Question

short answer:

What did George Herbert Mead mean by "self?" What are two of the steps in the development of the self?

Explain the concept of "The Looking-Glass Self."

Note one criticism often make of Erik Erikson's "Stages of Development" theory.

Explain how a family's social class position shapes the process of socialization.

According to Erving Goffman, what three key traits define a total institution?

Answer 1

Since you have posted multiple questions, I am going to answer first two. I hopw it helps. Thanks

1.George Herbert Mead is a a sociologist who is well known for his theory of the social self. This theory includes the concepts of 'self,' 'me,' and 'I.' According to his theory, social self is based on the perspective that the self emerges from social interactions, such as observing and interacting with others, responding to others opinions about oneself, and internalizing external opinions and internal feelings about oneself.

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.
• 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.

2. The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept. This concept was introduced by Charles Cooley. The concept of the no-glass self describes the development of one's self and of one's identity through one's interpersonal interactions within the context of society.

The main idea behind this concept is that people shape their self-concepts based on their understanding of how others perceive them. We form our self-image as the reflections of the response and evaluations of others in our environment. As children we were treated in a variety of ways. If parents, relatives and other important people look at a child as smart, they will tend to raise him with certain types of expectations. As a consequence the child will eventually believe that he is a smart person. This is a process that continues when we grow up.