George Mead: Social Self

I, Me and Others

2. | George Herbert Mead

= According to Mead, in the early
months of life, children do not
realize that they are separate from
others .

= Shortly after birth, infants start to
notice the faces of those around
them

= Gradually, we distinguish
ourselves from our care givers and
begin to perceive ourselves in
contrast to them

3. George Herbert Mead:

Mind, Self, and Society

EE eT

When at a later point, egocentric play gives way to the
rules and "teamwork" of games, the individual learns
that the behaviors of other players are somewhat fixed,
impersonal, and predictable. In playing the multiple and
interlocking roles of the game, and other organized
endeavors, self-control emerges. 7hrough such play, one
develops and internalizes a group of perspective on the
self that Mead termed the "generalized other." To the
extent that this collective frame of reference matures,
the player becomes a social being who will demonstrate
some consistency in future behavior (Mead 1934:150-
163). Thus, the "inner voice" of the generalize other
continues to whisper the complex requirements of being
"human."

(Perdue 1986:238)

Wednesday, March © 2001-2006 by Ronald Keith
12, 2014 Bolender 17

4. George Herbert Mead

* Mead developed a theory about how the
social self develops over the course of
childhood.

Infants know only the “I,” but through social
interaction they learn about “me” and the
“other.”

* They develop a concept of the “generalized
other,” which allows them to apply norms
and behaviors learned in specific situations
to new situations.

Copyright 212013 WW. Norton, Inc.

5. Mead: The ‘I’ and the ‘Me’

“Y is the spontaneous unpredictable element of the self

‘I' memory is a store of creativity, adaptability and novelty in
the social process.

Where our most important values are located

Constitutes the realisation of the self - i.e. reveals a definite
personality

Seen as an evolutionary process

'Me' is the conformist aspect of the self, and the
reflexive, organised aspect of the self (Mead 1934: 197).

6. George Mead and “The Self”

¢ Our self-conceptions are a combination of
— “I” : spontaneous action; observing

— “Me”: aware of how others see me; reflecting a
censored and partial role played for others

¢ Together these form the Self

7. Il) George Herbert Mead’s Theory
of Generalized Other

Generalized Other (viewpoints,
attitudes, and expectations of
society as a whole)

8. Mead's Stages of
Development

The self develops in three stages:

1.

Preparatory stage - The child imitates the
behavior of others.

Play stage - The child begins to formulate role
expectations: playing house, cops and robbers,
etc.

. Game stage - The child learns there are rules

that specify the proper and correct relationship
among the players.

9. Mead’s Three Stages of
Self-Development

1.

Preparatory Stage (up to age 3)
Children prepare for role-taking by imitating
the people around them.

Play Stage (3 - 5)
Children begin to see themselves in relation
to others.

10. George Herbert Mead

+ Stages of Self Development:

3. Play Stage (3-7)

- The child begins to learn the
attitude of significant others.

- play involves acting and
thinking like another person.

Role taking:

11. Mead’s Three Stages of
Self-Development
|

3. Game Stage (early school years)
Children understand their social position and
the positions of those around them.
Children become concerned about the
demands and expectations of others.

12. THE GENERALIZED OTHER

generalized other

the final stage in the
childhood development process,
in which children are able to not only
take on the roles of others,
but also take into account the attitudes
and perspectives of others
in their social group

13. Development of Self

According to Mead, three activities develop the self:
language, play, and games.

Language develops self by allowing individuals to
respond to each other through symbols, gestures,
words, and sounds.

Play develops self by allowing individuals to take on!
different roles, pretend, and express expectation of |
others. Play develops one's self-consciousness through.
role-playing.

\

Ni Games develop self by allowing individuals to understand and
\adhere to the rules of the activity. Self is developed by
understanding that there are rules in which one must abide by
in order to win the game or be successful at an activity.

14. powered by
BE Screencastity Lit

15. George Herbert Meade’s Theory of

the Social Self

i ji : it engaging — fan nn ool

Building on Social Experience
George Herbert Mead described the development of the self as a process of gaining social
experience. Thatis, the self develops as we expand our capacity to take the role of the other.

PEARSON

Education, Inc. All rights

16. Symbolic Interactionism

George Herbert Mead (1934); Blumer (1937, 1989)

“Human beings act toward things on the basis
of the meaning that the things have for them.”
— “Meaning... arises out of social interaction

— Meanings are... modified through an interpretive
process

“The human being is an object to himself”
“Action is conduct rather than response”
Interactions Are “Symbolic” Because They
Occur in the Mind Before They Occur in Reality

17. SYMBOLIC INTERACTION THEORY

+ George Herbert Mead viewed society as the scene of interaction

where people relate to each other and exchange attitudes, reactions,
views and meanings.

Self-awareness One learns to distinguish between
= the “I” and “me”
| Me = =
Self Represents the ideas that we have
our own attributes, capacities and
behavior.

18. SECTION 2

SOCIOLOGY

Process of Socialization Theory

The Tabula Rasa: Each person is a blank slate at birth,
with no personality. People develop personality as a result
of their social experiences. Moreover, infants can be
molded into any type of person.

The Looking-Glass Self: Infants have no sense of person
or place. Children develop an image of themselves based
on how others see them. Other people act as a mirror,
reflecting back the image a child projects through their
reaction to the child's behavior.

Charles
Horton
Cooley

Role-Taking: People not only come to see themselves as
others see them but also take on or pretend to take on
the roles of others through imitation, play, and games.
This process enables people to anticipate what others
expect of them.

George
Herbert
Mead

HOLT, RINEHART ano WINSTON

19. The Three Theories

|
FUNCTIONALISM
A social system composed of parts that work
together to benefit the whole
CONFLICT THEORY
Groups competing with one another within the same
social system
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

People's patterns of behavior always changing, and
people give meaning to behaviors

20. 06

E a ee 2. Meanings happen

MEANING between people

21. Society is unity in diversity.

— George H. Mead —

22. How did you become you?

e What do you think are the factors that
contributed in the making of you?

e Think about how you would explain how you
developed into you. What sorts of
explanations might you give?

e How do you think you might research this?
What experiments or research might you do?

e Which of the debates might influence your
understanding of the development of self?