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Socialization
and Personality
“Socialization
is the lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential
and learn culture.” JJ Macionis
“Social
experience is also the foundation of personality,
a person’s fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking and feeling.”
Peter woesely “Process of transmission
of culture, the process whereby men learn the rules and practices of social
groups.”
Horton and Hunt “ Socialization is the process whereby one internalizes the
norms of the groups among whom one lives so that a unique “self” emerges.”
Types of
Socialization
1.
Primary Socialization
2.
Anticipatory Socialization(learning out group in
anticipation)
3.
Developmental Socialization
4.
Re-Socialization
Methods of
Socialization
1.
Cultural Conditioning(Learining of cultural norms, by
repetition)
2.
Personal-Social Learning/Learning by reason
Individual
as a Social Product
Sources/Agencies
of Socialization
1.
The Family
2.
Peer or Age mates
3.
Social institutions
4.
Literature and Mass Media of Communication
5.
The Community
Socialization
and the life course
1.
Childhood
2.
Adolescence
3.
Adulthood
Early Adulthood
and Middle Adulthood
4.
Old Age
5.
Death and Dying
Functions of
Socialization
I.
Socialization converts human from biological being to
social being
II.
It contributes in personality development
III.
It helps to become disciplined
IV.
It helps to perform different roles
V.
It establishes knowledge and skills
VI.
It contributes in the stability of social order
VII.
It transmits culture from one generation to other.
VIII.
It creates right aspirations in social life
Human Development: Nature and
Nurture
Charles Darwin: The Role of Nature
Naturalists during the mid 19th century, applying
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, claimed that all human behaviour was
instinctive. Although this is no longer a dominant view the thinking is still
with us as people, for example, talk about "born criminals."
The Social Sciences: The Role of Nurture
Social scientists reject much of the biological argument
and see human nature itself as shaped by cultural context.
Psychologist John Watson challenged the naturalistic
perspective and developed an approach called behaviourism, claiming that all
human behaviour was learned within particular social environments. The work of
anthropologists illustrating the great cultural variation existing around the
world supports Watson's view.
Contemporary social scientists do not argue that biology
plays no role in shaping human behaviour. At the very least, human physical
traits are linked to heredity. Also, certain characteristics such as
intelligence, potential to excel in music and art, and personality
characteristics seem to be influenced by heredity. The current position on this
issue is that nature and nurture are not so much in opposition as they are
inseparable.
Social Isolation
For obvious ethical reasons research on the effects of
social isolation has been limited to the study of animals. A few rare cases,
like Anna's, of human isolation have been investigated.
Effects of Social Isolation on Nonhuman Primates
Classic research by Harry and Margaret Harlow using
rhesus monkeys has illustrated the importance of social interaction for other
primates besides humans. Using various experimental situations with artificial
"mothers" for infant monkeys they determined that while physical
development occurred within normal limits, emotional and social growth failed
to occur. One important discovery was that monkeys deprived of mother-infant
contact, if surrounded by other infant monkeys, did not suffer adversely. This
suggested the importance of social interaction in general rather than
specifically a maternal bond. A second conclusion was that monkeys who
experienced short-term isolation (3 months or less) recovered to normal
emotional levels after rejoining other monkeys. Long-term separation appears to
have irreversible negative consequences.
Effects of Social Isolation on Children
The cases of Anna, Isabelle, and Genie, all of whom
suffered through years of isolation and neglect as young children are reviewed.
Each case suggests that while humans are resilient
creatures, extreme social isolation results in
irreversible damage to normal personality development.
UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIALIZATION PROCESS
Sigmund Freud:
The Elements of Personality
While trained as a physician, Freud's most important
contribution was the development of psychoanalysis and the study of personality
development.
Basic Human Needs
Freud saw biological factors having a significant
influence on personality, though he rejected the argument that human behaviour
reflected simple biological instinct. He conceived instincts as general urges
and drives. He claimed humans had two basic needs or drives; eros,
a need for bonding and thanatos, which related to a drive for
death.
Freud's Model of Personality
Freud's perspective combined both these basic needs and
the influence of society into a unique model of personality. He argued the
personality is comprised of three parts. One is the id, rooted in
biology and representing the human being's basic needs, which are unconscious
and demand immediate satisfaction. Another, representing the conscious attempt
to balance innate pleasure-seeking drives of the human organism and the demands
of society, he labelled the ego. Finally, the human personality
develops a superego which is the operation of culture within the
individual which ultimately defines, for the individual, moral limits.
Personality Development
There is basic conflict between the id and the superego
which the ego must continually try to manage. If the conflict is not adequately
resolved personality disorders result. The controlling influence on drives by
society is referred to as repression. Often a compromise between
society and the individual is struck, where fundamentally selfish drives are
redirected into socially acceptable objectives. This process is called sublimation.
Id-centred children feel good only in a physical sense
but after three or four years, with the gradual development of the superego
they can begin to evaluate their behaviour by cultural standards.
While being controversial, Freud's work highlights the
internalization of social norms and the importance of childhood experiences in
the socialization process and the development of personality.
