Control and Power
Kimball Young · 2016
The foundations of control are found in the primary training of the individual. His conformity to a code is built up in terms of role-taking. In this, as we know, another&s;s conduct becomes the model for his own. Punishment and reward are the rudimentary inciters to conformity, but in time the individual internalizes his contacts with others and develops what we call the "moral me," or moral self. In other words, his role-taking is determined by his expectation that he will act in a certain way, just as previously he acted in terms of what his mother, father, teacher, preacher, or policeman anticipated. The aim of sound moral training-the heart of moral socialization-is the development of self-control and capacity for self-punishment, chieBy through the sense of shame and guilt. This is the area of habits and attitudes which we call the conscience, or what the Freudians call the superego.