George Herbert Mead Flashcards
Week Five
involves putting oneself in the position of another person
and seeing the world from their perspective.
role-taking: Mead
the part of the self that internalizes societal norms, values, and
expectations
“Me”
Mead
Represents the spontaneous and creative aspect of the self.
“I”
Mead
the collective set of societal norms, values, and
expectations that individuals internalize.
the generalized other: Mead
Human intelligence is defined by its
capacity for reflective thought.
Mind
1. Mind as Reflective Intelligence
Mead
Humans use symbols to identify and
isolate aspects of situations, making it
possible to communicate and reflect
on complex ideas
Mind
2. Symbolization and Meaning
Mead
Language is the medium through which humans convey and interpret
symbols, which structures thought processes.
Mind
3. Language as the Basis of Thought
Mead
Understanding others requires taking the attitude of others and becoming
aware of the possible meanings that others attribute to objects, gestures, or
events.
Mind
4. Meaning-making is a Social Process
Mead
-The “—-” arises as individuals take on the attitudes and perspectives of others in society.
– The —- is both subject (the one who acts or “I”) and object (the one who is acted upon or “me”).
The “self”
1. The Self as a Social Construct
-Play stage: children imitate roles without fully
understanding the organized roles of society.
– Game stage: children take on multiple roles
simultaneously while understanding their position
within a larger, organized system.
– Generalized other: represents the attitudes and
perspectives of the wider social group.
The self
2. Play and Game Stages in the Development of the
Self.
children imitate roles without fully
understanding the organized roles of society.
Play stage
children take on multiple roles
simultaneously while understanding their position
within a larger, organized system.
Game stage
represents the attitudes and
perspectives of the wider social group.
Generalized other
– Mead’s most famous contribution is the development of symbolic
interactionism.
– Proposed that the “self” develops through a process of socialization
and interaction with others.
– He identified stages of child development related to the development
of self.
– Disagreed with behaviorism and saw behavior as an interplay
between the “I” and “Me.”
Key Arguments of Mead
– Watson (a prominent behaviorist), believed that human
behavior could be explained and predicted based on the
association of external stimuli with behavioral responses
– “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my
own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee
to take any one at random and train him to become any
type of specialist I might select. (Watson 1924/1966:104)”
– Mead rejected this view of individual action and emphasized
interplay self-control and social control
Behaviorism
– Method for studying the relationship between the meanings of
objects and behavior
– Meanings are context-dependent—there is no independent reality
separable from the perceiving subject
– Suggested that humans possess a unique capacity for “reflexivity”
Pragmatism
