Chap. 5
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The sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and
values that are characteristic of an individual
Nature vs. Nurture debate
The sociobiologist argument: emphasizes the
nature point of view. Biology is the basis of all
social behavior. HEREDITY is the transmission of
genetic characteristics from parents to children.
An INSTINCT is biologically inherited trait.
The nurture argument is that personality is the
result of one’s social environment and learning.
Heredity:
inherited
characteristics,
biological
drives, limits
Parents:
parental
characteristics
Factors
that Shape
Individual
Personality
Development
Birth order:
Number of
siblings and
order of birth
Cultural
environment:
basic personality
types found in
a society
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Some characteristics are present at birth: hair
color, eye color, pigment
Aptitude is the capacity to learn a particular
skill or body of knowledge; music, art
Some develop only because of environmental
factors such as encouragement; verbal
aptitude encouraged by reading to develop
innate talent of child
Can limit an individual
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Personality is influenced by birth order
Research has shown first born children are
more likely to be achievement oriented and
responsible than later children, tend to be
more conservative in thinking.
Later born children are better in social
relationships and tend to be more
affectionate, more risk taking and social and
intellectual rebels
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Age of parents changes how they relate to
children
Level of education, religious orientation,
economic status, cultural heritage, and
occupational background
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American traits of competitiveness,
individualism affect American children
Boys and girls experience different cultures
affecting development
Ethnicity of family
Neighborhood-rural vs. urban, regional
differences
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Book case studies prove need for social
interaction for development
Anna kept alone in isolation
Isabelle kept alone with mother
Genie never develops
Institutionalization further proves need for
caring environment for development.
Necessary for forming attachments.
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How does a person’s sense of self emerge?
The interactive process through which people
learn the basic skills, values, beliefs and
behavior patterns of a society is called
SOCIALIZATION
Your SELF is your conscious awareness of
possessing a distinct identity that separates
you and your environment from other
members of society.
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John Locke, English philosopher, insisted that
each newly born human being is a tabula
rasa, or blank slate, on which anything can be
written
We acquire our personalities as we develop
Socialization is a process by which individuals
absorb the aspects of their culture with which
they come in contact
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Charles Horton Cooley, an interactionist
The interactive process by which we develop
an image of ourselves based on how we
imagine we appear to others.
Three step process:
1.we imagine how we appear to others
2.based on their reactions to us, we
determine whether others view us as we view
ourselves
3.we use our perceptions of how others judge
us to develop feelings about ourselves.
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George Herbert Mead, interactionist
Seeing ourselves as others do is only the
beginning
Eventually we begin to take on the roles of
others. Allows us to anticipate what others
expect of us.
1. we internalize the expectations of those
closest to us (significant others)
2.expectations of society guide behavior
3. we have internalized self and the
generalized other
Name
Process of Socialization Theory
John
Locke
The Tabula Rasa: Each person is a blank slate at birth, with no
personality. People develop personality as a result of their
social experiences. Moreover, infants can be molded into any
type of person.
Charles
Horton
Cooley
The Looking-Glass Self: Infants have no sense of person or
place. Children develop an image of themselves based on how
others see them. Other people act as a mirror, reflecting back
the image a child projects through their reactions to the child’s
behavior.
George
Herbert
Mead
Role-Taking: People not only come to see themselves as others
see them, but also take on or pretend to take on the roles of
others through imitation, play, and games. This process enables
people to anticipate what others expect of them.
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Born with no sense of self, begins
development about age 3
Begin to play role games, attempt to see
world through other’s eyes
Organized games come later where have to
anticipate actions of others
Self consists of the “I” the unsocialized,
spontaneous, self-interested component of
personality, and the “ME”- the part which is
aware of the expectations and attitudes of
society-the socialized self.
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Specific individuals, groups, and institutions
that enable socialization to take place
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The most important agent in every society.
Principle socializer or young children.
Where learn values, norms, and beliefs of the
society and pattern for future interactions.
Can be deliberate or unintended. Be polite vs.
watch behavior of parents.
Not all families the same, members of
subgroups influence, large cultural patterns
with individual differences
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Primary group of individuals about the same
age and similar social characteristics.
Particularly influential pre-teen and teen
years.
Very influenced by the looking glass self
concept, want to fit in.
Often values at odds with the larger culture,
parents become alarmed if these values seem
to become more important than family or
larger cultural norms.
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Mandatory school attendance.
Much of this socialization is deliberate,
teaching reading, civics, responsibility.
Unintentional socialization plays great part of
school day with role models and peer groups.
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No face to face interaction but still strong
cultural influence.
Books, films, magazines, the internet, radio,
tv, music.
98% American homes have TVs, average child
watches 28 hours a week.
Average American child spends almost twice
as much time watching TV as they spend in
school.
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Lots of research examining the effects of TV.
By age 18, children will have witnessed
200,000 fictional acts of violence, including
16,000 murders.
Does this encourage violence?
Image of white, middle class America, with
these values predominant.
Educational tool-expand world and culture.
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A TOTAL INSTITUTION is a setting in which
people are isolated from the rest of society
for a set period of time and are subject to
tight control.
Prisons, military boot camp, monasteries,
mental hospitals
Resocialization involves a break from past
experiences and learning new norms and
values
Weaken individual identity in order to rebuild
it.