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?

From being a parent, to a juror, to being a boss we are faced with

decisions that involve the nature of the self

So we need to know what we think about this issue and why we do

So let’s start thinking through these issues

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

An individual’s personality is controlled by biology/genetics

(also known as sociobiology)

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

personality traits

Other scholars, such as Cesare Lombroso, felt that people had

particular “body types” that could be used to predict criminal behavior

For a time in 1960-1980s, some scholars reported that there was a

class of “super criminals” who had the anomaly of XYY chromosomes

They were supposed to be extremely aggressive and prone to violence

(This has been proven to be false, by the way)

Who we are, therefore, is due to forces internal to person, for those on the “all

nature” side of the debate

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

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

What are the implications for a society’s mental health and criminal

justice systems, if this side predominates in public policy

discussions?

David Barash, mallard

ducks,

and male rapists

(oh, and me too!)

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.

Why more aggressive men rape, according to Barash

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

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

perspective

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

The Id:

biological drives (e.g., pleasure, or avoiding pain) dominate a person’s

behavior

The Ego:

rational/cognitive control of the id, done largely to please

parent/caregiver

The Superego:

the conscience; internalization of society’s norms into one’s mind, which

then governs the person’s behavior

Example: learning to be toilet trained

Elimination of wastes is a biological necessity (the id)

But how/when to do it, in any particular culture, is a learned

behavior, taught through interaction with parents and caregivers (the ego)

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

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

debate

Side 3: All Nurture (Sociologists)

Who a person is, is shaped largely, if not entirely, by interactions with other

people (external to the individual), NOT genetics/biology

“Socialization is the process of acquiring the culture in which we live”

(Benokraitis 2009-2010:62)

A person is the product of culture and the people who interact with the child

and raise him/her

This side contradicts the “All Nature” and the “Mixed View”

Can you see how?

Sociological names to know who illustrate this view

(we’ll meet them in the next class)

Charles Horton Cooley

George Herbert Mead

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

Phrenology is on what ‘side’ of the debate?

1 2 3 4 5

0% 0% 0%0%0%

1. Nature2. Nurture3. Mixed4. Nature and Mixed5. Nurture and Mixed

Socialization is

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. Psychology’s term for social beings

2. The way we acquire culture

3. The basis of society4. None of the above

Interaction AND genetics make up this side of the debate

1 2 3

0% 0%0%

1. Nature2. Nurture3. Mixed