SOC 100 - Role Taking

This assignment is on socialization. We were to pick one of the theory discussed in the text.  Understand the different stages, concepts or whatever the theorist is using to explain how we come to be human. Take at least two photos that depict the stage or concept of the theory.  Write a good paragraph explaining how we see the two or more photos depict the stage or concept. This was a tough one. I took photos and had to ask for permission before taking them. I won't post the photos here because I told the adults that the photos wouldn't be shown anywhere, just used in my assignment. So here's my paper on Role Taking.

Role Taking

According to George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) playing is very important in human development because it teaches us to take the role of the other. There are three stages of role taking, the first stage is imitation. The two photos below were taken at the public library. See the child with her mother? The little girl is imitating what she has seen her mother doing in the past, pushing the stroller. She is learning by imitating her mother, who is also her significant other. Next there’s a photo with a small boy in the foreground imitating his older brother next to him. (If you look closely you can see the headphones on the boys and the older brother sits a little taller in the chair.) Both have headphones on and are in front of a computer playing an electronic game. The young boy is learning by imitating his older sibling. According to Mead this first stage is not actually role taking, but mimicking what they see others doing.

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The second stage of role taking is play. I took the two photos below at a daycare center. The first photo shows a three year old boy playing in a toy police car. He hass seen police officers riding in police cars before. He even makes the sound of a siren as he plays. This young boy is learning by pretending to be a policeman. The other photo shows children three and four years old playing in a toy bus. One young boy is leaving the bus and inside the bus there is a child pretending to be the bus driver. Also, there are other children seated in the bus pretending to be passengers. These are very good examples of how children play and pretend to be role models they’ve seen. According to Mead, taking the roles of others is essential in learning how to become members of human groups.

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The third stage is team games or organized play. In the photos below are high school boys playing football. Playing organized games like football involves taking on other people’s roles and learning to play multiple roles. The first photo shows a player punting the ball and two other players getting ready to catch the ball. One player will eventually catch the ball and the other will block for him. When the ball is initially punted they don’t know for sure who will be the receiver and who will be the blocker. They have to anticipate and know both running and blocking skills. Knowing how to play multiple positions in high school football is very important. Anticipating what other players on your team and on the opposing team will do is also very important in football. According to Mead, the third stage helps us learn to anticipate the reactions of others and modify our own behavior accordingly.

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