Social Development: Crash Course Sociology #13

Summary

The video explores the debate between nature and nurture in shaping human behavior, focusing on how socialization impacts personality, cognitive, and moral development. It discusses theories by Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, Mead, and Erikson, highlighting the importance of early social interactions and various stages of development. The video also touches on the effects of social isolation, as shown in Kingsley Davis's study of Anna, and explains how our environment and experiences shape who we become throughout our lives.

Takeaways

• 🧬 The script explores the age-old debate of nature versus nurture, discussing how genetic factors and environmental influences shape human behavior and development.
• 👶 Nature refers to biologically determined and instinctive behaviors, such as a baby's natural reflex to grasp, which is not learned but inherent from birth.
• 🌱 Nurture involves the social environment and how it impacts human behavior, with sociologists focusing on the socialization process that teaches individuals about their society and culture.
• 🏡 Social isolation can significantly hinder emotional and cognitive development, as illustrated by the case study of Anna, who lacked human contact and suffered developmental delays.
• 🤔 Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory suggests that personality development is influenced by the id, ego, and superego, representing unconscious drives, conscious reason, and internalized cultural values, respectively.
• 👶👧 Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development outlines four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational, each with distinct ways of understanding and interacting with the world.
• 📏 Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on Piaget's model to include moral development, with stages ranging from pre-conventional, where actions are guided by personal feelings, to post-conventional, involving abstract ethical reasoning.
• 👧 Carol Gilligan critiqued Kohlberg's model for its male bias and proposed that girls and boys experience moral development stages differently, with girls often emphasizing care and responsibility in moral decisions.
• 🤼‍♂️ George Herbert Mead's theory of self development focuses on the 'self' as a social product, with stages including imitation, play, game, and the development of a 'generalized other' representing societal norms.
• 👴 Erik Erikson's eight-stage theory of psychosocial development extends from infancy to old age, with each stage presenting a key challenge that influences social development, such as gaining autonomy or forming intimate relationships.
• 🎓 The script emphasizes that social development is not limited to childhood but continues throughout life, with societal markers and expectations shaping adult roles and behaviors.

Q & A

What is the 'nature versus nurture' debate in the context of human behavior?

The 'nature versus nurture' debate refers to the extent to which human behavior is determined by genetic factors (nature) versus learned behaviors and environmental influences (nurture). It's a long-standing discussion in the fields of psychology and sociology about the relative contributions of these two factors to human development.

How does social isolation affect a child's development, as illustrated by the case of Anna?

Social isolation can have severe effects on a child's emotional and cognitive development. In Anna's case, her lack of human contact resulted in her being unable to speak, smile, or respond to human interaction. Even after receiving education and medical attention, her mental development was significantly delayed, highlighting the importance of social interaction in early childhood.

What is Sigmund Freud's theory on the development of the human personality?

Freud proposed that personalities develop through the interaction of the id, ego, and superego. The id represents our most basic, unconscious desires, while the ego acts as the voice of reason, and the superego consists of internalized cultural values and norms that guide decision-making.

What are the four stages of cognitive development according to Jean Piaget?

Piaget's four stages of cognitive development are: 1) the sensorimotor stage, where knowledge is based on sensory experiences; 2) the preoperational stage, where children begin to use language and imagination; 3) the concrete operational stage, where children can understand others' perspectives and make cause-and-effect connections; and 4) the formal operational stage, where abstract thinking and logical reasoning emerge.

How did Lawrence Kohlberg expand on Piaget's model to include moral development?

Lawrence Kohlberg built upon Piaget's model by introducing stages of moral development. He suggested that children's understanding of right and wrong progresses from a pre-conventional stage, based on personal feelings, to a conventional stage, influenced by societal norms, and finally to a post-conventional stage, where abstract ethical concepts are considered.

What is Carol Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg's theory of moral development?

Carol Gilligan critiqued Kohlberg's theory by pointing out that his studies only included male subjects, which may have biased his findings. She found that girls tend to emphasize interpersonal reasoning in moral decisions, which she called a 'care and responsibility perspective,' as opposed to the 'justice perspective' often emphasized by boys.

