in a position to influence our thinking, especially about ourselves.

George Herbert Mead – Role-Taking

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Self develops solely through social experience.

People not only come to see themselves as others see them but also take on or pretend to take on the roles of others through imitation, play, and games.

Proposes there are two elements of self:“I” self initiates action“me” self continues, interrupts, or changes

action depending on how others respond.

George Herbert Mead – Role-Taking

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Stages of developmentUnder three years old:

Lack sense of selfImitate others – gestures, actions

At about three years old:Play and act roles of othersRole playing – doctor, farmer, mother

At school ageOrganized gamesAnticipation what others might do.

ProfilingCreate a Word

Document Profile for each of the Theorists identified in Section Two:

Each person’s major theory should be explained in at least 5 Sentences.

John LockeBorn- Died-

Picture

John Locke created the Tabula Rosa Theory.

The Tabular Rosa theory stated

that…….Etc.

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Agents of SocializationObjectives:

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Identify the most important agents of socialization in the United States.

Explain why family and education are important social institutions.

Agents of Socialization

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Family – most important agentProvides stability in

LanguagePersonality traitsReligionclass

Although other agents may temporarily become central, family remains central throughout the entire life course.

Agents of Socialization

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Peer group – primary group composed of individuals of roughly equal age & social characteristics, A place where a child

can exert independence from family

Very important in adolescence

Agents of Socialization

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School -plays a major role in socializationProvides education and

trainingCognitive skillsIndoctrination of valuesKnowledge in subject areas

Broadens social experiences

Exposes children to a variety of social backgrounds

Agents of Socialization

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Mass media Books, films, the Internet, magazines and television, not face-to-face

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Mass Media as a Socialization Agent

Mass media include books, films, the Internet, magazines, newspapers, radio, and television.

Television probably has the most influence on children.

The effect of television on children is an ongoing debate.

Importance of Family as an Agent of Socialization

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Unlike other agents, the family is a constant influence in one’s life.Provides continuous frame of referenceHelps internalize culture and parental

expectationsThese help to direct the behavior of the adult

child.

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Chapter Wrap-Up

1. How has the nature-versus-nurture debate evolved?2. What do social scientists believe are the principal

factors that influence personality development?3. What does research on children reared in isolation

indicate about the effects of the cultural environment on social and psychological development?

4. What is the role of self in the socialization process?5. According to Cooley, how does a person’s sense of self

develop in early childhood and when does this process end?

6. Identify the primary agents of socialization in the United States.

1. How has the nature-versus-nurture debate evolved?2. What do social scientists believe are the principal

factors that influence personality development?3. What does research on children reared in isolation

indicate about the effects of the cultural environment on social and psychological development?

4. What is the role of self in the socialization process?5. According to Cooley, how does a person’s sense of self

develop in early childhood and when does this process end?

6. Identify the primary agents of socialization in the United States.

CHAPTER 5

Socialization through Fairy Tales

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http://www.literaturepage.com/read/grimms-fairy-tales.html

Working in the following groups, read and analyze your assigned fairy tale. Discuss how the tale might help children and contribute to their socialization.

Create a storyboard that shows how your story helps to socialize children. Include information about what lessons, values, behaviors, and beliefs are transmitted by the elements of your story.

Be creative! You can tell your story in classic style, but you may also rewrite the story, placing it in a new setting, time, or culture.