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Essay / What makes you: exploring socialization and identity
Table of contentsIntroductionSocialization: the process of constructing identityDramaturgical approach and self-presentationWhat makes you you: the “I” and the “me” of self-perceptionThe theory of behaviorism in establishing identityWorks CitedIntroductionAn The important question that has always been asked is what allows a person to identify with themselves. In other words, what makes you someone? An issue that is very related to this is the question of nature versus nurture. Is it a person's environment that makes them who they are or is it the way they are raised? Using the functionalist perspective, we will explore major theories and determine the properties of socialization and the effects it has on an individual.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essaySocialization: The Process of Building IdentityFirst of all, what is socialization? Socialization is “an active, lifelong process by which people learn the cultures of their societies and form a sense of who they are.” Socialization begins at the earliest age of every human being. It begins before we attain the ability to speak and continues until the very end of our lives. It constitutes the main means of maintaining and producing the norms, values and beliefs that control our social life and our relationships within society. Socialization is a fundamental part of the growth of all human beings. Without it, we would have no language, no perception of ourselves, and no idea of who we are in our relationships with others. This is evident in the case study of Victor the “wild boy” from the year 1800, found living in the woods. When Victor was found, he was around twelve years old and living with a young doctor to help him understand the world he was missing. Victor never fully learned how to communicate and act as an integral part of the real world. Towards the end of Victor's life, he still expressed his wild side as he was unable to acquire the social and intellectual skills expected of him. Dramaturgical approach and self-presentationErving Goffman developed and founded the dramaturgical approach which is “the study of social interactions as if governed by the practices of theatrical representation. Goffman proposed the theory of “self-presentation” which was at the origin of these performances. The theory implies that people play certain roles or embody certain characters to evaluate and control situations. Goffman calls the presentation two pieces of the same puzzle; front of the stage and behind the scenes. The front stage is responsible for our outward endeavors like clothing, speech and tongues. While behind the scenes is like the part that allows the person to let go of their character or role and relax. Goffman's theory and work are also similar to Mead's own theories. Compared to Goffman's front and back scene, Mead divides the "me" into two parts, the "I" and the "me". The I consists of being yourself and maintaining it by apparently meeting your need. The “self” represents the conventional idea of how one would perceive oneself from another's point of view. Another contributor to symbolic interactionism is Charles Horton Cooley, responsible for the concept of the mirror self. The mirror of oneself is “the image of oneself which results from the vision that others have of us. In one study, a teacher told her students that children with blue eyes were bright,,, 1981.