What is George Herbert Mead's theory on the development of the self?

Mead's theory focuses on the development of the self through social interactions. He proposed that individuals develop a sense of self by taking on the role of others and learning to see themselves as others see them. His model includes stages such as imitation, play, game, and the development of a 'generalized other,' representing societal norms and expectations.

What are the key stages of Erik Erikson's eight-stage theory of development?

Erikson's theory includes stages that span from infancy to old age, each characterized by a key challenge. These include trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair.

How does the concept of 'socialization' relate to the development of personality and behavior?

Socialization is the process through which individuals learn the norms, values, and behaviors of their society and culture. It is crucial for the development of personality and behavior, as it shapes how individuals interact with others and understand their social environment.

What is the role of agents of socialization in shaping an individual's identity and behavior?

Agents of socialization, such as family, peers, education, media, and institutions, play a significant role in shaping an individual's identity and behavior by transmitting cultural norms, values, and expectations. They influence how individuals perceive themselves and their roles within society.

Outlines

00:00

🧬 Nature vs. Nurture: The Roots of Human Behavior

This paragraph explores the classic debate of nature versus nurture in shaping human behavior. It delves into the concept of nature as biologically determined and instinctive behaviors, exemplified by a baby's natural response to latch onto a finger. In contrast, nurture refers to the influence of one's environment and upbringing on behavior, which is the focus of sociological investigation. The paragraph introduces the process of socialization, through which individuals develop their personalities and learn societal norms. It also highlights the detrimental effects of social isolation on development, using the case study of Anna, a girl who was neglected and lacked human contact, resulting in severe developmental delays. The summary underscores the importance of social interaction in early life for proper emotional and cognitive growth.

05:03

👶 Developmental Theories: Shaping the Human Mind and Morals

The second paragraph delves into various psychological and sociological theories that explain the development of personality, cognitive skills, and moral behavior. It begins with Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, which posits the existence of the id, ego, and superego as key components of personality development. The paragraph then discusses Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development, ranging from the sensorimotor stage of infancy to the formal operational stage of adolescence. Lawrence Kohlberg's and Carol Gilligan's theories on moral development are also summarized, emphasizing the progression from self-interest to a broader understanding of justice and the influence of gender on moral reasoning. George Herbert Mead's theory of self development through social interaction is outlined, detailing the stages from imitation to the internalization of societal roles. Finally, Erik Erikson's eight-stage theory of psychosocial development is introduced, highlighting the challenges and social expectations at each life stage, from infancy to old age.

Keywords

💡Nature vs. Nurture

The debate between nature and nurture is a fundamental question in the study of human development, asking whether our behaviors and characteristics are determined by our genetic makeup (nature) or by our environment and upbringing (nurture). In the video, this concept is introduced to set the stage for exploring how much of a person's traits are inherited versus learned from their parents, using the example of a friend resembling their mother in various aspects.

💡Socialization

Socialization is the process through which individuals learn the norms, values, and behaviors of the society they are a part of. The video discusses this concept as a key part of personality development, emphasizing its role in teaching us about our culture and society, and how it can be hindered by social isolation, as illustrated by the case of Anna.

💡Id, Ego, and Superego

These are three distinct components of the human psyche as proposed by Sigmund Freud. The id represents our primal desires, the ego is the rational decision-maker, and the superego contains our internalized moral standards. The video uses these concepts to explain Freud's theory of personality development, suggesting that the ego and superego balance the instinctual id.

💡Cognitive Development

Cognitive development refers to the growth of a person's ability to think, reason, and understand the world around them. The video outlines Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which includes four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages, each with distinct ways of interacting with and understanding the world.

💡Moral Development

Moral development is the process by which individuals acquire values, morals, and a sense of ethics. The video discusses Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development, which progress from a self-centered view of right and wrong to a more abstract understanding of ethics, as well as Carol Gilligan's critique and extension of Kohlberg's theory to include a care perspective.

💡Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective that emphasizes the importance of symbols and language in social interaction, and how individuals develop their sense of self within social contexts. George Herbert Mead's theory of self is rooted in this perspective, as the video explains through his stages of development: imitation, play, game, and the concept of the 'generalized other'.

