LESSON 2: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF
SOCIOLOGY
 Sociology- aims to discover the
ways by which social
surrounding influences
people’s thoughts, feelings,
and behavior.
 The focus of sociology is
understanding human societies
 realize how social world
impacts on their existence
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
 born in Massachusetts, USA
 graduated and taught grade
school at the Oberlin College
 enrolled at Harvard University in
1887 where philosophy and
psychology were his main
interest
 wrote many articles and book
reviews but did not publish any
books
 his students were the one who
put together his writings for
publication
 died of heart failure
MEAD’S SOCIAL SELF
 Mead used social behaviorism
to describe the power of the
environment in shaping human
behavior.
 Self is a dimension of
personality that is made-up of
the individual’s self-awareness
and self-image
 Self cannot be separated from
society.
 A concept he explained
through a set of stages which
the person undergoes in the
course of his development
 STAGE 1: THE PREPERATORY
STAGE
 Self did not exist at birth;
it develops over time.
 The self’s development is
dependent on social
interaction and social
experience.
 Children’s behavior is
based on imitation.
 As the child grow, they
become familiar with
symbols that people use
in their interactions.
 Symbols are the bases of
communication
 STAGE 2: THE PLAY STAGE
 Knowing and
understanding the
symbols constitutes the
basis of socialization.
 Social relationships are
formed through
communication.
 Children begin to role
play.
 According to Mead role-
taking is the process of
mentally assuming the
perspective of another
person to see how this
person might respond in
a situation.
 At this stage the child
realizes that he is not
 alone and that there are
other people whose
presence he must
consider.
 STAGE 3: THE GAME STAGE
 The child is about 8-9
years old.
 The child begins to see
not only his own
perspective but the
perspective of others
around him, because of
the 2nd stage.
 In this final stage, child
has the ability to respond
not just to one but
several members of his
social environment
 ‘Generalized other’ - used by
Mead to explain the behavior
of the person when he sees/
considers other people during
his actions.
 The generalized other can
make a person realize that
people in society have cultural
norms, beliefs and values
which are incorporated into
each self.
MEAD’S THEORY OF SELF
 self is not present at birth but
begins as a central character
in child’s a world
 children have difficulty
understanding others
 as children grow and mature,
they begin to see others and
be concerned with their
reactions
 significant others (family)
strongly influence his
development
THE ‘I’ AND ‘ME’
 Two Parts of the Self:
 I self - When the person
initiates or performs a
social action, the self
functions as a subject.
The subjective element
of the self is the I.
 Example: I will go
on a date.
 I will cook dinner
 Me self - When the
person takes the role of
the other, the self
functions as an object.
The objective element of
the self is the Me.
 Example: The
choice for the best
drawing was
awarded to me.
 Students around
school voted for
me.
  The formation of the self is not
at the end of the process of
socialization. Socialization
continues for as long as the
person is alive.
 The self may change based on
life circumstances that have
strong impact on it
 Though a person may have no
control over such events, he
has control over how he reacts
and deals with it which is still an
important aspect of the self.
OTHER SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES
TO UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
 Charles Hoorton Cooley
 an American sociologist
who used
sociopsychological
approach in
understanding how
societies work.
 taught and obtained a
doctorate degree in
University of Michigan
 ‘Human Nature and the
Social Order’
 formation of self through
interaction
 self is influenced by
perception and
impression of others
 3 Phases of Developing a
Self:
1) People imagine
how they present
themselves to
others.
2) People imagine
how others
evaluate them
3) People develop
some sort of
feeling about
themselves as a
result of those
impressions
 Erving Goffman (1922-1982)
 Canadian American
sociologist
 Modern American
sociology
 Popular work: The
presentation of self in
everyday life.
 “We play different parts
determined by the
situations we take
ourselves to be in.”
 In his view: there is no
true self. No identifiable
performance behind the
roles. And the roles is just
are the performance.
 Front stage self- this is the
version of us that we
believe that we’ll be
favorable to others.
 Impression
Management- we
engage the behaviors
that the world want to
see which are often
favorable.
 Back stage self- the
version of us that we
often show to the people
we’re not familiar with.