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UNIT 1 THE SELF FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVE

MODULE 2 From Sociological Perspective

WRITER:

Dr. EDEN C. SANTOS

Associate Professor IV
Licensed Professional Teacher / Nurse Aide /Military Reserved and a Campus Director, 22
years in Academe, having a doctorate degree in Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

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Module 2 - The Sociological Perspective

By the end of this module you will be able to:

 Understand the sociological theories of self-development
 Explain the process of moral development

“Socialization” is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists,

anthropologists, political scientists, and educationalists to refer to the lifelong
process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs, and ideologies,
providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within
his or her own society. Socialization is thus “the means by which social and
cultural continuity are attained.”
Socialization is the means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills
necessary to perform as a functioning member of their society and is the most
influential learning process one can experience. Unlike other living species,
whose behavior is biologically set, humans need social experiences to learn their
culture and to survive. Although cultural variability manifests in the actions,
customs, and behaviors of whole social groups, the most fundamental
expression of culture is found at the individual level. This expression can only
occur after an individual has been socialized by his or her parents, family,
extended family, and extended social networks.
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept, created by Charles
Horton Cooley in 1902, stating that a person’s self grows out of society’s

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interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others. The term refers to
people shaping themselves based on other people’s perception, which leads
people to reinforce other people’s perspectives on themselves. People shape
themselves based on what other people perceive and confirm other people’s
opinion on themselves.
George Herbert Mead developed a theory of social behaviorism to explain
how social experience develops an individual’s personality. Mead’s central
concept is the self: the part of an individual’s personality composed of self-
awareness and self-image. Mead claimed that the self is not there at birth, rather,
it is developed with social experience.
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of
psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through
dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. In his later work, Freud
proposed that the human psyche could be divided into three parts: Id, ego, and
super-ego. The id is the completely unconscious, impulsive, child-like portion of
the psyche that operates on the “pleasure principle” and is the source of basic
impulses and drives; it seeks immediate pleasure and gratification. The ego acts
according to the reality principle (i.e., it seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic
ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief). Finally, the
super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organized part of the personality
structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious that includes the individual’s ego
ideals, spiritual goals, and the psychic agency that criticizes and prohibits his or
her drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions.

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Theories of Self-Development

When we are born, we have a hereditary and genetic traits. Nevertheless, who we are
as human beings progresses through social interaction , both in the fields of psychology
and in sociology which described the process of self-development as a sign to
understanding how that “self” becomes socialized.

Psychological Perspectives on Self-Development

Sigmund Freud (1856 to 1939) was the founding father of psychoanalysis, a method
for treating mental illness and also a theory which explains human behavior.

He is one of the most influential modern scientists to put forth a theory about how
people develop a sense of self. He said that character and sensual development were
closely linked, and he distributed the maturation process into psychosexual stages:
oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. He theorized that people’s self-development
is closely linked to early stages of development, like breastfeeding, toilet training, and
sexual awareness (Freud 1905).

Freud believed that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult
lives, shaping our personality. For example, anxiety originating from traumatic
experiences in a person's past is hidden from consciousness, and may cause problems
during adulthood (in the form of neuroses).
Thus, when we explain our behavior to ourselves or others (conscious mental
activity), we rarely give a true account of our motivation. This is not because we are
deliberately lying. While human beings are great deceivers of others; they are even
more adept at self-deception.
According to Freud, failure to properly occupy in or separate from a specific stage
results in emotional and psychological concerns throughout adulthood. An adult with an
oral fixation may treat in overeating or binge drinking. An anal fixation may produce a
neat freak (hence the term “anal retentive”), while a person stuck in the phallic stage
may be promiscuous or emotionally immature. Although no solid empirical evidence
supports Freud’s theory, his ideas continue to contribute to the work of scholars in a
variety of disciplines.

