Alden Zhang

Nature v. Nurture
1. The twin studies both nature and nurture are important in the development
and both have influence in ones development. Nature has an impact because
the idea on how genetic traits handed down from parents influence one's
personality. I agree with in a sense. One example I see from this is actually
from my own life. My mom and dad are separated and I live with my mom. I
barely see my dad but when I act a certain way my mom would tell me “you’re
sometimes just life your father. Another example I can think of was back in
my environmental science where we discussed how the grandchildren of
people who survived the harsh cold and famine had a longer life expectancy
then those who did not. As for nurture the book explains how even though
baby talk is near universal it still varies from culture to culture. It explains how
english speakers have 10 vowels while japanese speakers have 5 and while
babies listen to this it the building block for language and it opens some
linguistic pathways while others are closed off.
2. The self as defined in the book is “our sense of who we are, distinct from
others and shaped by the unique combination of our social interaction. One
example one of my professors explained the self is think of 2 identical child
separated at birth, both raised differently. Yes both might be identical twins
but the “self” of each is different because of how they grew up and the
different social interactions they faced. The looking glass in short means we
become who are are based on how we think others think of us. The looking
glass has 3 phases. The first phase is how we believe others see us from
friends and relatives to complete strangers. The next phase is we imagine
how others evaluate what we think they see. The last phase is where we take
all the information from both phase 1 and phase 2 and compile it together to
define our “self”. Mead defines the I as in our acting self. The part of us that
walks, read, sing etc. while the “me” is our socialized self where it plans our
actions based on past experience. When Mead talks about Significant others
he refers to the people in our lives who are the most important in the
development of our self. So mom and day would be considered a significant
other but a stranger you just met randomly on the street would not. These
significant others are related to the self because they have an important
influence or development of the self. Mends 3 stage process of self-
development are the preparatory stage, play stage, and game stage. The
preparatory stage last until age 3 where children just copy the people around
them and as they grow older they begin to realize the meaning of their actions
and how symbols are used to communicate. The play stage last from ages 3-
5 kids pretend to be other people. Mead refers to this as role taking where
 kids take a viewpoint of that character they pretend to be and respond from
that viewpoint. The game stage last from 6-9 years where they learn to
appreciate that he or she is involved in interconnected and interdependent
relationships. The books gives an example about kids playing soccer and
how as a kid everyone just runs for the ball but if different people play
different positions then they would be more successful as a team. This kind of
sounds like a functionalist society.
3. The dramaturgical approach “is a view on social interaction in where people
are seen as actors on stage trying to put on a successful performance.” The
front stage is where people put on the show and follow script with only some
improvisation is allowed or it may damage the credibility of the character.
Backstage is where people prepare to get on stage. I think of the back stange
as me waking up from bed getting ready for school while the front stage is
how I act at school. We would use face-work to avoid public embarrassment.
4. Agents of socialization are the various contents within individuals and groups
shape our identity. These can include family, friends, school, media, work and
much more. Schools role in a sense of gender role socialization is they teach
the norms and value of society in which they belong. Some of the commons
ones I can think of is like football is a all guy sport while cheerleading is girls
only, stuff like that. The point of agents of socialization is it changes how we
think and act and technology exposes us to new culture beliefs and practice
and maybe help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves but also
change us faster.
5. A total institution is a place that regulates all aspects of a person life under a
single authority. Some examples can be the military, prisons, extreme cults,
etc. The 4 traits to an total institution is 1) all aspects of life are conducted at
the same place under 1 authority, 2) all activity are conducted in the company
of others in the same circumstance, 3) the higher power (authority) makes
rules and schedules without input from the participants. 4) everything they do
in the institution are designed to fulfill the purpose of the organizations. A
degradation ceremony is used to basically strips one's sense of self. Best
example is prison. Everyone wears the same uniform, there is no place for
self expression and everyone looks the same. In extreme case examples
names are stripped and replaced with numbers. The point of a degradation
ceremony is get rid of a self.
6. How we deal with the elderly depends on cultures. One culture make seem
them as burdens while others see them otherwise. Disengagement theory
suggests that the society and the aging mutually cut many of their
relationships while activity theory suggests that those elderly who remain
active and involved with society has a better quality of life. One solution to
ageism is communication and having them feel important and still involved in
society.