4-1 Describe the development of the self in the context of symbolic interaction.

4-2 Discuss the concept of the individual as performer, including the ideas of impression management and the front and back stages.

4-3 Explain the significance of socialization in childhood and adulthood.

4-4 Describe the key aspects of interaction with others as socialization.

4-5 Identify micro-level social structures, including social networks and groups.

The sociological perspective on the individual and the self focuses on how they affect a person’s ability to take part in society. Symbolic interactionism is a key theory in the sociological study of how individuals develop a sense of self. The self is the ability to take oneself as an object and over time gain a sense of who one is.

In developing a self, children come to incorporate a sense of the generalized other, which allows them to take the role of the entire group or community in which they are embedded.

Erving Goffman argued that in every interaction, or perfor­mance, individuals maintain a front stage, where they oper­ate in an idealized manner, and a back stage, where they are better able to freely express what is suppressed in the front stage.

Socialization is the process through which a person learns and generally comes to accept the ways of a group or of a society as a whole. Primary socialization begins with newborns and infants, and as they develop, children experience secondary socialization. Socialization does not end with childhood—adults continue to be socialized throughout their lives. Interaction is crucially impor­tant to socialization and many other aspects of the social world. Simmel believed that society is defined by interaction. Interaction is deeply involved in people’s statuses within social systems and their related roles. Expectations associated with one status often conflict with those tied to others.

Patterns of interaction and social relationships that occur regu­larly and persist over time become social structures. The smallest social structure is the dyad, which may sometimes become a triad. A group is still a relatively small social structure, made up of a number of people who develop patterned relationships over time. Social networks involve two or more individuals, groups, organizations, or societies.