1. Socializing the Individual
Personality Development

2. Personality Development
What comes to mind when you hear the word personality?
Personality – the sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an individual
Our personality determines how we adjust to our environment and how we react in specific situations
No two individuals have the same personality

3. Personality Development
People’s personalities continue to develop throughout their lifetime
Personality development is more obvious during childhood…why?
Rapid physical, emotional, and intellectual growth
During adulthood, personality traits change at a slower pace
Personality development varies from person to person

4. Nature versus Nurture
For many years, sociologists have debated what determines personality and social behavior…heredity or environment?
Heredity – the transmission of genetic characteristics from parents to children
Social Environment – contact with other people
This debate is usually referred to as “Nature vs. Nurture”
Inherited genetic characteristics vs. environment and social learning

5. Nature versus Nurture
What do you think?
Nature Nurture

6. Nature Versus Nurture
The nature viewpoint states that behavior is instinctual in origin
Instinct – an unchanging, biologically inherited behavior pattern
The nurture viewpoint states that a person’s behavior and personality are the result of their social environment and learning
Pavlov’s Dogs
Psychologist John B. Watson believed that he could take a dozen healthy babies and train them to become anything he wanted…

7. Factor #1 – heredity
Everyone has certain characteristics that are present at birth:
Body build
Hair type
Eye color
Skin pigmentation
Hereditary characteristics also include certain aptitudes
Aptitude – a capacity to learn a particular skill or acquire a particular body of knowledge
Example – Natural talent for music, art, or athletics

8. Factor #2 – Birth order
Our personalities are influenced by whether we have brothers, sisters, or neither
The order in which we are born into our families also influence our personalities
How might the order in which you were born impact your personality?

9. Birth order Firstborn Children: Achievement-oriented Responsible
Conservative
Defend the status quo
Later-born Children:
Better social relationships
More affectionate
More friendly
Risk-takers

10. Factor #3 – parental characteristics
Personality development in children is also influenced by the characteristics of their parents
The age of parents can impact their children’s development
Parents in their 20’s >>>>>>>>>> Parents in their 40’s
Other parental characteristics that can influence a child’s personality development
Level of education / occupation
Religious orientation
Economic status
Cultural heritage

11. Factor #4 – cultural environment
The cultural environment can determine basic types of personalities that will be found in a society
Each culture gives rise to a series of personality traits that are typical of members of that society…model personalities
United States = Competitiveness, Assertiveness, and Individualism

12. Cultural environment
How we experience our culture also influences our personality
Experiences differ depending on whether you are male or female
Subcultures affect personality:
Growing up in an Italian family
Growing up in an Irish family
Having a family with no heritage
Different regions of the country
Different types of neighborhoods

13. Isolation in childhood
Several instances exist in which children have been raised without the influence of a cultural environment
Feral children – Wild or untamed children
Sometimes found living with animal
Sometimes found isolated in their own homes
Other than appearance, they have few human characteristics:
No ability to control their bodily functions
No reasoning ability
No manners

14. Examples of childhood isolation
Anna and Isabelle
Anna was born to an unmarried woman (enraged her father)
Forced to live in isolation in the attic
She was not spoken to, held, bathed, or loved
Discovered by a social worker at the age of 6
She could not walk, talk, or feed herself
Over time she learned simple tasks
Anna died at the age of 10

15. Examples of childhood Isolation
Isabelle’s grandfather kept her and her deaf mother confined to a dark room
Isabelle did have the advantage of her mother’s company
Mom and daughter only communicated through gestures
Isabelle was found at the age of 6
Crawled on her hands and knees
Made grunting, animal – like sounds
Ate with her hands

16. Isabelle’s story…continued
Isabelle was originally thought to be incapable of speech
Began speaking after several months of intensive training
After two years, she reached a level of social and mental development consistent with her age group
Experts believed Isabelle’s constant contact with her mother allowed her to overcome her early social deprivation

17. Isolation in childhood…genie
Genie was discovered in 1970 at the age of 13
Confined to a small bedroom from the age of 20 months
Spent her days tied to a potty-chair
She was beaten if she made noise
When Genie’s father interacted with her, he would behave like an angry dog (barking, growling, baring his teeth)
When Genie was found she had the social and psychological skills of a one-year-old
Genie did learn basic social norms
Never able to function as a social being

18. Institutionalization
Sociologists have studied the human development of children living in institutions
Institutions include hospitals and orphanages
These children show some of the same characteristics as isolated children
Children received food and shelter but little or no contact
These cases show the importance of human interaction for social and psychological development

