George Herbert Mead's Development Of Self Analysis

George Herbert Mead 's theory of the Development of Self is reflected in the way companies successfully sell their product to an intended audience. Mead 's theory describes different stages of a child 's mental state and the importance of interpretations (Ferris, p.106). The products that toy stores chose to sell are directed at certain age groups for a reason; not all children are capable of appreciating certain toys fully. Mead 's Theory builds off of Charles Cooley 's concept of the “looking glass self”, in which children model after those around them. (Ferris, p.105). Mead divided his theory into the preparatory stage, the play stage, and the game stage. The preparatory stage applies to children under the age of 3, and Mead insists that

Another big idea geared towards girls was motherhood. There were varies baby dolls that required their owner to feed them, clean them, and care for them. However, no such dolls were directed towards a male audience. Diaries were also pushed on girls in order to show them that they can express their emotions and become writers. These diaries were presented in pink and purple packaging, with the exception of one “Dude Journal” that was brown and had skulls on the front rather than sparkles. “LEGOs” are geared towards guys mainly with the exception of a few LEGO sets near the girls section on the side of the aisle. The reoccurring objects seen in the boy section are things like dinosaurs, trucks, race cars, fighting, and violent games. There are numerous types of Nerf guns, swords, light sabers, and other weapons for young boys. There are macho superhero characters who look tough and emotionless, which encourages boys to suppress their emotions and never show weakness. Target had many work sets and toolkits advertised towards boys in hope 's that they would be attracted to fixing things. Putting themselves in the position of a construction worker, or engineer is a part of Mead 's play stage idea because these boys are being exposed to certain perspectives that focus on masculinity and being physically strong. Overall, the toys directed at young girls promote outward beauty and vulnerability, while the toys directed at boys encourage masculinity and removal

The observations gathered in Target support George Mead 's theory of the development of self. The toys that required a level of perspective other than one 's one are aimed at the ages of 3-7 years old. Other more intricate toys that require deep thinking and more than one person had labels like “10 and up” or other older ages. I personally, was disappointed with the amount of stereotypical images socialized towards young kids. Young girls are tragically taught that they need to value outward beauty and wear short, tight clothing like Barbie and other dolls do. I came across one toy that looked like it might have the potential of being more than a beauty promoter but it ended up being just as superficial as the other toys. It appeared to be a scientific experiment lab, but in reality, it was a kit for making perfume because girls are taught they need to smell like candy and flowers. Boys have it just as bad because they learn that being masculine is important and physical strength trumps emotional strength. In conclusion, the ideas pushed on today 's youth are forcing them to be one thing instead of exploring other