1. Unit 3: Social Environment
David Rude, instructor

2. social environment
The social environment, social context, sociocultural context, or milieu, refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops.

3. “scene from What the Bleep do we Know?

4. What separates us from other species?
There's no consensus on the question of what makes us special, or whether we even are. The biggest point of contention is whether our cognitive abilities differ from those of other animals "in kind," or merely in degree. Are we in a class by ourselves or just the smartest ones in our class? [see pages 65 – 70 in your text for more…]

5. Charles Darwin supported the latter hypothesis
Charles Darwin supported the latter hypothesis. He believed we are similar to animals, and merely incrementally more intelligent as a result of our higher evolution. But according to Marc Hauser, director of the cognitive evolution lab at Harvard University, in a recent article in Scientific American, "mounting evidence indicates that, in contrast to Darwin's theory of a continuity of mind between humans and other species, a profound gap separates our intellect from the animal kind."

6. Hauser and his colleagues have identified four abilities of the human mind that they believe to be the essence of our "humaniqueness" — mental traits and abilities that distinguish us from our fellow Earthlings.
They are: generative computation, promiscuous combination of ideas, the use of mental symbols, and abstract thought.

7. 1. Generative computation Humans can generate a practically limitless variety of words and concepts. We do so through two modes of operation — recursive and combinatorial. The recursive operation allows us to apply a learned rule to create new expressions. In combinatorial operations, we mix different learned elements to create a new concept.

8. 2. Promiscuous combination of ideas "Promiscuous combination of ideas," Hauser explained, "allows the mingling of different domains of knowledge — such as art, sex, space, causality and friendship — thereby generating new laws, social relationships and technologies."

9. 3. Mental symbols Mental symbols are our way of encoding sensory experiences. They form the basis of our complex systems of language and communication. We may choose to keep our mental symbols to ourselves, or represent them to others using words or pictures.

10. 4. Abstract thought Abstract thought is the contemplation of things beyond what we can sense.

11. What socializes us. What shapes our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors
What socializes us? What shapes our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors? [see pages 82 – 88 in your text for more…]

12. Socialization
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’.

13. Socialization into the Self and Mind
Cooley and the Looking Glass Self
We imagine how we appear to those around us
We interpret others’ reactions
We develop a self concept
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. New(er) Research Couples who say “we” Negative altruism
Social media narcissisim

15. The Self and Emotions as Social Control
Are We Free?
“The most important questions in life can never be answered by anyone except oneself.” ― John Fowles, The Magus
Expectations of Family and Friends
Social Mirror

16. Our survival system is killing us
What happened to you, NOT who you are, makes you angry, nervous, afraid, greedy, mean, etc.
We learned behaviors when we were very young in order to survive.
We were taught to hate those behaviors and to see them as signs of our badness.
Yet we must keep doing them because they still mean survival to us.
And we hate ourselves for doing them.

17. Some of the common forms self-hate takes
Not being able to receive
Seeing what is wrong with everything
Trying too hard to be different
Being accident prone
Continuing to put yourself in abusive situations
Self sabotage
Procrastination
Taking blame but not credit
Blaming others
Being secretive
Holding grudges

18. THE TRAP: I believe I must be this way to survive
THE TRAP: I believe I must be this way to survive. I hate myself for being this way.
RESULT: self-hate = survival
survival = self-hate
Suffering provides our identity. Identity is maintained in struggle and dissatisfaction, in trying to fix what’s wrong.
self-hate
suffering
egocentricity
fear
illusion of being unaccepted

19. That something be wrong So ego can continue to survive it.
So we are constantly looking for what is wrong, constantly creating new crises so we can rise to the occasion. To ego, that’s survival.
It is very important
That something be wrong
So ego can continue to survive it.

20. Self-Hate is a Process Self-hate is a “how” not a “what.” Examples:
If I’m a worrier, worrying is the “how,” the process. The things I worry about are the “whats,” the content.
If I’m judgmental, judging is the “how,” the process. The things I judge are the “whats,” the content.
If I’m caught in self-hate, self hating is the “how,” the process. The aspects of “me” that are being hated—body, personality, looks (the list is endless) – are the “whats,” the content.