PSYCHOLOGY VS .SOCIOLOGY

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As a general difference, we might say that while both disciplines are interested in
human behavior, psychologists are focused on how the mind influences that behavior,
while sociologists study the role of society in shaping behavior. Psychologists are
interested in people’s mental development and how their minds process their world.
Sociologists are more likely to focus on how different aspects of society contribute to an
individual’s relationship with his world. Another way to think of the difference is that
psychologists tend to look inward (mental health, emotional processes), while
sociologists tend to look outward (social institutions, cultural norms, interactions with
others) to understand human behavior.
Émile Durkheim (1958–1917) was the first to make this distinction in research, when
he attributed differences in suicide rates among people to social causes (religious
differences) rather than to psychological causes (like their mental wellbeing) (Durkheim
1897). Today, we see this same distinction. For example, a sociologist studying how a
couple gets to the point of their first kiss on a date might focus her research on cultural
norms for dating, social patterns of sexual activity over time, or how this process is
different for seniors than for teens. A psychologist would more likely be interested in the
person’s earliest sexual awareness or the mental processing of sexual desire.
Sometimes sociologists and psychologists have collaborated to increase
knowledge. In recent decades, however, their fields have become more clearly

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separated as sociologists increasingly focus on large societal issues and patterns, while
psychologists remain honed in on the human mind. Both disciplines make valuable
contributions through different approaches that provide us with different types of useful
insights.

Psychologist Erik Erikson (1902–1994) created a theory of personality

development based, in part, on the work of Freud. However, Erikson believed the
personality continued to change over time and was never truly finished. His theory
includes eight stages of development, beginning with birth and ending with death.
According to Erikson, people move through these stages throughout their lives. In
contrast to Freud’s focus on psychosexual stages and basic human urges, Erikson’s
view of self-development gave credit to more social aspects, like the way we negotiate
between our own base desires and what is socially accepted (Erikson 1982).

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was a psychologist who specialized in child development

who focused specifically on the role of social interactions in their development. He
recognized that the development of self evolved through a negotiation between the
world as it exists in one’s mind and the world that exists as it is experienced socially
(Piaget 1954). All three of these thinkers have contributed to our modern understanding
of self-development.

Sociological Theories of Self-Development

One of the pioneering contributors to sociological perspectives was Charles Cooley

(1864–1929). He asserted that people’s self understanding is constructed, in part, by
their perception of how others view them—a process termed “the looking glass self”
(Cooley 1902).

Later, George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) studied the self, a person’s distinct

identity that is developed through social interaction. In order to engage in this process of
“self,” an individual has to be able to view him or herself through the eyes of others.
That’s not an ability that we are born with (Mead 1934). Through socialization we learn
to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and look at the world through their
perspective. This assists us in becoming self-aware, as we look at ourselves from the
perspective of the “other.” The case of Danielle, for example, illustrates what happens
when social interaction is absent from early experience: Danielle had no ability to see
herself as others would see her. From Mead’s point of view, she had no “self.”

How do we go from being newborns to being humans with “selves?” Mead believed
that there is a specific path of development that all people go through. During the
preparatory stage, children are only capable of imitation: they have no ability to imagine
how others see things. They copy the actions of people with whom they regularly
interact, such as their mothers and fathers. This is followed by the play stage, during
which children begin to take on the role that one other person might have. Thus,

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children might try on a parent’s point of view by acting out “grownup” behavior, like
playing “dress up” and acting out the “mom” role, or talking on a toy telephone the way
they see their father do.

During the game stage, children learn to consider several roles at the same time
and how those roles interact with each other. They learn to understand interactions
involving different people with a variety of purposes. For example, a child at this stage is
likely to be aware of the different responsibilities of people in a restaurant who together
make for a smooth dining experience (someone seats you, another takes your order,
someone else cooks the food, while yet another clears away dirty dishes).

Finally, children develop, understand, and learn the idea of the generalized other, the
common behavioral expectations of general society. By this stage of development, an
individual is able to imagine how he or she is viewed by one or many others—and thus,
from a sociological perspective, to have a “self” (Mead 1934; Mead 1964).

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Moral development is an important part of the socialization process. The term

refers to the way people learn what society considered to be “good” and “bad,” which is
important for a smoothly functioning society. Moral development prevents people from
acting on unchecked urges, instead considering what is right for society and good for
others. Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) was interested in how people learn to decide
what is right and what is wrong. To understand this topic, he developed a theory of
moral development that includes three levels: preconvention, conventional, and post
conventional.

