1.1 Agencies Of Socialisation Flashcards
What is the family the main agency of?
Primary socialisation
Why is a sense of security during early childhood essential?
• to develop a stable personality and learn norms and values
How does the family transmit culture?
Through: • manipulation • language • activities • role models • social control
How does the family transmit culture through manipulation?
Parents encourage certain behaviours and discourage others
e.g encourage daughters to pay attention to their appearance and boys to support football (gender roles)
How does the family transmit culture through language?
- through verbal appellations (Oakley) for example girls are called princess and boys called little soldiers
- labels teach children of societies expectations
How does family transmit culture through activities?
• children are provided with toys through which they learn about wider culture
How does family transmit culture through role models?
• children imitate their parents, they learn from their parents and other adults what social roles are expected of them
How does the family transmit the culture of society through social control?
- Parents use positive sanctions (e.g pocket money) as rewards for appropriate behaviour
- they use negative sanctions (e.g. Grounded) to discourage inappropriate behaviour
How do functionalist a view children and what is the family’s responsibly?
- children are empty vessels
* a parents role is to mould and train the child to become an acceptable member of society
What did parsons (functionalist) say about gender roles in the family?
- it is functional for women to take responsibility for childcare, and for men to be the breadwinners
- socialisation involves learning gender roles - women are expressive, men are instrumental
What are the new right concerned about with regard to the family and why?
- functions lists are concerned about the increase of one parent families
- if the family breaks down it can’t provide adequate socialisation
- without a male role model children may underachieve and behave antisocially
Within education what do children learn to do?
Adapt to a new set of norms and values
In education, through what does socialisation take place?
Through the formal and hidden curriculum
What is the formal curriculum? And how does it pass on culture?
- the written curriculum
* subjects such as English literature and history pass on aspects of culture and contain wider values
What is the hidden curriculum and how does it socialise pupils?
- unwritten curriculum
- consists of rules, regulations and routines and interactions in school life that socialise pupils into aspects of culture
What values do the hidden curriculums teach?
- rules, detentions and awards teach conformity to societies laws
- value of competition taught through competitive sports
- grading ability teaches the value of meritocracy
What are the agencies of socialisation?
- family
- education
- the peer group
- religion
- the workplace
- the media
How does education transmit culture?
- manipulation
- canalisation
- role models
- imitation
- social control
How does education transmit culture through manipulation?
Teachers encourage appropriate behaviour (completing homework)
How does education transmit culture through canalisation?
Through activities, for example boys are encouraged to play football at break times
How does education transmit culture through role models?
- Teachers act as role models, as well as head boys/girls and prefects
- lessons teach of historical role models (e.g. Churchill and nightingale)
How does education transmit culture through social control?
Positive sanctions (awards, praise) Negative sanctions (detentions, reports)
How does education transmit culture through imitation?
Children are keen to fit in so they copy this behaviour of their peers
What is the functionalist view of education as a agency of socialisation?
Education functions to transmit shared values that lead to conformity and consensus
What was parsons (functionalist) view of education?
Education is a bridge between family and society
What did Durkheim (functionalist) say about education with regard to social beings?
Education teaches children that they are social beings, that is, part of a wider society through subjects such as history and English
What is the Marxist view of education as an agency of socialisation?
- education is dominated by the hidden curriculum
- encourages children to accept inequality and conformity, preparing them for working class jobs
What did bowles and Gintis say about education as an agency of socialisation?
Through education children learn to accept authority and are taught to be submissive and obedient, preparing them for the exploitation of the working world
functionalists believe education is meritocratic what does this mean?
achievement is based on ability and effort, everyone has an equal chance of success
do Marxists believe in meritocracy?
no
they believe meritocracy is a myth
chances are largely shaped by your class background
what did Willis show to criticise Marxism?
pupils can successfully resist the hidden curriculum
not all pupils become model students demonstrated by exclusions and disruption
what is a peer group?
a friendship group formed by people of roughly the same age and social position
seen as the most important agency during adolescence
what did Gerald Handel (interactionist) say the peer group helps children to do?
