THE LIFELONG SOCIAL EXPERIENCE BY WHICH INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP THEIR HUMAN POTENTIAL

AND LEARN PATTERNS OF THEIR CULTURE

• SOCIAL EXPERIENCES ALSO BUILD THE FOUNDATION FOR– PERSONALITYPERSONALITY:

• A PERSON’S FAIRLY CONSISTENT PATTERNS OF THINKING, FEELING, AND ACTING

– COULD A PERSON’S PERSONALITY DEVELOP WITHOUT SOCIAL INTERACTION?

NATURE VS. NURTURENATURE VS. NURTURE• BEHAVIORISM

– MOST OF WHO AND WHAT WE ARE AS A SPECIES IS LEARNED, OR SOCIAL IN NATURE

• IS IT SOCIOBIOLOGY OR BEHAVIORISM?• SOCIOBIOLOGY

– ELEMENTS OF SOCIETY HAVE A NATURALISTIC ROOT

– IT’S A BIT OF BOTH, BUT FROM A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, NURTURE IS EXTREMELY INFLUENTIAL

• IMPACT ON NONHUMAN PRIMATES– HARLOWS’ EXPERIMENTS

• SIX MONTHS OF COMPLETE ISOLATION WAS ENOUGH TO DISTURB DEVELOPMENT

• IMPACT ON CHILDREN– FERAL CHILDREN– ANNA AND ISABELLE

• YEARS OF ISOLATION LEFT BOTH CHILDREN DAMAGED AND ONLY CAPABLE OF APPROXIMATING A NORMAL LIFE

– GENIE’S CASE• SOMEWHAT LESS ISOLATED, BUT SUFFERED

PERMANENT DISABILITIES

• BASIC HUMAN NEEDS– EROS AND THANATOS AS OPPOSING FORCES

• DEVELOPING PERSONALITY– THE ID

• BASIC DRIVES- “immediate satisfaction”

– THE EGO• EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE BALANCE – “delayed gratification”

– THE SUPEREGO• CULTURE DEMANDS WITHIN- “needs of society”

• MANAGED CONFLICT– ID AND SUPEREGO ARE IN CONSTANT STATES OF CONFLICT,

WITH THE EGO BALANCING THE TWO– REPRESSION

• SOCIETY’S CONTROLS OVER US

– SUBLIMATION• REDIRECTION OF BASIC DRIVES (sex-marriage, and, aggression-

sports)

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT• COGNITION (Piaget’s Theory)

– HOW PEOPLE THINK AND UNDERSTAND

• STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT– SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

• SENSORY CONTACT UNDERSTANDING– PREOPERATIONAL STAGE

• USE OF LANGUAGE AND OTHER SYMBOLS– CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE

• PERCEPTION OF CAUSAL CONNECTIONS IN SURROUNDINGS

– FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE

• ABSTRACT, CRITICAL THINKING

Piaget attempted to link cognitive development to biological maturation; children learn more complex concepts and ideas as the brain develops

• KOHLBERG’S IDEAS– MORAL DEVELOPMENT OCCURS IN

STAGES PRECONVENTIONAL

– WHATEVER SERVES THE PERSON’S NEEDS

CONVENTIONAL– SHEDDING OF SOME SELFISHNESS;

PLEASING PARENTS AND SOCIETY’S NORMS AS LEARNED

POST-CONVENTIONAL– MOVING BEYOND SOCIETY’S NORMS TO

CONSIDER ABSTRACT ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

• THE SOCIAL SELF– SELF DEVELOPS FROM SOCIAL

INTERACTION– FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF

INWARD THINKING PROCESSES

• THE DUALITY OF SELF– THE SELF AS SUBJECT (THE “I”)

• ALL THOUGHT AND ACTION ORIGINATES WITHIN THIS PART OF THE SELF

– THE SELF AS OBJECT (THE “ME”)• GUIDING THE ACTION BY TAKING ON “THE

ROLE OF THE OTHER” (WIDER SOCIETY)

THE LOOKING-GLASS SELF

• CHARLES HORTON COOLEYCHARLES HORTON COOLEY – SELF-IMAGE IS MANIFESTED SELF-IMAGE IS MANIFESTED

AS WE THINK OF HOW AS WE THINK OF HOW OTHERS WILL SEE USOTHERS WILL SEE US

• WHAT WE THINK OF WHAT WE THINK OF OURSELVES DEPENDS ON OURSELVES DEPENDS ON LARGE PART ON WHAT WE LARGE PART ON WHAT WE PERCEIVE OTHERS ARE PERCEIVE OTHERS ARE THINKING OF USTHINKING OF US– REINFORCEMENT REINFORCEMENT – MORTIFICATIONMORTIFICATION– SELF-DOUBTSELF-DOUBT

• CHARLES HORTON COOLEYCHARLES HORTON COOLEY – SELF-IMAGE IS MANIFESTED SELF-IMAGE IS MANIFESTED

AS WE THINK OF HOW AS WE THINK OF HOW OTHERS WILL SEE USOTHERS WILL SEE US

• WHAT WE THINK OF WHAT WE THINK OF OURSELVES DEPENDS ON OURSELVES DEPENDS ON LARGE PART ON WHAT WE LARGE PART ON WHAT WE PERCEIVE OTHERS ARE PERCEIVE OTHERS ARE THINKING OF USTHINKING OF US– REINFORCEMENT REINFORCEMENT – MORTIFICATIONMORTIFICATION– SELF-DOUBTSELF-DOUBT

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENTTHIS PROCESSSEES THE SELFDEVELOP FROMA STAGE WHERENO SELF IS INEXISTENCE, TOONE WHERE THE SELF HAS LEARNED CULTURE’S NORMS AND VALUES.

