Tutorial on Thursday, April 26
This week, you will study identity formation and analyze the impact of culture and
socialization.
You will analyze Mean Girls in order to find examples of the concepts studied.
You will consider how these ideas are relevant to your own personal context.
Learning Goals
-Understand the implications of enthnocentrism and cultural relativism.
-Understand the cultural and psychological factors affecting the development of “the self”
-Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory – identity formation, identity crisis, identity
moratorium
-socialization for gender identity
- how culture influences self-concept, and constructs gender
-apply Charles Cooley`s concept of the self
-Be able to find examples of the above concepts in the movie, Mean Girls, and in the student’s
own personal context
-See the implications of these concepts in the subcultures of SSSS, and in our broader Canadian
culture.
-See connections between these concepts and other concepts studied in the course.
Success criteria
-notes are completed and submitted on Thursday
--demonstrate your understanding by the answering questions, summarizing the main ideas,
providing examples, connecting the main ideas to your own personal context and to other topics
studied in this course, and discuss the broader implications of the ideas in the articles.
-make sure that you avoid repeating points that have already been made by other students. You
will not get credit for this.
-use Classroom Discussion Etiquette
Read and take notes on the following pages:
1. Connecting anthropology to psychology. What is Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stage
model theory. p. 144 (side bar) and p. 76
2. Describe Erikson’s concept of the identity formation, identity crisis and identity
moratorium.
3. Compare self-concept in Western and East Asian families. p. 175-176
4. Describe Franz Boas’ concept of cultural relativism (pg. 28)
5. Review the following concepts
a. Ethnocentrism
b. Agents of socialization
6. What is the difference between sex and gender? P. 146.
7. What do anthropologists mean when they say that gender is culturally constructed?
8. Summarize Margaret Mead’s work on gender roles in three different cultures.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Describe how culture constructs body image in Canada and in Niger. p. 146-151
What does the fat body ideal represent?
What does the thin body ideal represent?
How is masculinity culturally constructed in Canada? What “unacceptable” behaviours are
considered manly in other cultures? P. 149
13. What is meant by the terms “intersex,” “third gender”?
14. Discuss the variety of attitudes towards individuals with alternate-gender identities. What
reasons are proposed for these different attitudes?
15. 1. How do the various agents of socialization ( family, peers, religion, workplace/school, and
media) shape people’s behaviour and beliefs about:
-gender identity
- body image
-identity formation/identity moratorium in teens
While watching Mean Girls, answer the following questions:
1. a) Franz Boas noted that each culture has its own internal rules that must be accepted.
List four from the subcultures seen in Mean Girls.
b) What are the consequences of not following each rule?
c) Give examples of ethnocentrism from the movie, and from your own reaction to the
movie.
d) Give examples of how subcultures make judgments about other subcultures?
e) Media is an agent of socialization. What influence could Mean Girls have on the
behaviour of individuals who watched it?
f) Find examples that prove Charles Cooley`s concept of self to be true.
I am not what I think I am. I am not what you think I am.
I am what I think you think I am.
g) Discuss identity formation/Identity crisis/identity moratorium in Mean
Girls.
h) Give examples from Mean Girls which show how gender is culturally
constructed.
16. Describe the variety of attitudes expressed in Mean Girls towards individuals with alternategender identities.
Implications
1.
2.
3.
4.
Is it ever worth the consequences of not following the internal rules of a culture/subculture?
What makes identity formation difficult for teens?
What is the cost of identity moratorium??
What are the consequences of ethnocentrism for citizens of Canada and for new Canadians?
Etc. Think up some of your own questions and comments about the implications of the ideas
studied this week.