WEEK 3
The Rest of Chapter 4
How is Helen Keller different from Victor and Genie?
George Herbert Mead
Children develop as social beings by imitating actions of those around them
-social self (The Me) → (The I)
-self-consciousness
-generalized other: general values of society
Charles Horton Cooley
Looking-glass self
the reactions we elicit in social situations create a mirror in which we see
ourselves
Agents of socialization :
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Family
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Schools
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Peers
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Mass Media
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Work
Social roles—socially defined expectations for a person in a given social position
-Social identity
similarity among people
-Self-identity (personal identity)
individual differences
Master status
A single identity or status that overpowers all the other identities one holds
Gender role socialization
– The learning of gender roles through social factors (e.g. schooling, family,
the media)
– begins as soon as an infant is born
Race socialization
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The specific verbal and nonverbal messages that older generations transmit to
younger generations regarding the meaning and significance of race
Socialization and the Life Course
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Childhood
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Teenager
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Young adulthood
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Mature adulthood
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Old age
Chapter 5
Sociology of Everyday Life
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Symbolic Interactionism
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Erving Goffman
Civil Inattention
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the process whereby individuals in the same physical setting demonstrate to
each other that they are aware of each other’s presence but avoid any behavior
that might be perceived as too intrusive
Nonverbal Communication
through facial expressions, gestures, and movements of the body
Technology and communication
E-mail and telephones seriously limit the context of nonverbal communication
Each of us uses impression management to prepare the presentation of our social
roles
Dramaturgy
Social interaction can be studied as if those involved were actors on a stage (social life
as theater)
Audience Segregation
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Front regions (front stage)
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Back regions (backstage)
Why we seek information about others?
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To define the situation
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To play our role properly
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GIVE: the words and facial expressions that people use to produce certain
impressions on others.
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GIVE OFF: the clues that others may spot to check their sincerity or truthfulness.
Reading 9 by Robert Merton
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Manifest functions: intended, planned
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Latent functions: unintentional, unplanned
Manifest equation
Costliness = Excellence of the goods (quality)
Latent equation
Costliness=Mark of higher social status (to show off)