Monkey See Monkey Do

”Through widespread cultural norms and values we use as references in evaluating ourselves”- Mead

           
    Through this idea we can see through the eyes of a sociologist that this causes imitation, which is beneficial for our growth within this society. The idea of “Monkey See, Monkey Do” in this context comes from the idea that when one performs an action, others will follow. This even comes down to the idea of the bystander effect in psychology. This term shows us that when one person is doing something others will follow. 

    These two concepts from very different disciplines comes into play to help up on our journey to find our way into this society. Through imitation what we see others do before the age of 7 we can have enough social experience to engage in team sports. This even comes down to our education during elementary, middle, and high school we imitate others to find our place in this big “Circle of Life” we call society among our peers. We copy the alpha dog, or the diva of our peers to get the attention we think we need to be successful among our peers. Through this action three things can happen. We can be integrated into this part of society that we believe we need by acceptance, you can considered an outcast because you are trying to be someone you’re not, or finally you can be sent ten steps back, frustrated because you have still not found your place in the “circle of life”.

   This cycle continues throughout our adulthood, but concept of imitation does not change. Going into our adulthood we continue to do these three things. We try to be accepted by the people who represent the lifestyle that we believe is necessary for us to be a part of this cycle we call the “Circle of Life” We as a society imitate what we think is needed to get the best job, so we can get the highest salary. We imitate what we think is required, so we can a great social life, great love life, family life, and community presence. Often times in order to do this we have to step out of our comfort zone, so we can achieve what we want to be successful in this society.

Overall imitating is something that we do every day, so we can achieve what we need to achieve to be integrated into this society. The idea of “Monkey See Monkey Do” can now be considered as a positive and a negative thing within our society. So the next time that you hear the term “Monkey See Monkey Do” you can now know that you can choose to use the concept of imitation, and the term generalized other by Mead to benefit yourself in society. In my view of the world through the eyes of sociology I believe that these are the fundamentals of our necessary growth through the macro point of view. By understanding the power of these fundamentals we can see how politics, government, and social media plays such a huge part in our development of who we become as members in this, as well as our global society.