Ch.4 Socialization Flashcards
Socialization
The lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire a self-identity and the physical, mental, and social skills needed for survival in society.
Sociologist
Focus on nurture, culture, and society.
Sociobiologist
Focus on biology and how it affects social behaviour.
Combined view of Sociologist and Sociobiologist
Both nature and nurture shape us
Why is Socialization necessary?
Problems with Isolation and Maltreatment:
Nonhuman primates and isolation: the Harlow studies
Isolated Children (or feral children), e.g., Anna, Genie and Isabelle
Agents of Socialization
-Family (Primary/Foundation)
-School
-Peer Groups
-Mass media
Human Development
We are products of biology, society, and personal experiences.
The Family
( Foundational)
From a functionalist perspective, families are the source of procreation and socialization of children.
Source of emotional support
Social status
Social Conflict Perspective:
In family
Socialization reproduces class in children from the class of the parents.
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: In family
Through interactions with our parents, kin, and siblings we are socialized to become who we are.
The School
Significant because most people would typically spend about 20 years in education.
Schools are miniature societies.
Functionalist Perspective: of School
- teaching students to be productive members of society
- transmission of culture
- social control and personal development
- selection, training, and placement of individuals in social ranks
Social Conflict Perspective: of School
Children have varied experiences depending on class, race, gender, and ethnicity.
Hidden curriculum: children learn the ideals of the capitalist system in school.
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: of School
Socialization is a result of daily interactions in the school setting.
Students learn about their culture, the nation, aggression and compliance, and gender identity/roles.
Peer Groups
A group of people linked by common interests, equal social position, and similar age.
Peer Group Functions
-provide links to the larger culture.
-contribute to sense of “belonging”.
-give some sense of freedom from family.
-teach and reinforce cultural norms.
Peer Pressure
Influence from members of one’s social group.
Mass Media Functions
Inform us of events, introduce us to a wider society, provide a variety of viewpoints, make us aware of products/services and are entertaining.
Problems with Mass Media
Digital divide
-Reading skills in children decrease
-Less social interactions in person
-Children know more about media figures and less about current events.
Sociological Theories of Human Development
Meaning and understanding of self.
Self-Concept
The totality of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves.
Self-identity
Perception about what kind of person we are.
Self-Concepts
-Physical
-Active
-Social
-Psychological
Charles Horton Cooley
symbolic interactionism: social life is socially created.
(Looking-Glass Self) developing a self-concept, imagine how we judge and be judged by others. Formed by societal standards.
George Herbert Mead
Role-taking: the process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person in order to understand the world from that person’s point of view.
Most influential: significant others
Psychological Theories of Human Development
Piaget and Cognitive Development
Kohlberg and the Stages of Moral Development
Gilligan’s View on Gender and Moral Development
Carol Gilligan: View of gender and Moral Development (On Exam)
Key Theory: We develop morally depending on our gender.
Males:
More concerned about justice, law, and order Abstract standards of right and wrong.
Females:
More focused on relationships
Concerned about the consequences of wrongdoing such as stealing might have on persons and their relationships.
Women’s Moral Development stages by Gilligan’s view
Motivated by selfish concerns.
Motivated by some responsibility for others.
Motivated to do the best both for herself and for others.
Gender Socialization
The aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of being female or male in a specific group or society.
Anticipatory Socialization
The process by which knowledge and skills are learned for future roles.
Resocialization
The process of learning a new and different set of attitudes, values, and behaviours from those in one’s previous background
Resocialization Age Stage
Only occurs at adulthood.
Voluntary Resocialization
When we receive a new status of our own free will.
Involuntary Resocialization
When we receive a new status not of our own free will (by force).
Where does Resocialization Occur?
In a Total Institution.
Total Institution
A place where people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and come under the control of the officials who run the institution.
(prison, asylum, convent, etc..)
Socialization in the Future
The family will continue to be the foundational source of socialization.
Increased use of computer technology may further impact socialization.
