The Real World Sociology

Human nature- it is culture and society that make us human -these things that we have created also make us who we are -we have to learn the meanings we give to food, housing, sex, and everything else -nature vs nurture debate- the ongoing discussion of the respective roles of genetics and socialization in determining individual behaviors and traits -those taking the nature side- (sociobiologists) argue that behavioral traits can be explained by genetics Nurture side- argue that human behavior is learned and shaped through social interaction -nature provides a biological window through which social and moral development occurs Socialization- it includes the process by which a society, culture, or group teaches individuals learn and internalize the values and norms of the group -we learn our society's way of life and make it our own It accomplishes two goals: it teaches members the skills necessary to satisfy basic human needs and to defend themselves against danger, thus ensuring that society itself will continue to exist, socialization teacher individuals the norms, values, and beliefs associated with their culture and provides ways to ensure that member adhere to their shared way of life Feral children: children who have grown up in the wild Having a sense of one self's is perhaps the most fundamental of all human experiences “I think, therefore I am” that we possess a consciousness about ourselves -the self- is our experience of a distinct, real, personal identity that is separate and different from all other people. - we can proud of ourselves, lose control of ourselves or want to change ourselves suggesting that we have the ability to think about ourselves as if we were more than one being and to see ourselves from the vantage point of an observes -the self is created and modified through social interaction, a social product Psychoanalytic perspective on the shelf- emphasizes childhood and sexual development as indelible influences on an individual's identity, and in turn how society is upheld through the transformation of human instincts The mind consists of 3 interrelated systems: id, ego, and the superego Id- which is composed of biological drives- is the source of instinctive, psychic energy, its main goal is to achieve pleasure and to avoid pain in all situations, which makes the id a selfish and unrealistic part of the mind. Ego- is the part that deals w the real world. It operates on the basis of reason and helps to mediate and integrate the demands of both the id and the superego. The ego is part of the self that says “okay this time the other guy won, but if keep trying im bound to get that raise eventually” Superego- is composed of 2 components: the conscience and the ego-ideal. The conscience serves to keep us from engaging in socially undesirable behavior, and the ego-ideal upholds our vision of who we believe we should ideally be. It develops as a result of parental guidance, in inhibits the urges of the id and encourages the ego to find morally acceptable forms of behavior. The superego helps suppress the urge to kill ur competitor and keeps you working towards getting that raise in socially acceptable ways. Freud proposed that between infancy and adulthood that personality passes through four distinct psychosexual stages of development. -each stage is associated w a different erogenous zone A child passes through the first 3 stages of development between the ages of one and give -the last stage of development begins around the age of 12 but few people successfully complete this final transition to maturity -looking glass self- the nothing that the self develops through our perception of others evaluations and appraisals of us, we all act like mirrors to each other, reflecting back to one another an image of ourselves. Mead- believed that the self is created through social interaction. Believes that this process starts in childhood- that children begin to develop a sense of self at about the same they time they began to learn language Preparatory stage- the first stage in mead's theory of development of self wherein children mimic or imitate others Play stage- the second stage in mead's theory of development of self where in children pretend to play the role of the particular or significant other Game stage- children play organized games and take on the perspective of the generalized other Generalized other- the perspectives and expectations of a network of others that a child learns and then takes into account when shaping his or her own behavior Dual nature of the self- the idea that we experience the self as both subject and object the “i” and the “me” I- is the subject component the experience of a spontaneous active and creative part of ourselves. Me- is the object component- the experience of a norm-abiding conforming part of ourselves, more socialized and therefore reliant on others Thomas theorem- classic formulation of the way individuals determine reality, whereby “if people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences”. Because we encounter ambiguous situations every day, many meanings are possible, they way we define each situation, then becomes its reality. Expressions of behavior- tools we use to project our definitions of the situation to others Expressions given- are typically verbal and intended- most of our speech, what we say, we mean to say, Expressions given off- observable expressions that can be either intended or uninteded and are usually nonverbal -goffman was saying that it's not just what you