function more independently acquire skills and beliefs of their generation
peer group socialisation can lead to socialisation conflict what does this mean?
the demands of the peer group contradicting the rules of parents
how does the peer group transmit culture through activities? how does this impact gender socialisation?
children learn rules of games from peer groups
skelton - playground space dominated by boys playing football, girls are found on the side skipping or talking
how does the peer group transmit culture through resistance and rebellion?
youths question and test rules
youth subcultures e.g. punks based on rebellion and resistance
how does the peer group transmit culture of society through peer group pressure?
peers pressure individuals to imitate group behaviour
people want to be accepted so they conform
is peer group pressure a good or bad thing?
both
good - clever, hard working friends pressure to be a good student
bad - criminal friends who smoke/do drugs
how does the peer group transmit the culture of society through hierarchy?
peer groups can have a mix of individuals, some act as leaders with higher status who become role models to everyone else
what are peer groups usually based around?
similar interests and social group
what did sewell mean by the term cultural comfort zones?
peer groups tend to consist of people from similar backgrounds e.g. ethnicity
do interactionists believe socialisation is a passive process? explain.
no
there are multiple agencies of socialisation
in the peer group children socialise each other
in the workplace what do people have to be socialised into?
the skills, norms and values attached to their job e.g. obeying the boss
through what processes are individuals socialised in the workplace?
imitation, role models, peer pressure, social control
what is anticipatory socialisation?
rehearsing a job role before taking it on e.g. imagining, reading about it, observing others in that role
what is re socialisation?
learning new norms and values as our jobs change because organisations vary in styles and traditions
what are some agencies of socialisation in the workplace?
bosses
colleagues
customers
what is formal socialisation?
management socialising employees:
workplace training, uniform, rules
what is informal socialisation?
peer groups at work - introduce workers to informal culture of the workplace, learned through imitation and observation
what did Waddington find when studying informal socialisation in the police?
canteen culture
off duty time spent telling stories, picking up tips
how does the canteen culture in the police help deal with their stressful job?
boosts occupational self esteem - heroic identity
reinforces sense of mission
celebrates values in police work
Marxists argue workers are socialised in a way that contributes to their…
…continued exploitation at work
what did Ritzer (Marxist) argue about Mcjobs?
unskilled, low paid, part time jobs turn workers into robots, everything they do and say is controlled by management
what did Berger argue about religion in traditional societies?
provides a universe of meaning
provides explanation for their experiences
sense of unity - everyone socialised into same beliefs
what did Berger say about religion in modern industrial multicultural societies?
no longer a single religious belief system
religion is less convincing and uniting
religion can influence people by socialising people into what?
a set of moral values e.g. the 10 commandments form the basis of many laws in the UK
give an example of how religion influences people through rituals and ceremonies?
marriages and christenings bring people together and remind them of shared values
what do most religions have?
a figure of authority to act as a role model e.g the pope
what sort of group is religion especially important to?
ethnic minority groups as a source of identity
what percentage of young Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, did Modood find agreed that religion is very important to how they lived their life?
67%
What did Ghuman say mosque’s are the centre of and how do they exert pressure on Muslims?
centre of religious, educational and political activities
exert pressure on the way Muslim parents raise their children
how did Ghuman say religion (Islam) influences gender identity?
some Muslim women socialised into wearing the Hijab
what did Durkheim argue the main role of religion was? (functionalism)
socialising societies members into value consensus by making key values sacred
to bring people together in shared rituals
what do these key values Durkheim says religion socialises us into become? (functionalism)
strong moral codes e.g. 10 commandments, part of formal social control (laws - do not kill), and informal social control (disapproval of adultery)
what percentage of young whites did Modood find agreed religion is very important to how they lived their life?
5%
What ideology do Marxist say religion is part of? what does this ideology do?
ruling class ideology disguises exploitation
Marx claimed ‘religion is the opium of the masses’ what did he mean by this?
dulls the pain of oppression by promising eternal life to those who accept suffering now
why is religion declining as a source of socialisation?
increasingly secular society
rather than being a source of unity what is religion becoming in multicultural society?
a source of conflict
