George Mead was born February 27, 1863 and died on April 26, 1931 (which day happens to be my birthday) in Massachusetts. He studied philosophy and sociology at Harvard in graduated with a Master’s degree in 1888. He is heavily influenced by Charles Cooley and John Dewey, both of whom he met at the University of Chicago. Mead’s theory of the self is based on his argument that the “self” is not a biological precondition but is a product of social interaction. He argues that the “self” is not there at birth but develops in the process of socialization, experience and activities. Mead explains that there are three activities that allow the “self” to develop; that being language, play and games. The role of language allows an individual to observe how other people respond to their gestures and attitudes, the role of play allows people to pretend to be other people so they can express the expectations of others and in the game of role-playing, an individual can internalize the roles of others and comprehend the rules. How do we become a “self”? The macro-perspective looks at gender, race, height, etc. The micro-perspective asks “who are you”? When we study Mead we have to go back and look at other theories to understand how these theories developed. John Locke argues that we are “tabla-rosa” when we are born (a blank slate). Sigmund Freud argues that we are born with a subconscious, biological instincts and a psyche. Since this discussion is about Mead, who was heavily influenced by Charles H. Cooley, it is Cooley’s theory that we see ourselves as social objects. Society is a mirror and we become a looking-glass self. We can only see appearances in the mirror, we cannot see inside the person. We become the object in the... ... middle of paper ... ...ment. The “me” is also the disciplinarian who keeps the “I” in check, and from breaking the laws in the community. The “I” is the individual’s response to the communities attitude. Mead argues that the development of self will unfold as we move through childhood. After age 3 children enter the play stage where they will pretend to be “mommy” or a “fire-fighter”. They take the role of the significant other and thus learn the behavior that is associated with being a mommy or a fire-fighter. In the final game stage of development, children begin to participate in organized games whereby they learn and follow the rules of the game, as well as take into account the roles of the others in the game. In this way, children begin to learn and understand the shared standards of the social group, in this case, their playmates and to see themselves as others see them.
While different in theory, both Mead and Freud were trying very hard to explain the complexities of what is known as the human existence. Meads theory states that we have more freedom and choice in our human development; while Freud theorizes we are slaves to our instinctual nature. After analyzing the differences between the two theories I came to the conclusion Mead’s theory of self, more accurately depicts my life and its experiences. Both Mead and Freud created great debate topics for the world of Sociology, and the world of Psychology alike.
Children develop their first sense of self at around age four, when they develop metacognition. (Berk, 2006) In pursuit of their self, they start to develop personal identities, informing their likes and dislikes as well as their disposition. Although children are born into a certain sex, they do not immediately develop a sense of gender. Their gender forms at the same time as their sense of self, by observing their outside environment. But even before the child understands their sense of self, they are already placed into gender specific play from around age 2 (Zosuls, 2007).
You are as others see you, yet others do not always see you as you are. With the importance others play on the sense of identity, it's no wonder that peers influence the minds of individuals early on in life. As young toddlers, children do not recognize biological
In unit one of Interactions, the authors Ann Moseley and Jeanette Harris showed a number of readings about the idea of the self. The self-concept is an important matter because people change with age constantly and their thoughts change as well. There are many factors that can affect any individual’s thought of self-concept such as growing up, life experiences, friends and family, and meeting new people. Moreover, a number of readings in unit one by different authors showing their experiences and struggles with self-concept such as ethnicities, economy status, and self-esteem issue. I have had similar experiences with several authors, which are, “Zero” by Paul Logan, “Living in two worlds” by Marcus Mabry, and “The Jacket” by Gary Soto.
Many philosophers and psychologist from Jean Piaget to William James have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that the identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child is forming his identity as late to the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29) However, identity is strongly impacted by society such as school, church, government,and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). "In most situations there is a more diversified opportunity for the development of social identities, reflecting what the individual wants to put forth to define the self as well as what others want to accept,"(Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, much like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are with. Individuals are always changi...
