|
| |
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT.
Term Paper ID:8759
|
|
|
Essay Subject:
Influence of social class & ethnic status. Overview citing numerous theorists (Glasser, Lidz, Osborne). Examples from many social & ethnic groups.... More...
|
24 Pages / 5400 Words
8 sources, 24 Citations,
APA Format
$96.00
Return to List of Papers
|
Paper Abstract:
Influence of social class & ethnic status. Overview citing numerous theorists (Glasser, Lidz, Osborne). Examples from many social & ethnic groups.
Paper Introduction:
The following research is on the subject of the inter-relation of personality with social class and ethnic status. The personality of the individual is determined by a number of factors. There is first of all an apparent mechanism within the individual which causes the personality to develop along certain lines according to age. There are variations within certain parameters, and in part other factors affect those distinctions. The environment is another important factor in the development of personality, and this includes experiences which help to shape individual differences. Freud first focused on the similarities in the development of the personalities of all when he discussed the familial factors which were seen as so important in the development of the mental life of the person. Social class and race are also important factors in the development of the
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
There is always a certain impairmentof individuality under such an arrangement, an abdication by the individualof the critical faculties and of personal responsibility. Everyrace is able to assimilate into a given culture in time, at least as far asthey are allowed. The person. There are, however, two leaders to this group--the father and the mother. He notes a number of examples: A husband might confess thathe had never seen his wife in the nude, and the physician might take thisto indicate extreme inhibition on the part of the wife; however, the lower-class husband of Polish origin would be shocked if his wife ever undressedin his presence. Seen as a social system, the forms and functions of the family evolvewithin the culture and subserve the needs of the society of which it is asubsystem. Diverse groups may be lumped together as a result of atrait that is real or imagined. Many of the problems of the personality in modern life are results offailures of social class, failures attributed to a distorted view caused bythe pressures of modern life. The individual is usually not aware of the weight given toeach variable, or the reason why certain variables are included in theassessment while others are excluded. Even among modern societies, there are vast differences in thecriteria used for establishing rank in the social hierarchy. Each society projects its own version of the positions in thehierarchy that bring with them the greatest privilege and respect, and theprestige that accrues to the position often has little to do with wealth.The ideal will be determined in different terms by a different society, ofcourse. None of these influences takes place in a vacuum,and there are likely several different influences operating at once, somemutually exclusive, others of greater or lesser importance in individualcases. Children grow up learning about the world from their parents,and the ethnic variables affect this process. The upper-middle class and upper-class families,on the other hand, will expect at least a college degree for theirchildren, and the child will @expanding his horizons well into histwenties, which also permits them to be more or less dependent on parentalsupport. The members of different groups receive different inputs fromtheir surroundings. 282-287). P., & Rainwater, L. However, the Negro is separatedbecause of his color and earlier slave status as well as other factors, andhe has not been able to become upwardly mobile as readily. Arthur Koestler (1967) emphasizes that the individual tries tointegrate himself into the group, and that the selfish impulses of man andhis psychology are of less importance than his integrative tendencies. The lower-class familywill generally send their children through the required twelve years ofschool, and the child will have virtually finished his personalitydevelopment by mid-teens. The conception of the possibility of upwardmobilityis related to this issue of self-image (Coleman, & Rainwater, 1978, p.228). The development of thepersonality takes place in the context of these interrelationships in thefamily and in the society. The children were encouragedto achieve their own potential, and they thought more and more ofthemselves. Itis questionable whether anyone could control all the variables that arepossible in this regard in order to effect the personality traits desired.ETHNIC STATUS Just as social class is a factor in the development of thepersonality, so is the ethnic status of the individual. There is in America a greateropportunity for upward social mobility than anywhere else in the world, butin spite of this the classes tend to perpetuate themselves through thedifferent ways in which they raise their children. These groups are also expected to display thevirtues implied above: to be self-regulating autonomous wholes, but alsoto conform to the national or even international interests. For example,in the United States there is generally a higher status accorded those whoare white rather than those who are black, those who are Protestant ratherthan those who are Catholic or Jewish, those who are rich rather than thosewho are poor, the white-collar worker rather than the blue-collar worker,and those who are married rather than those who are divorced. McClelland, D. A childis raised in a culture which serves as a mold to shape the rough outlinesof his personality, delimit his drives, and provide organization to themanifold ways of adapting to the environment permitted man by his physicalendowment. Child rearing differs in the United Statesaccording to social class and ethnic origins, and these methods are alsoaffected by the personality of the parents even more than in most societiesbecause the parents and their children are so often isolated from theinfluence of the extended family group. 53-54). Roles can be regarded asunits of a social system, but they also part of the personality throughdirecting behavior to fit them and by giving cohesion to the functioning ofpersonality. 84-85). Here is where the real influence of race enters, aninfluence caused by the prejudicial attitudes taken toward certain races.As noted, the prejudicial attitude filters down through the layers ofsociety and infects even the race held in low esteem. Actually, there can be a problem distinguishing between theinfluences brought about by ethnic status and those brought about by socialclass. 6 -61). Still, ethnicgroups tend to perpetuate themselves because they adhere to customs whichafford their members a feeling of identity. This is a trait of personality that affects and is affected bysocial class standing. The complex fabric of social life can bedissected into a variety of hierarchic divisions (Koestler, 1967, pp. There is often a relationship between ethnic groupings and socialclass, as for example when one ethnic group is subjugated by another, orwhen a displaced group finds a refuge in another country. In the United States, on the other hand, moreemphasis is placed on education than in the Netherlands or Sweden. It serves to warm and moisten theair being taken into the lungs, and the shape of the nose depended on theclimate of the given region. At any rate, the historical and moral realities have an influenceon the development of the Black child in both regions.SOCIAL CLASS How important is social class to the individual? Wealth has beenmentioned as one means of determining rank in social classes, but it is byno means the only such indication. The slave was separated from his kin and his ethnic group,and he then had no ideal figures after whom he could shape himself. It is in fact arguable whether ethnic and racial differences are thekey factor in forming personality, or whether the cultural factors arestrongest. Also, the norms of societyare determined by the people within that society without conscious effort,just as they were formed by the norms that prevailed when they were beingraised. Social class differences maynot be so striking in the United States, but they are nonetheless present.The importance of social class on the personality should be apparent fromthe fact that from division to division, the traditions taught, theexpectations held, the role samples provided, and the intellectualatmosphere afforded the child vary. It issimply important to recognize that the biological nature of the humanorganism is such that it depends on the assimilation of cultural influencesto make possible the survival and the development of the person. Such attitudes include relative lack ofconcern for the future, high rates of broken homes, premature reliance onolder siblings to care for the young child and these are all attitudes thatare common among other lower socioeconomic segments of the population. Such delimitation is essential to the realization of individualpotential, for man is unable to develop into a harmonious entity withoutit. Farb, P. Under a system such as this, it is fairly simple to see that thepersonality development would be affected by the self-image afforded theindividual by skin color and by the societal views of skin color. Elements may have different relative values indifferent societies as well. Thefamily also transmits symbolically from generation to generation ratherthan through societal organizations, and there is a considerable overlap.Social roles and social institutions are also part of the culturalheritage, and therefore enculturation of the young cannot be considereddiscretely from socialization. (1971). Since this was true, they came to care less about goals thanhad their parents and were instead concerned with their role, with theirhuman potential, with their happiness. The individual may have security, but now heneeds to be verified as a person by his fellow man. What is valued in onesociety and leads to the individual being placed in a high social class maynot be valued in another. Certain smallsocieties have tried to ignore some of the required considerations, such asplacing a ban on all sexual activity, but such societies have not lasted.A society has an existence of its own, in addition to being essential tothe members. An understanding of the personalitydevelopment of the child requires recognition of such ethnic and religiousdifferences. Sociologists have been concerned with two things--first, thedistribution of occupations, and second, the distribution of education.Economists consider mainly the distribution of income, a variable that isreadily measurable and with a distribution that is relatively easy todescribe (Coleman, & Rainwater, 1978, p. Basically, the personality includes such factors as character traits,the self and concepts of self, and basic attitudes. Koestler, A. B. The social position ofthe individual is really determined by a number of variables and theirinteraction. A "brown" personwho marries an upper-class "white" person will probably be listed as"white" in the next census. The codification of such beliefsleads to discrimination. These groups have customs that are notablydivergent from those of the general community. H. The American Negro family presents some special problems. The official census inBrazil lists four categories of skin color--white, yellow, brown, and black--but the average Brazilian citizen adds a few hundred others in hispersonal determinations. There is a dichotomy between what the parentsvalued in their personalities, and what the children value in theirs. 278-279). There are many different hierarchies which affect the individual,some based on social cohesion, geographical distribution, the family, theclan, sub-castes, and castes. Among thesephenomena are several that relate directly to social class: the value ofbelonging to a mutually protective unit; the rewards of renouncing selfishneeds in favor of the welfare of the collectivity; the hierarchies ofauthority and the relationships between authority and responsibility, forexamples. Even after assimilation has taken place, however, thestructure of the family and the functions of the family frequently arepatterned on many elements of the Old World which the parents still carrywith them without knowing it. However, thereare some patterns that must be filled by all cultures, and a look at theseis necessary first. 15).CONCLUSION Ethnic background is important to the development of personality in anumber of ways. Different ethnic groups have patterned their lives and their customsin ways that are amazingly diverse, and some of these ways are almostbeyond the imagination of people from some other culture. Different populations are categorized in different ways indifferent parts of the world. (1968). New York: Harper & Row. They were satisfied that all men were related, but latergenerations were not (Klass, & Hellman, 1971, p. In theUnited States, for example, Black Americans have a significantly lower lifeexpectancy than whites, and this is caused by a wide variety of causesincluding poor health care, malnutrition, unsanitary living conditions,employment at dangerous or taxing jobs, and such self-destructive reactionsas alcoholism and drug addiction (Farb, 1978, pp. 246-247). New York: Irvington. At least theBrazilian system recognizes a great diversity of humankind: it is in theassignment of value to this fact that the system is at fault. Klass, M., & Hellman, H. How theindividual perceives his own standing is part of his image, and the socialclass to which he belongs will help determine his expectations of himself.It has already been noted that in the lower classes, expectations are notso high as in the upper. Thesocial class to which a given ethnic group is relegated may change fromsociety to society and even from time to time. There are no inherentinferiorities according to race or social standing, but the attitudesconcerning these things are self-perpetuating and bring about inferioritiesas a result. (1967). How a person is "seen" isalso part of this complex system, and this often depends on the person'ssocial and economic status. One aspect that might beconsidered by the a psychologist is the distribution of power, adistribution related to the others in an indirect fashion. The socialclass in which the family belongs determines how the child is raised, whatvalues he is given, and a thousand other details of his mental development. The skills and customs of society are necessary for man to developinto anything at all (Lidz, 1968, pp. 5 ). A child whose parents have a southernItalian origin may be influenced by the expectation that strong ties to theextended family are required. The true believer,on the other hand, becomes more closely knit into society by joining somegroup and placing himself firmly in the center of it, be it the church, aparty, or some other social entity. The self-image of theindividual is determined to a great extent by how the society at largeviews him. If a person has the same skin color as a mulato, butalso has curlier hair, he is known as a creolo. What developed was a system of matriarchy,and this system persisted (Lidz, 1968, pp. "Scientific racism" was unconsciously accepted throughout Europeand America in the 19th century; it assumed that people in undevelopedcountries were genetically deficient in the mental abilities needed toinvent and to use a complex technology (Farb, 1978, pp. Karl Marx made such an attribution towealth alone, and this was an oversimplification. The causes of prejudice are many--personalitytraits, religion, economics, the balance of political power, and varioussocial influences. The children who grow up inthis atmosphere will have very different ideas and feelings about theirrespective roles and responsibilities and will also have differentreactions to male and female authority figures than will children of aGerman-American family which retains the strict and stern father who isalmost unapproachable to the child. 37 -373). 5). Familyconnections are more important in Great Britain and in Japan than in theUnited States, for example. Personality isa result of many factors, and the environmental concerns--which includesthe environment of society--are paramount. One of the most complex systems forcategorizing people according to skin color is the one found in Brazil.There, fine gradations of skin color are combined with numerous social andeconomic distinctions to produce such categories. 61-62).CONCLUSION Personality development is a function of many variables, and socialclass is simply one of those variables. It is difficult forthe member of such a race to do otherwise than hold himself in low esteem.It becomes a vicious circle in which a person is told his worth is lessuntil he comes to believe it, and through anti-social behavior of one sortor another he may also make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. The individual does not learn patterns of living entirelyfrom scratch; rather, in many situations the individual learns roles andthen modifies them to the specific individual needs. This newer cultureis a culture of somewhat indefinite characteristics which is in the processof formation or constant reformation as it assimilates the characteristicsof different groups and tries to find ways of suiting its members to liveunder rapidly changing conditions. At the same time, the fact that the child possesses these values prepareshim for an adult life in this same class. This, too, was a function ofgeographical location and environmental considerations (Farb, 1978, pp. Also,biological variables play a part in determining social status, includingsuch things as sex, age, skin color, and physical or mental abilities.Social and cultural variables are another set of factors: ancestry,occupation, and noteworthy accomplishments. The ancient Hebrews were convinced that man was created once in theform of Adam, and that all living humans were descended from this onecommon ancestor. There is a relationship, of course, but not a definite one.Blacks in the Southern United States and blacks in Africa have thecommonality of skin color, but there are vast cultural differences.However, there are also vast cultural differences between the Southernblacks and the Southern whites in the United States as well. Most classifications according to race have,of course, focused on skin color. At one time, the Irish wereconsidered inferior beings in the United States, and today they are fullyassimilated into the society. 7). There are thus differences found from society to society concerningthe specific details of what personality traits are most valued. The family reflects thesubdivisions that are part of every society, subdivisions based on socialclass, ethnic-religious groupings, and race. The lowerclasses are generally composed of the most recent impoverished immigrants,the majority of whose families emerge from lower-class status within one ortwo generations in the United States. The degree of upward mobility isalso a function of personality, and as well how high a person feels he isable to aspire depends on the level of society from which he derives. These variables are somehowput together unconsciously, and the person then emerges with a cumulativeassessment. The individual is enculturated almost as a matter ofcourse, as an accident rather than a design. Racialdifferences do make some physiological difference, but they are notrelevant to psychic function. 16). There have been two aspects traditionally to racism: prejudice anddiscrimination. Before examining this, it is alwaysnecessary to determine the components of well-being, the specificrequirements that the personality requires to be fulfilled through suchdistribution. Theparents of today were perhaps goal-oriented. The fact that these childrenthought differently than did their parents is not the issue, for even insuch a case the family was the enculturing force that shaped personalityand gave an impetus to changes in social class (p. The family is the first social unit to which the child is exposed,and the child learns from this exposure much that will be applicable in hisdealings with society at large in future life. The biological and social meaning of race.San Francisco: W. 9). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. However, the exact relationshipbetween the various variables involved is not a simple matter. Freud first focused on the similarities in the development ofthe personalities of all when he discussed the familial factors which wereseen as so important in the development of the mental life of the person.Social class and race are also important factors in the development of thepersonality, though their contribution is not always recognized. (1975). 282). Also,slave-owners often paid little attention to family formation among slaves,and they might separate families so that children were commonly raisedwithout fathers. There are also differences in sexual mores between the variousclasses) with delay of gratification being less common in lowersocioeconomic classes than in the upper, and with very different conceptsof what are acceptable and unacceptable sexual practices. Many in this society are goal-oriented, and others are role-oriented. If that same "brown" were to marry a "black"he might next be listed as "black" himself. Prejudice and discrimination are destructiveto the victims and the oppressors alike. A "white" person will generally be a person ofhigh prestige, and a "black" person one of low prestige. Though the young woman had longwished to escape from her patriarchal family, she knows that even a "touch"of tuberculosis makes her completely unacceptable in the close-knitcommunity. New York: Basic Books. (1971). The familyinculcates the values of the social system by example, teaching, andinteraction. Those minorities that are marked by skincolor as being in a different ethnic group have the most difficult timemaking the transition to normal and accepted society, of course, thoughrace as such is not always the only stumbling block. If the family is to be conducive to theintegrated personality development of the offspring, the two leaders mustform a coalition, maintain the boundaries between the generations, andadhere to their respective sex-linked roles (Lidz, 1968, pp. A culture is an essential part of the humanendowment, It might seem that this discussion is a continuation of an oldargument--whether cultural versus biological factors are the more importantin the formation of personality; however, this is not the case. In part, the emphasis on social standing is related to therequirements of the ego for power, as related by Freud, Erikson, and others(McClelland, 1975, p. It is not that the races differ in personality development orthat the members of different cultured develop in different ways; it israther that the basic process is the same, but the influences aredifferent. In most parts of the world,skin color is a determinant of social position and class distinctions.Generalizations concerning skin color are also different from society tosociety. In the United States, the population comprises anagglomerate of ethnic groups which are gradually shedding their priorcultural heritages to assume an American way of life. Part of the personality concerns the self-image of the individual,and such an image is very much related to social standing. Power. It is also important to note that the development of personalityneed not mean that a carbon-copy of the prevailing personality of thefamily is grafted onto the child. Quite simply, this indicates the tendency of the individual to joinin groups and classes, and in some cases the motives for such joinings arebased on identification rather than mature integration. These things aredetermined by physical and mental growth as affected by many of the factorsdiscussed above. The personality of theindividual is determined by a number of factors. It is possiblefor this integration to proceed too far as well, and the integration of theindividual into some social class, though it is a natural tendency, canproceed too far and lead to demagoguery and prejudice. Personality development does not seem tohave a direct relationship to race, but rather to ethnic background, whichis quite a different thing (Osborne, 1971, p. Of course, the Negro was brought to the United States as a slave, andhe was largely cut off from the cultural traditions of his ancestors inAfrica. This is not a conscious process, for the most part, and this is animportant factor. The dynamic organization of the family has agreat deal to do with the integration of the personality of the offspring.This organization will vary from culture to culture and from social classto social class, but everywhere the family follows some organizationalprinciples that are established by its biological make-up. Rather, there are interactions of manyvariables--only one of which is social class that produce personalitytraits in the child. The individualremains whole in his own right, and he is even expected to assert thischaracter by originality, initiative, and personal responsibility. Lippincott. A person who is told he is on the bottom of the social scalewill come to believe this and will have a lesser opinion of himself as aresult. The prejudices held by the dominant group in societyusually permeates that society, including the people against whom theprejudice is directed. In a complex society such as ours, ofcourse, many of the aspects of culture must be transmitted by otherinstitutions in society, such as schools and churches. Also, the children learndifferent cultural beliefs in the home. How children are raised in a society determines their personality,and thus cultural and social distinctions make a great difference in howthe personality is formed. 51-52). If all thesecriteria are applied to a single person, then the assessment becomes moredifficult--and more difficult to explain. 24). References Coleman, R. (1975). In those minority families, the children learn that they arethemselves hated for some reason, and this revelation is certain to lessentheir self-image. There are many sociological and psychologicalinterpretations of the causes of racism, but none explain all of themanifestations of it. Actually, ethnicstatus is also a function of social class, and vice versa as well. If the hierarchy is well-balanced, theindividual is able to retain his character as a social entity, a part ofthe whole, and he may thus enjoy autonomy within the limits of therestraints imposed by the interests of the community. Prejudice is the emotional aspect of racism, whilediscrimination is the social and political aspect. New York: Basic Books. 13-14). A survey in Americahas shown that when asked the question of what social class they were in,people responded by claiming the highest social class that could bedefended on grounds of either attained or demonstrated level of materialwell-being or the years of schooling completed and credentials acquired,most especially college degrees. The Black in the South of the United States today isin a different position than the Black in the North--if not in kind, indegree. Such development takes place as the child growsand is encultured by his family and his surroundings. The identity society. Now, the development of the personality is influenced by socialclass, and also the personality once formed influences which social classthe individual may attain. The child who is told he is less will be less, assuming thereis no other strong external or internal force to counteract the influencewhich is lessening his self-esteem. 57-58). This isalso true of the larger groups themselves--professional groups, tradeunions, social classes. There is first of all anapparent mechanism within the individual which causes the personality todevelop along certain lines according to age. The Britons of Roman times were considered the stupidest of theslaves of theEmpire. Someone with a rusty skin color and wavy hair isknown as a moreno. Light-skinned Europeans have, in recent centuries, convinced most ofthe world that a dark skin indicated inferiority in one way or another.Europeans assumed superiority as a result of their colonial adventures.Feelings of inferiority in Africa came about after contact with theEuropeans. Theindividual would find himself placed in a certain category on the socialscale, and how he lived, whom he married, and how much fortune he couldamass would all derive from such categorization. Actually, racial differences are irrelevant tothe problems of adjusting to any one particular culture. There will also be cross-influences in manyneighborhoods in which several ethnic groups are congregated around oneregion, and this will affect the outcome in the personality development ofthe child (Lidz, 1968, pp. It is a question ofidentification, which results in a homogeneous group, and mature forms ofintegration in a social hierarchy. The specificinfluences change, but, the process does not to any significant degree. In the Irish-American home,for example, the mother might treat her husband like a grown-up child andpretend to believe the fabricated tales he tells, yet she will still holdthe reins of the family tightly in her hands. TheAmerican-Indian tribes gave themselves a name that translated as "HumanBeings" or "The People," and this implied that members of other groups ortribes were subhuman. The influencesof this are far-reaching, affecting the prevalence of different types ofphysical and emotional illness in each social class, for example (Lidz,1968, p. Social status changes as one moves from region toregion, society to society. One of the major drives in the development of personality isthe wish to participate in or to avoid participation in such institutions.The family is intended to transmit to the child the things that areprescribed, permitted, and proscribed as values of the society, and whatmeans are acceptable or unacceptable toward achieving goals. Child rearing became the sole responsibility of themother, or at least of women. Prejudice usuallyperceives the offending group as a "race" even though it may be no suchthing biologically. From it the child must gain such things asfamiliarity with the basic roles that are carried out in the society inwhich he lives, including the roles of parents and child, of boy and girl,of man and woman, of husband and wife. In other words, there is noagreement on what weight is given each variable in such an assessment. Many of the child-rearing traits attributed Negroes are,rather, lower class traits. 43). Theindividual who does assert the excess of aggressive self-assertivenessincurs the penalties of society by outlawing himself. A problem that exists with reference to race is whether a givenattitude or aspect of development is due to race or is a product of cultureor environment, as noted. Lidz, T. Though the causes may be in dispute, theconsequences are very real. The family is the site ofenculturation, as mentioned above, and the family itself may come to be theinstrument for the continuation of prejudice. New York:Macmillan. This is truly an interrelationship, with socialclass serving as a function of personality and personality serving as afunction of social class. Families and language are two things that are common to allsocieties, and they may be taken for granted and their critical natureoverlooked (Lidz, 1968, p. In anycase, it should be apparent that social standing is important to thepersonality. Prejudices have always existed. Also, ethnic distinctions affect the personality because those in adifferent ethnic group bring certain different cultural attitudes andapproaches to the rearing of their children. This question often resolves to how goods aredistributed--that is, who gets what. In the United States, there may not be such an overtand deeply-ingrained system, but there is still a system of classificationbased on race, economic status, social status, and a hundred other thingsthat operate more or less unconsciously. (1978). For languageto be created over such a small point, the system must be very important tothe society, indeed. The customs he brought with him were totally unsuited to the lifeof the slave. It is certain that the social standing and the racialstanding of the individual are part of this influence. Lidz(1968) notes that certain child-rearing techniques, personality traits, orprejudices are attributed to idiosyncracies of the individual, but they arein fact residues of ethnic differences or characteristics of social classdifferences. 52-53). In the dominant family, thechildren learn to hate certain others because of real or imagineddifferences. H. Probably the most important hierarchy which determines thedevelopment of the personality is that of the family, and the "personality"of the family depends to a great degree on the social position of thefamily in the larger society. onesociety will praise one aspect of the personality, and another will praisesomething else. Social standing in America. Thus, personality distinctions will occur from society tosociety. These things, too,are functions of social class, and they also add to the development of thepersonality in the individual (Glasser, 1975, pp. Thus, the influence onthe personality was more beneficial, at least in certain terms. One area in which a surprising number of Americans have agreement ison the question of what occupations have a high and which a low status.Oddly, it has been found that the higher-rated occupations are generally sorated in other societies as well (Farb, 1978, pp. Indeed, racialbackground has long been a determinant of social standing throughout theworld, though the actual form differs from nation to nation and evenlocality to locality. Ethnic groups that base more and more of their culture on suchconsiderations are only extreme examples of what happens in all societies.The importance of the racial classification system in Brazil is shown bythe fact that there are words for the different gradations. The society so afflictedsacrifices the potential contributions of the individuals who arediscriminated against, and it also always pays a severe penalty inconflict, violence, reduced productivity, and psychological damage. No society can neglect the totaldependency of the newborn, as an example, or the sequence of biologicalmaturation of the child, or the presence of two sexes. Her family would then treat her as if they are in mourningand offer her little emotional, support. The parents may even want to bring a certain set ofvalues to the fore consciously, but, the result may be quite different. However, the fact of social status has aninfluence on development in each region. Permanent lower-class status does, in fact, threaten a large portion of the Negropopulation. Social class is determined by personality traits as theyare defined through these different societal norms. Some groups try to becomeassimilated while others lose their desire for separateness after one ortwo generations. The visibletraits of race have developed as adaptations to the environment. Similarly, the dominant race in agiven region might find itself the oppressed race in another region.However, the fact of prevalence and dominance is the factor that influencespersonality development. Freeman.----------------------- 27 If the variables are presented oneat a time, as studies have shown, most people have no difficulty inestablishing their status and in making choices between them. C. Duringthe past several thousand years, humans have been increasingly isolatedfrom the environment as a result of technology, and this has obscured someof the long-term adaptive advantages bestowed by certain physical traits.The shape of the nose is one such trait. These things operate on thosediscriminated against as well, and their own sense of themselves isaffected. There are variations withincertain parameters, and in part other factors affect those distinctions.The environment is another important factor in the development ofpersonality, and this includes experiences which help to shape individualdifferences. The minds of mankind.Philadelphia: J. 274). Humankind. The following research is on the subject of the inter-relation ofpersonality with social class and ethnic status. For example, the prevailing standards of beauty arealmost always affected in this fashion. However, a strong ambition or other strong influence could leadthat child to great success and an upward mobility. The biologicalfamily is a small group, it is true, but it is also something with astructure that is partly determined by the fact that it is composed of twogenerations and two sexes, a fact which minimizes the conflict and tends toprovide conflict-free areas into which the child may develop and directshim into the proper role. These examplesdemonstrate that personality is molded and determined by cultural andracial distinctions as well as by hereditary inclinations. (1978). There is something in the human being that loves classification, andthough biologists have demonstrated that racial classifications aredifficult to make with any degree of accuracy, still they persist in makingthe populations of the world fit into one system or another. The value systems of the family, role definitions, patterns ofinterrelating--all enter the child by means of the behavior of the family,and this is true even more than through what the child is taught or throughwhat is consciously appreciated by the family (pp. 52-53). The child isinvolved in a multiplicity of social phenomena in the family, and theseleave a permanent imprint upon him and his personality. A woman from a Greek Orthodox family might becomeprofoundly withdrawn and stop eating when it is established that she hastuberculosis. For example, a child might come from abad environment where most of those around him are being beaten down by thesystem. The child also learns how thoseroles impinge upon the broader society and how the roles of others impingeupon the family and the members of the family. There are ethnic groups which try toguard against assimilation and try to maintain a strict hold over each newgeneration, with the intention of preserving a separate identity; amongsuch groups are the Hutterite, the Mennonites, Hassidic Jews, and certainGreek Orthodox communities. Also within the family, the child learns about basic institutions andtheir values, including such institutions as the family, marriage, extendedfamily systems, and institutions of economic exchange. If she is to marry, she must now make a complete break with herfamily, her community, and their traditions (pp. Actually, this is even further proof that racial and ethnicdiscriminations are false and misleading. However, what is clear in reference to both ethnic status and socialstatus is that the attitudes of a given society have a strong influence onthe members of that society as far as the development of the personality isconcerned. Such identity is a part of theself-image that constitutes personality. This is basedon identification rather than integration, and such identification--whileit lasts--implies a partial or total surrender of both personal identityand responsibility (pp. Certain methods of child rearingmight be adopted which are unconsciously accepted as proper and which arethe only spontaneous methods known to the parents, and these methods alsopromote the continuity. Just how much weight is given toany of these different factors in the development of the personality haslong been under dispute. Racial characteristics, however, have an influence as they are a partof the environmental and cultural situation. This is the first social system known by the child, and hegrows into that system. In other words, class was importantenough for the individual to choose to be in the highest class possible.For Americans, the dominant criteria is the level of material well-being.The kind of possessions amassed had a great deal to do with the place eachperson chose in the hierarchy (Coleman, & Rainwater, 1978, p. The family, as has been noted, has a critical role in transmittingthe cultures adaptive techniques to its children in a general way. However, thisform of integrated society is not the same as the "group mentality" or the"psychology of the masses" as seen in many other societies. The ghost in the machine. If the involvementnecessary for such verification is absent, the individual suffers (Glasser,1975, p. Glasser, W. No society can survive for long without consideringthe biological make-up of its members. Brazilians claim to have doneaway with prejudice and discrimination based on skin color, but actuallythey are among the most skin-color conscious people on earth and makenumerous decisions concerning personal worth and value based on thequestion (Farb, 1978, p. It should be apparent that racial considerations inthemselves do not alter the psychological make-up of the individual. Osborne, R.
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
Click here to request an essay written just for you.
|
|
|
