Unit 2

• Nature: Our genetics and heredity determine our behaviour. Our personality traits and abilities are in our “nature.” We genetically inherit physical traits from our parents, but we also inherit personality traits, intelligence and preferences.

  
  

  Nurture: Our environment, upbringing, the culture we are raised in and life experiences determine our behaviour. We are “nurtured” to behave in certain ways. The household we grew up in and how we were raised by our parents, teachers, culture and friends are environmental factors that determine who we are.
• Socialization: A lifelong process by which we learn “acceptable” attitudes and behaviours -- very different among different groups, cultures and subcultures.
• The Major Socialization Agents:

  1. Family (rules, example)
  2. Media (movies, TV, music)
  3. Peer Group (views, behaviour)
  4. School (rules, example)
  5. Religion
• Inadequately Socialized Children:

  Feral children are “social isolates”—if they have not been socialized, they do not know how to function in society. They therefore will not be able to without major intervention and time.
• Biological Theories of Personality:

  • Genetic makeup solely determines our personality (ex: eugenics)
  • Sheldon’s Body Types
  • Endomorph (“round and plump”) - secure and happy people
  • Ectomorph (“thin and frail”) - mean and calculating people
  • Mesomorph (“muscular”) - pushy and violent people
  • Largely been discredited
  • Current research proves that genes do play a part in personality -- however, it has been shown that they do not solely determine who one is
• Psychological Theories of Personality:

  • Psychological drives determine our personality
  • Example: Freund
  • Id, superego, ego
  • Repressed desires/unconscious mind
  • Psychosexual Theory
• Sociological Theories of Personality:

  • Social interaction determines our personality
  • Examples:
  • Multiple Selves Theory (different personalities depending on who you’re with)
  • Social Learning Theory (imitation and/or observation)
  • Sociocultural Determinism (socialization within our culture)
• Personality:

  • Middle: Adjustable, flexible, sharing, not possessive, less competitive, independent and responsible
  • Oldest: Adult-oriented, sensitive, serious, conscientious, studious, and competitive
  • Only: Individualistic, adult-oriented, self-confident, relaxed, serious, and studious
  • Youngest: Easygoing, cheerful, friendly, placid, not studious, and fun-loving
• Relationships:

  • Youngest: As a child tattles on siblings, as an adult is comfortable with other people and popular
  • Only: Marries with overly idealistic expectations, and seeks their mother or father in their spouse
  • Oldest: A good leader in large, impersonal groups only: man takes younger sister in another family, woman takes the younger brother in another family
  • Middle: Gets along well with the opposite sex of any age; good marriage risk
• Academic Achievement:

  • Youngest: Unmotivated and unstudious, but creative, original, and spontaneous
  • Middle: Moderate motivation and success
  • Only: The highest achiever! Highly motivated, studious, conscientious, and competitive
  • Oldest: A higher achiever, highly motivated, studious, conscientious, and competitive
• Adult Adjustment:

  • Oldest: Identifies with parents, matures quickly, accepts responsibility, chooses a career with independent work, and is ambitious
  • Middle: The best adjusted of all; makes a good parent
  • Youngest: Unambitious; happiest
  • Only: Individualistic, matures quickly, responsible, independent career, ambitious
• Culture:

  • A learned pattern of behaviour and values that are shared among a group of people (nurture)
  • Determines:
  • Customs and symbols (marriage, funerals)
  • Beliefs and values
  • Language (slang)
  • Laws
  • Passed on by socialization
  • Components:
  • The music and movies we like
  • Religion or lack of belief
  • Parents’ messages
  • What we eat and the way we eat it
  • The forms our families take and the roles within
  • Gender roles
  • “Rules” of etiquette
• Subcultures:

  • Cultures within cultures
  • Examples: sex workers, soccer hooligans, hip hop, biker gangs, hippies
• Sigmund Freud - Psychosexual Theory:

