Sociological Theories of Human Development

Question 1

what do these theories focus on?

Answer 1

-understanding how people develop an awareness of self, and learn about the culture in which they live, through intense social contact with others

Question 2

a sense of self:

Answer 2

-is not present at birth, it represents our perception that we are unique or distinct from others

Question 3

self-concept (2)

Answer 3

-is the totality of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves
-there are four components of the self:
>physical (height)
>active (good at soccer)
>social (nice the others)
>psychological (beliefs)

Question 4

self-identity (2)

Answer 4

• the perception about what kind of person we are

- identity is socially constructed, in that we do not know who we are until we see ourselves as we believe others see us

Question 5

charles horton cooley (5)

Answer 5

• symbolic interactionist
• “looking glass self”:refers to the way in which a person since of self is the right from the perceptions of others
  1) we imagine how our personality and appearance appear to others
  2) we look how other people judge our personality and appearance
  3) we develop a self-concept
• evaluation by others is favorable self-concept is enhanced
• evaluation by others is unfavourable self-concept is diminished
• ones sense of self is always developing as we interact with others

Question 6

george herbert mead (5)

Answer 6

• symbolic interactionist
• linked self-concept to role-taking
• newborns do not realize they are unique individuals. shortly after birth they notice faces of significant others (people whose care, affection, and approval or desired and are most important in the development of self)
• infants come to see themselves as separate from caregivers, and start to develop a self-concept
• divided self into me and I

Question 7

role-taking

Answer 7

-process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person in order to understand the world from that person’s point of view

Question 8

I vs me (6)

Answer 8

• “I”= represents the unique traits of a person
• “Me”= represents the attitudes and demands of other people, and an awareness of those demands
• the “I” develops first and the “me” develops during three stages of development:
  1) preparatory stage (0 to 3) interactions lack meaning, children imitate others
  2) play stage (3 to 5) children learn how to use language, pretend to take rolls of specific people and see themselves in relation to others
  3) game stage (5) children understand their social position and others around them, learn about expectations of society

Question 9

mead pt 2 (4)

Answer 9

• “generalized other” refers to the child’s awareness of the demands and expectations of society and the child’s subculture
• socialization is a 2-way process between society and the individual
• society determines what kind of individuals we become and we have the ability to shape our social environment and the larger society
• socialization is the collective process in which children are active in creative agents but just passive recipients

Question 10

william corsaro (3)

Answer 10

• suggested the children’s cultural knowledge reflects the police believes of the adult world and aspects of the child’s world “peer culture”
• “peer culture” is a set of activities or routines, artifacts, values, and concerns that children produce and shared
• the peer group is the most significant public realm