1. THE INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY
SOCIAL ROLES
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
McDONALDIZATION OF SOCIETY
SOCIAL NATURE OF EDUCATION
Mrs. Eleanor F. Moreno

2. OBJECTIVES:
1. Define personality
2. Identify the nature and theories of
personality
3. Understand the sociological theories of
human development
4. Define social roles and understand the
different concepts related to social roles
5.Give the sociological significance of social
roles

3. 6. Define social structure
7. Discuss McDonaldization of society
8. Discuss the sociological perspectives on
education
9. Discuss the manifest and latent
functions of education
10. Discuss the conflict perspectives on
education
11. Problems in education

4. Personality - some theorists prefer to
view personality as a unified
whole
- others focus on specific
traits
Definition - “Those inner psychological
characteristics that both
determine and reflect how a
person responds to his or her
environment.”

5. Nature of Personality
1. Personality reflects individual
differences
2. Personality is consistent and enduring
3. Personality can change

6. Theories of Personality
A. Freudian Theory
B. Neo – Freudian Theory
C. Trait Theory

7. A. Freudian Theory
Personality is consists of three interacting
systems:
a. Id - related to physiological or impulsive
needs to which one seeks immediate
satisfaction
b. Ego - individual’s conscious control
c. Super Ego - individuals internal
expression of moral/ethical codes of
conduct ; or commonly called the
conscience

8. Freudian Theory
 Built on the premise that unconscious
needs or drives, especially sexual and
other biological drives are at the heart of
human motivation – ulterior motives.
 Although Ego is capable of resolving many
of the conflicts that arise between the
personality components; there are certain
occasions when no solutions could be
achieved, leading to tensions within

9. Defense Mechanisms
a. Repression - resolving conflict by
minimizing aspects of the
conflicting situation
b. Projection - feelings generated by
individual’s id or super ego is
ascribed to another person or
group

10. c. Identification - the individual
unconsciously imitates the
behavior of another person who
has successfully handled a similar
conflict
d. Reaction Formation - unconscious
feelings held toward others are
consciously expressed as
opposites

11. B. Neo – Freudian Theory
Social relationships are fundamental to
formation of personality (Freud – impulsive
and sexual in nature)
 Three Personality Groups
1. Compliant individuals
2. Aggressive individuals
3. Detached individuals

12. C. Trait Theory
 Departure from qualitative measures that
typify the earlier theories.
 Quantitative or empirical in approach
 Measurement of personality in terms of
specific psychological characteristics called
“traits”
 Checks personality traits related to how
consumer makes his choices

13. The trait theory is based on three
assumptions:
1. Individuals possess relatively stable
behavioral tendencies.
2. Different people differ in the degree to which
they possess these tendencies.
3. When identified and measured, these
relative differences between individuals are
useful in characterizing their personalities.

14. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
 According to a sociological perspective, we
cannot form a sense of self or personal
identity without intense social contact
with others.
 The self represents the sum total of
perceptions and feelings that an individual
has of being a distinct, unique person – a
sense of who and what one is.

15. Self-concept - the totality of our beliefs and
feelings about ourselves
Four Components of Self-Concept
1. The physical self (“I am tall.”)
2. The active self (“I am good at badminton.”)
3. The social self (“I am nice to others.”)
4. The psychological self (“I believe in world
peace.

16. Self-identity
 our perception about what kind of person
we are
 we gain information about the self largely
through language, symbols, and
interaction with others

17. A. Cooley and the Looking-Glass
Self
Looking-glass self is a self-concept derived from
a three-step process:
1. We imagine how our personality and
appearance will look to other people.
2. We imagine how other people judge the
appearance and personality that we think we
represent.
3. We develop a self-concept.

