Socialization

Nature VS Nurture l Feral children

Social experience is crucial in forming personality l Anna & Isabelle –Effect of minimal human contact –Without social experience, a child is incapable of thought or meaningful action l Institutionalized patient l Harlow monkey studies –Isolation produced permanent developmental damage

Results of socialization l Personality l Thought l The social self

Personality l Sigmund Freud –Id = Basic drives –Ego = Balance –Superego = Conscience Culture l Humans internalize social norms

Thought (Cognitive development) l Jean Piaget –Cognition (thinking)

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development l Sensorimotor stage (0-2) –Object permanence l Preoperational stage (2-7) Use of language Egocentric l Concrete operations stage (7-12) –Logic develops - “Conservation of matter” l Formal operations –Abstract thought - imagine alternatives

The social self l George H. Mead –The “self” comes from social experience Self-awareness and self image l Generalized other –Cultural norms & values we use as a reference in evaluating ourselves. l “Taking the role of the other” –Imaging the situation from another person’s point of view

Developing the “Generalized Other” l Imitation l Play l Game l Generalized other

The social self l Charles H. Cooley l The Looking-glass Self –People see themselves the way they think others see them.

Resocialization & total institutions l Resocialization –Radically changing a personality –Goffman = Resocialization is eroding an old identity, then building a new identity l Total institutions