Childhood Development Richard Linklater s Boyhood

Depending on time, culture and circumstances, people move through the vast stages of their lives in diverse and unique ways. While some cultures emphasise the importance of childhood development, others represent adolescence as a time of momentous change and maturity. On the other hand, some societies give no acknowledgement to adolescence at all. This is the study of the life course. From a sociological standpoint, the life course is a method of analysing how social customs change with age and development. The study of the life course is a relatively young one; first being introduced in the 19th century (reference). Consequentially, much of its interest lies in the recent developments regarding youth and—more specifically—adolescence.†¦show more content†¦Boyhood provides strong examples for both concepts and allows for a nuanced perspective with regards to childhood development. George Herbert Mead brought the life course to the sociological forefront when he coined ‘Social Interactionism’. While past theorists argued that personality and behaviour were biological, Mead emphasised the influence of cultural imitation (reference). He posited that people possess an ‘I’ and a ‘me’, with the former referring to the unconscious and internal thought and the latter referring to learned social behaviour. Mead claimed that the ‘I’ was inherent and motivated decision-making, but that the ‘me’ had to be constructed during childhood (reference). According to Social Interactionism, the external self is a reflection of what a social actor learns is appropriate from an early age. From the age of 6 to late childhood, children develop moral and social codes according to games and lessons from both peers and adults (reference). Above all, children are purely agents of mimicry and all behaviour is learned. In applying this to Boyhood, Mead’s theory is supported by events taking place during Mason’s childhood. When Mason’s father, Mason Sr. takes he and his sister, Samantha, out, they notice reports of the Iraq war on television. Being only six years old, Mason is impressionable. When his father shows a negative attitude toward the war, Mason says, â€Å"my teacher says it’s a good