18. B. Mead and Role-Taking
Role-taking - the process by which a person
mentally assumes the role of another person
or group in order to understand the world
from that person’s or group’s point of view
 Often occurs through play and games, as
children try out different roles (such as
being mommy, daddy, doctor, or teacher)
and gain an appreciation to them

19. Steps:
a. Role-taking - people come to take the
role of the other
b. Role-making - the person begins to
construct his/her own roles and to anticipate
other individual’s responses
c. Role-playing - the person plays at
her/his particular role

20. Significant Others
 are those persons whose
care, affection, and approval are
essentially desired and who are
most important in the
development

21. Mead divided the self into the “I” and
the “me”
a. “I” - subjective element of the self and
represents the spontaneous and unique
traits of each person
b. “me” - objective of the self, which is
composed of the internalized attitudes and
demands of other members of society and
the individual’s awareness of those demands

22. Three Stages of Self-Development:
1. Preparatory Stage - up to about age
three, interactions lack meaning, and
children largely imitate the people around
them
- At this stage, children are preparing for
role-taking

23. 2. Play Stage - from about age three
to five, children learn to use language
and other symbols, thus enabling them
to pretend to take the roles of specific
people
- At this stage, they begin to see
themselves in relation to others, but they
do not see role-taking as something they
have to do

24. 3. Game Stage - begins in the early schools
years, children understand not only their own
social position but also the positions of others
around them
 In contrast to play, games are structured by
rules, are often competitive, and involve a
number of other players
 At this time, children become concerned
about the demands and expectations of
others and of the larger society

25. Generalized Others
refers to the child’s awareness of the
demands and expectations of the
society as a whole or of the child’s
subculture

26. SOCIAL ROLES
A role is a dynamic aspect of a status.
Whereas we occupy a status, we play a
role.

27. Role - set of behavioral expectations
associated with a given status
Role expectation - a group’s or society’s
definition of the way a specific role ought
to be played
- Typically based on a range of
acceptable behavior rather than on
strictly defined standards

28. Role ambiguity - occurs when the
expectations associated with a role are
unclear
Role performance - how a person
actually plays the role

29. Role strain - occurs when
incompatible demands are built into a
single status that a person occupies
(Goode, 1960)
Role conflict - occurs when
incompatible role demands are placed
on a person by two or more statuses
held at the same time
 May occur as a result of changing
statuses and roles in society

30.  People use distancing techniques when
they do not want others to take them as
the “self” implied in a particular
role, especially if they think the role is
“beneath them”
Role distancing - occurs when people
consciously foster the impression of a lack
of commitment or attachment to a
particular role and merely go through the
motions of role performance (Goffman,
1961b)

31. Role exit - occurs when people
disengage from social roles that have
been central to their self-identity
(Ebaugh, 1988)

32. Four Stages of Role Exit
1. Doubt - people experience frustration or
burnout when they reflect on their existing roles
2. Search for alternatives - people may take a
leave of absence from their work or temporarily
separate from their marriage partner
3. Turning point - people realize that they
must take some final action, such as quitting
their job or getting a divorce
4. Creation of a new identity

33. THE SOCIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ROLES
The sociological significance of roles is
that they lay out what is expected of people.
They are like a fence. They allow us a certain
amount of freedom, but for most of us, that
freedom doesn’t go very far. Almost all of us
stay within the fences that mark out what is
“appropriate” for our roles. Most of us are
little troubled by such constraints for our
socialization is so thorough that we usually
want to do what our roles indicate is
appropriate.

34. SOCIAL STRUCTURE
 The framework that surrounds us, consisting of
the relationships of people and groups to one
another, which give direction to and set limits
of behavior
 Tends to override personal feelings and desires
 Gives us the ability to interpret the social
situations we encounter
 Creates boundaries that define which persons
or groups will be the “insiders” and which will
be the “outsiders”
 Crucially affects who we are and what we are
like

35. THE McDONALDIZATION OF
SOCIETY
The process by which ordinary aspects of
life become rationalized and efficiency
comes to rule them, including such
things as food preparation.

36.  As sociologist George Ritzer
(1993, 1998, 2001) say, our everyday
lives are being “McDonaldized”; which
means that the standardization of
everyday life
- does not refer just to the robot-like
assembly of food. As Ritzer points
out, this process is occurring
throughout society and it is
transforming our lives.

37.  Efficiency brings dependability and
efficiency also lowers prices. But
efficiency does come at a cost.
Predictability washes away
spontaneity, changing the quality of our
lives. It produces a sameness; a bland
version of what used to be unique.