19. The Social self
At birth…babies cannot talk, walk, feed themselves, or protect themselves
People are transformed into participating members of society through:
Interactions with their social environment
Interactions with their cultural environment
Socialization – Interactive process through which people learn the skills, values, beliefs, and behavior patterns of a society

20. The social self
Many theories exist to explain how people become socialized and develop a sense of self
Self – Conscious awareness of possessing a distinct identity that separates your and your environment from other members of society
We will look at three theories of socialization:
John Locke
Charles Horton Cooley
George Herbert Mead

21. Locke: The tabula Rasa English philosopher from the 1600s
Thought that each newborn was a tabula rasa…or clean slate
Locke felt we were born without personalities
We acquire our personalities from social experiences
Believed he could shape a newborn’s personality (Watson)
Most sociologists believe socialization is a process
Through socialization, we develop a sense of society

22. Cooley: The looking-glass self
Looking – glass self – The interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear to others
Other people act as a mirror, reflecting back the image we project through their reactions to our behavior
The looking – glass self is a three-step process:
First, we imagine how others see us
Second, we imagine how others are judging us
Finally, we use perceptions of how others judge us to develop feelings about ourselves

23. Cooley: The looking – glass self
The process of identity development begins very early in childhood
Newborn babies have no sense of person or place
Members of the child’s primary group interact with the infant
They provide the child with a mirror that reflects his or her image…they talk to the child, they reward or punish behavior
This theory puts a lot of responsibility on parents:
Parents who think little of a child’s ability = inferiority in the child
Parents who treat their child as capable and competent = capable and competent children

24. Mead: role – taking
Seeing ourselves as others see us is only the beginning
Mead visualized role – taking as a three step process:
Imitation, play, and games
Children under three lack a sense of self…therefore, they can only imitate the actions of others
At around three, children begin to play and act out roles
This is the first time children see the world through someone else’s eyes

25. Role – taking continued
By the time children reach school age, they play organized games
Organized games require children to take on roles
The game stage of role-taking most closely resembles real life
Through role-taking, an individual develops a sense of self
I = The unsocialized, spontaneous, self-interested component of personality and self-identity
Me = The part of ourselves that is aware of the expectations and attitudes of society

26. Role – taking continued
In childhood, the I component is stronger than the me component
Through socialization, “me” acts together with “I”
This socialization brings a person’s actions in line with the expectations of society
“Me” never dominates “I”
A well-rounded member of society is a person with both aspects of self

27. Agents of socialization
Agents of socialization – Specific individuals, groups, and institutions that enable socialization to take place
Agents of socialization:
Family
Peer Group
School
Media

28. Family Most important agent of socialization
Children learn the values, norms, and beliefs of society through their families
Socialization in a family can be both deliberate and unintended
Deliberate = Importance of telling the truth, How to save money
Unintended = Important to be polite…parents not always polite
Socialization process differs from family to family

29. Peer Group
As children get older, they relate more and more to peer groups
Peer group – A primary group composed of individuals or roughly equal age and similar social characteristics
Extremely influential during pre-teen and teenage years
Parents become worried that the norms and values of the peer group are more important than those of the family or society

30. School School occupies large amounts of time and attention
The majority of socialization in school is deliberate
Schools transmit cultural values, patriotism, and responsibility
Unintentional socialization can occur

31. Mass media Mass media involves no face-to-face interaction
Mass media – Instruments of communication that reach larger audiences with no personal contact between those sending and receiving the information
Mass media includes books, television, movies, and the Internet
Which form of mass media do you feel has the most influence?
Television probably has the most influence (98% of homes)

32. Negative effects of media
What are some negative socialization effects of mass media?
Research indicates:
By the age of 18, most children have witnessed 200,000 fictional act of violence
This includes 16,000 murders
Can fictional violence create aggressive individuals?
Media can include positive socialization:
Introduces viewers to new subjects and places
Informs the viewers

33. resocialization
Total Institution – A setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and are subject to tight control
Examples of total institutions:
Prisons
Military Boot Camp
Monasteries
Psychiatric Hospitals

34. Resocialization
Total institutions are concerned with resocializing their members
Resocialization – A break with past experiences and the learning of new values and norms
Most total institutions are concerned with changing an individual's personality and behavior
People in total institutions are denied freedoms enjoyed by the outside world