SYG 2000: Lecture 7. Chapter 3: Socialization: Self

I. What is human nature?:  how much comes from “nature” (heredity) v “nurture”

  A. feral (wild) children:  abandoned/lost by parents at very early age/raised by animals

    1.wild boy of Aveyron:found forests France 1798,walked on all 4s/pounced small anim

    2.most scientists today:dismiss,say can’t be raised by animals but by parents, then aban

  B. Case of Isabelle (1938): discover age 6˝ isol dark room w/ deaf-mute mom

    1. no speak: strange croaking sound; behavior toward men that of wild animal

    2. 2 yrs later: reached intellectual level normal for age—was bright, energetic

  C. conclusion: without language, there could be no culture, no shared way of life

  D. monozygotic twins: one egg divides to produce 2 embryos; Oskar Stohr/Jack Yufe

    1. Oskar: raised in Czechoslovakia by mom’s mom strict Catholic; join Hitler youth

    2. Jack:reared Trinidad by dad: learned loyalty to Jews;hated Hitler, served Israel army

    3. both: excel sports,math hard;same rate speech;like sweet liqueur;flush toilet bef/after

  E. Institutionalized children (in orphanages): hard estab close bonds, have lower IQs

    1. no stim: no objects hung in front; no interaction in orphanage

    2. Keels and Dye (1939) experiment: not common sense born-that-way:

      a. control group: stay in orphanage, 2 ˝ yrs later, IQ drop 28 points

      b. experimental group: place in wa rd mentally retarded women, get individual care

      c. result: IQ increase 28 point in 2 ˝ years; 11 of 12 married v only 1 in control group

  F. Deprived Animals:  Harry/Margaret Harlow (1962) experiments rhesus monkeys:

    1.  monkeys raised in isolation: later not know how participate in “monkey interaction”

      a. effects: other monkeys reject them; didn’t know how to have sex, despite attempts

      b. when artificial impregnation: stuck their babies, kicked them, crushed against door

      c. conclusion: critical learning stage, if missed, it may be impossible to compensate

II. Socialization into Self and Mind: self: the view we internalize of how others see us

A.     Looking Glass Self: each to each a looking glass, reflects the other that doth pass

   1. Charles Horton Cooley: we develop self thru internalizing other’s reactions to us

   2. 3 elements: 1 image how we appear to those @ us 2 interpret other’s reactions

      a. 3 develop self concept; + reflection in this social mirror lead to + self-concept

      b. not depend on accurate evaluations: misjudgments become part of self-concept

  B. George Herbert Mead: taught at U of Chicago, taught play crucial to develop of self

   1. Take the role of the other: put themselves in someone else’s shoes

      a. to anticipate how that person will act: also, to know how that person feels

      b. John Flavel (1968): age 14, not 8 explain board game dif to non-blind/blindfolded

         i. conclusion: age 8 not able to take role of other, while older children could

      c. significant others: 1st take only role of individuals who sig. influence their lives

      d. generalized other: later take role of group as whole/perceive people in gen think

      e. 3 stages: to learning to take the role of the other:

        i. imitation:<3 yrs can only mimic/no sense self separate from others/no role taking

        ii. play: age 3-6: pretend to take roles of specific people; dress parent’s clothes etc.

        iii. games:organized play/teams require take multiple roles to anticipate eg baseball

    2. 2 parts to self: I is self as subject/active, creative, spontaneous; me is self as object

      i. me: attitudes we internalize from reactions of others;I evaluates reactions of others

    3. big claim: not only self but mind is social product; no think w/o symbols from soc