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G.H.Mead’s Theory of Socialization
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Sigmund freud's Theory of Socialization
Effectiveness of Curriculum Transaction
Census Survey, Descriptive Research
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) an eminent figure in the early 20th century developed a theory of social behaviourism (socialization) to explain how social experience develops an individual’s personality. One of his most influential theories was emergence of mind and self from the communication process among individuals in society.
According to Mead, mind is not a substance located in some
transcendent realm, nor it is merely a series of events that takes place within
human. Rather, emergence of mind is contingent upon the interaction between the
individual and the society by symbols or language. That is, mind arises out of
social act of communication.
Further, Mead emphasises the development of self, the part of
an individual’s personality composed of self-awareness and self-image. He
clarified three stages in the development of self- play, game and generalized
other.
The first stage Mead emphasised was child’s play. When small
children play they take the role of others. For eg: father, mother etc. This
means they pretend to be other people in their play and in doing so learn the
actions and behaviour the people expect from them. In other words, they
internalize the expectations other people have of them.
Next, when the child starts going to school the ‘game’ stage
begins. Now the child starts playing games in teams with many children. The
practice of role-taking helps children to take role of several others. In doing
so, they learn to anticipate the actions of other members of their team. That
is, the ‘game’ stage shows the capacity to derive a multiple self-images and to
co-operate with a group of individuals engaged in some co-ordinate activity. In
the process, the child from ’I’ convert to ‘Me’ which shows socialization.
In the next stage, the child grows much older; he can take on
the role of ‘generalized other’ and learn society’s expectations, beliefs,
values and norms as a whole. Thus, it is the ever increasing capacity to take
roles with an over-expanding body of others that marks the stages of
development of the self. The development of these stages according to Mead is
important not only for the individual but also for the society as it enhances
individual’s contribution to society.
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