1.1 Process of Learning and Socialisation- Theorists Flashcards
Theorist statements regarding and/or explaining subsections of this topic
Anderson
Defining Society
Describes societies as imagined communities- things that only exist in a mental space, he points out that the members of even the smallest nation would never come to know, meet, or even hear of their fellow residents, yet in all of their minds lives an image of their communion.
Merton
non-material and material culture
Objects such as cars, houses and clothes can function in two ways:
1. their manifest purpose for which they exist
2. their latent function may be hidden- material objects may be used as status symbols-owning something a culture desires.
Durkeim
socialisation
coined the term anomie
Anomie comes from the Greek anomos meaning “lawless,” so anomie means a lack of moral standards, or a sense of lawlessness, or sometimes the anxiety that comes from being in a lawless place.
Merton
importance of norms
without order and predictability, behaviour becomes risky and confusing, he used the term anomie to describe a condition where people who fail to understand the norms in a particular situation react in a range of ways- from confusion, through fear to anger.
Goffman
norms
Argues that norms are more open to interpretation than either roles or values, they are more adaptable to changes in social environments.
Billikopf
insignificant cultural difference
found from his time in Russia that when a man peels a bana for a lady it displays romantic interest.
Wojtczack
Significant Cultural Difference
Victorian women lived in a state little better than slavery. women’s sole purpose was to marry and reproduce. this is not a situation we can recognise in present day British Society.
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George Herbert Mead
the ‘i’ and the ‘me’
argued that advanced social skills had to be taught and learnt in the same way as basic human skills. he claimed that the social context in which behaviours occur conditions people how to behave. while self-awareness- viewing ourselves the way others view us, is often seen as an instinctive skill, Mead argues it is taught. this incudes developing a concept of Self, what sets us humans apart from animals.
mead believes there are two related aspects to the Self:
1. an ‘I’ based around our opinion of ouselves as a whole, Mead calls this the unsocialised Self.
2. a ‘Me’ aspect consists of an awareness of how others expect us to behave in a given situation, Mead calls this the social self, as it deveops through socialisation.
Goffman
self awareness
he argued that who we believed ourselves to be- our sense of identity- is also constructed socially through how we present ourselves to others.
Goffman
Model of Identity Performance.
Proposed a model of Self and Identity in which he described social life as a series of dramatic episodes.
people are actors, sometimes they write their own lines or -improvise, this is their personal identity. sometimes they follow lines which are written for them- the external influences which inform how people behave in particular situations and roles.
Goffman also suggests that when we adopt a particular identity, we ‘perform’ to others in order to ‘manage’ the impression they have of us. identity performance is about achieving a desired result.
Each agency of socialisation has its own theatre. A theatre is an environment which a person operates. Each theatre has its own rules, which are called ‘doxas’. Doxas can change and are fluid and we measure our ability to survive in a theatre by our success in that environment e.g. if we have lots of friends and are popular, we could argue that we have mastered the doxas of the environment
Cooley
Looking Glass Self
50 years before Goffman, Cooley suggested that in the majority of social encounters other people are used as a looking glass self. they are like mirrors reflecting ourself as others see us- looking into a mirror of the person other people think you are- suggested through their behaviour.
Podder and Bergvall
socialisation
observation that culture “isn’t something we’re born with, it is taught to us. The human being is a social creature and we need rules for interaction with one another”. Since it can be argued that culture can lead to us creating our identity, the significance that socialisation can have on us is clear.
Wilson
Biogrammars
+Parsons
argued that biological principles of natural selection and evolution are applied the ‘human animal’ to produce a biological basis for all human behaviour - he claimed that although human behaviour is not genetically determined, it is strongly influenced by ‘biological programming’ or biogrammars.
biogrammars suggest that humans are likely to act in specific ways. (eg; traditional male and female traits, influenced Parsons-family roles)
Parsons believeved, over-riding the biogrammar is a less-efficient way of organising human cultural relationships. does not make the best use of their pre-existing capabilities.
Cooley
Primary Socialisation
primary groups that contain intimate relationships and face to face are fundamental in creating the nature and ideals of an individual. The primary relationships we form is with our parents, followed by our peers and then with other adults e.g. marriage.
Parsons
Primary Socialisation
states that primary socialisation is crucial in socialising newborns into being children who can function in society.
Berger and Luckmann
Secondary Socialisation
believe that secondary socialisation involves secondary groups and is characterised by ‘a sense of detachment’
Parsons
Secondary Socialisation
argued that one of the main functions of secondary socialisation is to ‘liberate the individual from a dependence on primary attachments and relationships formed within the family group. ‘
Berger and Luckmann
primary and secondary socialisation
suggest that while primary socialisation involves ‘emotionally charged identification’ with people such as our parents , secondary socialisation is characterised by ‘formality and anonymity’
(basically differentiate between affective and instrumental relationships)
Mead
Refers to parents as significant others- they shape both our basic values, and our moral values.
Hughes et al
Primary Socialisation- Peers
peer groups may be used as reference groups- what Hughes called the models we use for appraising and shaping our attitudes, feelings and actions.
Handel
peer groups
states peer group helps children function more independently individuals acquire skills and beliefs of their generation
Sewell
Peers
peer groups tend to consist of people from similar backgrounds e.g. ethnicity becoming cultural comfort zones
Parsons
school as a significant form of secondary socialisation
- it emancipates the child from primary attachment to their family. introduces them to instrumental relationships- in effect a bridge between the family and the wider social world.
- allows children to internalise a level of society’s values and norms that is a step higher than those learnt in families. child adopts wider social values into their personal value system. something that promotes social solidarity and consensus.
Bowles and Gintis
Marxist perspective on school as secondary socialisation
they argue there is a correspondence between the school norms and workplace norms: schools prepare students for adult work by socialising them into uncomplaining workers. eg:-
* daily attendance
* right of those in authority to give absolute orders which must be obeyed
* no control over the study material//no control over what you produce
Potter
media as secondary socialisation
suggests short term effects of media consumption include:
* imitation
* desensitisation
* learning and internalising of new ideas
The Glasgow Media Group
Secondary Socialisation -Media
have argued that the media have an agenda-setting role – they will show news on the media that attracts attention (to sell newspapers), therefore other news might be hidden.
Philo et al
agenda setting by media
media may determine how something will be debated: for example in the UK immigration is discussed mainly in terms of numbers of immigrants, with an assumption that high numbers are bad.
Potter
media influence
media influence comes about through a process of habituation: the more people experience certain images and ideas, the more likely it is that they will add them to personal value systems.
Durkheim
the media influencing norms
suggests that the media has a ‘boundary-marking function’ it promotes acceptable and unacceptable forms of behaviour to strengthen perceptions of expected behaviour.
Swatos
Religion
going through important changes that are making them more female friendly.
