Chapter 2: Socialisation & Identity

Question 1

What is the difference between nature vs nurture:

Answer 1

Nature: refers to the genetic & biological factors that influence behaviour & development.

Nurture: refers to environmental factors that influence behavior & development.

Question 2

Describe the theories of socialization:

Answer 2

• Sociological theories explain that our self- concept is based by our social- environment.
• Society functions through institutions where individuals have different roles (family, friends, work), guided by norms for social order.
• Socialization reproduces inequality, with power stemming from economic control.
• Conflict theories focus on social change & differences.
• Symbolic interactionism focuses on the importance of shared meanings in human interactionism & self- formation.
• Personal values play a role in self- formation, influenced by social cohesion.
• Social structure influences in identity formation:
• functionalists emphasizing hierarchical social categories.
• conflict theorists focusing on social group membership.

Question 3

Who founded the Social self and what is this?

Answer 3

George Herbert Mead.
The social self theory is based on the perspective that the self emerges firm social interactions.

Question 4

Self has two parts, what are they?

Answer 4

“I”- subjective (self- image)
“me”- objective (self- awareness).

Question 5

What is Goffman’s presentation of the self in everyday life?

Answer 5

• Life is a dramatic performance for us.
• We “perform” for others.
• We present a kind of “act” to them.
• We perform differently in different situations.

Question 6

What are the 3 main components of Cooley & “the looking glass self?”

Answer 6

1. We imagine how we present ourselves to others.
2. We imagine the judgement of that appearance.
3. We develop some sort of feeling about our self based upon our perception of what we think others have of us.

Question 7

What are the 3 stages of Berger & Luckman’s social constructivism’:

Answer 7

1. Externalization: we create cultural products (values, beliefs, material products) through social interaction. These products become external to those who have produced them.
2. Objectivation: is when products created in the first stage appear to take on a reality of their own, becoming independent of those who created them.
3. Internalization: we learn the supposedly “objective facts” about the cultural products that have been created. This occurs primarily through socialization, the process of social interaction in which one learns the ways of society.

Question 8

What is Gidden’s structuration theory & how does it work?

Answer 8

• Basic domain of social scientific study is neither the experience of the individual, nor the existence of any form of societal totality, but social practices. Through social activities people reproduce the actions that make these practices possible.
• Structure are not the same as systems- rather “structure” refers to the rules & resources, which are properties of social systems that allow people to transform social relations.
• “Structure” therefore is a set of enabling conditions which allow social transformation to take place.

Question 9

What are the 6 agents of socialization?

Answer 9

1. The family
2. The school
3. The peer group
4. The mass media
5. Work & employment

Question 10

What are the 3 agents of socialisation?

Answer 10

1. In- group & out- group:
   - self- identification & belongingness
2. Categorization:
   - power, status & prestige
3. Stereotyping
   - over- simplification of a group of people.

Question 11

What are the 3 agents of ethnic identity:

Answer 11

1. Contextual factors (home, school, community).
2. History & society (context & reception)
3. Generational status & location.

Question 12

What are the 5 agents of a hybrid identity?

Answer 12

1. Increasing population movement
2. Postmodernism
3. Mass media
4. Agency
5. Globalization.