James, A. (1998). From the child's point of view: Issues in the social construction of
Scott F Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby (1925), captures the idea about the lengths a person will go to too change their entire personality and background as they believed that the life they previously had was not their destiny and wanted to better themselves. The Great Gatsby is an example of when a character has met their demise due to their obsession on changing themselves to what they perceived as their ideal self. The self is what distinguishes you as a person. It’s your personality, identity and persona. However Jacques Lacan’s theorizes that idea of self is imaginary. That it is not a coherent thing. Lacan’s theorizes that it is instead a failure to identify ‘I’ from the other. A product of identification which we have created to identify ourselves with other people. It is how we perceive ourselves and others and can be changed depending on the experiences we have in our lifetime.
Rogers, S. and Evans, J. 2006. Playing the game? Exploring role play from children's perspectives. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 14 (1), pp. 43--55.
“a person does not ‘inhabit’ a static object body but is subjectively embodied in a fluid, emergent, and negotiated process of being. In this process, body, self, and social interaction are interrelated to such an extent that distinctions between them are not only permeable and shifting but also actively manipulated and configured”
Alfred Marshall was born in Bermondsey, a London suburb, on 26 July 1842. He died at Balliol Croft, his Cambridge home of many years, on 13 July 1924 at the age of 81. Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge from 1885 to 1908, he was the founder of the Cambridge School of Economics which rose to great eminence in the 1920s and 1930s: A.C. Pigou and J.M. Keynes, the most important figures in this development, were among his pupils. Marshall's magnum opus, the Principles of Economics was published in 1890 and went through eight editions in his lifetime. It was the most influential treatise of its era and was for many years the Bible of British economics, introducing many still-familiar concepts. Alfred Marshall is one of the most outstanding figures in the development of contemporary economics and his influence has been enormous. His most famous student, J. M. Keynes, wrote that;
... growth where a child is forced to start looking for solutions for everything that is wrong instead of simply being a child. This analysis prove that children have their own way of seeing things and interpreting them. Their defense mechanisms allow them to live through hard and difficult times by creating jokes and games out of the real situation. This enables then to escape the difficulties of the real world.
Whatever the conditions under which a child grows up, he will, if not mentally defective, learn to cope with others in one way or another and he will probably acquire some skills. But there are also forces in him which he cannot acquire or even develop by learning...Similarly, the human individual, given a chance, tends to develop his particular human personalities. He will develope then the unique alive human forces of his real self: the clarity and depth of his own feelings, thoughts, wishes, interests; the ability to tap into his own resources, the strengths of his will power; the special capacities or gifts he may have; the faculty to express himself, and to relate himself to others with his spontaneous feelings...In short, he will grow, substantially undiverted, toward self-realization.(17)
George Berkeley was an Irish philosopher. His philosophical beliefs were centered on one main belief, the belief that perception is the basis for existence. In doing so, he rejected the notion of a material world in favor of an immaterial world.
The concept of the term “self” is a topic that has been analyzed for many years by many people. The self is the whole part of the being that contains the person. This is a very broad topic and although the term is simple it holds a vast amount if information. One of these people is a man by the name of Sigmund Freud. In the paper “The Dissection of the Psychical Personality” written by Freud, uses the term “Psychical Personality,” to explain the human thought processes, thinking and feelings that make up concept of “the self ” part of the person’s personality (Freud, The Dissection of the Psychical Personality, 2004, p. 70). The concept of the structural model of the psyche contains the Id, Ego and Superego, as developed by Freud tries to
George Herbert Mead is a philosopher who coined the theory Genesis of the self. Mead, believes " the self develops through contact with others." Play Stage, as defined by George Ritzer is, "the first stage in the genesis of the self in which a child plays at being someone else." In play a child is acting out that of a role model in their life. Such example may include dressing up as parents, teachers, doctors, construction workers, police officers and so on. In an article called Genesis of the Self and Social Control by George Herbert Mead, it states "the child is acquiring the roles of those who belong to his society." This simply means, the child is imitating the roles of people around him/her in society and is putting themselves in place of those who fulfill this role hoping to imagine, and achieve them. According to the genesis of the self, play stage begins with simple gestures and gradually moves up in difficulty to running away when being chased or using symbols to interact. The different role playing a child goes through is what I am trying to symbolize with these pictures. Children learn, grow, act, and communicate through play. A child learns the way the world operates, by attempting to assume a role of an adult. Such examples may include play with a doll and dress up, which demonstrates a motherly roll. This involves taking care of the "baby, and feeding them, in addition to them looking the part.