Mead’s work explores the character of social experience itself. In the symbolic interaction of human beings, he believed he had found the root of both self and society. Mead’s view is completely...

Mead’s work explores the character of social experience itself. In the symbolic interaction of human beings, he believed he had found the root of both self and society. Mead’s view is completely social, allowing no biological ele- ment at all. This is a problem for critics who stand with Freud (who said our general drives are rooted in the body) and Piaget (whose stages of development are tied to biological maturity). Be careful not to confuse Mead’s concepts of the I and the me with Freud’s id and superego. For Freud, the id originates in our biol- ogy, but Mead rejected any biological element of the self (although he never clearly spelled out the origin of the I). In addition, the id and the superego are locked in continual combat, but the I and the me work cooperatively together (Meltzer, 1978). Check Your Learning Explain the meaning and importance of Mead’s concepts of the I and the me. What did Mead mean by “taking the role of the other”? Why is this process so important to socialization?