In the pre conventional stage, young children, who lack a higher level of cognitive
ability, experience the world around them only through their senses. It isn’t until the teen
years that the conventional theory develops, when youngsters become increasingly
aware of others’ feelings and take those into consideration when determining what’s
“good” and “bad.” The final stage, called post conventional, is when people begin to
think of morality in abstract terms, such as Americans believing that everyone has the
right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At this stage, people also recognize
that legality and morality do not always match up evenly (Kohlberg 1981). When
hundreds of thousands of Egyptians turned out in 2011 to protest government
corruption, they were using post conventional morality. They understood that although
their government was legal, it was not morally correct.

Gilligan’s Theory of Moral Development and Gender

Another sociologist, Carol Gilligan (1936–), recognized that Kohlberg’s theory might
show gender bias since his research was only conducted on male subjects. Would
females study subjects have responded differently? Would a female social scientist
notice different patterns when analyzing the research? To answer the first question, she
set out to study differences between how boys and girls developed morality. Gilligan’s

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research demonstrated that boys and girls do, in fact, have different understandings of
morality. Boys tend to have a justice perspective, by placing emphasis on rules and
laws. Girls, on the other hand, have a care and responsibility perspective; they consider
people’s reasons behind behavior that seems morally wrong.

Gilligan also recognized that Kohlberg’s theory rested on the assumption that the
justice perspective was the right, or better, perspective. Gilligan, in contrast, theorized
that neither perspective was “better”: the two norms of justice served different purposes.
Ultimately, she explained that boys are socialized for a work environment where rules
make operations run smoothly, while girls are socialized for a home environment where
flexibility allows for harmony in caretaking and nurturing (Gilligan 1982; Gilligan 1990).

Psychological theories of self-development have been broadened by sociologists

who explicitly study the role of society and social interaction in self-development.
Charles Cooley and George Mead both contributed significantly to the sociological
understanding of the development of self. Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan
developed their ideas further and researched how our sense of morality develops.
Gilligan added the dimension of gender differences to Kohlberg’s theory.
Self and Identity in Sociology Self
The symbolic interactionist perspective in sociological social psychology sees the
self as emerging out of the mind, the mind as arising and developing out of social
interaction, and patterned social interaction as forming the basis of social structure
(Mead, 1934). The mind is the thinking part of the self. It is covert action in which the
organism points out meanings to itself and to others. The ability to point out meanings
and to indicate them to others and to itself is made possible by language, which
encapsulates meanings in the form of symbols. When one’s self is encapsulated as a
set of symbols to which one may respond to itself as an object, as it responds to any
other symbol, the self has emerged. The hallmark of this process – of selfhood – is
reflexivity. Humans have the ability to reflect back upon themselves, taking themselves
as objects. They are able to regard and evaluate themselves, to take account of
themselves and plan accordingly to bring about future states, to be self-aware or
achieve consciousness with respect to their own existence. In this way, humans are a
processual entity. They formulate and reflect, and this is ongoing. To be clear, the
responses of the self as an object to itself come from the point of view of others to
whom one interacts. By taking the role of the other and seeing ourselves for others’
perspectives, our responses come to be like others’ responses, and the meaning of the
self becomes a shared meaning. Thus, paradoxically, as the self emerges as a distinct
object, there is at the same time a merger of perspectives of the self and others, and a

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becoming as one with the others with whom one interacts.

Sociological and Psychological Identity Theory: Social, Role, and Personal Identities
Social and Role Identities Identity theory in sociological social psychology has
chiefly focused on role identities. However, individuals not only occupy roles in society,
but they are also members of some groups (and not others) and therefore may take on
particular social identities. Social identity theory in psychological social psychology has
been instrumental in informing us as to the processes involved in social identity
formation, activation, and motivation (Abrams & Hogg, 1990; Turner et al., 1987). Role
identity theory and social identity theory have developed as disparate lines of research.
Unlike Hogg and his colleagues (Hogg, Terry, & White, 1995), we see significant
similarities between social identity theory and role identity theory. We recently called for
a merger of the two theories that would yield a stronger social psychology, that is, a
general theory of identity, since it would integrate the various bases by which individuals
are tied to society (Stets & Burke, 2000). We have argued that the overlap between
identity theory and social identity theory is striking. For example, the process of self-
categorization into groups in social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987) is analogous to
the process of identification into roles in identity theory (McCall & Simmons, 1978).
In self categorization, people compare themselves to others, and those who are
similar to the self are categorized with the self and are labeled the in-group while those
who are different from the self are categorized as the out-group. In identification,

