The Sociology Book

177

Our view of ourselves, of who we

are, is developed from birth through

interaction with those closest to us.

Individual selves are not the products

of biology but rather of this interaction.

See also: W.E.B. Du Bois 68–73 ■ Edward Said 80–81 ■ Norbert Elias 180–81 ■ Erving Goffman 190–95 ■ Stuart Hall
200–01 ■ Benedict Anderson 202–03 ■ Howard S. Becker 280–85 ■ Adrienne Rich 304–09 ■ Jeffrey Weeks 324–25

CULTURE AND IDENTITY

G

eorge Herbert Mead was a
social psychologist and a
philosopher, and he looked
to both disciplines in trying to work
out what exactly we mean when
we talk about the “self.” Traditional
philosophers and sociologists saw
societies as growing from the
coming together of individual,
autonomous selves, but Mead said
the opposite was true—selves
emerge from social interactions;
they are formed within society.
This concept is prevalent now
in psychology and psychotherapy,
but when Mead first presented
his ideas in 1913 in The Social Self,
it was a revolutionary point of view.
Mead disagreed with the idea
that individual, experiencing selves
exist in any recognizable way
before they are part of the social
process. The social process
of experience or behavior is
“logically prior to the individuals
and their individual experiencing
which are involved in it.”
By this, Mead is suggesting that
an individual’s consciousness, with
all its intentions, desires, and so on,

is formed within the context of

social relationships, one or more

particular languages, and a set of

cultural norms. From birth, babies

begin to sense communication

through gestures, which function

as symbols and build “a universe of

discourse.” Over time, they learn to

mimic and “import” the practices,

gestures, and eventually words of

those around them, so that they

can make their own response and

receive further gestures and words

from others.

Who we are

The pattern of attitudes that the

baby experiences and internalizes

(learns) creates the sense of “me.”

In this way, the “me” represents

the behaviors, expectations,

and attitudes learned through

interactions with others.

But Mead says that we also

have another sense of ourselves,

which he calls the “I.” Both the “I”

and the “me” are different functions

of the self. The “I,” like the “me,”

keeps evolving, but its function is

to reflect on the “me,” while also

seeing the bigger picture: the “me”

acts in habitual ways, while the “I”

can reflect on these and make self-

conscious choices. It allows us

to be different, both from other

people and our former selves,

through reflection on our actions.

Mead’s theory of the

development of self was pivotal

in turning psychology and

sociology away from the idea

of “self” as being merely internal

introspection, and aligning it

firmly within a societal context. ■

G.H. Mead

George Herbert Mead was

born in Massachusetts. His

father was a minister in the

Congregational Church, and

he moved the family to Oberlin,

Ohio, to teach at the seminary

there when Mead was six years

old. After graduating from

Oberlin College in 1883, Mead

worked for a few years as a

teacher and then as a railroad

surveyor before returning to

academia. He began his studies

in philosophy and sociology at

Harvard University in 1887 and

seven years later moved to the

University of Chicago, where he

worked until his death in 1931.

He claimed to have an “activist

spirit” and marched in support

of women’s suffrage and other

causes. The philosopher John

Dewey acknowledged Mead as

having “a seminal mind of the

very first order.”

Key works

1913 The Social Self

1932 The Philosophy of the

Present

1934 Mind, Self, and Society

Mind can never

find expression, and

could never have come

into existence at all,

except in terms of

a social environment.

G.H. Mead