Chapter 4 Socialization Flashcards
Socialization
The process by which people learn their culture.
Without [_], culture could not exist.
socialization
[_] determines which parts of personality will be encouraged or discouraged, depending on the values of the culture.
Society
Harry and Margaret Harlow conducted experiments on young monkeys
Monkeys were separated from their mothers and either raised in isolation or with fake wire mothers covered in soft material; All the monkeys developed abnormally; They struggled to interact with other monkeys; Female monkeys, in particular, often abused their own young later in life.
Institutionalized children show the effects of limited social interaction
Proper growth requires more meaningful social interaction and emotional connection.
Agents of socialization
The arenas in which we interact and in which the socialization process happens; Family; School; Peers; The media; Religion.
Family
Families teach people their first lessons about material and non-material culture.
Three factors related to social location also impact how families socialize their children
Social class; Biological sex; Race-ethnicity.
Social class
A parent’s social class can impact a child’s lessons and expectations.
Example of social class
Working-class parents often emphasize obedience; Middle-class parents typically encourage independence.
Biological sex
Parents often treat children differently based on their biological sex.
Example of biological sex
Families engage in gender socialization, teaching children to act and think ‘like girls’ or ‘like boys.’
Racial socialization
Involves messages and practices related to a person’s racial-ethnic status.
Example of race-ethnicity
Families teach children how to think and act as members of their own race-ethnicity; Families also guide how children perceive and interact with people from different races.
Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted ‘baby doll’ studies
Black children showed a positive bias towards dolls with lighter skin tones; The same children exhibited a negative bias towards dolls with darker skin tones.
Hidden curriculum
Part of the schooling process that gets children to accept, without questioning, the cultural values of the society in which the schools are found is part of the socialization process.
Peers
Exert influence over matters of lifestyle and teach values about friendship and loyalty. Peers’ importance decreases as we age, though they still play an important role in people’s lives.
Mass media
Defined as any communications media, like television, radio, newspapers and social media, which reaches a mass audience. The mass media entertains, informs, and exposes people to different points of view. Determining its influence is difficult since people pick and choose different forms.
Social media
Computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of thoughts, ideas and information.
Social concerns of social media
Proliferation of conspiracy theories; Misogynic
depictions of women
Religiosity
Reflects how often people practice the rituals associated with religion.
There are fewer stages of the [_] in pre-industrial societies compared to industrial and postindustrial societies.
life course
Post-industrial stages of the life course
Childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age.
Socialization through the life course is divided into [_] phases.
two
Primary socialization
Involves learning the basic skills necessary to function in society
Secondary socialization
Occurs during and after childhood and involves interaction with groups and social institutions.
Rite of passage
An event that marks an individual’s transition from one status to another.
Age cohort
People may perceive events similarly
Age structure
Refers to the proportion of people of various ages.
Childhood
Has lifelong consequences and is particularly influenced by one’s social location.
Adolescence
Incorporates both biological changes (puberty) as well as social pressures from peers to fit in.
Adulthood
Ranges from age 18 to 64. Once people reach adulthood, they tend to settle down and their behavior improves.
Resocialization
Process where people learn new values and norms in conjunction with a change in status.
Total institutions
Which are organizations that have complete control over the lives of the people who live in them, like a prison, military boot camp or psychiatric hospital.
Degradation ceremony
Where the new resident is publicly humiliated, then the staff of the total institution uses a system of rewards and punishments to make the new member compliant.
Radicalization
Process of developing extremist ideologies and beliefs.
Social structure has to have an opening to allow for radical thought as well as the opportunity to be radicalized via [_].
social interaction
Macro-level perspectives
View socialization in terms of its effect on society
Micro-level perspective
Examines how the individual develops as they interact with other members of society.
Macro-level sociological explanations
Functionalist; Conflict
Micro-level sociological explanations
Symbolic interactionists
Functionalist Perspective
Socialization is necessary to teach people the same values, norms and beliefs, which promotes social cohesion for society.
Conflict Perspective
Socialization is the means through which the powerful are able to reproduce inequality by controlling which values and beliefs are taught.
Conflict Perspective example
Horatio Alger myth promotes a ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ ideology that denies or ignores social forces preventing social mobility.
Symbolic interactionists
The self (one’s identity, self-concept and self-image) is a social product that develops within the social context, as the culture encourages traits deemed useful and prunes away (through disinterest) traits which do not benefit the group.
Looking-Glass Self theory
Charles Horton Cooley argued that people gain an impression of who they are by using other people’s reactions to them.
Role-Taking and Stages of Self
George Herbert Mead explained that when children play, they take on the role of the other (pretending to be other people as a way of learning and internalizing social expectations), and in this way practice the roles they will eventually assume in society.
Dramaturgy theory
originated by Erving Goffman the which is the idea that we can understand social interaction as if it were a theatrical performance.
Impression management
How people will attempt to convey a positive and convincing impression of themselves as they act their part; Requires an understanding of setting and the norms of the setting (which is part of one’s cultural capital).
Impression management example
A person with a wealthy background will understand the nuances of a job interview better than a person from poverty, thus increasing their chances of getting a job offer.
Front stage
Our public face that is more affected by social expectations
Backstage
Our private face which reflects our more authentic self.
There are two outcomes of socialization: [_].
the development of the self and the replication of culture
Concerns about a growing divide in the American culture will only be addressed when people are socialized to seek [] rather than [].
compromise; dissent
