Chapter 3 - Socialization Flashcards
What is Socialization?
The process through which people learn their culture by
1) Entering into and disengaging from succession of roles (as we move from being a child, to student, spouse, parent, and so on)
2) Becoming aware of themselves as they interact with others
Family is one of the most important agents of socializaiton
Socialization as an Active Process
It is an ACTIVE PROCESS where we are not mindless, we actually have the capacity to “accept, or reject”, or modify this socialization messages. We actively participate in our socialization
Socialization Time Duration
Socialization is a LIFE LONG PROCESS
Socialization as a Reciprocal Process
It is a RECIPROCAL PROCESS, parents learn from their children (They are socialized by their children), teachers learn rom their students, and bosses learn from their employees
Socialization is Culturally and Historically Specific
Is CULTURALLY and HISTORICALLY SPECIFIC. What i learned growing up, is different from what you learned growing up. Different cultures are different etc.
Socialization is Critical and Proper for Development
CRITICAL and PROPER for DEVELOPMENT
Ex. Genie was found by childcare in 1970’s, was a victim of child abuse. Spent most of her life in a bedroom, tied to a toilet trained chair. She had no contact with people, no language, or non language communication. Lacked socialization
Theories of Socialization - Sigmund Freud
Argued that the self emerges only through social interation
ID: Operates on the “Pleasure principle”. Is the Impulsive part of self, all about pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain.
SUPEREGO: Acts as ones “conscience”. Represents our values, and values of society (Things we learn through socialization)
EGO: Mediator between ID and Superego, the balancing mechanism
Theories of Socialization - Charles Horton Cooley
Proposed the Concept of the looking-glass self whereby the self is a product of our interactions with others
Our sense of self is not just our internal reflections, instead we actually use OTHER PEOPLE as a MIRROR. We see ourselves out of a reflection out of how OTHERS see us
Process of Developing the Self:
1) Imagining how others see us
2) Imagining how others evaluate us
- What kind of assessments are they drawing about us. Do they think I’m an idiot?
3) Defining our self as a result of these impressions
Theories of Socialization - George Herbert Mead
Argued that socialization involves learning to “take the role of the other”
“I”: The acting self, the impulsive, spontaneous self. Just doing something without fully thinking about the consequences of that action
Me: The Socialized self, The internalization of our values, morals, expectations, this develops overtime with our interrelations with others
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
1st Stage - Imitation
Significant others (Parents) who we imitate. We interact with them, and they are important to us. (Till the age of 3, children are imitating what they see adults doing) Making faces, learning noises.
2nd Stage - Pretending to be others
The age which young kids being to appreciate, and develop awareness of others. “Role taking”. (Ages between 3-5) Ex. Pretending to be a ballerina, firefighter etc. Its not so much about playing, its about LEARNING, learning about taking a perceptive of another.
3rd Stage - Taking the role of Several Others
- Simultaneously take on the role of several others, this also give the child the ability to pretend to be multiple others. (When children start playing soccer, its a swarm of bees, they don’t understand the importance of positions etc), as they get older, they understand that there are different roles.
4th Stage - Take the role of Generalized Other
The generalize other, the values, beliefs, expectations, of a broader culture. You internalize that sense of generalized other. (When you are concerned with a devision because you say “What will my parents think”, or “What will people think?”) This shows the influence of the generalized pattern.
Theories of Socialization - Carol Gilligan
Argued that different cultural standards are passed onto each sex through socialization resulting in gendered differences in the sense of self
The things that girls learn through socialization are different with what the boys learn. They learn to behave different ways, and they will often see themselves in different ways. Ex. The men are the “primary money maker” in the family, men shouldn’t be emotional, and they should be strong. For girls they are taught that its all about how you look, being a true woman means being a mother,
How Agents of Socialization Work - Family
Family is the most important agent of primary socialization though its importance has declined since the 19th century
Primary socialization, childhood socialization. Family is less as important in socialization than it has in prior decades, families are spending less time together, and parents are spending less times with their children.
How Agents of Socialization Work - Schools
Public schools are responsible for secondary socializaiton
The MANIFEST function of schools is to provide instruction in
academic/vocational subjects;
A LATENT function of schools is to teach the hidden curriculum (teaches students what will be expected of them as conventionally good citizens once they leave school)
The HIDDEN CURRICULUM is something that is not recognized (IT is something that is “Caught”, not “Taught) It is the communication of cultural values. Teaching kids what it means to be good citizens. Examples of this are, the importance of hard work, individual responsibility, respect for authority, importance of conformity.
-Conflict theories have brought up the issue of the hidden curriculum because it focused on the “Middle class white class”.
THOMAS THEOREM (our perception of things is what creates reality, not the reality itself) The idea of self-fulfilling prophecy. We see this in terms of teachers, whether its intentional or not, in situations where a teacher has high expectations, the students who are not that capable, will OUTPERFORM what they usually get. Regardless of what the actual potential of the students is, the teachers expectation will mirror what the teachers expectation is because of the Self fulfilling prophecy
How Agents of Socialization Work - Peer Groups
- Include individuals who are not necessarily friends but who are about the same age and of similar status
- Peer groups help children and youth separate from their families, develop independent sources of identity, and integrate into the larger society (e.g., development of cliques)
- Conflict often exists between the values promoted by the family and those promoted by adolescent peer groups temporarily resulting in rejection, experimentation, and rebellion
________________
Share social status, share status as students.
Develop independence, and identity. Outside of influences of the family
Helps integrate people into society.
Participation of rebellious behaviour (Skipping school) these are normal developmental behaviours, which are TEMPORARY.
Once people transfer our of that stage, they return to the values and norms taught by their parents.
How Agents of Socialization Work - Mass Media
Mass media function as an important source of information regarding GENDER ROLES
Such socialization begins in early childhood and tends to support conventional gender roles
________________
Canadian youth spend 40hrs a week consuming media
Gender Roles exposure begins at a very young age, male aggressiveness, sexual objectification of females, “player” identification of males
Participation of the socialization process is an ACTIVE THING, we have the capacity to reject or accept what we socialize.
How Agents of Socialization Work - Resocialization
Occurs when powerful socializing agents deliberately cause rapid change in people’s values roles, and self-conception, sometimes AGAINTS their will (Prison). This process is often accompanied by a initiation rite signifying the transition
Invitation rites often consists of 3 stages
- RITUAL REJECTION
Old status and old identity (RCMP, training takes place in Regina, they are separated from their past, and in this new environment, to create a new identity. The process is a RITUAL DEATH
- RITUAL DEATH
Breaking people down, so you can rebuild them for what ever it is that the institution has for those people.
- RITUAL REBIRTH
Graduation ceremony etc, when everything is complete with the RCMP training.
Resocialization often takes place in total institutions (Settings in which people are isolated from the larger society and are under strict control and constant supervision) University is not an example, bc you’re not there 24 hrs of a day.