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persons identify themselves as an occupant of particular roles. Rather than seeing
others as similar to oneself in interaction, individuals see themselves as set apart from
others in the counter-roles others assume in the interaction. For example, sons and
daughters are different from the corresponding counter-roles of mothers and fathers.
Students are different from the corresponding counter-role of teachers. What theorists in
both traditions share is the idea that when persons categorize 31 themselves as a
member of a group or role, they do so by seeing themselves as an embodiment of a
(group or role) prototype or standard. This prototype/standard contains the societal
meanings and norms about the social category or role, serving to guide behavior.

Learning Objectives
Interpret Mead’s theory of self in term of the differences between “I” and “me”
Key Points

 One of the most important sociological approaches to the self was developed by
American sociologist George Herbert Mead. Mead conceptualizes the mind as
the individual importation of the social process.

 This process is characterized by Mead as the “I” and the “me. ” The “me” is the
social self and the “I” is the response to the “me. ” The “I” is the individual’s
impulses. The “I” is self as subject; the “me” is self as object.

 For Mead, existence in a community comes before individual consciousness.

First one must participate in the different social positions within society and only
subsequently can one use that experience to take the perspective of others and
thus become self-conscious.

 Primary Socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and
actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture.
 Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning the appropriate behavior
as a member of a smaller group within the larger society.

 Group socialization is the theory that an individual’s peer groups, rather than
parental figures, influences his or her personality and behavior in adulthood.

 Organizational socialization is the process whereby an employee learns the

knowledge and skills necessary to assume his or her organizational role.

 In the social sciences, institutions are the structures and mechanisms of social
order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a

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given human collectivity. Institutions include the family, religion, peer group,
economic systems, legal systems, penal systems, language and the media.

 The self: The self is the individual person, from his or her own perspective. Self-
awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as
an individual separate from the environment and other individuals.
 generalized other: the general notion that a person has regarding the common
expectations of others within his or her social group
 socialization: The process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it.
 community: A group sharing a common understanding and often the same
language, manners, tradition and law. See civilization.

George Herbert Mead: George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) was an American

philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of
Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded as one
of the founders of social psychology and the American sociological tradition in general.

Sociological theories of the self attempt to explain how social processes such as
socialization influence the development of the self. One of the most important
sociological approaches to the self was developed by American sociologist George
Herbert Mead. Mead conceptualizes the mind as the individual importation of the social
process. Mead presented the self and the mind in terms of a social process. As
gestures are taken in by the individual organism, the individual organism also takes in
the collective attitudes of others, in the form of gestures, and reacts accordingly with
other organized attitudes.

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This process is characterized by Mead as the “I” and the “me. ” The “me” is the
social self and the “I” is the response to the “me. ” In other words, the “I” is the response
of an individual to the attitudes of others, while the “me” is the organized set of attitudes
of others which an individual assumes. The “me” is the accumulated understanding of
the “generalized other,” i.e. how one thinks one’s group perceives oneself. The “I” is the
individual’s impulses. The “I” is self as subject; the “me” is self as object. The “I” is the
knower, the “me” is the known. The mind, or stream of thought, is the self-reflective
movements of the interaction between the “I” and the “me. ” These dynamics go beyond
selfhood in a narrow sense, and form the basis of a theory of human cognition. For
Mead the thinking process is the internalized dialogue between the “I” and the “me. ”

Understood as a combination of the “I” and the “me,” Mead’s self proves to be
noticeably entwined within a sociological existence. For Mead, existence in a
community comes before individual consciousness. First one must participate in the
different social positions within society and only subsequently can one use that
experience to take the

Socialization is the means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary
to perform as functioning members of their society.

Discuss the different types and theories of socialization

 Group socialization is the theory that an individual’s peer groups, rather than
parental figures, influences his or her personality and behavior in adulthood.

 Gender socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes considered

appropriate for a given sex.

 Cultural socialization refers to parenting practices that teach children about their
racial history or heritage and, sometimes, is referred to as pride development.

