Transcript The Puzzle of Socialization – Who Are You? Nature v

The Puzzle of
Socialization –
Who Are You?
Nature v Nurture?
The Great Debate
How does a person become human?
How can you, as a college student,
understand the debate between many
of the social sciences over who a
person is and how the person got that
way?
Why does it matter?
From being a parent, to a juror, to
being a boss we are faced with
decisions that involve the nature of
the self
So we need to know what we think
about this issue and why we do
So let’s start thinking through these
issues
Side 1: “All Nature” Side
(Many psychologists)
An individual’s personality is
controlled by biology/genetics
(also known as sociobiology)
In earlier times, phrenology was the
“science” of studying bumps on a
person’s head to discover person’s
personality traits
Other scholars, such as Cesare
Lombroso, felt that people had
particular “body types” that could be
used to predict criminal behavior
For a time in 1960-1980s, some
scholars reported that there was a
class of “super criminals” who had the
anomaly of XYY chromosomes
They were supposed to be extremely
aggressive and prone to violence
(This has been proven to be false, by
the way)
Who we are, therefore, is due to
forces internal to person, for those on
the “all nature” side of the debate
So if you are shy, it is because of
something genetic/biological inside of
you – so you cannot really “change”
this; it is just who you are
What does this say about asking
people to change their behaviors, say,
in order to fit in better with a group?
What are the implications for a
society’s mental health and criminal
justice systems, if this side
predominates in public policy
discussions?
David Barash, mallard
ducks,
and
male rapists
(oh, and me too!)
Extra credit assignment in my Intro to
Psychology class at the UW: Count the
number of times a male mallard duck
mounted a female mallard duck in one
hour, at the UW Drumheller Fountain
and turn in the data.
Why more aggressive men rape,
according to Barash
Do you see problems with his data?
(Hint: you should!)
Side 2: The “Mixed View” -- we will
use Sigmund Freud to represent this
perspective
His view of how a person acquires a
sense of self/personality
The Id:
biological drives (e.g., pleasure, or
avoiding pain) dominate a person’s
behavior
The Ego:
rational/cognitive control of the id,
done largely to please
parent/caregiver
The Superego:
the conscience; internalization of
society’s norms into one’s mind, which
then governs the person’s behavior
Example: learning to be toilet trained
Elimination of wastes is a biological
necessity (the id)
But how/when to do it, in any
particular culture, is a learned
behavior, taught through interaction
with parents and caregivers (the ego)
Eventually child uses the bathroom (in
US society at least) not to please
others, but because s/he recognizes
this is how society (the superego)
expects this biological need (the id) to
be met
So interaction AND genetics play a role
in who a person becomes, according
to the “mixed” side of the naturenurture debate
Side 3: All Nurture
(Sociologists)
Who a person is, is shaped largely, if
not entirely, by interactions with other
people (external to the individual),
NOT genetics/biology
“Socialization is the process of
acquiring the culture in which we live”
(Benokraitis 2009-2010:62)
A person is the product of culture and
the people who interact with the child
and raise him/her
This side contradicts the “All Nature”
and the “Mixed View”
Can you see how?
Sociological names to know who
illustrate this view
(we’ll meet them in the next class)
Charles Horton Cooley
George Herbert Mead
Key Concepts for Today
- the all-nature side/sociobiology
- David Barash’s theory
- mixed side/Sigmund Freud’s
theory
- the id
- the ego
- the superego
- why Freud represents the mixed
side
- all nurture/sociology
- role of socialization in making us
human
Phrenology is on what ‘side’ of the
debate?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Nature
Nurture
Mixed
Nature and Mixed
Nurture and Mixed
0%
1
0%
0%
2
3
0%
0%
4
5
Socialization is
1. Psychology’s term
for social beings
2. The way we acquire
culture
3. The basis of society
4. None of the above
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3
0%
4
Interaction AND genetics make up this
side of the debate
1. Nature
2. Nurture
3. Mixed
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3