chapter 4 - socialization

Question 1

socialization

Answer 1

the process by which people learn to function in social life and become aware of themselves as they interact with others

Question 2

role

Answer 2

the behaviour expected of a person occupying a particular position in society

Question 3

self

Answer 3

ideas and attitudes about who you are as an independent being

Question 4

Mead’s “I”

Answer 4

the subjective and impulsive aspects of the self that is present from birth

Question 5

Mead’s “me”

Answer 5

the objective component of the self that emerges as people communicate symbolically and learn to take the role of the other

Question 6

significant other

Answer 6

people who play an important role in the early socialization experiences of children

Question 7

generalized other

Answer 7

a person’s image of cultural standards and how these apply to them

Question 8

life course

Answer 8

the distinct phases of life through which people pass; they vary from one society and historical period to another

Question 9

age cohort

Answer 9

a category of people born in the same range of years

Question 10

age roles

Answer 10

norms and expectations about the behaviour of people in different age cohorts

Question 11

generation

Answer 11

an age cohort that shares unique formative experiences during the first few decades of life, which help to shape a collective identity and set of values

Question 12

social environment

Answer 12

others to whom individuals must adapt to satisfy their own needs and interests/real or imaged others to whom the person is connected

Question 13

adaptation

Answer 13

the process of changing our actions to maximize the degree to which an environment satisfies our needs and interests

Question 14

primary socialization

Answer 14

the process of acquiring the basic skills needed to function in society during childhood (usually taking place in a family)

Question 15

gender roles

Answer 15

the set of behaviours associated with widely shared expectations about how males and females are supposed to act

Question 16

secondary socialization

Answer 16

socialization outside the family after childhood

Question 17

hidden curriculum

Answer 17

in school, it includes teaching obedience o authority and conformity to cultural norms

Question 18

Thomas theorem

Answer 18

“situations we define as real become real in their consequences”

Question 19

self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 19

an expectation that helps bring about what it predicts

Question 20

peer group

Answer 20

a person’s peer group is made up of people who are about the same age and of similar status as the individual; it acts as an agent of socialization

Question 21

status

Answer 21

a recognized social position an individual can occupy

Question 22

cyber-bullying

Answer 22

the use of electronic communications technology to threaten, harass, embarrass, or socially exclude others

Question 23

resocialization

Answer 23

when powerful socializing agents deliberately cause rapid change in a person’s values, roles, and self-conception, sometimes against a person’s will

Question 24

initiation rites

Answer 24

rituals that signify transition from one group to another and ensure loyalty to the new group

Question 25

total institutions

Answer 25

settings in which people are isolated from the larger society and under the strict control and constant supervision of a specialized staff

Question 26

anticipatory socialization

Answer 26

taking on the norms and behaviours of a role to which one aspires

Question 27

why is social interaction necessary to unleash human potential?

Answer 27

Studies show that children raised in extreme isolation do not develop normally, their emotional and intellectual capacity is lacking (case of Victor and the Romani children). Freud argued that a self-image begins to emerge when a baby's impulsive demands are denied. Ongoing social interaction is necessary for the emergence of a moral sense and a personal conscience. Mead noted that an impulsive aspect of the self (the "I") is present from birth. Developping Cooley's Idea of the "looking-glass self," Mead also argued that a reposity of culturally approved standards emerges during social interaction. Mead drew attention to the unique human capacity to take the role of the other as the source of the "me." People develop, he wrote, by first imitating and pretending to be their significant others, then learning to play complex games that require understanding several roles simultaneously, and finally developping a sense of cultural standards (generalized other) and how they apply.

Question 28

how are the stages in the life course influenced by the historical period in which people live?

Answer 28

The stages of the life course have been structured differently across history. For example, in the past, childhood and adolescence were not recognized as distinct stages, with the consequence that children were expected to live in much the same way that adults did. Accordingly, children entered the labour market as soon as they were able to perform work tasks. A new view of childhood, which emerged a little over a century ago, began to treat children as unsocialized people who needed instruction and training to develop properly. In response, school attendeance became mandatory and labour laws prohibited children from working. In each historical period, we can see that socialization prepares individuals to become the people that society needs them to be.

Question 29

in what ways did the socializing influence of the family decrease in the 20th and 21st centuries, while the influence of schools, peer groups, and mass media increase?

Answer 29

Families remain an important and enduring agent of socialization. However, their influence has dwindled as the reach of other institutions and social forces has grown. The transfer of knowledge and skills that would have been the primary if not the sole responsibility of families increasingly occurs outside them. Thus, what parents teach their children may be offset by what they learn in other settings.

Question 30

In what sense is the self more flexible than it once was?

Answer 30

People's self-conceptions are subject to more flux now than they were even a few decades ago. Cultural globaliation, medical advances, and pervasive digital technologies mean that identity change occurs more quickly, more often, and more thoroughly than in the past.