Sociology I · 10 marks · 150 words

One of Mead's most significant contributions to social psychology is his distinction between the "I" and the "Me". Elaborate.

Answered by 3 toppers · CSE 2022–2024

G. H. Mead

Syllabus: Sociological Thinkers: (a) Karl Marx- Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle. (b) Emile Durkheim- Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society. (c) Max Weber- Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. (d) Talcolt Parsons- Social system, pattern variables. (e) Robert K. Merton- Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups. (f) Mead - Self and identity.

How toppers approached it

From all 3 answers · about 200 words.

Opening

  • No separate opening3 of 3

Body

  • Points and prose2 of 3
  • Continuous prose1 of 3

Close

  • A summary2 of 3
  • No separate close1 of 3

The toppers’ answers

Aayushi BansalAIR 7 · CSE 2024 · 195 wordsTheir whole copy

Opening

G.H. Mead was a doyen of symbolic interactionism, meeting point of sociology and Psychology.

Body · points and prose

To Mead, self is evolved in a societal context via play stage and game stage. This evolution takes place in form 'I' and 'me' part of self.

Distinction between the two :-

'I''me'
dynamic, creative, unpredictable part of selfPredictable and uniform, with a static response
Brings novelty by discarding societal normsConforms to expectations of 'generalized others'
'I''me'
We know about 'I' after it has acted'me' is much more conscious & deliberate
Leaders, rebels, etc. have higher proportion of 'I'General public, the so called 'followers' have higher proportion of 'me'

Both 'I' and 'me' together interact with mind to play role in a social situation.

'I' facilitates innovation and continuous evolution of society. Eg → Raja Ram Mohan Roy didn't conform to societal idea of 'sati'. On the other hand, 'me' facilitates social continuity.

Close · a summary

Mead brought a paradygm shift with his 'micro' approach to sociology in Chicago school.

More on G. H. Mead

The self and identity: I and me, the generalised other, symbolic interactionism.

All Sociology I questions on G. H. Mead