Chapter 4 - Socialization Flashcards
Define: Socialization
The way individuals attempt to align their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviours to fit into society or groups
(ex. the process in which individuals incorporate society into their sense of self)
(constantly changing due to how society and people around us are changing)
Nature vs Nurture
developmental perspective:
- some theorists view socialization as largely dependant upon processes of physical and psychological maturation which are biologically determined
- some theories say nature dictates certain aggressive traits (but what does that mean for society?)
– however, there are many cases that show socialization is necessary for child development (meaning that nurture is important)
Effects of social isolation
- ex-feral children/children abandoned by their parents or suffered abuse
- these children never develop mental abilities characteristic of adults or are significantly behind their peers
- they develop little capacity for speech - no one with whom they might communicate - (therefore no capacity for role-taking or self-reflection and thus unable to evaluate the consequences of courses of actions)
The Social learning perspectives
- these emphasize the child’s acquisition of cognative and behavioural skills in interaction with the environemnt
- context varies from group to group but process of social learning are universal (ex. games)
- and recent research emphasizes importance of both developmental process and social learning
Interpretive Perspective
- focuses on symbolic interaction
- the child’s task is to discover the meanings common to social groups (ex. children’s cultural routine - wake up, eat, go to school, free time, dinner, sleep)
- socialization is the process of interpretive reproduction - which can be problematic if you’re learning from someone with bad social cues
Impact of Social Structure
- socialization is not random but organized according to sequence of roles that people go through in society (ex. preschool -> elementary school -> middle school -> high school)
- social structures in these institutions are responsible for socializing the person (family, school, peers and coworkers)
Understanding the self
- individuals viewed both as the source and object of reflexive behaviours
1. the self is active: I (initiates reflexive behaviour)
2. object of self: me (passive when behaviour is directed)
ex. What should I wear today? This makes me look dumb
The Nature and Genesis of self
- source of action when we plan, observe, and control our own behaviour - “I am doing this”
- the self is the object of action when we think about who we are
Self Differentiation
- to be the object of our own action, we must be able to recognize ourselves as opposed to the other (children can do this by age 4 - understand that their thought processes can be seen by others)
- the ability to access private information about the self leads to systematic differences in adult’s self-descriptions compared to descriptions of others
– when we describe ourselves is action focused
– description of others is person/characteristic focused
Mean + Action and Internal Dialogue
- our actions are guided by an internal dialogue
To have an internal dialogue we need 3 things:
1. differentiate ourselves from others
2. see self and other’s actions as if through other’s eyes
3. use symbol system or language for inner thought
Cooley + looking glass self
- children evaluate themselves from their parents, family and playmates
-when interacting with others, we respond by gestures and reactions which can be used to imagine how we are perceived and how we are evaluated by others (we use others to evaluate how society sees us)
Play and the Game
- children learn socializing through play:
1. imitate activities of people around them
2. later perform organized activities to explore more complex activities
Generalized Other
- a person’s self-image of cultural standard and how they apply to their self
- concept of attitudes and expectations held in common by the members of a group (that we expect others to hold us to)
- thinking about the generalized other and wondering what this generalized other would say with society’s standards about us
Role Taking
- imaginatively occupying the position of another person and viewing the self and situation from their perspective
- through role-taking a child learns to respond reflexively (earliest signs is you as I)
Social Origin of self
social media and self
- online communication gives us non-face-to-face feedback and this feedback we impose our personal meanings to statements that can differ due to lack of non-verbal clues
- we also can construct a digital self which is an inwardly orientated narrative about ourselves that is retractable, multiplied, and anonymous