💡Self

The 'self' refers to an individual's self-concept or sense of identity. Mead's theory, as mentioned in the video, suggests that the self is not innate but develops through social interactions and the ability to take on the role of others. This process involves learning to view oneself as others see us and adjusting our behavior accordingly.

💡Erikson's Stages of Development

Erik Erikson's theory proposes eight stages of psychosocial development that span from infancy to old age. Each stage is characterized by a specific challenge that, if successfully navigated, leads to a healthy sense of self. The video briefly mentions this theory, emphasizing that personality development continues beyond childhood.

💡Social Isolation

Social isolation refers to the lack of social contact and interaction, which can have profound effects on an individual's emotional and cognitive development. The video uses the case of Anna to illustrate the detrimental effects of social isolation during childhood, highlighting the importance of social interaction for normal development.

💡Personality Development

Personality development is the process by which an individual's character and traits evolve over time. The video discusses various theories of personality development, including Freud's structural model, Piaget's cognitive stages, and Erikson's psychosocial stages, to explain how different factors contribute to the formation of one's personality.

💡Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic method and a theory of psychology that explores the unconscious mind to understand behavior and mental processes. Sigmund Freud, mentioned in the video, is known as the founder of psychoanalysis. His theories, including the id, ego, and superego, have significantly influenced the understanding of personality development and the unconscious mind.

Highlights

The nature versus nurture debate explores the extent to which our behaviors and characteristics are influenced by genetics versus environmental factors.

Nature refers to biologically determined and instinctive aspects of human behavior, while nurture involves the social environment and upbringing.

Socialization is the process through which we develop our personalities, learn societal norms, and culture.

Social isolation can severely impact emotional and cognitive development, as illustrated by the case study of Anna.

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory posits that personalities develop through the interplay of the id, ego, and superego.

Jean Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development, beginning with the sensorimotor stage and culminating in the formal operational stage.

Lawrence Kohlberg expanded Piaget's work to include stages of moral development, ranging from pre-conventional to post-conventional morality.

Carol Gilligan critiqued Kohlberg's model for gender bias and introduced the concepts of justice and care perspectives in moral development.

George Herbert Mead's theory of self emphasizes the development of self through social interaction and the role of others.

Erik Erikson proposed an eight-stage theory of psychosocial development that spans from infancy to old age.

Erikson's stages are based on the key psychosocial crises or challenges faced at each life stage.

The role of agents of socialization, such as family, peers, education, and media, will be discussed in subsequent episodes.

Crash Course Sociology is produced with the help of a dedicated team and made using Adobe Creative Cloud.

Support for Crash Course can be provided through Patreon, allowing the series to remain free for everyone.

The animation team, Thought Cafe, contributes to the visual storytelling of the series.

The transcript concludes with a summary of the discussed theories and their implications for understanding social development.

Transcripts

Have you ever met a friend’s parents and realized that your friend was basically a mini-me of their mom?

Not just because they both have brown hair or a pointy nose.

It’s how they talk, the way they both like making silly puns, their attitudes and beliefs.

Now the question is: How much of that similarity is genetic,

and how much is just a function of that fact that your friend grew up with their mom, and pretty much learned how to be a human being by watching her?

This is the age old question: nature or nurture?

Nature is the part of human behavior that’s biologically determined and instinctive.

When a baby latches onto your finger and won’t let go, and it’s basically the cutest thing

in the whole world, it’s not because they learned to do that – it’s natural.

A lot of human behavior, however, isn’t instinctive – it comes instead from how you’re nurtured.

The nurture part of behavior is based on the people and environment you’re raised in.

And it’s this second part – the social environment that determines human behavior

– that sociologists tend to investigate and have many different theories about.

[Theme Music]

To a big extent, we develop our personalities and learn about our society and culture through a social process – one known as socialization.

Sounds legit, right?

But what happens if you don’t have people around you?

Social isolation affects our emotional and cognitive development, a lot.

To get a glimpse into how and why this is, let’s go to the Thought Bubble to look at sociologist Kingsley Davis’s case studies on Anna.

In the winter of 1938, a social worker investigated a report of child neglect on a small Pennsylvania farm and found, hidden in a storage shed, a five-year-old girl.

That five-year girl was Anna.

She was unwanted by the family she was born into and was passed from house to house among neighbors and strangers for the first six months of her life.

Eventually, she ended up being kept in a shed with no human contact other than to receive food.

Kingsley Davis observed Anna for years after her rescue and wrote about the effects of this upbringing on her development.

When Anna was first rescued, she was unable to speak or smile, and was completely unresponsive to human interaction.

Even after years of education and medical attention, her mental development at age eight was less than that of a typical two-year old.

This is a story with both a sad beginning and a sad ending.

Anna died of a blood disorder at the age of 10.

And Davis’ study of how isolation affects young children was only one of many that have shown how a lack of socialization affects children’s ability to develop language skills, social skills, and emotional stability.

Thanks Thought Bubble.

There are lots of different theories about how we develop personalities, cognitive skills,

and moral behavior, many of which come from our siblings in social science: psychologists.

Take Sigmund Freud.

You’ve heard of him: Austrian guy?

Liked cigars? Invented the field of psychoanalysis?

One of his main theories was about how personalities develop.

He thought we were born with something called an id.

You can think of the id as your most basic, unconscious drive – a desire for food, comfort, attention.

All a baby knows is it wants THAT and it will scream until it gets it.

But then we develop the ego and superego to balance the id.

Ego is the voice of reason, your conscious efforts to rein in the pleasure-seeking id.

And your superego is made up of the cultural values and norms that you internalize and use to guide your decisions.

So if the id is the devil on your shoulder, the superego is the angel on the other shoulder,

and the ego is the mediator who intervenes when the angel and devil start fighting.

Now, a lot of Freud’s work hasn’t stood the test of time,

but his theories about how society affects our development has influenced pretty much everyone who has researched the human personality.

This includes Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who spent much of his career in the early 1900s studying cognitive development.

While researching ways to measure children’s intelligence, Piaget noticed that kids of similar ages tended to make similar mistakes.

And this, to Piaget, suggested that there were four different stages of cognitive development.

First Stage: TOUCH EVERYTHING!

Babies learn about the world by grabbing things and sticking them in their mouths.

This curious, slobbery interaction with the world is what Piaget called the sensorimotor stage –

the level of development where all knowledge is based on what you can perceive with your senses.

Around age 2, a child enters the next stage, known as the preoperational stage.

At this point, kids have learned to use language and begin to ask questions to learn about the world, rather than just grabbing stuff.

Now they can think about the world and use their imaginations – which leads to playing pretend and an understanding of symbols.

But thinking about the world is pretty much limited to how THEY think about the world.

Kids in the preoperational stage are pretty ego-centric;

if they love playing with trains and you ask them what their dad’s favorite thing to do is, they’ll probably say that he loves playing with trains too.

It’s not until they reach the concrete operational stage, around 6 or 7, that they develop the

ability to take in other people’s perspectives, and begin to make cause-and-effect connections between events in their surroundings.

And in the formal operational stage, at about age 12, Piaget said, kids begin to think in the abstract and use logic and critical thinking.

Now, American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg later expanded on Piaget’s model of cognitive development to incorporate stages of moral development.

Essentially, kids’ sense of what is “right” begins in what Kohlberg called the pre-conventional stage,

where right is just what feels good to them personally.

Next, they move to the conventional stage, where what’s right is what society and the people around them tells them is right.

And then finally, children end up in the post-conventional stage, where they begin to consider more abstract ethical concepts than just right or wrong.

So at a young age, a child doesn’t realize that grabbing the candy bar they want at the store is wrong – they just want it.

But then, a combination of societal norms and being scolded by their parents convinces them that stealing is wrong, no matter how much they want the candy bar.

And over time, they learn that morals have gray areas;

stealing is wrong if it’s just for fun, but might be considered less wrong if you’re stealing to feed your family.

Eventually, children reach a point where they’re able to think about things like freedom and justice,

and realize that societal norms about what’s right may not always line up with these principles.

Sure, laws against stealing candy may be just, but what about laws that say only certain people can get married?

