S OCIALIZING THE I NDIVIDUAL Chapter 5, Section 1- Personality Development

W HAT IS IT ? Personality= sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristics of an individual. No two individuals have exactly the same personality. Traits change at different rates and to different degrees. Personality changes are more obvious in childhood because individuals are undergoing rapid physical, emotional and intellectual growth.

N ATURE VS. N URTURE - T HE D EBATE Social scientists have long debated what determines an individual’s personality. Some believe that it was heredity= transmission of genetic material from parents to children. ‘Nature’ argument Others believe that is an individual’s social environment. ‘Nurture’ argument

A RGUMENTS FOR EACH Nature: Instinct= an unchanging biologically inherited behavior pattern. Sociobiology= systematic study of biological basis of social behavior. Cultural variations stem from similar genetic makeup. Originated in the 1970s. Nurture Work of Ivan Pavlov  conditioned dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell. American sociologist believed he could take infants and mold them into being a certain type of person.

H ARRY H ARLOW AND HIS M ONKEYS Summary: Separated baby monkeys from their mother 6 – 12 hours after birth Placed them with surrogate mothers of either wire, OR cloth; wire had food, cloth had a heat source inside. Findings: Babies preferred cloth monkey 23 hours/day Moved to wire monkey only when hungry As adults, the monkeys were seriously disturbed: Very strange behaviors Did not know their cultural behavior patterns

F ACTORS I NFLUENCING P ERSONALITY Most agree that is a combination of ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’. Four main factors influencing personality : Heredity  certain characteristics present from birth. Also, certain aptitudes= capacity to learn a particular skill or acquire knowledge. Birth order  presence of siblings; oldest/youngest/middle Parental characteristics  age, occupation, religious beliefs, economic status, etc. Cultural environment  how do those around you act?

I SOLATION IN C HILDHOOD In some instances, children grow up without a cultural environment. These are known as feral children= wild or untamed children. They had very few human characteristics. Examples Anna and Isabelle Genie Victor/’Wild Boy of Aveyron’

I NSTITUTIONALIZATION Sociologist Rene Spitz studied infants living in orphanages and hospitals. The children were well-nourished and provided medical care, but had very little human contact. One third of the children died within two years, and only ¼ had ‘normal’ development characteristics. **Make sure you know the basic gist of the study**