Sociological theories of human development Self-concept – the totality of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves Self-identity – our perception about what kind of person we are we do not know who we are until we see ourselves as we believe others see us

Cooly and the looking-glass self refers to the way in which a person’s sense of self is derived from the perceptions of others not who we actually are or what people actually think about us; it is based on our perception of how other people think of us our sense of self depends on how we interpret what others do and say

Mead and role-taking linked the idea of self-concept to role-taking – the process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person in order to understand the world from that person’s point of view role-playing often occurs through play and games, as children try out different roles (such as being mommy, daddy, doctor, or teacher) and gain an appreciation of them

Mead divided the self into the “I” and the “me” The “I” is the subjective element of the self that represents the spontaneous and unique traits of each person The “me” is the objective element of the self, which is composed of the internalized attitudes and demands of other members of society and the individual’s awareness of those demands

Both the “I” and the “me” are needed to form the social self The unity of the two constitutes the full development of the individual

Social psychological theories of human development 1) Freud and the Psychoanalytic Perspective Human behaviour and personality originate from unconscious forces within individuals He assigned sexual motives in explaining behaviour Human development occurs in 3 stages that reflect different levels of the personality which he referred to as the id, ego, and superego

2) Erikson and Psychosocial Development Drew from Freud’s theory 8 psychosocial stages of development Each stage is accompanied by a crisis or potential crisis that involves transitions in social relationships

3) Piaget and Cognitive Development Emphasized the intellectual (cognitive) development of children Interested in how people obtain, process, and use information – that is, in how we think 4 stages of cognitive development – organized around specific tasks

All children must go through each in sequence before moving on to the next one, although some move faster than others Also investigated moral development (pg. 122) He found that children move from being totally influenced by external factors, such as parental and other forms of moral authority, to being more autonomous, thinking and acting based on their own moral judgments about behaviour

Gender and racial-ethnic socialization In most societies, parents prefer male children to female children based on cultural assumptions about sex differences Parents acquire these gender preferences through: gender socialization – the aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of being female or male in a specific group or society

In some families, this starts before birth Parents who learn the sex of the fetus often purchase colour-coded and gender-typed clothes, toys, and nursery decorations After birth, parents may respond differently toward male and female infants; often play more roughly with boys and talk more lovingly to girls

Throughout childhood and adolescence – assigned different household chores and given different privileges Schools, peer groups, and the media also contribute to our gender socialization (activity) Sports reinforce traditional gender roles through division of events into male and female categories

The media – from an early age, children’s books, tv programs, movies, and music provide subtle and not-so-subtle messages about “masculine” and “feminine” behaviour Beliefs as to what is, and what is not, proper treatment of children vary from society to society around the world (box 4.4 pg. 124)

Resocialization The process of learning a new and different set of attitudes, values, and behaviours from those in one’s previous background and experiences 1) Voluntary – when we assume a new status (such as becoming a student, an employee, or a retiree) of our own free will

2) Involuntary – occurs against a person’s wishes and generally takes place within a total institution – a place where people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and come under the control of the officials who run the institution Military boot camps, jails and prisons, concentration camps, and some mental hospitals are total institutions

People are totally stripped of their formal selves – or depersonalized – through a degradation ceremony (pg. 128) After stripping people of their former identities, the institution attempts to build a more compliant person

Socialization in the future The family is likely to remain the institution that most fundamentally shapes and nurtures personal values and self-identity, but parents may feel overburdened by this responsibility Interactive tv and computer networking systems will enable children to experience many things outside their own homes and schools and to communicate regularly with people around the world