The Self and Interaction

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Chapter 5

• The Self and Interaction

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Overview

• Human Nature and the Self
• What is Human Nature?
• Video presentation
• The Development of the Self
• Freud, Cooley, Mead and Goffman
• The Process of Socialization
• Agents of Socialization
• Adult Socialization
• New Interactional Contexts
• Video Presentation

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What is Human Nature?

• Is human nature instinctual or learned?
• Society makes us human
• How do humans become members of society?

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The Nature Vs. Nurture Debate

• NATURE
• Explains human behavior traits as related to
  biology
• genetics
• heredity
• instincts

• NURTURE
• Explains human behavior traits as related to
  culture
• learning
• social interaction
• socialization

Nature provides a basic genetic blueprint, but
We can overcome limitations We can fail
to live up to our potential
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Case Studies in Social Isolation

• The Garden of Eden
• Frederick II in the 13th Century
• Experiments on primates
• Children raised in social isolation
• Feral children, orphanages

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Extreme Isolation by Kingsley DavisStudy of
children raised in social isolation The case of
Isabelle

• Illegitimate child (1930s)
• Mother was deaf-mute
• Secluded in dark room
• Behaved like a wild animal
• Spoke only in croaking sounds
• 6½ years old

• Found by social workers
• Tested at 2½ age level
• Made rapid progress through developmental stages
• Reached normal level by 8 years old
• Deficiencies can be reversed if caught early
  enough

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Video Presentation

• Wild Child
• The Story of Feral Children

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF

• What is the self?
• The experience of the self is central to being
  human
• A conscious experience of a distinct, real,
  personal identity different and separate from
  others
• Where does a sense of self come from?

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Theories on the Development of the
SelfPSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH

• Sigmund Freud

• (1856-1939)

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PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH

• The mind consists of 3 interrelated systems
• Id
• Basic inborn drives that are the source of
  instinctive psychic energy
• Ego
• Operates on reason and mediates the demands of
  the id and superego
• Superego
• Represents the internalized demands of society
• Conscience keeps us from socially undesirable
  behavior
• Ego-ideal upholds vision of ideal self
• Psychosexual stages of development
• Transitions or fixations

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Theories on the Development of the SelfTHE
LOOKING-GLASS SELF

• Charles Cooley
• Each to each a looking-glass,
• Reflects the other that doth pass

• (1864-1929)

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3-PART PROCESS

• 1. We imagine how we appear to others
• 2. We interpret others reactions
• 3. We develop a self-concept

There is no sense of self without a
corresponding other
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Theories on the Development of the Self MIND,
SELF and SOCIETYGeorge Herbert Mead

• 3-Part Process
• 1. Imitation
• Young children mimic
• 2. Play
• Children play at or pretend
• they take the role of the significant other
• 3. Games

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Older children play organized games

• Understanding the rules that apply to all
• Taking the perspective of the generalized other
• The expectations of a network of others shape
  your own behavior

• We develop a sense of self by seeing how others
  see us

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The Social Construction of Reality

• The Thomas Theorem
• If people define situations as real, they are
  real in their consequences
• Society and life experiences define what is real
• Our behavior does not depend on objective
  reality, but on our subjective experience of it

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The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by
Erving Goffman

• DRAMATURGY
• An off-shoot of Symbolic Interactionism

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All the world's a stageAnd all the men and
women merely playersThey have their exits and
their entrancesAnd one man in his time plays
many parts William Shakespeare

• Strike a poseMadonna

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DRAMATURGY

• Roles
• Performances
• Audiences
• Personal Front
• Appearance, manner, costumes, props
• Region
• Scenery and Settings

• Metaphor of the theater
• Life as a dramatic production
• Similarities between the stage and real life

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• How performances are constructed
• Back stage
• Where performance is rehearsed
• Front stage
• Where performance takes place
• Impression Management
• An attempt to control the impressions we make on
  others
• Presenting ourselves in the most favorable light

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• Why do we use self-presentation techniques?
• to conform to social norms
• to achieve personal goals
• to gain acceptance
• Not all performances are successful
• Losing and saving face
• Cooling the mark out
• What about the self?
• Can there be any true or real self if we
  wear masks, if its all an act?

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SOCIALIZATION

• A two-fold process
• by which a society or group teaches its members
• by which members learn and internalize the
  values, beliefs and norms of their society or
  group

• Agents of Socialization
• Significant individuals, groups or institutions
  that provide structured situations in which
  socialization takes place
• People and groups that influence our
  self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behavior

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The 4 MajorAGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

• 1. The Family
• The most significant, lifelong influence
• 2. Schools
• The first outside influence, hidden curriculum
• 3. Peers
• The most immediate influence on lifestyle
• 4. The Media
• The most powerful, overarching influence

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ADULT SOCIALIZATION

• Re-Socialization
• Socialization that breaks from or is integrated
  with the past
• As part of life transition
• Workplaces, partnerships, communities,
  organizations

• Total Institutions
• Controls activities, strips members of previous
  identity to rebuild them
• Boarding schools, military, prisons, cults,
  monasteries

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• New interactional contexts
• The role of technology in postmodern life
• Interaction in cyberspace via digital media
• The saturated self
• Exposure to more sources and multiple points of
  view
• Borrowing bits and pieces of identity

• What is social interaction?
• What people think, feel and do in each others
  presence
• Face-to-face interaction
• Co-presence
• Imaginary interaction
• Para-social (virtual) interaction

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Video Presentation

• Growing Up Online

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SOCIALIZATION AND FREE WILL

• Are humans prisoners of socialization?
• Are we robots, products of conditioning,
  brain-washing?
• Humans can exercise agency
• The ability to act freely and independently
• We have a dynamic sense of self
• Actively interpreting and creating our social
  world
• Socialization is reciprocal
• We socialize others

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