G.H.Mead: Role Development

We can look briefly at the general process of socialisation by using the concept of "role" (or "role play"). In particular, we can examine it in relation to the contribution made by George Herbert Mead (see "Mind, Self and Society", 1933) to our understanding of the socialisation process.

For Mead, amongst others, children start to develop as social beings (that is, recognising who they are and what their relationship to others is), through a process of imitation. This involves, initially, the simple copying of behaviour and, as the child develops, experimentation and innovation.

As the child starts to interact with other children (her / his "peers"), Mead noted that "play" assumes greater significance, mainly because the child has to learn how to cope with the behavioural responses of others on an equal footing. This is the start of a more-structured phase in the child's socialisation, as she / he learns how to cope with the behaviour of others by adopting "role play".

Mead argued that this stage in a child's social development is significant because it is through this initial role play that a child starts to see itself "through the eyes of others".

By taking what Mead called the "role of the other", the child starts to see itself as it thinks other people might see it ("objectively" as opposed to "subjectively"). Mead talked about this change in terms of the concept of "The Self" - the way in which the child develops both a concept of self-awareness and self-consciousness (in the sense of being aware that others see them as "a child, a friend, a son" and so forth).

In general social terms, it is vital that the child develops a sense of self since it involves a recognition and consideration of the needs of others. In this respect, the child moves from a position of self-centredness (the child as a simple demander of attention) to "other-centredness" (an awareness that other people have needs, rights, responsibilities and so forth that have to be taken into account).

As this social development takes place, the child is starting to come into increasing contact with children and adults outside of the immediate family environment and it starts to recognise instrumental as opposed to affective relationships (that is, relationships based upon what people can do for you, as opposed to relationships based upon mutual love, respect and the like).

For Mead, the "simple play" phase starts to give way to a "game" phase - the relatively unstructured nature of (self- centred) play gives way to participation in more-structured (other centred) games.

"Game play" is also significant because it introduces the child to a wider network of rules and obligations that it begins to meet in its dealings with the wider society outside of the immediate family group. Mead called this "knowledge of the generalised other" - not a person, as such, but the embodiment of general cultural values and morals.

The child acts towards this sense of the generalised other as he or she would towards a person, since the generalised other represents a set of behavioural rules and guide-lines against which behaviour (appropriate and inappropriate) can be measured.

By internalising the concept of a generalised other (that is, making it a part of its personal value system - albeit unconsciously) the child starts to understand the full meaning of instrumental type relationships.