Mead’s four stages of personal development are described as follows: infantile, primitive, independent, and rational. These stages are commonly referred to as growing up, getting older, or entering adulthood.
The infantile stage is typically marked by fear and lack of understanding for what is happening around you. You may feel unimportant and trapped. You may feel confused about your purpose in life and what you should be doing to achieve this purpose.
You may also feel that you cannot do anything right and that your mistakes are the only true ones you will make in your life. This feeling can become very strong and hard to get rid of. You may feel that something is going to happen before it ends, but this remains unclear until it does happen.
The primitive stage is typically marked by low self-esteem, lack of confidence in one’s abilities, and a need for approval from others. You may have trouble seeing yourself as valuable or worth investing time into developing your own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Self-identity
In his early work, Mead looked at how people self-identified in society and in their own lives. He found that these self-identities weren’t true selves, and that they were using others as standards against which to measure themselves.
This came down to two things: first, that people were trying to fit into groups instead of being a part of groups, and second, that people were trying to fit into places rather than beingerers of peoples.
These two things are at the heart of Mead’s theory of self-identity. When people don’t truly feel like they belong somewhere, they don’t really belong. If people are trying to fulfill some group or place expectation for them, then they aren’t really being themselves – they are thinking and doing what others want them to be instead.
Self-identity is important when you look at it from a psychological standpoint. It shows us who we really think we should be, but it also shows us who we aren’t (or what we need).
Social interaction
In order to develop further, individuals must develop a sense of social interaction. This is done by engaging in conversation with others and being involved in the community that they live in.
By being part of community affairs and being socially connected, you show others that you are intelligent and worth investing time into. By being involved in the community that you live in, you gain a better understanding of the areas around you and how they impact your life.
By becoming deeply invested in other people’s lives, you learn about different things than someone who doesn’t spend as much time with them. You gain new perspectives on things and can apply these views to your life, which can increase your self-confidence.
Applying these concepts to my life, I would say that if I were to take a meeting with a company or person I was interested in, it would be helpful if they spent at least 10 minutes to me getting to know them first.
Language
Without language, people are vulnerable and unable to communicate their needs and desires. Our lack of language makes us susceptible to manipulation and force.
Individuals who speak using clear, specific language are able to focus their energy on other things while they understand what they want to say is important but not essential.
This allows them to be more aware of other people and how they perceive them, which can lead to better relationships. A person who can’t talk without using words is like a person who can’t walk without shoes. They are still able to move around, but not as efficiently as someone who knows how to use shoes and how to move in them.
When it comes to choosing a course of development for yourself, think about what language you use most often and what kinds of things you use them for.
Understanding the concept of the ‘self’
In his book The Spirit of Humanism, George Herbert Mead defines the self as a “concept” that organizes and categorizes experiences.
He calls this concept of the self the “self-image” and says it is most important when people are trying to understand their own thoughts, feelings, and experience.
He says our self-image can be influenced by our culture, by our parents’ culture, by our own culture, and by our parents’ culture. He calls this all-too-common influence the “container” for our experiences.
Put simply, we exist in a box with doors that lead out to different places with different self-images. Our inner computer decides which door to open and what picture it chooses to view as its “self.
Developing a sense of morality and ethics
In his early career, Mead studied the actions people take in society, how they feel about them, and what they do about them. This development in society was how he developed his ethics and morality.
He saw this development as a passage through time where people learn new things about society and themselves. When people are young they are very much influenced by what they see and hear around them. As they grow older, things like ethics and morality become more developed.
This passage is not a linear one, it does not have a beginning and end. It is a journey that we all go on together that builds us as individuals and sets us on the path of developing our moral systems.
Learning from experience
In his early years, Mead learned from experience by taking actions that were difficult or dangerous. When these situations were not easy for him, he could reflect on how they made him feel and this would help him to gain clarity about what was happening and how he felt.
He also read books on spiritualism and the occult which gave him more information to learn about them. These books taught him about creation and the universe which are concepts he believed in at the time.
By learning from experience, he was able to develop his self-confidence and self-image. By reading what others think of him, he came to realize who he is and what he can do. This helped to develop his self- esteem as an individual so that he could know himself better.
By developing myself through reading nonfiction books on subjects I am interested in, I have gained knowledge that will help me grow as an individual.
Understanding the concept of ‘the other’
Mead’s next important concept to learn is understanding the difference between ‘the other’ and ‘the other side’.
This goes along with understanding the difference between positive and negative feedback. When you get a new phone, your old one doesn’t work as it used to. But you still have your old ones records, right?
Similarly, when you don’t understand something, there can be a lot of negative feedback. You may not realize that person doesn’t understand what you are trying to say, or that thing doesn’t understand what you are trying to say. You may not realize how hard it is for each person to understand the other.
It is like when your new phone doesn’t work correctly and takes lots of times to reply to texts, because they don’t recognize your phone number.
Developing your own personal worldview
After you understand what each stage of development represents, you can decide how to move through them.
For example, if you are in the early stages of development, you can choose to move forward by developing your personal worldview. This can be moving away from the mainstream culture and finding a new way of understanding the world around you.
Or, if you are in the advanced stage,you can move forward by developing your ability to articulate and defend your viewpoint. This includes learning how to compromise and find common ground with others, even when their ideas do not make sense to you.
The point is: persevere through these steps until you feel that you have developed enough to be yourself and live a life that resonates with your values and needs.
