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: Genetic factors determine personality. 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 Your environment/surroundings play a large role in personality development. Work of Ivan Pavlov  conditioned dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell. American sociologists believed he could take infants and mold/condition 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. Which viewpoint does this study support?

T HE S OCIAL S ELF Chapter 5, Section 2

S OCIALIZATION - W HAT IS IT ? When you are born, there are certain things you are unable to do (i.e. walk, talk). You do not understand various norms. Through social and cultural environment, individuals are transformed into participatory members of society. Socialization= interactive process through which people learn the basic skills, values, beliefs and patterns of a society. Socialization helps us develop a sense of self (conscious awareness of your individual identify).

T HREE T HEORIES OF S OCIALIZATION Tabula Rasa theory : Developed by John Locke; Belief that all children are ‘blank slates’, born without personality ; Thus, infants can be molded into any type of individual. Although most disagree with Locke’s view, many agree with his belief that socialization allows an individual to absorb cultural aspects.

T HREE T HEORIES OF S OCIALIZATION Looking-Glass Self theory : Developed by Charles Horton Cooley ; The interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear to others ; Others act as a mirror, reflecting back the person we show to everyone else. Develop personality through interactive process with those around you. Continual life process– redefine self-image.

T HREE T HEORIES OF S OCIALIZATION Role-taking Theory : Developed by George Herbert Mead ; See ourselves through the eyes of others and take on the roles we believe others expect of us ; As an individual gets older, the expectations of society take on greater importance; These internalized expectations are known as a generalized other. Develop a sense of self– two parts: ‘I’ (unsocialized, spontaneous) and ‘me’ (socialized).

A GENTS OF S OCIALIZATION Chapter 5, Section 3

W HAT IS IT ? Agent of socialization= groups, individuals and institutions that allow socialization to happen. Four agents: Family Peer group School Mass media

A GENTS OF S OCIALIZATION Peer group= primary group composed of individuals of roughly equal ages and similar social characteristics. Mass media= instruments of communication that reach a wide audience without personal contact. Family  learn values, basic norms from an early age. School  continue to learn norms; influenced by authority figures and peer groups.

R ESOCIALIZATION Total institution= setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time. Examples: prisons, boot camp, monasteries, psychiatric hospitals, etc. Primary concern of these total institutions is to re-socialize members– break from past experiences to learn new values and norms.