Sociological Self PDF

SOCIOLOGICAL SELF SOCIOLOGY - Interested in the patterns of behavior and attitudes that emerge throughout the life course, from infancy to old age - Patterns – part of a lifelong process of socialization - Socialization – people learn what is appropriate for members of a particular cultu...

SOCIOLOGICAL SELF SOCIOLOGY - Interested in the patterns of behavior and attitudes that emerge throughout the life course, from infancy to old age - Patterns – part of a lifelong process of socialization - Socialization – people learn what is appropriate for members of a particular culture VIEWPOINTS MICROSOCIOLOGICAL - socialization helps us to discover how to behave properly and what to expect from others if we follow (or challenge) society’s norms and values MACROSOCIOLOGICAL - Transmission of a culture from one generation to the next, and thereby for the long-term continuance of a society ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION impact of isolation (wild children) Primate studies (Harry Harlow and rhesus monkeys study in 1971) Influence of heredity (twin studies)  SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES SOCIOLOGICAL FOCUS PARADIGM Structural Functionalism How each part of the society functions together to contribute to the whole Conflict Theory How inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetuate differences in power Symbolic interactionism One-to-one interactions and communications  WE are not only genetically humans. To be truly human, we should be raised in a humane environment. EMILE DURKHEIM “To love society is to love something beyond us and something in ourselves.” (Emile Durkheim) EMILE DURKHEIM Before we were born, there are already societal influences on us that shape our life and personalities. While alive, the societal influences continue to have an impact on us, and even beyond our lifetime. Durkheim has worked on a lot of theories to emphasize this. Some of his works include how people get to live together peaceably and in organized manner (Division of Labor), how culture, roles and norms bind people together in synchronized behaviors, feelings and thoughts (Social Integration), how the rights and dignity of the individual are based on the principles of equality and Justice (Moral Individualism). Such theories shall anchor the structuralist and functionalist perspective in answering the question “Who am I” in the social context. EMILE DURKHEIM Durkheim proposed that the task of sociology is to analyze social facts. Social Facts – conditions and circumstances external to the individual that, nevertheless, determine the individual’s course of action. Durkheim argued that social facts can be ascertained by using collective data such as marriage and divorces rates. This means that through systematic collection of data, the patterns behind and within an individual behavior can be uncovered. Even if you do things because of norms or conformity, such reality is still objective. We did not create these realities (duties and responsibilities of a child or citizen); we merely inherited them through our education (formal and informal). That, or rather, these realities, are social facts. EMILE DURKHEIM Social Integration is the degree to which an individual is connected to the society. Social Integration results from a collective consciousness or a shared way of understanding and behaving in the world in terms of norms, beliefs, and values. Those who have weak social connections are more prone to self- destructive behaviors, or deviancy, because they are unable to balance their desires with what is considered appropriate by the society. People who are able to form strong social ties have a deeper sense of belonging, form more cohesive groups and are able to reduce conflicts. It is synonymous with Social Solidarity. Social solidarity described the social ties that bind a group of people together such as kinship, shared location, or religion. EMILE DURKHEIM Moral Individualism – the doctrine that rationality leaves room for the individualities of personalities of subjects to express themselves in the moral realm in an autonomous choice between idealism and fulfilment-maximization. It involves a morality of cooperation and a profound respect for humanity. It is not the glorification of the self, “but of the individual in general” (Durkheim, 1898). EMILE DURKHEIM Moral Individualism and the experience of the SACRED Moral individualism, “is a religion in which man is at once the worshiper and the god” (Durkheim 1973:46). The “sacred” dimension of the modern individual finds its expression in the unique respect granted to him and in the protection of his rights. But there is no such thing as inherent rights and liberties. Modern society has “consecrated,” him, granted him rights, and made him “worthy of respect” (1953b:72, 1953a:58). Each individual embodies the universal values of humanity, each individual consciousness carries “something divine” and it is “marked with a character which renders it sacred and inviolable to others” (1973:52). Durkheim is optimistic that moral individualism will become the “moral catechism” and the source of a new morality. He claims that the “cult of the individual” has become one of the most distinctive characteristic of modernity, and that it is replacing all other religions. EMILE DURKHEIM Moral individualism involves a morality of cooperation and a profound respect for humanity. It is not the “glorification” of the self, “but of the individual in general” (Durkheim 1973:44, 48). At its “most abstract level,” scholars have noted, it refers to humanity in general rather than to individuals of any particular nation-state (Giddens 1986:21). It stresses “freedom and dignity, not happiness, as highest social ends” (Terrier 2006:294). EMILE DURKHEIM The foregoing, illustrates how such concepts as simple as norms, roles and culture in the society in which one belongs determines to a great and profound extent to which the self is embedded in the society – that the self is not just a construct accorded with an identity all its own. To be, the self, has to be defined also in its social dimension. Think for example how such concepts profoundly affect gender norms, family dynamics, religion and politics and our day-to-day interactions. Even the field of psychology acknowledges that in solitude or amongst others, an individual’s thoughts, behaviors, perceptions and emotions are affected by his imagined or real influence coming from other people. LOOKING-GLASS SELF View of the self comes not only from direct contemplation of our personal qualities but also from our impressions of how others perceive us THE SELF IN SOCIOLOGY Meet the sociologists! Click the image. Charles Horton George Herbert Cooley (1900s) Mead (1934) Looking glass self Stages of the Self Click the last bullets to proceed to the details. THE PROCESS We imagine how we present ourselves to others 1 We imagine how others evaluate us 2 Finally develop some sort of feeling about ourselves such as respect or shame as a 3 result of these impressions What if we imagine wrongly? What if there are varied and contradictory mirror reflections?  THE CAVEAT? incorrect perceptions yet self-identities are also subject to change  Ahhh! Si Luisa yung matalino! Matalino si Luisa! True! Matalino si Luisa! Teacher Classmate Classmate Luisa (performs well in class) THE LABELING BIAS SELF-LABELING Positive Reclaiming Claiming negative Internalized labels more positively Prejudice to feel better about one’s self turn prejudice from others to one’s self Click the green or tan boxes to show the description. STAGES OF THE SELF GAME STAGE (8-9 years old) PLAY STAGE (4-7 years old) PREPARATORY STAGE (1-3 years old) PREPARATORY STAGE Merely imitate Then become adept at using symbols Symbols vary from culture to culture  PLAY STAGE Pretend to be other people Role-playing Role taking – mentally assuming the perspective of another and responding from that imagined viewpoint GAME STAGE AT ABOUT AGE 8 OR 9 Grasp not only their own social position but also those of around them Can now respond to numerous members of the social environment Did you ever insist on what you want without taking the perspective of others? What does it mean to develop a consideration of the generalized other? Who are the significant others who have helped shape your perspectives? Click after reflecting on each of the questions.