Chapter 5, section 2The Social Self

Goals:

1. To discover how a person’s sense of self emerges.

2. To analyze and to explain the theories of the process of socialization.

Socialization

The interactive process through which people learn the basic skills, values, beliefs, and behavior patterns of a society.

How do you develop?Self - your conscious awareness of

possessing a distinct identity that separates you and your environment from other members of society

Three theories by: John Locke, Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead

Locke: The Tabula Rasa

John Locke: english philosopher in 1600sEvery new human has a tabula rasa or clean

slateEveryone is born without a personality, but

we acquire it through experiencesBelieved humans could be molded with any

type of characteristicsMany dispute this now

Cooley: The Looking-Glass Self

Interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear to others

Three steps: 1 - we imagine how we appear to others 2 - we try to determine if we view ourselves as others view us 3 - we use perceptions of how others judge us to develop feelings about ourselves

Help from primary group - puts much responsibility on parents

Mead: Role-Taking

George Herbert Mead - idea related to Cooley’s

1 - we internalize the expectations of others on us 2 - we get older, they become less important

Me - part of the socialized selfI - unsocialized, spontaneous, self-

interested component