Module 2: Sociology Perspective PDF

Lesson 2: From the Perspective of Sociology  Sociology is one of the disciplines in the social sciences which aims to discover the ways by which the social surrounding /environment influences people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. Though the main focus is in understanding human societies, the ne...

Lesson 2: From the Perspective of Sociology  Sociology is one of the disciplines in the social sciences which aims to discover the ways by which the social surrounding /environment influences people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. Though the main focus is in understanding human societies, the need to know and be aware of social process may make people see themselves better when they realize how the social world impacts on their existence. 2 Social Self Social Behaviorism describe the power of the environment in shaping human behavior. At the center of his theorizing is the concept of the SELF. The self as a “dimension of personality that is made-up of the individual’s self-awareness and self-image” George Herbert Mead Self cannot be separated from the society Born February 1863 in Massachusetts, USA Stages of Self-Development 1. The Preparatory Stage 2. The Play Stage 3. The Game Stage 3 Stages of Self-Development 1. The Preparatory Stage - Mead believed that a self did not exist at birth, instead, the self develops over time. Its development is dependent on social interaction and social experience. Children’s behavior are primarily based on imitation. As they grow they become familiar with symbols (verbal & non-verbal) that people use in their interactions 2. The Play Stage – skills at knowing and understanding the symbols of communication is important for this constitutes the basis for socialization. 4 Stages of Self-Development 2. Children begin to role play and pretend to be other people. Role-taking in the play stage is the process of mentally assuming the perspective of another person to see how this person might behave or respond in a given situation. This stage is significant in the development of the self and the child widens his perspective and realizes that he is not alone and that there are others around him whose presence he has to consider 5 Stages of Self-Development 3. The Game Stage – the child is about eight or nine years of age and now does more than just role-take. The child begins to consider several tasks and various types of relationships simultaneously. The learnings that were gained in stage 2, the child now begins to see not only his own perspective but at the same time the perspective of others around him. The term “generalized other” is the behavior of the person when he sees/considers other people in the course of his actions 6 Stages of Self-Development 3. Through generalized other, the person realizes that people in society have cultural norms, beliefs and values which are incorporated into each self. This realization forms the basis of how the person may evaluate himself (self-evaluation). Stage Existence of Self Characteristics Preparatory Stage None Imitates another Play Stage Developing Role-taking Game Stage Present Generalized other 7 Mead’s Theory of the Self Based on the stages mentioned, Mead presented his Theory of the Self. Children see themselves as the center of their “universe” and is having difficulty understanding others around them. As these children grow and mature, there is a change in the self. People around him, particularly his family, play a major role in the formation of the self. They are the significant others who strongly influence his development 8 The “I” and “Me” George Mead explained that the person’s capacity to see the self through others implies that the self is composed of two parts the I self and the Me self: I self – when the person Me self – when the person initiates or performs a takes the role of the other, social action, the self the self functions as the function as a subject. object. This subjective element of This objective element of the self is the I the self is the Me Formation of the self is not the end of the process of socialization. Socialization continues for as long as the person is alive. The self may change based on life circumstances that have strong impact on it. Life events may reshape the self, though a person may have no control over life events, he has the control over how reacts and deals with it 9 Other Sociological Approaches to Understand the Self Charles Horton Cooley American sociologist; earned doctorate at University of Michigan and taught as sociology professor. He use the sociopsychological approach in understanding how societies work. In his written work, Human Nature and the Social Order he discussed the formation of the self through interaction 10 Charles Horton Cooley Cooley stated that people learn who they are through their social interaction with other people. Although seeing oneself is based on contemplating one’s personal qualities, the view of the self is also significantly influenced by the impression and perception of others. Cooley called this is looking glass self or the self that is a product of social interaction. 11 Charles Horton Cooley Three Phases in the Process of developing the self 1. People imagine how they present themselves to others 2. People imagine how others evaluate them 3. People develop some sort fo feeling about themselves as a result of those impressions The use of the word imagine, may mean that there is a possibility that people develop self-identities based on the wrong perception of how others see them. Wrong perceptions, however, can still change based on positive social experience 12 “ Charles Horton Cooley 13 Other Sociological Approaches to Understand the Self Erving Goffman Canadian-American sociologist; known for his role in the development of Modern American Sociology One of his popular work, The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life Goffman observed that people early in their social interactions learned to slant their presentation of themselves in order to create preferred appearances and satisfy particular people. 14 Erving Goffman He referred to this process of altering how the person presents himself to others as impression management. In his observation of people in everyday interactions, he sees similarities of real social interactions to a theatrical presentation. This is the reason for the label dramaturgical approach to his view. He also used the phrase “face-work” to describe another aspect of the self. This was usually observed in situations where face- saving are resorted to in the maintenance of a proper image of the self. 15 “ 16 The discussions and observations of the sociologist in this discussions represented a progression on how the self has developed through the process of socialization to how the person manages self-presentation in order for him to be accepted by others 17 Mannellie Liwayway T. Herrera Instructor 18