 Sigmund Freud proposed that the human psyche could be divided into three
parts: Id, ego, and super-ego.

 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the

nature and development of human intelligence.

 Positive Adult Development is one of the four major forms of adult developmental
study that can be identified. The other three forms are directionless change,
stasis, and decline.

Different Forms of Socialization

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Group socialization is the theory that an individual’s peer groups, rather than parental
figures, influences his or her personality and behavior in adulthood. Adolescents spend
more time with peers than with parents. Therefore, peer groups have stronger
correlations with personality development than parental figures do. For example, twin
brothers, whose genetic makeup are identical, will differ in personality because they
have different groups of friends, not necessarily because their parents raised them
differently.

Gender socialization Henslin (1999) contends that “an important part of socialization is
the learning of culturally defined gender roles ” (p. 76). Gender socialization refers to the
learning of behavior and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to
be boys, and girls learn to be girls. This “learning” happens by way of many different
agents of socialization. The family is certainly important in reinforcing gender roles, but
so are one’s friends, school, work, and the mass media. Gender roles are reinforced
through “countless subtle and not so subtle ways,” said Henslin (1999, p. 76).

Cultural socialization refers to parenting practices that teach children about their racial
history or heritage and, sometimes, is referred to as “pride development. ” Preparation
for bias refers to parenting practices focused on preparing children to be aware of, and
cope with, discrimination. Promotion of mistrust refers to the parenting practices of
socializing children to be wary of people from other races. Egalitarianism refers to
socializing children with the belief that all people are equal and should be treated with a
common humanity.

Discuss Cooley’s idea of the “looking-glass self” and how people use socialization to
create a personal identity and develop empathy for others

The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept stating that a person’s

self grows out of society’s interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of
others.
There are three components of the looking-glass self: We imagine how we
appear to others, we imagine the judgment of that appearance, and we develop
our self ( identity ) through the judgments of others.
George Herbert Mead described self as “taking the role of the other,” the premise
for which the self is actualized. Through interaction with others, we begin to
develop an identity about who we are, as well as empathy for others.

George Herbert Mead: (1863–1931) An American philosopher, sociologist, and

psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one
of several distinguished pragmatists.
Looking-Glass self: The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept,
created by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902, stating that a person’s self grows out
of society’s interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others.

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Charles Horton Cooley: Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864-May 8, 1929)
was an American sociologist and the son of Thomas M. Cooley. He studied and
went on to teach economics and sociology at the University of Michigan, and he
was a founding member and the eighth president of the American Sociological
Association.

The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept created by Charles Horton

Cooley in 1902. It states that a person’s self grows out of society’s interpersonal
interactions and the perceptions of others. The term refers to people shaping their
identity based on the perception of others, which leads the people to reinforce other
people’s perspectives on themselves. People shape themselves based on what other
people perceive and confirm other people’s opinion of themselves.

There are three main components of the looking-glass self:

 First, we imagine how we must appear to others.

 Second, we imagine the judgment of that appearance.
 Finally, we develop our self through the judgments of others.

In hypothesizing the framework for the looking glass self, Cooley said, “the mind is
mental” because “the human mind is social. ” In other words, the mind’s mental ability is
a direct result of human social interaction. Beginning as children, humans begin to
define themselves within the context of their socializations. The child learns that the
symbol of his/her crying will elicit a response from his/her parents, not only when they
are in need of necessities, such as food, but also as a symbol to receive their attention.
George Herbert Mead described the self as “taking the role of the other,” the premise for
which the self is actualized. Through interaction with others, we begin to develop an
identity about who we are, as well as empathy for others.

An example of the looking-self concept is computer technology. Using computer

technology, people can create an avatar, a customized symbol that represents the
computer user. For example, in the virtual world Second Life, the computer-user can
create a human-like avatar that reflects the user in regard to race, age, physical
makeup, status, and the like. By selecting certain physical characteristics or symbols,
the avatar reflects how the creator seeks to be perceived in the virtual world and how
the symbols used in the creation of the avatar influence others’ actions toward the
computer user.

According to Freud, human behavior, experience, and cognition are largely determined
by unconscious drives and events in early childhood.

