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The Puzzle of Socialization – Who Are You? Nature v Nurture? The Great Debate

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?.

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The Puzzle of Socialization – Who Are You? Nature v Nurture? The Great Debate

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  1. The Puzzle of Socialization – Who Are You? Nature v Nurture? The Great Debate

  2. How does a person become human?

  3. 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?

  4. From being a parent, to a juror, to being a boss we are faced with decisions that involve the nature of the self

  5. So we need to know what we think about this issue and why we do So let’s start thinking through these issues

  6. Side 1: “All Nature” Side (Many psychologists)

  7. An individual’s personality is controlled by biology/genetics (also known as sociobiology)

  8. In earlier times, phrenology was the “science” of studying bumps on a person’s head to discover person’s personality traits

  9. Other scholars, such as Cesare Lombroso, felt that people had particular “body types” that could be used to predict criminal behavior

  10. For a time in 1960-1980s, some scholars reported that there was a class of “super criminals” who had the anomaly of XYY chromosomesThey were supposed to be extremely aggressive and prone to violence(This has been proven to be false, by the way)

  11. Who we are, therefore, is due to forces internal to person, for those on the “all nature” side of the debate

  12. 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

  13. What does this say about asking people to change their behaviors, say, in order to fit in better with a group?

  14. What are the implications for a society’s mental health and criminal justice systems, if this side predominates in public policy discussions?

  15. David Barash, mallard ducks, and male rapists (oh, and me too!)

  16. 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.

  17. Why more aggressive men rape, according to Barash

  18. Do you see problems with his data? (Hint: you should!)

  19. Side 2: The “Mixed View” -- we will use Sigmund Freud to represent this perspective

  20. His view of how a person acquires a sense of self/personality

  21. The Id: biological drives (e.g., pleasure, or avoiding pain) dominate a person’s behavior

  22. The Ego: rational/cognitive control of the id, done largely to please parent/caregiver

  23. The Superego: the conscience; internalization of society’s norms into one’s mind, which then governs the person’s behavior

  24. Example: learning to be toilet trained

  25. Elimination of wastes is a biological necessity (the id)

  26. But how/when to do it, in any particular culture, is a learned behavior, taught through interaction with parents and caregivers (the ego)

  27. 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

  28. So interaction AND genetics play a role in who a person becomes, according to the “mixed” side of the nature-nurture debate

  29. Side 3: All Nurture (Sociologists)

  30. Who a person is, is shaped largely, if not entirely, by interactions with other people (external to the individual), NOT genetics/biology

  31. “Socialization is the process of acquiring the culture in which we live” (Benokraitis 2009-2010:62)

  32. A person is the product of culture and the people who interact with the child and raise him/her

  33. This side contradicts the “All Nature” and the “Mixed View” Can you see how?

  34. Sociological names to know who illustrate this view (we’ll meet them in the next class)

  35. Charles Horton Cooley

  36. George Herbert Mead

  37. 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

  38. Phrenology is on what ‘side’ of the debate? • Nature • Nurture • Mixed • Nature and Mixed • Nurture and Mixed

  39. Socialization is • Psychology’s term for social beings • The way we acquire culture • The basis of society • None of the above

  40. Interaction AND genetics make up this side of the debate • Nature • Nurture • Mixed

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