38. SOCIAL NATURE OF EDUCATION
Education - social institution
responsible for the systematic
transmission of knowledge, skills, and
cultural values within a formally
organized structure

39. Functionalist Perspectives of Education
a. View education as one of the most important
components of society
b. According to Durkheim, education is the
“influences exercised by adult generations on
those that are not yet ready for social life”.
c. Durkheim asserted that moral values are the
foundation of a cohesive social order and that
schools have the responsibility of teaching a
commitment to the common morality.
d. Etzioni suggests that “shared” values should
be transmitted by schools from kindergarten
through college.

40. Manifest Functions of Education
Some functions of education are
manifest functions, previously defined as the
open, stated and intended goals or
consequences of activities within an
organization or institution. Examples of
manifest functions in education include
teaching specific subjects such as
science, mathematics, reading, history and
English.

41. Five Major Manifest Functions in Society:
1. Socialization - from Kindergarten through
college, schools teach students the student
role, specific academic subjects, and political
socialization. In primary and secondary
schools, students are taught specific subject matter
appropriate to their age, skill level, and previous
educational experience. At the college
level, students focus on more detailed knowledge of
subjects they previously have studied while also
being exposed to new areas of study and research.

42. 2. Transmission of culture - schools
transmit cultural norms and values to each
new generation and play an active part in
the process of assimilation, whereby
recent immigrants learn dominant cultural
values, attitudes, and behavior so that they
can be productive members of the society.

43. 3. Social control - Schools are
responsible for teaching values such as
discipline, respect, obedience, punctuality,
and perseverance. Schools teach
conformity by encouraging young people
to be good students, conscientious future
workers, and law abiding citizens.

44. 4. Social placement - Schools are
responsible for identifying the most
qualified people to fill available positions in
society. As a result, students are channeled
into programs based on individual ability
and academic achievement. Graduates
receive the appropriate credentials for
entry into the paid labor force.

45. 5. Change and innovation - Schools are a source of
change and innovation. As student populations change
over time, new programs are introduced to meet
societal needs; for example, sex education, drug
addiction, and multicultural studies have been
implemented in some schools to help students learn
about pressing social issues. Innovation in the form of
new knowledge is required of colleges and universities.
Faculty members are encouraged, and sometimes
required, to engage in research and share the results
with students, colleagues and others.

46. Latent Functions of Education
In addition to manifest functions,
all social institutions, including
education have some latent functions;
which are hidden, unstated, and
sometimes unintended consequences of
activities within an organization or
institution.

47. 1. Restricting some activities
Early in the twentieth century, all states
passed mandatory education laws that
require children to attend school until they
reach a specified age or until they complete a
minimum level of formal education. Out of
these laws, students were kept off the streets
and out of the fulltime job market for a
number of years, thus helping keep
unemployment within reasonable bounds.
(Braverman, 1974).

48. 2. Matchmaking and production of
social network
Because schools bring together
people of similar ages, social class, and
race/ethnicity, young people often meet
future marriage partners and develop
social networks that may last for years.

49. 3. Creating a generation gap
Students may learn information in
school that contradicts beliefs held by
their parents or their religion. When
education conflicts with parental
attitudes and beliefs, a generation gap
is created if students embrace the
newly acquired perspective.

50. Conflict Perspectives on Education
In contrast with the functionalist
perspective, conflict theorists argue that
all schools often perpetuate class, racial –
ethnic, and gender inequalities as some
groups seek to maintain their privileged
position at the expense of others
(Ballantine, 2001).

51. a. Cultural Capital and Class
Reproduction
 social assets that include
values, beliefs, attitudes, and
competencies in language and culture
(Bourdieu and Passeron, 1990)
 Cultural capital involves “proper” attitudes
toward education, socially approved dress
and manners, and knowledge about
books, art, music, and other forms of high
and popular culture

52. b. Tracking and Social Inequality
 refers to the practice of assigning students
to specific curriculum groups and courses
on the basis of their test scores, previous
grades or other criteria
 Conflict theorists believe that tracking
seriously affects many students’
educational performance and their overall
academic accomplishments.

53. c. The Hidden Curriculum
According to conflict theorists,
hidden curriculum is the transmission
of cultural values and attitudes, such
as conformity and obedience to
authority, through implied demands
found in the rules, routines, and
regulations of schools

54. PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION
1. Unequal funding of public schools
2. School violence
3. Dropping out
4. Racial segregation and resegregation
5. Class, race, and social reproduction in
Higher Education

55. THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING