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Social Identity, Personality & Gender
Outline
Enculturation: the self and social identity The Culture and
Personality School Personality & identity formation Gender
Identity
Enculturation: The Self and Social Identity
Enculturation, the process by which individuals become members
of their society. Most learning of culture takes place in childhood
Household primary in enculturation For enculturation to proceed,
individuals must possess self-awareness, the ability
to perceive and reflect upon themselves as individuals.
Self-awareness develops at different rates between
societies.
linked to contact & stimulation
Self Awareness
four orientations:
object orientationspatial orientationtemporal
orientationnormative orientation
The Culture and Personality School
Psychological anthropology Began in 1930s in U.S. Two main
directions:
Importance of childhood in shaping personality & identity
Description of national-level personality patterns
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National Character Studies
National character studies have focused on the modal
characteristics of moderncountries.
Today they are largely discredited
Others choose to focus on the core values Limitations
success in instilling these values in individual may vary
considerably.
Personality and Development
The distinctive ways a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Most
anthropologists believe that early childhood experiences play a key
role in
shaping adult personality. Margaret Mead
Tchambuli, Arapesh and Mundugumor Males dominance is culturally
constructed Importance of child-rearing for development of
gender-related
personality
Personality and Identity Formation
Socialization during Childhood Relationship b/t mode of
production and child personality
Six cultures study Cross-cultural study on how childrens
activities & tasks shape their
personalities.
Horticultural societiesnurturant-responsible Industrialized and
intensive agricultural societies assoc w/ w/ dependent-
dominant personality
Fewer acts of caregiving, more acts that assert dominance over
otherchildren & more need for care by adults
generation me focus on the self
Dependence Training
Dependence training socializes people to think of themselves in
terms of the largerwhole.
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Its effect is to create community members whose idea of selfhood
transcendsindividualism, promoting compliance in the performance of
assigned tasks andkeeping individuals within the group.
Found frequently in foraging societies.
Independence Training
Independence training fosters individual independence,
self-reliance, and personalachievement.
It is typically associated with societies in which a basic
social unit consisting ofparent(s) and offspring fends for
itself.
Independence training is particularly characteristic of
mercantile , industrial, andpostindustrial societies where
self-sufficiency and personal achievement areimportant traits for
success.
Personality and Identity Formation
Adolescence and Identity
Puberty is a time in the human life cycle that occurs
universally and involves a setof biological markers and sexual
maturation
Adolescence is a culturally defined period of maturation from
the time of pubertyuntil adulthood
Coming of Age and Gender Identity
Anthropologists distinguish b/t sex and gender Sex is something
that everyone is born with (biological markers genitals,hormones
and chromosomes) Gender is the learned behaviour and beliefs
associated w/ maleness and
femaleness
It is culturally constructed and is highly variable across
cultures
Gender identity
In all cultures there are gender ideologies which influence the
developed ofgender-based personalities.
Variation in experiences of gender ideology Hypermasculinity USA
notions of masculinity Performance of masculinity differs b/t
different social groups
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