SOCIOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVE
DEFINITIONS

• Socialization is the process by which individuals internalize

the values, beliefs, and norms of a given society and learn to
function as a member of that society.
• Unconscious process by which a newborn child learns the values,
beliefs, rules and regulations of society or internalizes the culture in
which it is born.
• Interaction within a society to follow a certain norms, personality, or
life-patterns.
FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIALIZATION

•Family
•Schools
•Peers/Groups
•Media
•Parenting Styles
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

•George Herbert Mead – the

development of the “Social Self”
•Charles Horton Cooley – the
development of the “Looking Glass Self
•Erving Goffman- “The Presentation of
the Self “
George Herbert Mead
• Argued that “the Social Self”
developed out of social
interactions with others. Social
interaction involves seeing
ourselves as others see us or
taking the role of the other
involves a constant interplay
between the “I” and the “Me”
George Herbert Mead
3 Components of the Social Self:
(1) The “I”- the subjective element of the self;
involves the direct experiences of the self;
develops without language
(2) The “Me”- the objective element of the
self; involves how we look at others and see
ourselves; develops with language
(3) The “Mind”- taking the roles of others;
the interplay between I and Me
George Herbert Mead
• Infants know only the “I”
• By about one year, we can distinguish between
self and others. (“My mom is not me”)
• By age 3 we can see ourselves from other’s point
of view (“Mom doesn’t like it when I hit my
brother.”)
• Late childhood: internalize concept of
generalized other (“they”= parents, friends,
teachers, significant people)
• Allows us to apply norms and behaviors learned
in specific situations to new situations
George Herbert Mead
•Taking the Role of the Other- assuming
the viewpoint of someone else and using
that viewpoint to shape self-concept

•Significant other – when children take the

perspective of those who are most
important in their lives; performed
through the use of language and symbols
in imitation, modeling or simple role
playing after parents.
Charles Horton Cooley
The Looking Glass Self: How Our Self-image is
Shaped by Society
Do you sometimes experience that the mere
presence of other people leads to feelings of
discomfort and tension?
Charles Horton Cooley

• states that a person’s self grows out of a

person´s social interactions with others.
• “The Looking Glass Self” – pertains to the self-
image that we have based on how we suppose
others perceive us; a self concept based
on what you believe others think of you
• we imagine ourselves in the same way that others
see us;
• others represent a “mirror” in which we can see
ourselves
A Distorted Glass?
•Because the looking glass comes from
our imagination, it can be distorted
•The mirror may not accurately reflect
other’s opinion of us
•Unfortunately, regardless of whether
or not we are correct or incorrect
about their perception the
consequences are just as real as if it
were
•“I don’t think they liked me; therefore
they don’t like me”
Erving Goffman
• The Presentation of the Self
• The best way to understand human action is by seeing people as
actors on a ‘social stage’ who actively create an impression of
themselves for the benefit of an audience (and, ultimately
themselves).
• When we act in the social world, we put on a ‘front’ in order to
project a certain image of ourselves– we create a front by
manipulating the setting in which we perform (e.g. our living room),
our appearance (e.g. our clothes) and our manner (our emotional
demeanour).
Erving Goffman
• In the social world we are called upon to put on various fronts
depending on the social stage on which we find ourselves and the
teams of actors with whom we are performing – the work-place or
the school are typical examples of social stages which require us to
put on a front.
• On these social stages we take on roles, in relation to other team-
members and carefully manage the impressions we give-off in order
to ‘fit in’ to society and/ or achieve our own personal goals
• Impression management involves projecting an ‘idealized image’ of
ourselves, which involves concealing a number of aspects of a
performance – such as the effort which goes into putting on a front, and typically
hiding any personal profit we will gain from a performance/ interaction.
Erving Goffman

• Unfortunately because audiences are constantly on the look-out for

the signs we give off (so that they can know who we are) ‘performers
can stop giving expressions, but they cannot stop giving them
off’. This means that we must be constantly on our guard to practice
‘expressive control’ when on the social stage.

• Acting out social roles is quite demanding and so in addition to the

front-stage aspect of our lives, we also have back-stage areas where
we can drop our front and be more relaxed, closer to our ‘true-selves’,
and where we can prepare for our acting in the world.