 Psychoanalysis is a clinical method for treating psychopathology through

dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst.
 The specifics of the analyst’s interventions typically include confronting and
clarifying the patient’s pathological defenses, wishes, and guilt.

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 Freud named his new theory the Oedipus complex after the famous Greek
tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The Oedipus conflict was described as a
state of psychosexual development and awareness.
 The id is the completely unconscious, impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche
that operates on the “pleasure principle” and is the source of basic impulses and
drives.
 The ego acts according to the reality principle (i.e., it seeks to please the id’s
drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief).
 The super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organized part of the
personality structure.
 The super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organised part of the
personality structure
 Oedipus complex: In Freudian theory, the complex of emotions aroused in a
child by an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex.
 the unconscious: For Freud, the unconscious refers to the mental processes of
which individuals make themselves unaware.

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of

psychoanalysis. Interested in philosophy as a student, Freud later decided to become a
neurological researcher in cerebral palsy, Aphasia, and microscopic neuroanatomy.
Freud went on to develop theories about the unconscious mind and the mechanism of
repression and established the field of verbal psychotherapy by creating
psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue
between a patient and a psychoanalyst. The most common problems treatable with
psychoanalysis include phobias, conversions, compulsions, obsessions, anxiety,
attacks, depressions, sexual dysfunctions, a wide variety of relationship problems (such
as dating and marital strife), and a wide variety of character problems (painful shyness,
meanness, obnoxiousness, workaholism, hyperseductiveness, hyperemotionality,
hyperfastidiousness).

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The Basic Tenets of Psychoanalysis

The basic tenets of psychoanalysis include the following:

 First, human behavior, experience, and cognition are largely determined by

irrational drives.
 Those drives are largely unconscious.
 Attempts to bring those drives into awareness meet psychological resistance in
the form of defense mechanisms.
 Besides the inherited constitution of personality, one’s development is
determined by events in early childhood.
 Conflicts between conscious view of reality and unconscious (repressed) material
can result in mental disturbances, such as neurosis, neurotic traits, anxiety,
depression etc.
 The liberation from the effects of the unconscious material is achieved through
bringing this material into the consciousness.

Psychoanalysis as Treatment

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Freudian psychoanalysis refers to a specific type of treatment in which the “analysis
and” (the analytic patient) verbalizes thoughts, including free associations, fantasies,
and dreams, from which the analyst induces the unconscious conflicts. This causes the
patient’s symptoms and character problems, and interprets them for the patient to
create insight for resolution of the problems. The specifics of the analyst’s interventions
typically include confronting and clarifying the patient’s pathological defenses, wishes,
and guilt. Through the analysis of conflicts, including those contributing to resistance
and those involving transference onto the analyst of distorted reactions, psychoanalytic
treatment can hypothesize how patients unconsciously are their own worst enemies:
how unconscious, symbolic reactions that have been stimulated by experience are
causing symptoms.

Freud hoped to prove that his model was universally valid and thus turned to
ancient mythology and contemporary ethnography for comparative material. Freud
named his new theory the Oedipus complex after the famous Greek tragedy Oedipus
Rex by Sophocles. The Oedipus conflict was described as a state of psychosexual
development and awareness. In his later work, Freud proposed that the human psyche
could be divided into three parts: Id, ego, and super-ego. The id is the completely
unconscious, impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the “pleasure
principle” and is the source of basic impulses and drives; it seeks immediate pleasure
and gratification. The ego acts according to the reality principle (i.e., it seeks to please
the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief).
Finally, the super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organized part of the
personality structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious, that includes the individual’s

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ego, ideals, spiritual goals, and the psychic agency that criticizes and prohibits his or
her drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the

nature and development of human intelligence.

 Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and

philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His theory of
cognitive development and epistemological view are together called “genetic
epistemology,” the study of the origins of knowledge.
 Piaget argued that all people undergo a series of stages and transformations.
Transformations refer to all manners of changes that a thing or person can
experience, while states refer to the conditions or the appearances in which
things or persons can be found between transformations.
 Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor, pre-
operational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Through these stages,
children progress in their thinking and logical processes.
 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the
nature and development of human intelligence that explains how individuals
perceive and adapt to new information through the processes of assimilation and
accommodation.
 Assimilation is the process of taking one’s environment and new information and
fitting it into pre-existing cognitive schemas. Accommodation is the process of
taking one’s environment and new information, and altering one’s pre-existing
schemas in order to fit in the new information.
 Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even
when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
 Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even
when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
 The concrete operational stage is the third of four stages of cognitive
development in Piaget’s theory.
 The final stage is known as formal operational stage (adolescence and into
adulthood): Intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols
related to abstract concepts.

 genetic epistemology: Genetic epistemology is a study of the origins of
knowledge. The discipline was established by Jean Piaget.
 object permanence: The understanding (typically developed during early
infancy) that an object still exists even when it disappears from sight, or other
senses.
 accommodation: Accommodation, unlike assimilation, is the process of taking
one’s environment and new information, and altering one’s pre-existing schemas
in order to fit in the new information.

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Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and
philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His theory of cognitive
development and epistemological view are together called “genetic epistemology. ” He
believed answers for the epistemological questions at his time could be better
addressed by looking at their genetic components. This led to his experiments with
children and adolescents in which he explored the thinking and logic processes used by
children of different ages.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory about the

nature and development of human intelligence. Piaget believed that reality is a dynamic
system of continuous change and as such, it is defined in reference to the two
conditions that define dynamic systems. Specifically, he argued that reality involves
transformations and states. Transformations refer to all manners of changes that a thing
or person can undergo. States refer to the conditions or the appearances in which
things or persons can be found between transformations.

Jean Piaget: Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist

and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children.

Piaget explains the growth of characteristics and types of thinking as the result of four
stages of development. The stages are as follows:

 The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages in cognitive development
that “extends from birth to the acquisition of language. ” In this stage, infants
construct an understanding of the world by coordinating experiences with
physical actions–in other words, infants gain knowledge of the word from the
physical actions they perform. The development of object permanence is one of
the most important accomplishments of this stage.

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 The pre-operational stage is the second stage of cognitive development. It
begins around the end of the second year. During this stage, the child learns to
use and to represent objects by images, words, and drawings. The child is able
to form stable concepts, as well as mental reasoning and magical beliefs.
 The third stage is called the “concrete operational stage” and occurs
approximately between the ages of 7 and 11 years. In this stage, children
develop the appropriate use of logic and are able to think abstractly, make
rational judgments about concrete phenomena, and systematically manipulate
symbols related to concrete objects.
 The final stage is known as the “formal operational stage” (adolescence and into
adulthood). Intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols
related to abstract concepts. At this point, the person is capable of hypothetical
and deductive reasoning.

When studying the field of education Piaget identified two processes: accommodation
and assimilation. Assimilation describes how humans perceive and adapt to new
information. It is the process of taking one’s environment and new information and fitting
it into pre-existing cognitive schemas. Accommodation, unlike assimilation, is the
process of taking one’s environment and new information and altering one’s pre-existing
schemas in order to fit in the new information.

 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Book
%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/04%3A_The_Role_of_Socialization/4.02%3A_The_Self_a
nd_Socialization/4.2B%3A_Sociological_Theories_of_the_Self
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/theories-of-self-development/
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b6a3/3134c18536f4fb36d95db050ec43d871cde7.pdf
https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Book
%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/04%3A_The_Role_of_Socialization/4.03%3A_T
https://www.slideshare.net/senohj/what-is-sociology-5461156?next_slideshow=1
https://www.slideshare.net/senohj/what-is-sociology-5461156?next_slideshow=1]
https://www.slideshare.net/kwhansen52/chapter-1-the-sociological-perspective-
38213460
https://www.slideshare.net/ArnoldDelfin1/social-self-socialization
https://www.slideshare.net/ArnoldDelfin1/social-self-socialization
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html

Bugental, J.F.T. and S.L. Zelen (1950) "Investigation into the self-concept." J. of

Personality 18: 483-498.
Google Scholar

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Activity 1 Module I Sociological Perspective

1. What is the relationship of self to society?
2. What are four of several major agents of socialization in American society?
Why are they each an agent of socialization?
3. What are two major components that make up socialization, as discussed in
class? Why are they important?
4. What is important about work and family roles?

