Sociology / Unit 4 Soc 0499 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Generalized Other
Captions available
The idea
The generalized other is a person's internalized sense of the expectations of society at large, rather than of any particular individual.
In practice
Someone alone in an empty street still waits at the signal, answering to no one present.
Where people slip
The generalized other is an internal standard, not a memory of a specific person.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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