How does the generalized other help us to conform to the rules and expectations of society?
What will be an ideal response?
The generalized other tells us what is and is not acceptable behavior in our society. Grounded in the larger cultures in which each of us participates, people have a sense of what everyone knows to be appropriate as proper behavior. Wearing clothes, for example, is so commonly understood that there generally does not need to be a rule about it. Our commonsense understanding of what is appropriate in a specific time and place, therefore, is a form of social control. We walk around with all kinds of unspoken knowledge of do's and don'ts without the need to consult where we got that knowledge. We do the do's and avoid the don'ts, as do virtually all our significant others, all our role models, and all our reference groups, because we can imagine what people would think of us if we were to engage in, or not engage in, certain behaviors.
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