RUBRICS for Activity 1

10 8 5 2
Understanding The student The student The student The student did
clearly seemed to seemed to not show an
understood the understand the understand adequate
topic in-depth main points of the main understanding of
and presented the topic and point of the the topic.
their presented topic, but
information with those with ease didn’t present
ease with ease
Accuracy Point-of-view, Point-of-view, Point-of-view, Point-of-view,
were always arguments and arguments, arguments, and
realistic and solutions and solutions solutions
consistently in proposed were proposed proposed were
character usually realistic were often rarely realistic
and in realistic and and in character

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character in character.

SAQ1.

1. Sociology and Social Psychology are really one and the same fields since they
both focus on social influences on individual and group behavior.

______True or _______False

2. Socialization appears to be a process only occurring in childhood.

______True or _______False

3. The story of Genie, the girl given to the Department of Public Social Services
after being with abusive parents, supported the conclusion that feral children can
become part of mainstream society.

______True or _______False

4. Social differentiation explains not only age norms, but also the general
differences between people of different social classes or genders.

______True or _______False

5. Adolescent youth cultures exist in all societies.

______True or _______False

6. Symbolic Interactionism deals with which one of the following?

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a. the study of social systems and social forces on individual behavior

b. b. stable relationships based on social institutions for social needs

c. c. the struggle for scarce resources
d. d. the meanings we attach to the ways we relate to one another

7. The term "sociological imagination" was first coined by

a. Mills b. Lemert c. Berger d. Durkheim e. Blumer

8. Theories must be _________________________.

a. Testable b issue driven formulated prior to research c. exclusively

sociological d. based on pre-existing facts

9. Karl Marx emphasized ________________ as a major factor in shaping social life.

a. economics b. psychology c. communism d. social-psychology

e. geography

10. Conflict theory is heavily indebted to the work of _______________.

a. Marx b. Parsons c. Pareto d. Mead

11. Perspectives are tied not only to approaches in analyzing social phenomenon, but
also reflect those who follow the perspectives' idea of the nature of humankind, as
discussed in class. The three corresponding views that humans are 1) born good, 2)
born neutral, or 3) born greedy or evil, are in the same order as of which of the following
theoretical perspectives?

:1) psychoanalytic, 2) behaviorism, 3) symbolic interactionism

b. 1) classical conditioning, 2) operant conditioning, 3) conflict theory

c. 1) humanistic, 2) behaviorism, 3) psychoanalytic

d. 1) structural functionalism, 2) phenomenology, 3) social learning theory

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12. Which one of the following types of socialization is done by schools?

a. agent of socialization b. re socialization

c. anticipatory socialization d. all of following are done by schools

13. Acting like you are a party animal without having concern for others at age forty
is a lot less tolerable than it is for someone in their teens (if it is tolerable by others
even at that age). This is because it is based on the concept of

a. age norms. b. rites of passage. c. cohort. d. social differentiation.

14. . Which one of the following parenting styles discussed in class tends to be more
effective in developing independent skills in children while providing guidelines to
cooperate with others in society?

a. authoritarian b. permissive active c. permissive passive

d. authoritative

15._____________ was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and

philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children.

a. Piaget b. Parsons c. Pareto d. Mead

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SQA #1 Answers

         1.  False

               2.  False

               3. False

               4. True

               5. False

               6.  d

               7.  a

8. a

9. a

10.a

11. c

               12.  d

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               13.  a

              14. d

15.a

             Activity 1

1. Key concepts:  society is made up of selves.  For an individual to live in a

society, they have to interact and be a part of the social system. 
              Society affects the self, and the self affects the society.

              2. Key concepts:  religion, media, parents, schools.  Religion influences choice of

moral standards; media is a pervasive move toward how a
              person develops, especially in public; parents are potentially the most
influential of all agents of socialization; and schools start shaping public
              behavior of people at an early stage in life.

              3. Key concepts:  learning the expectations and knowledge of a society, and

developing sense of self.  Learning the expectations of society helps
              one to fit in, as well as frame what a lifestyle should be like.  Developing a
sense of self is how learning to be part of society and one’s ability
              make that happen defines the person.

              4. Key concepts:  Work and family roles are largely realized as adult roles.  They
define what we generally need to socialize ourselves to be successful
              as grown-ups that are not as important in the same way for children and
minors.

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