Elaborate on George Herbert Mead's three stages of the socialization process.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. According to Mead, the most critical social interaction occurs in the family, the foundation of socialization. The three sequential stages in this process are the following:a) The preparatory stage (roughly birth to 2 years)-An infant does not distinguish between the self and others. The I is dominant, while the me is forming in the background. In this stage, children learn through imitation.b) The play stage (roughly 2 to 6 years)-The child begins to use language and to understand that words, like dog and cat, have a shared cultural meaning. Through play, children begin to learn role taking in two ways. First, they emulate significant others. The child learns that he or she has a self that is distinct from that of others, that others behave in many different ways, and that others expect her or him to behave in specific ways. In the play stage, the child moves beyond imitation and acts out imagined roles. Also in the play stage, children experience anticipatory socialization, learning how to perform a role that they will occupy.c) The game stage (roughly 6 years and older)-This stage involves acquiring the ability to understand connections between roles. According to Mead, the child must "not only take the role of the other … but must assume the various roles of all participants in the game, and govern his action accordingly.