The Self According to Sociology and Anthropology

Vocabulary flashcards covering sociological and anthropological theories of the self, key theorists, stages of development, and cultural concepts based on the lecture transcript.

Sociology

The study of society and how people interact with one another, exploring how others influence who an individual becomes.

Charles Horton Cooley

An American sociologist who employed a sociopsychological approach to understanding society and developed the concept of the Looking Glass Self.

Looking Glass Self

The process wherein individuals base their sense of self on how they believe others view them.

The "I" (Mead)

The natural self according to George Herbert Mead, which expresses spontaneous desires such as wanting to sleep, play, or eat ice cream.

The "Me" (Mead)

The social self according to George Herbert Mead, which represents social expectations, obligations, and responsibilities such as having class or needing to study.

The Preparatory Stage

The initial stage of self-formation according to Mead where children imitate significant others to learn the meaning behind symbols, gestures, and language.

The Play Stage

The stage of self-formation according to Mead where children begin role-taking, mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that viewpoint.

The Game Stage

The stage of self-formation according to Mead where children become aware of their position in relationship to other numerous social positions in society.

Dramaturgical Theory

Erving Goffman's theory stating that life is like a stage where people perform different roles depending on where they are.

Anthropology

The study of culture, traditions, beliefs, customs, and human diversity, maintaining that culture shapes who we are.

Culture

The way of life shared by a group of people, including language, food, clothing, religion, traditions, and values.

Enculturation

The process of learning your own culture through instruction and exposure, such as parents teaching children cultural habits and values.

Cultural Relativism

The principle of not judging another culture using your own culture's standards, recognizing that different does not mean wrong.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is superior or the best compared to others.

Georg Simmel

A theorist who viewed the self as a product of modern society, asserting that daily interactions and exposure to diverse groups shape individual identity.

Clifford Geertz

An anthropologist who defined culture as a system of shared meanings where human actions are given explicit symbolic meaning.

Contemporary Anthropology

A modern anthropological approach viewing the self as dynamic, flexible, and continuously changing due to globalization, technology, and multiple cultural identities.

Archaeology

A field of anthropology that discovers how species like Homo sapiens survived through thinking, using tools, and learning from experience, while continuing to fulfill basic needs and leave a social legacy.

Biological Anthropology

A branch of anthropology focused on how the human body adapts to different earth environments, studying causes of disease, physical mutation, evolution, and comparing primates.

Linguistic Anthropology

A branch of anthropology focused on using language to discover a group's social interaction, worldview, and how communication patterns evolve over time.

Cultural Anthropology

A branch of anthropology focused on understanding what makes a group's manner of living an essential part of personal and societal identity.

Theory of Cultural Determinism

A theory suggesting that human nature is determined by the specific culture in which a person is born and raised.

Symbols (Culture)

Words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry recognized or accepted meanings within a specific culture.

Heroes (Culture)

Past or present individuals, real or fictional, who possess characteristics highly valued within a culture.

Rituals (Culture)

Group activities performed for the fulfillment of desired objectives that are considered socially essential.

Values (Culture)

Unconscious core elements of culture that are neither directly discussed nor observed, but inferred through how people act and react.