Sociology 5

Personality

A person's fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking, and feeling.

TV & aggression

About 2/3rds of TV programs contain violence. Research has found that there is a correlation between the amount of time school children spend watching TV/playing video games and aggressive behavior such as, fighting, the early use of alcohol and other illegal drugs, and even trouble sleeping.

"I" and "Me"

By taking on the role of another person we become more self-aware. We initiate an action (the I-phase, or subject side, of self), and then we continue the action based on how others respond to us (the me-phase, or object side, of self).

Gilligan: Male (Justice) & Female (Care-Responsibility)

Carol Gilligan studied the moral development of girls and boys and concluded that the two sexes use different standards of rightness. Boys have a justice perspective, relying on formal rules to define what is right and wrong, on the other hand, girls have a care and responsibility perspective, relying on personal relationships and loyalties to judge what is right and wrong.

Family, Race, Religion, & Social Class

Family is perhaps the most important socialization agent. Through the family, parents give a social identity to their children.

Agents of Socialization

Family, school, peer group, and mass media.

Mead & Self

George Herbert Mead developed the theory of social behaviorism to explain how social experience develops an individual's personality. Social experience is the exchange of symbols. All social interaction involved seeing ourselves as others see us. Self is the part of an individual's personality composed of self-awareness and self-image.

Watson & Behaviorism

John B. Watson developed a theory which states that behavior is not instinctive, but it is learned.

Kohlberg: Preconventional, Conventional, & Postconventional

Lawrence Kohlberg followed in Piaget's footsteps and studied moral reasoning (what's right and wrong). Kohlberg came up with three stages: Stage 1: Preconventional- Young children judge situations based on what feels right to them. Stage 2: Conventional- Teenagers base their decisions based off of their parents and cultural norms. Stage 3: Postconventional- Older folks tend to think beyond the social norms and make decisions from an ethical point of view.

Generalized others

Mead's term for widespread cultural norms and values we use as reference in evaluating ourselves.

Time watching TV

More than half their free time watching TV, some even spend seven and a half hours each day.

Time TV on

On average about eight hours.

Peer group

Peer groups allow children to escape the direct supervision of adults. People are often influenced by peer groups they would like to join, this allows for anticipatory socialization (learning that helps a person achieve a desired position).

Significant others

People, such as parents, who have special importance for socialization.

Harlow & Attachment

Psychologists Harry and Margaret Harlow studied rhesus monkeys. They found that attachment is very important in everyones life. When monkeys were isolated for three months they are able to recover, however after six months of isolation the monkeys were passive, anxious, and fearful.

School

Schooling broadens children's social horizons to better understand race and social positions. Additionally, the single most important transition int adulthood in the US is the completion of schooling.

Freud: Id, Ego, & Superego

Sigmund Freud studied human development. Freud came up with a model of personality, consisting of the id, ego, and superego. Id: The human being's basic drives Ego: A person's conscious efforts to balance innate pleasure-seeking drives with the demands of society. Superego: The cultural values and norms internalized by an individual.

Socialization

The lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture.

Mass Media

The means for delivering impersonal communications to a vast audience.

Nature vs. Nurture

Watson believed that nurture matters more in shaping human behavior than nature. Nurture is our nature.