THIS KNOWLEDGE IS THEN USED AS REFERENCE POINTS FOR SELF-EVALUATION.

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS THAT PLAY THINGS THAT PLAY

IMPORTANT ROLES OR HAVE IMPORTANT ROLES OR HAVE SPECIAL MEANING ANDSPECIAL MEANING ANDSIGNIFICANCE IN THE SIGNIFICANCE IN THE

SOCIALIZATION PROCESS.SOCIALIZATION PROCESS.

LET’S EXAMINE A FEW, SHALL WE?LET’S EXAMINE A FEW, SHALL WE?

THETHE FAMILY FAMILY

• MOST IMPORTANT AGENT– CENTER OF A CHILD’S LIFE

• PARENTAL ATTENTION IS VERY IMPORTANT– BONDING AND ENCOURAGEMENT

• SOCIAL POSITION IS ACQUIRED– RACE, CLASS, RELIGION (ascribed status)

• CULTURE (Social) CAPITAL– CHILDHOOD INHERITENCE

• CONFRONT DIVERSITY– RACIAL CLUSTERING EARLY ON?

• HIDDEN CURRICULUM– INFORMAL, COVERT LESSONS

• INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION– RECORDKEEPING STARTS

• GENDER SOCIALIZATION BEGINS– FROM GRADE SCHOOL THROUGH

COLLEGE, GENDER-LINKED ACTIVITIES ARE ENCOUNTERED

• DEVELOPING SENSE OF SELF THAT GOES

BEYOND THE FAMILY• YOUNG AND OLD ATTITUDES AND THE

“GENERATION GAP”• PEERS OFTEN GOVERN SHORT-TERM

GOALS WHILE PARENTS MAINTAIN

INFLUENCE OVER LONG-TERM PLANS

• ANTICIPATORY SOCIALIZATION– PRACTICE AT WORKING TOWARD GAINING

DESIRED POSITIONS

IMPERSONAL COMMUNICATION DIRECTED AT A VAST AUDIENCE

• TELEVISIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.– 2/3rds OF HOUSEHOLDS SUBSCRIBE TO CABLE

TELEVISION– IN 1999, 98% OF HOUSEHOLDS HAD AT LEAST ONE

• HOW MUCH T.V. IN THE 2000s?– ON AVERAGE, 7 HOURS PER DAY, OR ONE-HALF OF

THEIR FREE TIME IS SPENT IN FRONT OF THE TELEVSION

• CONCERNS ABOUT CREATING IMAGES– VIOLENCE AND THE MASS MEDIA– DISABLING STEREOTYPE REINFORCEMENT– CLAIMS OF LIBERALISM IN THE MEDIA

THE LIFE COURSE• CHILDHOOD (AGE 1 THROUGH 12)

– THE “HURRIED CHILD”

• ADOLESCENCE (THE TEENAGE YEARS)– A FOOT IN BOTH WORLDS (MARGINALITY)

• ADULTHOOD– EARLY: 20 TO 40, CONFLICTING PRIORITIES– MIDDLE: 40 TO 60, MIDLIFE CRISIS

• OLD AGE (MID-60s AND OLDER)– GRAYING BABY BOOMERS– LESS ANTI-ELDERLY BIAS– ROLE EXITING CAN BE DIFFICULT

• 85% OF AMERICANS DIE AFTER 85% OF AMERICANS DIE AFTER AGE 55AGE 55

• STAGES OF DYINGSTAGES OF DYING– DENIALDENIAL– ANGERANGER– NEGOTIATIONNEGOTIATION– RESIGNATIONRESIGNATION– ACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCE

TOTAL INSTITUTIONSTOTAL INSTITUTIONS• A SETTING IN WHICH PEOPLE

ARE:– ISOLATED FROM SOCIETY– CONTROLLED BY STAFF

• CHARACTERISTICS:– SUPERVISION OF ALL SPHERES

OF A PERSON’S LIFE– STANDARDIZED, RIGID SYSTEM

UNDERWHICH ALL LIVE– FORMAL RULES AND DAILY

SCHEDULES FOR ALL

• THE PROCESS– ERODE THE INDIVIDUAL’S OLD “SELF”

• SURRENDER POSSESSIONS AND ANY ITEM THAT SUGGESTS INDIVIDUALITY

• ‘MORITIFICATION OF SELF’ PROCESSES

– SYSTEMATICALLY BUILD UP A DIFFERENT SELF WITHIN THE PERSON

• BY WAY OF SYSTEMS OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

• INSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONALITY– IMPACT ON SOME PERSONS WHO HAVE LIVED

FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENT SUCH AS THAT FOUND WITHIN TOTAL INSTITUTIONS

RADICAL ALTERATION OF A PERSON’S PERSONALITY