LEARNING PERSONALITY, MORALITY, AND EMOTIONS Sociology – Chapter 3 – Mrs. Madison

Freud & Personality Development  Personality consists of three elements:  Id: Our inborn basic drives Cause us to seek pleasure or self-gratification Demands fulfillment of basic needs – food, attention, safety  Ego: A balancing force between the id and the demands of society We realize we can’t have everything we want  Superego: Cultural values and norms internalized by an individual; the conscience. We realize why we can’t have everything we want Provokes feeling of guilt or shame when we break rules or pride and satisfaction when we follow them

Freud & Personality Development  What happens when the id gets out of hand?  What happens when the superego gets out of hand?

Freud & Personality Development  Conclusion:  The social group into which we are born transmits norms and values that restrain our biological drives.  Criticisms:  Sociologists object to the view that inborn and subconscious motivations are the primary reasons for human behavior.  Freud’s work presents humans in male terms and devalues women.

Kohlberg & Development of Morality  Stages of Moral Development:  Young children begin in the amoral stage Focused on immediate self-gratification Little or no concern for others  Preconventional Stage (Ages 7-10) Have learned rules and how to avoid punishment View right and wrong in terms of what pleases others

Kohlberg & Development of Morality  Conventional Stage (Age 10) Morality means following norms and values they’ve learned Begin to assess intention in reaching moral judgments Ex: Stealing  Postconventional Stage People move beyond their society’s norms to consider abstract ethical principles – liberty, freedom, justice Kohlberg believes most people never reach this stage

Gilligan – Gender & Morality  Women are more likely to evaluate morality in terms of personal relationships – how an action affects others.  Men tend to think more along the lines of abstract principles– formal rules to define right and wrong.  Researchers have found that both men and women use personal relationships and abstract principles when they make moral judgments.

Socialization into Emotions  Global Emotions  Sociologist Paul Ekman concluded that everyone experiences six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.  We all show the same facial expressions when we feel these emotions

Socialization Into Emotions  Expressing Emotions  Socialization affects how we express emotion – gender, culture, social class, relationships.

Society Within Us  Both the self and emotions mold our behavior  Desire to avoid shame and embarrassment What would happen if I ….? What would ____ think if I…?

Summary  Socialization is essential for our development as human beings.  Interaction with others teaches us how to think, reason, and feel.  The “society within us” shapes our behavior- including thinking and emotions