Chapter 4

Feral children

Children that have been raised by animals in the wilderness

Nature agreement

Says that we are born to be the kinds of human being we will ultimately become

Nurture agreement

Says that we are the way we are because of the way we are nurtured

Looking-glass self

The idea that as humans we develop a self-image that reflect how others see and respond to us

Significant symbol in communication

A gesture that arouses in the individual the same kind of response as it is supposed to elicit from those to whom the gesture is addressed

Complex symbolic interaction

Interaction based on significant symbols

The mind is

An internal conversation using words and images

The self is

The ability to take oneself as an object

The play stage

Children are not born with a sense of self. This is when children learn how to take on the attitude of specific others towards themselves.

The game stage

When children begin to develop a self in a fuller sense when they take on the roles of a group of people simultaneously

The generalized other

Includes the roles, prescriptions, and proscriptions that individuals use to develop their own behaviors, attitudes, and so forth

“The I”

The immediate response of an individual. Its the part of the self that is unconscious, incalculable, unpredictable, and creative

The “me”

The organized set of others’ attitudes and behaviors adopted by the individual. Involves the acceptance and internalization by the individual of the generalized other.

The individual as a performer

Goffman’s view of an individual’s social life as a series of dramatic performances akin to those that take place on a theatrical stage

The front stage

Where the social performance tends to be idealized and designed to define the situation for those who are observing it

The back stage

Where people feel free to express themselves in ways that are suppressed in the front

Socialization

The process in which an individual learns and generally comes to accept the ways of a group or a society of which he or she is a part of

Primary agents of socialization

Friends and family

Secondary agents of socialization

The education system, media, and consume culture

Anticipatory socialization

The teaching and learning of what will be expected of one in the future

Reverse socialization

The socialization of those who normally do the socializing

Peer socialization is a form of ______ socialization

Informal

Peer influence mechanisms

Fear of loss of status and presence of onlookers

Socialization into being a ___ reinforces __ ____

Consumer; social inequities

Total institution

A closed, all-encompassing place of residence and work set off from the rest of society that meets all the needs of those enclosed in it

Need for resocialization due to

Changes in societal values and norms, family changes, geographic boiling, and changes associated with aging

Subordinates are an ______ to some degree in superordinate-subordinate interactions

Active party

Interaction

A rational process in which those involves seek to maximize rewards and minimize costs

Reciprocity importance

Those engaged in interaction expect to give and receive rewards of roughly equal value

Conversation analysis

Spawned by methodology, how people do, or accomplish conversations

Interaction order

Social domain that is organized and orderly

Status

A position within a social system occupied by people, a role is what is generally expected of a person who occupies a given status

Ascribed status

Status that is not chosen and is a position a person acquires based on accomplishment of the nature of capabilities

Master status

A position that is more important than any other status for the person and all others involved

Role conflict

Conflicting expectations associated with a given position or multiple positions

Role overload

When people are confronted with more expectations that’s they can possibly handle

Dyad

2 person group

Triad

3 person group

Strength of weak ties

Weak ties can have great power because they allow people to move more easily between groups and group members

Group

A relatively small number of people who over time develop a patterned relationship based on interaction with one another

Queue vs group

People in a queue likely won’t interact with each other and develop patterned relationships

Primary group

Small, close-knit groups that have intimate face-to-face interactions. People closely identify with these groups

Secondary groups

Generally large groups that are impersonal and relatively weak ties. The members don’t know each other well and aren’t very powerful

Reference groups

Groups that people take into consideration when evaluating themselves

In-group

A group in which people belong and with which they identify perhaps strongly

Out-group

A group where outsiders belong