The Formation of Personality through Socialization Essay -- Social Psy

The Formation of Personality through Socialization The process by which personality is formed as the result of social influences is called socialization. Early research methods employed case studies of individuals and of individual societies (e.g., primitive tribes). Later research has made statistical comparisons of numbers of persons or of different societies; differences in child-rearing methods from one society to another, for example, have been shown to be related to the subsequent behaviour of the infants when they become adults. Such statistical approaches are limited, since they fail to discern whether both the personality of the child and the child-rearing methods used by the parents are the result of inherited factors or whether the parents are affected by the behaviour of their children. Problems in the process of socialization that have been studied by experimental methods include the analysis of mother-child interaction in infancy; the effects of parental patterns of behaviour on the development of intelligence, moral behaviour, mental health, delinquency, self-image, and other aspects of the personality of the child; the effects of birth order (e.g., being the first-born or second-born child) on the individual; and changes of personality during adolescence. Investigators have also studied the origins and functioning of achievement motivation and other social drives (e.g., as measured with personality tests). Several theories have stimulated research into socialization; Freudian theory led to some of the earliest studies on such activities as oral and anal behaviour (e.g., the effect of the toilet training of children on obsessional and other "anal" behaviour). Learning theory led to the study of the effects of rewards and punishments on simple social behaviour and was extended to more complex processes such as imitation and morality (e.g., the analysis of conscience). The self Such concepts as self-esteem, self-image, and ego-involvement have been regarded by some social psychologists as useful, while others have regarded them as superfluous. There is a considerable amount of research on such topics as embarrassment and behaviour in front of audiences, in which self-image and self-esteem have been assessed by various self-rating methods. The origin of awareness of self has ... ...problems involved. Similarly, the causes of delinquency and crime have been extensively studied, but it is not feasible to manipulate the factors influencing crime, such as genetic factors, methods of upbringing, and inequalities of opportunity. Social psychology has made some contribution to education; sociometry is quite widely practiced as a means of grouping children, and evidence is growing about the optimum styles of teacher behaviour. (M.Ar.) (Ed.) << Previous | Next >> Contents of this article: Introduction Research methods Social perception Interaction processes Small social groups Social organizations 20th-century approaches Personality Socialization The self Attitudes and beliefs Various specialties in social psychology Bibliography Information about this topic in other articles: social psychology assessment of attitudes attitude from attitude contribution by Lewin Lewin, Kurt from Lewin, Kurt Mead Mead, George Herbert from Mead, George Herbert development as social science Social psychology from social science use in definition of prayer Origin and development from prayer