  • Sex as the primary motivator of human behaviour
  • Stages and signs that the “id” won
• Jean Piaget - Cognitive Development Theory:

  • Children go through a series of chronological development stages
  • The “self” emerges as the child masters each stage
  • These stages are influenced by social interaction and are responsible for mental development
• Jean Piaget - Cognitive Development Theory (2):

  • Sensorimotor (birth - 2 years): Kids learn by touching and direct experience
  • Pre-Operational (2-7 years): Kids understand symbols and that things exist even when you can’t see them, but only see the world through their point of view
  • Concrete Operational (7-11 years): Kids develop logic and begin to understand “cause and effect”
  • Formal Operational (12 years and onward): Capacity to think abstractly and objectively
• Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead - Social Experience Theory:

  • Self-development is based on how we think others see us (the looking-glass self) -- we think we have these features they say or act like they see in us (ex: humour)
• Self-Concept/Self-Image and Self-Esteem:

  • Self-Concept/Self-Image: Our view of ourselves, and what we believe to be our strengths and weaknesses
  • Self-Esteem: How we value ourselves and how much we like ourselves
  • Self-Concept/Self-Image + Self-Esteem = Our Social Identity
• Erik Erickson - Social Development Theory:

  • In each of the eight stages of the life of humans, as they interact with society, they face a conflict between personal wants and societal needs
  • The self emerges as we successfully resolve these or unsuccessfully attempt to resolve these
  • Example: Stage 1 is Trust vs. Mistrust (birth - 1 year)
• Abraham Maslow - Humanistic Theory:

  • Critical of other theories, especially psychoanalysis, because they were based on animals or emotionally disturbed people
  • Believed in the intrinsic goodness of humans
  • Argued there is a hierarchy (pyramid) of needs which motivate human behaviour -- one must meet their basic needs before they can reach their growth needs and achieve self-actualization
• Carol Gilligan - Gender-Based Theory:

  • Moral development is different in males and females (doesn’t tell us why)
  • Males have a “justice” perspective -- define right and wrong through rules and abstract principles
  • Females have a “care and responsibility” perspective -- judge right and wrong based on how actions affect personal relationships and loyalties
• Three Types of Sex Work:

  1. Street: The girls tend to be younger, tougher, more addicted to drugs and are more likely to have been abused
  2. Hotel: A “system” (he mainly deals with this type in the book)
  3. Escort Services: More money involved, safer -- often set up online, conveyed through messages

  **Hotel and Online are most common now
• Sex Workers - Values:

  • Seen as a social (not sexual or economic) profession
  • Seen as a legitimate job
  • Substance abuse “numbs the pain”
  • Lowering inhibitions
  • Offering an escape
  • Strengthening denial and reducing fear
  • Sexual abuse at a young age can lead to substance abuse, health problems and the path to sex work
  • No kissing
• Sex Workers - Norms:

  • Keep the same routine (safety)
  • Some have pimps, most of who start off as “boyfriends”
  • Run like a business -- regular customers, price regulation, territory, “training” for new girls (compared to Tim Hortons)
  • Most have boyfriends or husbands who know that they do
• Hippies - Origins:

  • Originated in the 1960s in opposition to the Vietnam War in San Francisco
• Hippies - Values:

  • World peace
  • “Free love”
  • Drug use
  • Communist political philosophy
• Hippies - Norms:

  • Often lived communally
  • Prolonged drug use
  • Sex with multiple partners
  • Heavily into music (folk/protest singers, acid rock)
• Hippies - Dress:

  • Long hair
  • Old clothes
  • Beards for men
  • “Dirty” appearance
• Hippies - Reaction of the Larger Culture:

  • Shocked
  • Seen as a “threat” to civilized society by some
  • Seen as “dirty, irreligious, promiscuous druggies” by some but as “peaceful, loving, compassionate” people by others
• Outlaw Biker Gangs - Definition:

  • To be considered an “outlaw” biker, one must be part of a group that is considered a “criminal gang” by the police and society (meaning they have criminal records and have been proven in court to be part of a “criminal enterprise”)
  • Examples: Hells Angels, Banditos, Rock Machine
  • Show to engage in drug dealing, prostitution, extortion, trafficking in stolen goods, etc.
• Outlaw Biker Gangs - Origins:

  • After WW2 in Fontana, California, the Hells Angels were formed by British-American war immigrants, named after a bomber squadron
  • Bound by a sense of free-spirit, loyalty and brotherhood, or violence and crime
• Outlaw Biker Gangs - Values:

  • Love of custom-made, Harley Davidson motorcycles
  • Loyalty to the group is paramount
  • Do not tolerate any form of disrespect
  • System of earning patches and “colours”
  • Traditional sexist views (women can never be full patch holders and are considered “property” of a male member)
  • Members will defend their “colours” (patches) to the death
  • If you fight one member, you “fight them all”
  • Racism often involved
• Outlaw Biker Gangs - Symbols:

  • Tattoos are common and significant
  • “1%”: Members proudly wear this to say they are the 1% of bikers who break the law
  • “Filthy Few”: Signifies one who has killed for the brotherhood
  • 13: Refers to the 13th letter of the alphabet -- “M” stands for marijuana, motorcycles and methamphetamines
• Outlaw Biker Gangs - Symbols (2):

  • 81: Refers to the 8th and 1st letters of the alphabet -- “H” and “A” for Hells Angels
  • White Power Fist: Often seen on members, affiliates them with different Klan and White Supremacist groups -- most groups will not allow non-whites to join (exceptions are Banditos and Rock Machine)
• Mental Illness:

  • A disturbance in thoughts and emotions that decreases a person’s capacity to cope with the challenges of everyday life
  • Broad classification for many disorders
  • Can affect anyone, regardless of intelligence, social class or income level
  • People with mental illnesses are more likely to be the victims, rather than the perpetrators, of violence
  • Factors that may contribute to the development of mental illness:
  • Brain chemistry
  • Heredity
  • Traumatic life events
  • Substance abuse (may bring it out, but seldom causes it)
• Social Conditions & Mental Illness:

  While social conditions do not cause mental illness, these conditions have a negative effect on mental health. These conditions include:

  • Poverty
  • Income disparities
  • Homelessness
  • Housing instability
  • Income insecurity
  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Homophobia
• Changing Views of Mental Illness in Our Society (Middle Ages to Present):

  • Middle Ages
  • Belief: Abnormal behaviour caused by evil spirits in the body
  • Treatment: Exorcism used at religious ceremonies to cast out evil spirits; praying, fasting, witch hunts
  • 18th Century (1700s)
  • Belief: Those who behaved abnormally should be removed from society
  • Treatment: Confined to asylums and kept in chains
• Changing Views of Mental Illness in Our Society (2):

  • 19th Century (1800s)
  • Belief: Those who have serious mental disorders should be confined to institutions where they could receive treatment, less serious disorders treated on an “outpatient” basis
  • Treatment: Solitary confinement, psychotherapy
  • 20th Century (1900s)
  • Belief: Many people with mental illness can be treated successfully and live normal lives
  • Treatment: Drug treatment, psychotherapy, counseling, treat as “outpatients” wherever possible, integration in society and living as normal a life as possible is the goal
• The Matrix of Mental Health:

  Mental health and mental illness are not simply at opposite ends of a single spectrum. People diagnosed with a mental illness can still have high levels of general mental well-being, while those without a diagnosed mental illness can show low levels of mental well-being.
• The Matrix of Mental Health (2):

  Mental health is best understood as a matrix, where people can move among states of mental well-being regardless of mental illness. They can flourish or languish, depending on individual functioning, social well-being and mental health issues. This means that it’s possible to have mental health while living with mental illness.