say but how you say it that creates meaning Impression management- the effort to control the impression we make on others so that they form a desired view of us and the situation; the use of self= presentation and performance tactics Dramaturgy- social life is analyzed in terms of its similarities to theatrical performance Front- is the setting that helps establish a particular meaning Region- the specific social setting= provides more elements that help establish the boundaries of the interactional context Personal front- appearance, manner, and style of dress, as well as gender, race, and age helps establish the definition of the situation as well. -the key to understanding these nuances in impression management is to recognize that we present diff sleeves in diff situations, and the responses of others to those selves continually shape and mold our definitions of situation and self Social construction- of reality the process by which a concept or practice is created and maintained by participants who collectively agree that it exits Cooling the mark out- behaviors that help others to save face or avoid embarrassment, often referred to as civility or tact Agents of Socialization: provide structured situations in which socialisation takes place. The family, schools , peers, and the media 1) Family: the original group which we belong -it is where early emotional and social bonds are created, where language is learned, and where we first began to internalize the norms and values of our society. -most of our primary socialization which teaches us to become mature, responsible members of society, takes place within the family -family has such a powerful impact on us partly because as young children we have limited outside contact (until we start school) - the family is also in the world= where a dam is located, both geographically and socially will affect family members -importance: gender roles: we see what moms and dads, sisters and brothers are expected to do 2) Schools -education advocated believed that schooling played a critical role in maintaining a democracy -when kids start attending school- it may be their first significant experience away from home -school helps them become less dependent on the family, providing a bridge to other social groups, -learn hidden curriculum- a set of behavioral traits such as punctuality, neatness, discipline hard work, competition and obedience 3) Peers -as children get older, peers often become more important than parents as agents of socialization -it is peers who have the most intense and immediate effect on each other -membership in a peer group provides young people with a away of exercising independence from, and possibly reacting against adult control -peer groups can also be source of painful self doubt- ridicule or rejection 4) the media -its a recent phenomenon -many sociologists question whether the media may have even usurped some of the function of the family in teaching basic norms and values and giving advice on common problems -caused eating disorders -hodge and tripp argued that watching tv actually helps kids learn to distinguish between reality and fantasy a important development - the media has great potential to inform and educate Adult Socialization: -we are constantly learning and adjusting to new conditions over the life course and thereby participating in secondary socialization -often requires the replacement of previously learned norms and values w different ones, what is known as resocialization Total institutions- residents are severed from their previous relations w society, and their former identities are systematically stripped away and reformed Status-- is a position in a social hierarchy that comes w a set of expectations Ascribed status- is one we are born with that is unlikely to change (such as gender or race) Achieved statusEmbodied status- is located in our physical selves (such as beauty or disability) Master status- a status that seems to override all others in our identities, often shaping a person's entire life Role: set of responsibilites and expected behaviors of someone who holds a status Role conflict- a situation in which 2 or more roles have contradictory expectations Role strain- which occurs when there are contradictory expectations within one single role a person plays Role exit- when a person leaves behind a role he once occupied -statuses and roles help shape our identities by providing guidelines for own behavior and by providing the patterns that others use to interact with us. They are part of our construction of our social selves 1) Doubting your ability to continue in a certain role 2) Tipping point 3) Past role continue to influence because the exrole shaped self image 4) Have to rebuild realtionships -role conflicts can be very emotional events -role taking emotions- such as sympathy embarrassment and shame require that we able to see things from someones else point of view Feeling rules- are socially constructed norms regarding the appropriate feelings and displays of emotions Co Presence: when individuals are in ones another's face to face physical company -the role of tech in interaction is one of the primary features of postmodern life -saturated self- to refer to this phenomenon and claims that the postmodern individual tends is that the self is being constructed in new ways that were unforeseen by early symbolic interactionists, who could not have imagined that interaction would one day include so many possible influences from both real world and the world of virtual reality