Socializing the Individual
Sociology / Chapter 5 / Mr. Niño
Section 1
Personality Development
5.1 Objectives
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The four factors of personality development
How isolation in childhood affects
development
Define
 Personality,
heredity, instinct, sociobiology,
aptitude, feral children
Personality

Define personality
Personality—the sum total of all behaviors,
attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of
an individual
 Write some nouns/adjectives that describe your
personality

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Personality
Social skill/appeal
 Characteristic: humorous, assertive
 Determines acclimation to environment and
situational reaction
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Develops and changes throughout lifetime
Nature vs. Nurture
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What determines personality? Nature or
nurture?
Nature argument: human behavior is
instinctual in origin
Heredity—the transmission of genetic
characteristics from parents to children
Instinct—unchanging, biologically inherited
behavior
 Ex:
birds build nests and migrate
Nature vs. Nurture

Nurture argument: human behavior is the
result of social environment and learning
 Humans
 Ex:
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can be conditioned/trained
Pavlov’s dog
Sociobiology—the systematic study of the
basis of all social behavior
Supports the nature viewpoint
 Cultural
characteristics and behavioral traits
(religion, cooperation, envy) are rooted in the
genetic makeup of humans
Personality Development Factors

Heredity
 Physical:
body build, hair/eye color, skin
 Aptitudes—a capacity to learn a particular skill
or body of knowledge
 Ex:
music, art, sports
 Heredity
provides limits but does not determine
Personality Development Factors

Birth Order
 Only
child vs. Siblings
 Order:
 First
(achievement-oriented, conservative),
 Last (social, affectionate, friendly, liberal),
 Middle (open-minded, friendly, loyal)
Personality Development Factors

Parental Characteristics
 Age
(twenties vs. thirties)
 Education and occupation
 Religion and culture
Personality Development Factors

Cultural Environment
 Determines
basic types of personalities
 Provides model personalities
 Ex:
U.S. (competitiveness, assertiveness,
individualism)
 Male
vs. Female treatment (interests, activities,
clothing, speech, habits)
Isolation in Childhood

Feral Children—wild or untamed children
who are isolated in homes by parents or
family members
 few
human characteristics
 No reasoning, manners, control of bodily
functions
 Examples:
 Anna
(confined to an attic)
 Isabelle (confined to a dark room)
 Genie (confined for 13 years)
Section 2
The Social Self
5.2 Objectives
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How a person’s sense of self emerges
Theories of socialization process
Define
 Socialization,
self, looking-glass self, role-taking,
significant others, generalized other, I, me

Identify
 Locke,
Cooley, Mead
5.2 Objectives



How a person’s sense of self emerges
Theories of socialization process
Define
 Socialization,
self, looking-glass self, role-taking,
significant others, generalized other, I, me

Identify
 Locke,
Cooley, Mead
The Social Self

At birth, human beings cannot:
 Talk,
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walk, feed, or protect
Transformed through socialization—the
interactive process through which people
learn basic skills
A sense of self—your conscious awareness of
possessing a distinct identity—is developed
Locke: The Tabula Rasa
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John Locke (English Philosopher)
Each human being is a tabula rasa “clean slate”
Born without personality
Social experience creates personality
Infants can be molded into any type of person
Cooley: The Looking-Glass Self
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Charles Horton Cooley (interactionist)
Looking-Glass Self
 Interactive
process that develops self image
 How we imagine we appear to others
 Others are a mirror, reflecting back the image we
project through their reactions to our behavior
 Three Step Process
 1)
we imagine how we appear
 2) we reflect on how others judge us
 3) we develop feelings about ourselves
Mead: Role-Taking
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George Herbert Mead (interactionist)
Beyond how we see ourselves as others see us
Role-taking—pretending to take on the role of
others; anticipating what others expect of us.
Internalize expectations of “close ones” or
significant others (parents, siblings,
relatives)
As we grow, significant others become less imp.
Instead, generalized other—the attitudes,
expectations, viewpoints of society
Mead: Role-Taking (cont.)
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Role-taking three step process
 Imitation
(2-3 years)
 Play
(3-6)
 Games (6-11)
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Role-taking develops sense of self
The Self consists of two parts
 “I”
the unsocialized, spontaneous, self-interest
 “Me” aware of expectations, attitudes of society
Erving Goffman

Dramaturgy
 Social
interaction is like a drama being performed
on a stage
 People are audience & judge of character

Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)
 Sociologist
 Psychologist
 Political
Scientist
 “All the world’s a stage…”
“Looking Glass Self” Interview
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To better understand how your socialized
behavior is formed, you will interview family,
friends, and teachers.
Focus on questions that describe your personality.
Interview 3 family members, 2 friends and 1
teacher.