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Socialization

Socialization is a lifelong process where individuals learn cultural values and develop their personality through interaction. The document discusses the nature vs. nurture debate, highlighting genetic influences through twin studies and the malleability of behavior as proposed by psychologists like Watson and Skinner. It also covers Cooley's concept of the looking-glass self and Mead's stages of role-taking, illustrating how social interaction shapes self-perception and understanding of societal norms.

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7 views9 pages

Socialization

Socialization is a lifelong process where individuals learn cultural values and develop their personality through interaction. The document discusses the nature vs. nurture debate, highlighting genetic influences through twin studies and the malleability of behavior as proposed by psychologists like Watson and Skinner. It also covers Cooley's concept of the looking-glass self and Mead's stages of role-taking, illustrating how social interaction shapes self-perception and understanding of societal norms.

Uploaded by

hianees21
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Socialization

Socialization
Socialization is a lifelong process of interaction and learning cultural pattern,
values, norms, and beliefs.

We develop personality, a unique sense of who we are.


The Nature Argument: It's in Our Genes
Twin Studies provide powerful evidence for genetic influence.

The Jim Twins: Separated at birth, reunited at age 39. They shared
uncanny similarities:

● Married and divorced women named Linda, then remarried women


named Betty.
●
● Similar interests (mechanical drawing, carpentry).
●
● Same habits (smoking, drinking).
The Nurture Argument: Culture and Personality
American psychologists ; John Watson and B.F. Skinner:

[Link] behavior is malleable


2.B.F.
Skinner gave operant conditioning: altering behavior of individuals
by rewards and punishments for behaviors (operants).
[Link] Locke: The infant is tabula rasa (blank slate).
Reflexivity: Cooley’s Looking-Glass self
Presented by an American sociologist, Charles Horton Cooley.
we develop sense of self through social interaction, that is, the self (our
personality) is socially created.
Concept: looking glass self, the idea that similar to the self-image we
develop of ourselves as a result of reflection in a mirror, our sense of our
self develops as a reflection of how we think others evaluate us.
E.g., If others, like your teachers or parents, think you are intelligent,
chances of you will develop a same sense of self and if others start
looking you dull then you will develop that sense of yourself.
Mead: Role taking
George Herbert Mead argued that the self develops through social interaction
in three stages:

Imitation Stage (Birth - 2 years)

● Children simply imitate the gestures and actions of those around them
(e.g., holding a newspaper like dad).
● Mead called this a "conversation of gestures."
Mead: Role taking
Play Stage (2 - 6 years)
● Children begin role-taking: pretending to be specific individuals.
● They play the roles of "significant others" (e.g., parents, superheroes like
Spiderman).
● By doing this, they internalize the norms and values associated with those
roles (e.g., bravery, piety, or potentially, negative behaviors).
Mead: Role taking
Game Stage (15+ years)
● Children learn to take on the roles of multiple people at once.
● They understand their role and the roles of everyone else in a complex
system, like in a cricket or baseball match.
● They internalize the norms of the broader community, which Mead called
the "generalized other."
● This allows them to anticipate how others will behave in different
situations
THE END

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