SOC 100 Exam #2: Cooley & Mead

Cooley’s 3 Ideas from Human Nature and the Social Order

1. Our consciousness (the way we think) is social, our language is social - even “I” and “mine” are social 

   1. language b/c it’s tied to us by other people.

2. Therefore, “I” is not all of self 

   1. Self is made up of I and this other part - I: active part and Me: part (by society)

   2. It is like a nucleus in the larger cell of self 

   3. The other part of self is social 

3. Sometimes we equate “I” with our body 

   1. Even then there is a social dimension to “I” 

   2. Even our body has a social dimension because it interacts with other people 

Cooley’s “Looking Glass Self” - 3 Step

1. Idea of other’s perception

   • Seeing myself reflected in some way in other people.

2. Idea of other’s judgment 

3. Self feeling 

Here’s how I get my sense of identity from the other; I see how other people perceive me, some idea of how the person judges that; then there’s a sense of feeling related to that

• ex) Old man → (people see as a) useless old man → I feel bad about myself, affects how I see myself

  • Someone's sense of self becomes distorted based on how they think others perceive/judge them. 

Cooley’s Primary Groups - 3 Types

• Family 

• Playground

• Neighborhood 

Mead’s Biological facts

• Religious background (like many US sociologists of that day)

  • Wanted to make the world a better place

• Influence by (and reacted to) both Cooley and Dewey, as well as Behaviorism (action & notion of behavior being reaction) & Pragmatism (in the world of knowledge, we should create knowledge thats applicable & accessible to every day people’s lives – needs to be written in a way where the general public will understand what they’re talking about)

• Taught at UM, then Chicago

• Writers block? Published only articles

• Influenced by & opposed behaviorism - think abt response before we make it

Mead’s 5 Key Ideas

1. The social development of self

   1. SELF arises in the child’s social experience, using language and symbols 

      1. Imitation

      2. Role play 

      3. Games

      4. “Generalized Other” — People around me that influence me in ways that are specific, I don't attach it to unique personalities, but they influence me

2. The Self as Object

   1. The SELF is reflexive:

      1. I can consider myself: look at myself as though I am an object

      2. What I see when I view myself is adopted from the way others see me 

      3. (Cooley’s “Looking Glass Self”)

3. The “I” and the “Me”

   1. ^^They provide balance 

   2. “I” is the creative, impulsive part of Self that changes the world around 

   3. “Me” is the judgmental, controlling part of self that has been imprinted by the world around 

   4. “I” acts, “Me” constrains

4. Even thinking is social

   1. We think using symbols, words, language

   2. We learn the meaning of symbols, words, and language from others

   3. Therefore, thinking is a socially trained skill 

5. I think before I act - Beyond Behaviorism and Structuralism

   1. Behaviorism (psych) - Individuals react to stimuli 

   2. Mead: before acting, individuals consider the socially defined meaning of both the stimulus and their potential responses 

   3. “Gestures” - an action calling forth a response from another (much the same as “stimulus” 

   4. “Significant Symbols” - gestures that have a shared meaning for sender and receiver (or speaker and listener)

The Blumer Chart

“Traditional Sociology” 

• Individuals are the media through which outside forces/institutions operate

• Social behaviors are not constructed, they are reactions 

• Social action is lodged in society or some unit of society 

“Symbolic Interaction”

• Individuals have a “self” and are intentional 

• Social behaviors are based on individuals’ interpretation of the situation 

• Social action is lodged in the individual 

• Societal organizations/units provide a framework for action, and a fixed set of symbols 

• Sociology is studying the process of interpretation by which people determine their actions 

• Societal organizations/units determine individual action

• Sociology is the study of structures and their impact on actions (eg. functionalism and organicism) 

Berger and Luckman: Social Construction

• Meanings that often seem natural or “essential” (part of the item’s essence) are actually conceived and attributed to those items by people

  • ex) there’s a masculine & a feminine way to hold your books

• Those meanings are “constructed” socially

• Berger & Luckman (1966) The Social Construction of Reality.

• The meanings of social phenomena are not in the essence of the social phenomena themselves they are meanings we are society construct as we interact 

  • ex) essentialist understanding of marriage - same thing for all eternity 

  • Social construction says society constructs meaning of marriage with people of society interacting 

Becker; Goffman: Labeling Theory

• Developed in relationship to deviance, but could be applied in other ways.

• Basic concept; if you consistently label me a criminal, I will behave like a criminal. Self-fulfilling prophecy 

• Comes from Mead’s notion that meaning is constructed and powerful.

• Major contributors: Howard Becker and Erving Goffman 

• Keep telling you you are something, will start to behave that way

  • ex) you are hardworking, see myself through there eyes and labels they put on me, begin to see myself that way & behave that way