SOC-102 Narrative Outline for Essentials of Sociology:
A Down-to-Earth Approach
Chapter 3 - Socialization
Part 1: Chapter 3 – Socialization. This chapter outlines the role of society in the formation of human beings. It begins by demonstrating the large difference between those individuals that have been born and raised in a society compared to those that have not, such as feral children. It then goes on to discuss various theories of socialization, such as Cooley's looking glass self analysis. Furthermore, it discusses Freud and the idea of learning personality as opposed to it being an inhernet part of our genetics. Other aspects of the chapter include the discussion of various ...view middle of the document...
The first of which is Cooley's looking glass self. This suggests that our sense of self develops from interaction with others. After this, George Mead's theory of role taking is explored. He suggests that through play and interaction with others we learn to take the role of others.This section then explores Piaget's theory of the development of reasoning and the four stages that go along with this; The sensorimotor, the preoperational, the concrete operational and the formal operational stages
Key Definition(s): Self: The identity that is assigned to an individual based on factors such as personality.
Key Word(s): Role taking, looking-glass self.
My Take-Away: This section introduced me to some common theories of socialization and allowed to have a greater appreciation of the processes by which personalities are formulated.
Section 3 – Learning Personality and Emotion
This section explores further the processes by which we learn our personality and emotional responses. Freud is discussed and his theory on the development of personality is covered. Essentially, we are sexual, pleasure-seeking beings according to Freud. He believes that personality consists of three things; the id, the ego and the superego. After Freud, this section discusses what we feel and how we express our emotions.The later half of this section then explores the role of gender and emotion and how individuals learn of the gender roles that are placed in society. Also, some of the major agents of socialization are described, such as religion, neighborhood, and family. Finally, the various stages of personality formation are explored.
Key Definition(s): Emotions: Essentially, what we feel as humans in response to particular events.
Key Word(s): Culture, Ego, Resocialization
My Take-Away: This section provides a lot of information. I learned that personality and emotion are certainly complex things. Their formation is the result of a long, interactive process with society. Furthermore, I learned of the ages in which our personalities are likely to be largely influenced and reflected on how and when aspects of my own personality were formed.
Chapter 4 – Social Structure and Social Interaction
Part 1: This chapter explores the various structures of society and how this affects them and the individuals within them. Furthermore, it explores the ways in which people interact within a society. Culture, macro and micro sociology, social class, social status, groups roles and much more are discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, the different types of socities, such as an agricultural or industrial society, are compared.
Part 2: Divide the chapter into three sections by content as it is organized in the book and write a summary of each.
Section 1 – The Macrosociological perspective: Social structure
This section discusses the various forms of social structure. It begins by exploring some key terms such as culture and...
