SOC 101 Chapter 3

The process by which we develop a sense of self, referred to as the "looking-glass self," was developed by

Charles Horton Cooley

Professor Zale bases her self-concept as a professor on the interactions she has with students, and the reactions she receives from them during class. In view of this, which process is Professor Zale utilizing?

Cooley's looking-glass self

ego

Freud's term for a balancing force between the id and the demands of society

id

Freud's term for our inborn basic drives

superego

Freud's term for the conscience; the internalized norms and values of our social groups

Why is entering into school significant from a sociological perspective?

It marks the transfer of allegiance from family to peer groups.

Charles H. Cooley

Our self-concept derives from a three-fold process in which we: imagine how we appear to those around us; try to make sense of how people are responding to us; develop and modify a sense of who we are based on our interpretations of what other people think.

What are the agents of socialization?

Peers, school, family, workplace, mass media

Carol Gilligan

She built on existing theories of moral development by arguing that boys and girls are raised to follow different rules: Boys are raised to follow rational principles; Girls are raised to follow relational principles

symbolic interactionism

Socialization occurs in social interaction and through communication with symbols Mead: the I and the me; role-taking; imitation to play to games Cooley: the Looking-Glass Self- seeing ourselves as we imagine others see us

Choose a phase of adulthood other than childhood or adolescence. Then give two examples of how socialization occurs during that phase that illustrate the concept of lifelong socialization.

The early middle years of adulthood is ages 30-49. In this phase, most people are aware of the things they want and goals they may have. One example of how socialization occurs could be the pressure of having children, at this age many women feel more pressured to have children by family and peers. Another example of socialization occurs could be marriage for both men and women. Many people start getting married and starting families at this age or in their late 20's. With both of these examples, there is pressure from society and the media because what is considered "normal".

George H. Mead (1863-1931)

The self is developed by 'taking the role of the other. The process of socialization entails a constant dialogue between the 'I' and the 'me''.

peer group

a group of individuals, often of roughly the same age, who are linked by common interests and orientations

social inequality

a social condition in which privileges and obligations are given to some but denied to others

transitional adulthood

a term that refers to a period following high school when young adults have not yet taken on the responsibilities ordinarily associated with adulthood; also called adultolescence

People and groups that influence our orientation to life—our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors—are called

agents of socialization

transitional older years

an emerging stage of the life course between retirement and when people are considered old; about age 63 to 74

significant other

an individual who significantly influences someone else

feral children

children assumed to have been raised by animals, in the wilderness, isolated from humans

The idea of the looking-glass self is that we come to know ourselves by looking in the mirror.

false

Which one of the following is probably the most influential agent of socialization?

family

mass media

forms of communication, such as radio, newspapers, and television that are directed to mass audiences

George Herbert Mead theorized that learning to take the role of the other entails three stages—the ________, _______, and _______ stages.

imitation; play; team games

total institutions

institutions in which individuals are under complete control 24 hours a day, stripped of their "selves" and re-socialized ex: prison

gender socialization

learning society's "gender map," the paths in life set out for us because we are male or female

behaviorism

people learn behavior through positive and negative reinforcement

agents of socialization

people or groups that affect our self concept, attitudes, behaviors, or other orientations toward life

taking the role of the other

putting yourself in someone else's shoes; understanding how someone else feels and thinks, so you anticipate how that person will act

looking glass self (Cooley)

refer to the process by which our self develops through internalizing others' reactions to us

When young people enter college as resident students, they must learn new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors. This is an example of

resocialization

gender

the behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity or femininity

social enviornment

the entire human environment, including interaction with others

personality

the fairly stable patterns of thoughts and feelings of an individual

In Freud's theory, what part of the personality represents the pleasure-seeking aspect, demanding immediate fulfillment of basic needs such as attention, food, safety, and sex?

the id

lifespan socialization

the idea that socialization takes place through-out life, even into old age. Exemplified by Erik Erikson's stage theory of human development

manifest functions

the intended beneficial consequences of people's actions

socialization

the lifelong process of social interaction through which we acquire personality and learn the ways of life of our society

generalized other

the norms, values, attitudes, and expectations of people "in general"; the child's ability to take the role of the generalized other is a significant step in the development of a self

anticipatory socialization

the process of learning in advance an anticipated future role or status

re-socialization

the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors

life course

the stages of our life as we go from birth to death

degradation ceremony (Harold Garfinkel)

to refer to a ritual whose goal is to remake someone's self by stripping away that individual's self-identity and stamping a new identity in its place

Parents are typically the first significant others to show children the gender map.

true

latent functions

unintended beneficial consequences of people's actions