 Sociology is one of the disciplines in something existing prior to and

the social sciences which aims to bringing about behavior. But he is

discover the ways by which the social just as much opposed to
surrounding/environment influences Behaviorism which deals exclusively
people's thoughts, feelings and with bodily processes. Social
behavior. Psychology for Mead studies inner
 Though the main focus is in experience or activity which arises
understanding human societies, the within a social process. The paradigm is
need to know and be aware of social language, which consists both of
processes may make people see meaning or intelligence and
themselves better when they realize intercommunicative (social behavior).
how the social world impacts on their  For Mead, the mind is well
existence. characterized by the process of
 In this part, the thoughts and meaning, knowing, significance, and
observations of some sociologists will reflection.
be discussed for the learners to further
comprehend the significant role other MEAD'S SOCIAL SELF
people play in the development of the •Social Behaviorism is the approach
self. George Mead used to describe the
power of the environment in shaping
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD human behavior.
 George Mead was born February 1863 •At the center of his theorizing is the
in Massachusetts, USA. He graduated concept of the self. He described the
and taught grade school at the Oberlin self as a 'dimension of personality
College. In 1887, he enrolled at Harvard that is made-up of the individual's
University where his main interests self-awareness and self-image'
were philosophy and psychology. (Macionis, 2012).
 During the span of his career, he wrote •According to Mead, the self cannot be
and published many articles and separated from the society. This, he
book reviews but did not publish any explained through a set of stages which
book. It was his students who put the person undergoes in the course of
together his numerous writings and his development:
edited them for publication.
 Mead died of heart failure in 1931 1.The Preparatory Stage. Mead
believed that a self-did not exist at birth.
 Meads analyzed through behavior Instead, the self develops over time. Its
and interacting of an individual’s self development is dependent on social
with reality. Mead rejects the view interaction and social experience.
that psychology deals with
consciousness in the sense of
 At this stage, children's behavior 3. The Game Stage. Mead gave a
is primarily based on imitation. It was specific age for this stage. Here the
observed that children imitate the child is about eight or nine years of age
behaviors of those around them. As and now does more than just role-take.
these children grow, they become •In one instance/situation, the child
familiar with the symbols (verbal and begins to consider several tasks and
non-verbal) that people use in their various types of relationships
interactions. simultaneously. Through the learning
that were gained in stage two, the child
The symbols are the bases of now begins to see not only his own
communication. At the first stage, perspective but at the same time the
(Schaefer, 2012) knowing and perspective of others around him.
understanding the symbols are
important for this will constitute their way •In this final stage of self-development,
of communicating with others the child now has the ability to respond
throughout their lives not just to one but several members of
his social environment.
2. The Play Stage. At this stage, skills
at knowing and understanding the •The term 'generalized other' was what
symbols of communication is important Mead used to explain the behavior of
for this constitutes the basis for the person when he sees/considers
socialization. other people in the course of his actions.
•Through communication, social Through the generalized other, the
relationships are formed. Now children person realizes that people in society
begin to role play and pretend to be have cultural norms, beliefs and values
other people. Role-taking in the play which are incorporated into each self.
stage according to Mead is the process This realization forms the basis of how
of mentally assuming the perspective of the person may evaluate himself (self-
another person to see how this person evaluation).
might behave or respond in a given
situation (Schaefer, 2012). STAGES OF SELF FORMATION
(GEORGE MEAD)
The play stage is significant in the Preparatory Stage
development of the self. It is at this None
stage where the child widens his Imitates another
perspective and realizes that he is
not alone and that there are others Play Stage
around him whose presence he has Developing
to consider. Role-taking

Game Stage
 Present
Generalized Other Examples: 1. The choice for the best
drawing was awarded to me. 2.
MEAD'S THEORY OF THE SELF Students around school voted for me
 Based on the stages above, Mead
presented his Theory of the Self: The  It should be remembered that the
self is not present at birth but begins formation of the self is not the end of the
as a central character in a child's process of socialization.
world.  Socialization continues for as long as
 Children see themselves as the center the person is alive.
of their 'universe' and is having difficulty  The self may change based on life
understanding others around them. As circumstances that have strong impact
these children grow and mature, there is on it.
a change in the self. They begin to see  Events such as death of a loved one,
other people and is now concerned disease or disability may reshape the
about people's reactions. self.
 People around him, particularly his  Though a person may have no control
family, play a major role in the formation over such events, he has control over
of the self. They are the significant how he reacts and deals with it which is
others who strongly influence his still an important aspect of the self
development (Schaefer, 2012). (Macionis, 2012)

HE “I” AND “ME” George Mead THER SOCIOLOGICAL

explained that the person’s capacity to APPROACHES TO UNDERSTAND
see the self through others implies that THE SELF
the self is composed of two parts, the I
self and the Me self: CHARLES HORTON COOLEY
 He was an American sociologist who
I self - When the person initiates or made use of the sociopsychological
performs a social action, the self- approach to understanding how
functions as a subject. This subjective societies work.
element of the self is the I.  He earned his doctorate at the
University of Michigan and taught at the
Examples: 1. I will go on a date. 2. I will same university as a sociology
cook dinner tonight. professor until the end of his life. in his
written work, Human Nature and the
Me self -- When the person takes the Social Order (1902), he discussed the
role of the other, the self-functions as an formation of the self through interaction.
object. The objective element of the self  Cooley stated that people learn who
is the Me. they are through their social interaction
 with other people, although seeing
oneself is based on contemplating one's ERVING GOFFMAN
personal qualities, the view of the self is  He was a Canadian-American
also significantly influenced by the sociologist known for his role in the
impression and perception of others. development of Modern American
 Cooley called this the looking-glass Sociology.
self or the self that is a product of  Goffman was the 73rd president of the
social interaction. American Sociological Association.
 Cooley believed that the process of His best-known contribution to social
developing a self has three phases theory is his study of symbolic
(Schaefer, 2012): interaction. This took the form of
dramaturgical analysis, beginning
1.People imagine how they present with his 1956 book The Presentation
themselves to others. of Self in Everyday Life.
Example: 1. You dress-up  He referred to this process of altering
elegantly for the prom. how the person presents himself to
2. You greet your teachers politely in the others as impression management.
school's hallway.2. People imagine how  In this book, he wrote how he
others evaluate them. observed that people early in their
Example: 1. Others will see you social interactions learned to slant
as pretty and attractive by the way you their presentation of themselves in
yourself. order to create preferred
2. Others will see you as courteous appearances and satisfy particular
and well-bred. people.
3. People develop some sort of  In Goffman's observation of people in
feeling about themselves as a result everyday interactions, he sees
of those impressions. similarities of real social interaction
Example: You may see yourself to a theatrical presentation.
as confident or inferior.  This is the reason for the label
 It is noticed that Cooley in his three dramaturgical approach to his view. It
phases made use of the word imagine. was also Goffman, who used the phrase
This may mean that there is a possibility face-work to describe another aspect of
that people develop self-identities based the self.
on the wrong perception of how others  This was usually observed in situations
see them. Wrong perceptions, however, where face-saving measures are
can still change based on positive social resorted to in the maintenance of a
experiences. proper image of the self in frustrating or
embarrassing situations (Schaefer,
2012).
 In summary, the discussions and observations of the sociologists in this lesson
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.