21. In other words, I am not hating myself; self-hate is hating me
In other words, I am not hating myself; self-hate is hating me. Self-hate is an autonomous process with a life of its own, an endless tape loop of conditioning, creating and shaping the world in which we live. The simplest example is that if self-hate is hating my body, too wide too short too fat too small too thin too flat too weak too ugly it doesn’t matter what I do or what I look like, I will never meet self-hate’s standard….which is the point.

22. It will find something to hate.
Self-hate is not hating me in order to help me.
No. It is a process of hating and hating is just what it does.
As long as it exists,
It will find something to hate.
That’s how it maintains itself.
The process of self-hate is so much a part of the average person that we don’t even recognize it.
We think we’re just doing the things that will ensure we’ll be good. It’s normal, we say. Everybody does it.

24. How ‘bout a ten minute quickie?
Review, that is.

25. social environment & its effects on the self/individual
The social environment, social context, sociocultural context, or milieu, refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops to effect the individual and their sense of self worth, self esteem and so on.

26. Self-esteem 1 2 3 High self-esteem Confident, proud, self-respecting
Low self-esteem
Insecure, lacking in confidence, self-critical 2
Self-esteem is based on success
Different cultures may define success differently 3
This is another option for an Overview slide.

27. Group Activity
There are theories on how we develop our morality, personality, reasoning, and self-concept. Get into four groups: group one will become familiar with Kohlberg and Gilligan’s theory of morality development; group two will become familiar with Freud’s theory of personality development; group three will become familiar with Piaget’s theory of reasoning, and group four will become familiar with Cooley and Mead’s theories on self-concept. Each group prepare a five-minute, informative presentation on their theorist(s) and theories.

28. Gender & Self Concept Learning the Gender Map ( see next slides)
Gender Messages in the Family
Gender Messages from Peers

29. On nearly every continent, and for all of recorded history, thriving cultures have recognized, revered, and integrated more than two genders. Terms such as transgender and gay are strictly new constructs that assume three things: that there are only two sexes (male/female), as many as two sexualities (gay/straight), and only two genders (man/woman).

30. Yet hundreds of distinct societies around the globe have their own long-established traditions for third, fourth, fifth, or more genders. Fred Martinez, for example, was not a boy who wanted to be a girl, but both a boy and a girl — an identity his Navajo culture recognized and revered as nádleehí. Most Western societies have no direct correlation for this Native “two-spirit” tradition, nor for the many other communities without strict either/or conceptions of sex, sexuality, and gender. Worldwide, the sheer variety of gender expression is almost limitless. Let’s take a tour and learn how other cultures see gender diversity.

32. What happens when we don’t teach boys about sex?
Male sexuality, for many, is boyish, confused, shame- based
and wounded because the grownups have relinquished their responsibility.
Since adults are not willing to teach
boys about their bodies, they have
to learn from other sources.
When parents look the other way, we leave it
up to children to teach each other about their
bodies and sex. The other main teacher becomes
porn.

33. Porn is slowly but surely conditioning the male brain toward further disconnection and unrealistic, disembodied sexuality.
Porn use is increasing rapidly among men and boys, and meanwhile, sexual dysfunction is also on the rise-premature or delayed ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, to name a few.

34. Gender conditioning via the boy code is the root of this issue
Gender conditioning via the boy code is the root of this issue. The boy code is the gender straight jacket that trains boys to distrust their intuition, emotions, sensitivity and relational capacity.
It also shames boys out of their sexual essence by teaching them to act tough and to put down women and gays.

35. Many grown men are still stuck in an immature stage of development where deep down, they are hurt, scared, ashamed little boys. If no one taught these men mature, healthy masculine sexuality, it’s unfair to expect them to be any different.
A man who has not done his work lives in a boyish, immature stage of sexuality, and his intimate relationships reflect that.

36. We must return to a deep masculine sexuality that is open, present, loving, heart-centered, and embodied. Men have to transcend their conditioning and this will take effort and commitment.

37. Proper Relationships of Men & Women
Society has evolved over the course of history. The evolution of society has led to substantial changes in the roles that males and females play in relationships.
What are some of the changes that have developed to alter our old- fashioned way of life and thinking?

38. Socialization is an ongoing institutional process that happens when people interact with the omnipresent agents of socialization. The interactionist theories of Cooley, Mead, and Piaget all suggest that people develop a sense of self and reasoning through learning and interacting with others. Therefore, the self and the mind are considered to be socially constructed products.