THEORY OF

SOCIAL
BEHAVIORISM

PRESENTED : SARAH JANE S. CRUZ

BSED SCI 1B
 VI. Criticisms and take home
messages
V. I and
Me
IV. How Self
develops
III. Three Distinct
Stages
II. Theory of Social
Behaviorism

I .George Herbert
 I .George Herbert For Mead, existence in a
community comes before

Mead individual consciousness. First

one must participate in the
different social positions
“Father of Symbolic
BORN :February 27, 1863Interactionism”
within society and only
DIED: April 26, 1931 (aged subsequently can one use that
68) experience to take the
perspective of others and thus
become self-conscious
He is regarded as one of
the founders of symbolic
interactionism and of what
He thought that only certain people
has come to be referred to could influence our perception of
as the Chicago sociological self and only during certain periods
tradition. of life. He also thought that the way
others influence us changes across
the lifespan.

Mead presented the self and the mind in terms of a social process. As gestures are taken in by
the individual organism, the individual organism also takes in the collective attitudes of
others, in the form of gestures, and reacts accordingly with other organized attitudes
II. Theory of Social Behaviorism
Mead was a very important figure in 20th-century social philosophy. One
of his most influential ideas was the emergence of mind and self from the
communication process between organisms, discussed in Mind, Self and
Society (1934), also known as social behaviorism. This concept of how the
mind and self emerge from the social process of communication by signs
founded the symbolic interactionist school of sociology.
Mead theorized that human beings begin their understanding of the social
world through "play" and "game". Play comes first in the child's
development. The child takes different roles he/she observes in "adult"
society, and plays them out to gain an understanding of the different social
roles.
III. Three Distinct Stages
1st - Preparatory
Stage

2nd - Play stage

3rd- Game stage

 1st - Preparatory Stage
(Imitation)
During preparatory stage children interact with
others through imitation .

For example: They might play pots and pans when

someone is cooking or use a use a carpentry toy
when someone fixes their houses. But these aren't
really true interaction. As these children grow older
they start to focus more on communication with
others as opposed to simple imitation of them. .
 2nd- Play stage
(pretend play & Role playing)

During the play stage, children become more aware

of the importance of social relationships. Mead
believe that this was reflected in children’s
tendency to pretend play as other people.

For example: They play as mommies or daddies or

doctors or firefighters
 Game stage
( Generalized other and Multiple roles)

During the last stage, the game stage children’s understanding of social interactions become even more
developed. So during the play stage children become able to consider the attitudes, belief, behaviors of the
individuals who are closest to them.

But during the game stage they start to understand the attitudes , belief and behaviors of what Mead
referred to as “generalized others”, or society as a whole. With this comes a whole new understanding
society.

For example: children start to realize that the people not only performs in ways based on what they
personally believe, but also based on what society more broadly expects them They also start to understand
that someone can take multiple roles, that people aren’t simply moms or doctors or teachers, that they can
be multiple things at once.
At this stage children start to acknowledge the generalized other and they start to
realize that people have multiple roles, they also start to understand that other people
must have opinions about them and that those perceptions are influenced by how they
act and what they say.

In response, they themselves begin to be influenced by these perceptions and start to

be concerned about the reactions of others to what they do. But they don’t really care
about the perceptions of everyone they come across. They’re mainly focused on the
perceptions of the significant others in their life.

This doesn’t mean a boyfriend or girlfriends. But all the people who have importatnt
relationships to that individual, parents, teachers, close peers.
 IV. How Self develops
Secondary
Primary Socialization Socialization
-occurs when a child
learns the attitudes,
-refers to the process of
values, and actions learning the appropriate
appropriate to individuals behavior as a
as members of a particular member of a smaller group
culture within the larger society.

Group Socialization Organizational

- is the theory that an Socialization
individual's peer groups, - is the process whereby
rather than parental an employee learns the
figures, influences his knowledge and skills
or her personality and necessary to assume his
behavior in adulthood. or her organizational
role.
V. I and Me
VI. Criticisms
and
take home
Messages