Sociological Perspective of The Self

Sociological
Perspective of
the Self
Sociology
Study of human behavior
Refers to social behavior,
society, social relationships and
interactions, and culture that
surrounds everyday life.
Sociology
Human behavior is influenced
by group life
The self is a product of social
interaction (Cooley and Mead)
The self is found in the prestige
symbols of goods consumed by
people (Jean Baudrillard)
Personality
Describes how an individual
adapts to his or her cultural
surroundings
Basic organization of
individuals that determine the
uniqueness of their behaviors
Some
Aspects of
Personality
Aspects of Personality
1. Physical characteristics
• Most obvious part of an individual’s
personality
• Inherited but can be altered by culture
• Furthers discuss the topic of the physical
self as people make efforts to change their
appearance in order to fulfill the desired
cultural values
2. Abilities
• Skills that are developed within the
culture
• The capacity to learn skills or to acquire
body of knowledge- aptitude
• Aptitude is more related to heredity, as
abilities are always related to culture
3. Interests
• Acquired from various kinds of things
• The things that you become interested in
depend on the cultural alternatives that
are available– and an awareness of your
existence
4. Beliefs
• About yourself, your friends, nature,
religion, work, etc.
• Attitudes, values, preferences
superstitions
• Some are based on fact, others are not
• But all beliefs are related to the culture
and learned from others in the society
5. Habits
• Regular, routine ways of thinking, feeling
or behaving
• Can be observed in ways of dressing,
eating, and everyday tasks
• These are learned from other
• Almost all habits are related to culture
The Influence
of Heredity and
Environment
Nature vs. Nurture
1. Heredity
• Characteristics that are innate, present at
birth
• Transmitting od genetic characteristics
from your parents to you
• Heredity plays an important role in
shaping human personalities by setting
limits on individuals.
Nature vs. Nurture
1. Heredity
For example, if you were born with a five-foot frame,
you are not likely to become a professional basketball
player. On the other hand, it is not a guarantee that
you’ll become one even if you are seven feet tall.
Inherited characteristics place limits on what is possible,
but it will not determine what you will do and what kind
of personality you will have.
Nature vs. Nurture
2. Birth Order
• Personality is also influenced by whether
you have siblings
• Think about ways in which your own life
situation could have been different, and
how your personality might have been
affected by these factors
Nature vs. Nurture
2. Birth Order
Nature vs. Nurture
3. Parents
• Age of the parents
• Parents amount of education, religious
beliefs, ethnic backgrounds,
economic/social status, occupations and
communities which they live
Nature vs. Nurture
4. Subcultures
• Portion of a society that has enough
characteristics of its own to set it apart,
and yet it is included within the general
societies
Nature vs. Nurture
5. Cultural Environment
• Every culture is different
• It is what makes an individual human
• Your personality—our humanity– comes
from our cultural environment
The Social Self
Socialization
- The process of cultural molding, how
individuals learn the basic skills, values,
beliefs, and behavior patterns in the
society
The
Socialization
Process
Charles Horton Cooley
Looking-glass self:
- The people whom a person interacts with
become a mirror in which he or she views
himself/herself
 Negative self-image
- Subjective perceptions
- Wrong interpretations: The person might
think that others judge him/her
unfavorably
Charles Horton Cooley
George Herbert Mead
Supports the view that a person develops a sense
of self through social interaction and not biological
preconditions of that interaction
Theory of the Social Self
1. “I”- subjective element and the active side of the

self; represents the spontaneous and unique traits
of an individual
2. “Me”- objective element of the self that

represents the internalized attitudes and demands
of other people and the individual’s demands of
those demands
George Herbert Mead
The self is not present at birth
Since there is meaning in human actions, a
person infers people’s intention or direction
of action, which may lead him or her to
understand the world from the perspective of
others– a process he calls role-taking
He or she then creates a role of his or her
own and wait for the response of others, once
done he or she becomes self-aware
George Herbert Mead
Marcel Mauss
French Sociologist
Believes that every self has two
faces: personne and moi
Moi refers to a person’s sense of who
he is
Personne is composed of the social
concepts of what it means to be who
he is

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Sociological

Theory of the Social Self

1. “I”- subjective element and the active side of the

2. “Me”- objective element of the self that

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