Jean Piaget:
Cognitive Development
A prominent psychologist of the 20th century, Piaget's
work centred on human cognition, or how people think and
understand. He was concerned with not just what a person knew, but how the
person knows something. He identified four major stages of cognitive
development which he believed were tied to biological maturation as well as
social experience.
The Sensorimotor Stage
The sensorimotor stage is described as the
level of human development in which the world is experienced only through
sensory contact. This stage lasts for about the first two years of life. The
understanding of symbols does not exist during this period. The child
experiences the world only in terms of direct physical contact.
The Preoperational Stage
The preoperational stage was described by
Piaget as the level of human development in which language and other symbols
are first used. This stage extends from the age of two to the age of six.
Children continue to be very egocentric during this time, having little ability
to generalize concepts.
The Concrete Operational Stage
The third stage in Piaget's model is called the concrete
operational stage and is described as the level of human development
characterized by the use of logic to understand objects or events. This period
typically covers the ages of seven to eleven. Cause and effect relationships
begin to be understood during this period. The ability to take the perspective
of other people also emerges.
The Formal Operational Stage
The fourth stage is the formal operational stage
and is described as the level of human development characterized by highly
abstract and critical thought. This stage begins about age twelve. The ability
to think in hypothetical terms is also developed.
Some critics suggest that the model may not fit
traditional societies and that, even in our own society, as many as a third of
adults do not reach the final stage.
Laurence
Kohlberg: Moral Development
Kohlberg used Piaget's theory as a springboard for a
study on moral reasoning. He suggests a preconventional stage
based on pain and pleasure, a conventional stage (in the teenage
years) where right and wrong is understood within cultural norms and a postconventional
stage where abstract critique of the social order is possible.
Kohlberg's theory may not apply equally well in all
societies and it would appear that many North Americans do not reach the final
stage of moral development. As well his research subjects were all boys.
Carol Gilligan:
Bringing in Gender
Gilligan, as a response to the gender limited work of Kohlberg,
concludes that males and females make moral judgements in different ways. Males
use a justice perspective; it's wrong if the rules define it that
way. Females use a care and responsibility perspective; it's
wrong if it damages relationships. Her recent research on self-esteem
demonstrates that female self-esteem begins to slip during adolescence, as they
encounter more authority figures who are men.
The Applying Sociology Box (p. 114) suggests that
men and women may not be very different with respect to the expression of
violence.
George Herbert
Mead: The Social Self
Our understanding of socialization owes much to the work
of Mead. His analysis is often referred to as social behaviourism
where he focuses on mental processes.
The Self
Mead understood the basis of humanity to be the self,
a dimension of personality composed of an individual's self- conception. For
Mead, the self was a totally social phenomenon, inseparable from society. The
connection between the two was explained in a series of steps, the emergence of
the self through social experience, based on the exchange of symbolic
intentions, and occurring within a context in which people take the role of the
other, or take their point of view into account during social interaction.
The Looking-Glass Self
The process of taking the role of the other can be
understood using Charles Horton Cooley's concept of the looking-glass
self. This term focuses on the ideas that a person's self-conception is
based on the response of others, perhaps explaining Gilligan's observations on
the loss of self-esteem of young women.
The I and The Me
The capacity to see oneself has two components, namely:
(1) the self as subject by which we initiate social action and (2) the self as
object, concerning how we perceive ourselves from the perspective of others.
The subjective part of the self Mead labelled the "I". The objective
aspect Mead called the "Me". All social interaction is seen as the
continuous interplay of these two aspects of the self.
Development of the Self
Mead minimized the importance of biology in personality
development. Mead saw infants as responding to others only in terms of
imitation. As the use of symbols emerges the child enters a play
stage, in which role-taking occurs. Initially, the roles are modelled after
significant others, especially parents. Through further social experience
children enter the game stage where the simultaneous playing of
many roles is possible. The final stage involves the development of a generalized
other, or widespread cultural norms and values used as a reference in
evaluating ourselves.
Figure 5-1 (p. 116) illustrates the development of the
self as a process of gaining social experience. Although Mead's work is
criticized as being radically social he helps us to understand the importance
of symbolic interaction to the development of self.
Erik H. Erikson:
Eight Stages of Development
Erikson offers a broader view of socialization,
suggesting that personality continues to change throughout life. His eight
stages begin in infancy and end in old age.
Some are critical of the apparent rigidity of the model
but it does force us to examine the influence of agencies of socialization
other than the family.
Personality and Socialization
The
meaning of Personality
“One’s personality includes all of one’s behaviour
characteristics.”
“Personality is the totality of behaviour of an
individual with a given tendency system interacting with a sequence of
situations.”
According to Park
and Burgess “The personality is
the sum and organization of those traits which determine the role of individual
in group. Here the traits of an individual organized together and used in
performing his role is called his personality.”
Factors
in the development of Personality
1. Biological
Inheritance and Personality
2. Physical
Environment and Personality
3. Culture
4. Group
Experience
5. Unique
Experience
Importance of Self-Image