Just because something is a law, is it right?

How you feel about that question may depend on your socialization.

And on your gender.

Carol Gilligan, an American psychologist who started out as a research assistant and collaborator

of Kohlberg’s, explored how girls and boys experience these stages differently.

She realized that Kohlberg’s original studies only had male subjects – which may have biased his findings.

When she expanded the research to look at both male and female children, she found that

boys tended to emphasize formal rules to define right and wrong – what she called a justice perspective.

Whereas girls tended to emphasize the role of interpersonal reasoning in moral decisions

– what she called a care and responsibility perspective.

Gilligan argued that these differences stem from cultural conditioning that girls receive to fulfill ideals of femininity.

She thought that we socialize girls to be more nurturing and empathetic, and that influences their moral interpretation of behavior.

The next theory of social development I want to focus on is from American sociologist George

Herbert Mead, who was one of the founders of the sociological paradigm we talked about

a few episodes ago, known as symbolic interactionism.

His work focused on how we develop a “self.”

What makes up the you that is inherently you?

Are you born with some inherent spark of you-ness?

According to Mead no!

Instead, he believed that we figure out who we are through other people.

All social interactions require you to see yourself as someone else might see you –

something Mead described as “taking on the role of others.”

In the first stage of development, according to Mead’s model, we learn through imitation

– we watch how others behave and try to behave like them.

You see your mom smile at your neighbor, so you smile too.

And Mead observed that as kids got older, they moved on to a new stage – play.

Rather than just imitating your mom, you might play at being a mom, taking care of a doll.

Assuming the role of “mommy” or “daddy” is a kid imagining the world from their parent’s perspective.

The next stage of development is the game stage, where children learn to take on multiple roles in a single situation.

What does that have to do with games?

Well, games use rules and norms, and require kids to take on a role themselves, and develop that role in reaction to the roles that others take on.

Team sports are a great example of this.

When you’re playing soccer, you need to not only know what you’re going to do, but also what your teammates and your opponents will do.

If you were ever the kid who ended up running the wrong way on the soccer field because

you didn’t realize the ball had switched possession, you know how important it is to anticipate what other people do.

The last stage, in Mead’s model, occurs when we learn how to take on multiple roles in multiple situations.

In this phase, we weigh our self and our actions not against one specific role, but against a ‘generalized other’ –

basically, a manifestation of all of our culture’s norms and expectations.

Now, you might have noticed that all these theories focus on childhood.

So, does that mean that your personality is set once you hit 18?

No, definitely no.

As anyone over 18 will tell you, you keep growing well past high school.

And that’s why yet another theorist, German-born psychologist Erik Erikson, came up with his

own eight-stage theory of development, that goes all the way from infancy to old age.

He based these stages on the key challenge of each period of life.

When you’re a toddler, for example, your biggest challenge is getting what you want

– or as Erikson puts it, gaining autonomy, which helps you build skills and confidence in your abilities.

But once you’re a young adult, you’ve got plenty of autonomy.

Now a bigger challenge is developing intimate relationships.

Falling in love, finding friends – there’s a reason that’s the focus of every 20-something sitcom.

And his list goes on.

Every life stage from when you’re born to when you die features different expectations that inform what we see as markers of social development.

Moving out, getting married, having kids – they’re all societal markers of social development as an adult.

But whether you feel like one or not, adulthood will come for us all –

and it’s your socialization that will determine how exactly you perform the role of “adult.”

Next week, we’ll talk about the different agents of socialization that shape who we really end up being.

Today we learned about social development, starting with the role of nature and nurture in influencing a person’s development.

We talked about social isolation and the importance of care and human interaction in early years for proper emotional and mental development.

Then, we talked about five theories of development: Freud’s Id, Ego, and Superego;

Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development,

Kohlberg and Gilligan’s theories of moral development;

Mead’s theory of self; And Erik Erikson’s life stage theory.

Crash Course Sociology is filmed in the Dr. Cheryl C. Kinney Studio in Missoula, MT, and it’s made with the help of all of these nice people.

Our animation team is Thought Cafe and Crash Course is made with Adobe Creative Cloud.

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