2. The Self And Interaction
Nature vs. nurture
Socialization
Development of Self-Freud, Cooley, Mead, Goffman
Impression Management
Agents of Socialization-family, schools, peers, media
Statuses and Roles
3. The Self and Nature vs. Nurture
The self is connected to all social phenomena and
interaction constructs them all
What is human nature?
Nature vs. Nurture – ongoing debate over the
importance of genes and socialization in determining
our behaviors and traits
Sociologists argue that human behavior is learned and
shaped thru social interaction
Either one alone is insufficient to explain what makes
us human
4. Socialization and the Self
Socialization – process of learning & internalizing the
values, beliefs and norms of social group – helps us become
functioning members of society
1. Skills to satisfy basic human needs
2. Teaches norms, values, beliefs
Social Isolation – feral children –Isabelle
Babies do have innate capacities, but can only fully
develop as human beings through contact with others
Isabelle-1930s
Self – individual’s conscious, reflexive experience of
personal identity, separate and distinct from others
Self created through social interaction over a lifetime
5. Development of Self-Freud
Freud’s theory of self centered on unconscious mind
The mind consists of three interrelated parts:
Id – basic inborn drive – instinctive psychic energy – goal is
pleasure and avoid pain- selfish
Ego – the realistic aspect of the mind that mediates
between id and superego
Superego – the conscience (moral) and ego ideal (ideally
who we should be)-Internalized demands of society
Develops as a result of parental guidance
6. Development of Self-Cooley
Looking-glass self-notion that the self develops thru
our perception of others’ evaluations of us
Dev. by Charles Horton Cooley (Chicago School)
We all act like mirrors to each other, reflecting back
images of ourselves
1.We imagine how we look to others
2. We imagine other people’s judgment of us
3. We experience some kind of feeling about ourselves
based on our perception of other people’s judgments
All of us come to know ourselves through relationships
with others
7. Development of
Self-Mead
George Herbert Mead (Chicago
School)-development of self started in
childhood-when kids develop
language
Mead’s Theory of Self – 3 stages:
1. Preparatory stage – under 3 – imitate
or mimic those around them
2. Play stage – after 3 – “roles” pretend
play at being a “nurse”, “teacher,” etc…
3. Game stage – early school years-
organized games at school – must
follow rules of game and understand
where others playing game are coming
from (generalized other)
8. Development of Self-Goffman
Mead-Generalized other- perspectives and
expectations of others in society that child learns and takes
into account when shaping his or her behavior
Erving Goffman-*all meaning is constructed through
interaction
Thomas theorem- “if people define situations as real,
they are real in their consequences”
Many interpretations are possible of same event
Woman slapping man in public?
9. Goffman Defines Expression
Goffman looks at how we define situations interactionally
Definition of the Situation- agreement about what is “going
on” – allows us to coordinate our actions with others
Woman slapping man?-what are others’ reactions?
Expressions of Behavior- small actions that serve as an
interaction tool to project our definition of the situation to
others
Expressions given – verbal and intended (speech)
Expressions given off – non-verbal, but observable – intended
or unintended
Facial expressions, mannerisms, etc…
It’s not just what you say but how you say it that creates
meaning
10. What is Impression Management?
Goffman-we work at controlling the impressions others
have of us
Impression Management – effort to control impressions
we make on others so that they form a desired view of us
and the situation
Dramaturgy-social life compared to theater
Front- the setting or scene of performances that helps
define the situation (classroom)
Personal Front – equipment we use to present ourselves
to others (glasses)
Region – context or setting where performance takes place
– person out of context can be confusing
11. What is Impression Management?
Backstage – rehearse and prepare for performances
Frontstage – where we deliver our public performance
Cooling the mark out – behavior that allows others to
avoid embarrassment
Civility or tact
12. Agents of Socialization
Agents of Socialization-social groups, institutions, and
individuals that provide structured situations in which
socialization takes place
1. Family – most significant- social bonds created,
learn norms and values of society
2. School – Besides teaching normal curriculum, also
responsible for P.E., meals, discipline, child care, etc…
Hidden curriculum – values/behaviors that children learn at
school (competition, obedience)
3. Peers – Family has longest-lasting effect on us, but by
adolescence, youth spend more time w/ friends than anyone else
4. Media-Fiji (pg. 127)
13. Adult Socialization
Being adults means being put in
new situations, having to learn
and adjust to new conditions
over the life course
Resocialization-process of
replacing previously learned
norms and values with new ones
as part of a transition in life
Due to divorce, raising family,
moving, losing a job, etc…
Total Institution – (Goffman)
institutions in which individuals
are cut off from rest of society –
total control – strips away old
identities for new ones
14. Statuses and Roles
Statuses influence how others see us and respond to us
Status – position in society that carries a particular set of
expectations
Parent, CEO, waitress, etc…
Ascribed Status – inborn and hard to change
Embodied Status – physical characteristics (ex. beauty)
Achieved Status – earned through effort or imposed by
others (ex. occupation)
Master Status – relevant and affects all other statuses.
15. Statuses and Roles
Role – behavior expectations that go with a certain status
Role Strain – contradictory expectations within ONE role
Parent-discipline or nurture
Role Conflict – we occupy 2 or more roles with
contradictory expectations
Work/family conflict
Role exit-the process of leaving a role that we will no
longer occupy
*Statuses and roles help shape our identities by providing
guidelines for our own behavior
16. Role Conflict: Chris Spielman
Family or Football?
Spielman-From Ohio,
linebacker for Buffalo
Bills
Wife diagnosed with
breast cancer, required
her to stay in Ohio for
treatment
He would have to be on
road for football…
What did he choose?
17. Social Construction of Emotions
Role-Taking Emotions-like sympathy, embarrassment
and shame, require that we be able to see thing from
someone else’s point of view
Feeling Rules – norms regarding the expression and
display of emotions – expectations about acceptable
emotions in a given social situation
Emotion Work – manage feelings to create a publicly
observable display of emotion
Copresence – face to face interaction in the presence of
others – has lessened with technology.