Lecture Three: The Self and Socialization

Microsociology

Seeks to understand local interactional contexts (face-to-face interactions; small groups; local communities)

Symbolic Interactionism

A microsociological theory-

a paradigm that posits…

interaction and meaning as central to society

meanings are not inherent, but created through interaction

helps explain both our individual personalities and the ways in which we are all linked together

social order and social change are constructed

Looking-Glass Self - Charles Horton Cooley

The notion that the self develops through our perception of others’ evaluations and appraisals of us - we think about ourselves in terms of how others view and think of us 

Self

“the individual identity of a person as understood by that person) is compromised of two parts

1. one’s sense of agency, action, and power 

2. the imagined self as others see that person 

4 Stages of Role-Taking

Preparatory Stage, Play Stage, Game Stage, Adult Stage

Preparatory Stage

Relating to the world as if you are the center of the universe

Play Stage

       significant other 

Learning to take the attitude and role of the people with whom they interact

     significant other: specific people important in a child’s life, who have the greatest impact on their self-evaluations 

Game Stage

Taking the role of multiple others 

Adult Stage

generalized other

Internalizing the generalized other

generalized other: a sense of the total expectations of others in a variety of settings, irrespective of whether we encountered those steps before

Ethnomethodology

The study of “folk methods” and background knowledge that sustains a shared sense of reality in everyday interactions

• based on the assumption of “unwritten rules” that govern our lives may/may not be important to others

Dramaturgical Theory

Social life is generally a theatrical performance, where we are all actors in a metaphorical stage with roles, scripts, costumes, and sets

Front Stage

The places which we deliver our performance into an audience of other

Back Stage

The places which we rehearse and prepare for our performances

Performance

“all the activity of a given participant on a given occasion which serves to influence in any way any of the other participants” 

Sincere Performances

The performer is convinced by the impression of reality he stages is honest and truthful

Cynical Performances

The performance is merely an act - a means to achieve a desired end

Interaction (face-to-face interactions)

“the reciprocal influence of individuals upon one another’s actions when in one another’s immediate physical presence”

Part or Routine

“the pre-established pattern of action which is unfolded during a performance and which may be presented or play  through on other occasions”

    “when an individual or performer plays the same part to the same audience on different occasions, a social relationship is likely to arise” 

Personal Front

The performance tactics we use to present ourselves to others, including appearance, costume, and manner

Face

The esteem to which an individual is held by others

Face Work

The actions and strategies people use to be consistent with face

Line

Patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior which a person expresses his position in a given interaction 

Ritual Disequilibrium

A break in a line

Breaching experiments

Collaborators exhibited “abnormal” or “atypical behaviors in social interactions in order to see how other people would react” 

Social Reproduction

The process of perpetuating values, norms, and social practices through socialization, which leads to structural continuity over time

Agents of Socialization

Social groups, institutions, and individuals that provide structured situations where socialization takes place

• Family

• Institutions

• Peer groups

• Media (mass media)

• Adult Socialization

Resocialization

Individuals learn/adapt to a new set of social values, beliefs, and norms

Total Instituions 

Institutions in which individuals are totally immersed and that controls all the basics of daily life 

Saturated Self

A postmodern idea that the self is now developed by multiple influences chosen from a range of media sources