CULTURE & IDENTITY - AGENTS OF SOCIALISATION Flashcards
family (primary socialisation)
IMITATION:
->one way in which children learn within the family is through imitation
->imitation is whereby children watch and copy their parents or family members
->this may be how they learn parts of their culture such as what to eat, how to act, etc.
ROLE MODELS:
->people that children imitate may become their role models
->gender role socialisation is a good example of this:
–>children are often encouraged to behave like their same-sex parent: eg. girls acting like their mothers (helping with cooking) or boys acting like their fathers (helping with DIY)
–>this might be reflected in their toys, clothes, and activities
SANCTIONS:
->sanctions are the means whereby a social norm is enforced, either by a positive or negative device, and either formally or informally
->children learn through positive and negative sanctions in the family
->a child may be punished for incorrect behaviour and rewarded for correct/acceptable behaviour
->young boys may be discouraged/negatively sanctioned from showing emotion due to it being perceived as “unmasculine”
EXPECTATIONS:
->parents may have different expectations of their children
->this could be in terms of their education, the activities they take part in, their behaviour, or their future aspirations
->girls may be discouraged from playing sports that are physical or “rough”, which can mean that boys develop better spatial skills from a young age
family - gender role socialisation - OAKLEY (primary socialisation & gender IDENTITY)
-gender role socialisation is the process through which children learn the appropriate behaviours associated with males and females through agents of socialisation passed on in society
-Ann Oakley (FEMINIST) identified 4 processes of gender role socialisation:
MANIPULATION:
->parents encourage behaviour that is normal for the gender and discourage what they may see as inappropriate gender behaviour (eg. “boys don’t cry”, “you throw like a girl”)
CANALISATION:
->boys and girls are channelled into appropriate activities, so boys are given “male” toys that encourage physical activity and critical thinking, whereas girls get given “female” toys (like dolls) that encourage being maternal and caring
VERBAL APPELATIONS:
->girls will often be referred to as “princess” and “angel”, whereas boys may be called names like “little monster”, which may encourage aggression, and creates a clear distinction between the genders
DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES:
->girls are taken to dance classes or entirely kept at home “to help mom” whereas boys are sent out to play or taken to football training
education (secondary socialisation)
-schools are an example of secondary socialisation
-school socialises students and helps them to prepare for the world of work
FORMAL CURRICULUM:
->the formal curriculum is what is taught through timetabled lessons (specifically lessons which governments, exam boards, and schools design to promote academic achievement)
->the National Curriculum provides a basic outline of what the government think children should know based on their “key stage”
->Marxists think that children are taught false “facts”
HIDDEN CURRICULUM:
->the hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten rules, values, and patterns of behaviour (norms) which students are expected to conform to and learn while in school (eg. respect authority, respect other’s opinions, punctuality, “work ethic”)
->this could include values that are implicit in textbooks, rules, or uniforms
->eg, in the 70s and 80s, textbooks either ignored women or portrayed them in traditional gender roles
->education encourages gender roles as there are 14% women vs 86% men in STEM, but 73% women vs 27% men in health, education, and welfare
work (secondary socialisation)
-the workplace has an important role in the socialisation of adults
FORMAL SKILLING:
->socialisation can be done in the form of “formal” training (eg. how to do your job)
->eg. a doctor needs to know what kind of medication to give and how to identify various ailments and illnesses, BUT they also need to have good interpersonal skills and a “bedside manner”
CANTEEN CULTURE:
->canteen culture is a term associated with the police force (but can be applied to all workplaces)
->it is about understanding the work practices and attitudes of other employees
->people working in a particular workplace can develop a shared set of values and prejudices
->canteen culture is sometimes suggested as an explanation for police discrimination and the lack of fairness sometimes displayed by the police force
religion (secondary socialisation)
-religion can have a big influence on your socialisation even if you’re not particularly religious
-religion is a big part of culture (norms, values, customs, traditions, rituals, traditions, etc)
PARENTAL FAITH:
->children in religious families will be profoundly impacted by their parent’s beliefs
->they may be educated at faith schools, take part in religious traditions and ceremonies, experience rites of passage, and have aspects of food and drink associated with their religion
->some sociologists argue that young children have very little choice in taking on the religious beliefs of their parents
COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE:
->”collective conscience” is a term given by Emile Durkheim (FUNCTIONALIST)
->he argues that the main function of religion is to allow for shared values and moral beliefs
->religion establishes the principles and beliefs that make society both stable and well ordered
->monogamy is an example of a norm in Britain that has religious origins
peers/friends (secondary socialisation)
-a peer group is formed by people of roughly the same age and status as you
-they are the first group you encounter outside of the family, so they can be very influential from a young age
EARLY FRIENDSHIPS:
->children tend to join peer groups from the age of 3 or 4 (nursery age)
->these groups can be highly influential to children
->children can develop their own norms and values from a young age, often through play
->some sociologists theories that children develop their own culture that parents/adults are excluded from
PEER PRESSURE:
->peer pressure is the influence of a group or individuals on another person to alter their behaviour so they become accepted by a peer group
->modifying behaviour to “fit in” and gain acceptance, by conforming to group norms
->peer groups are often very important to adolescents in particular as they give them a sense of independence away from the family
->this can be a very powerful process for any age group, but particularly young people
->most people fear or find social rejection unpleasant
media (secondary socialisation)
MEDIA SATURATION:
->the mass media consists of newspapers, magazines, books, internet, radio, TV, music, and films
->the media has a massive impact on us - we live in a media saturated world
->the media is all around us and influences us and teaches us key norms and values, eg.
-1. increasing amount of people have eating disorders, likely due to the increased influence of super skinny models with unrealistic bodies
-2. link between violent images and violent acts
-3. increased amount of debt due to excessive advertising of material goods
HYPODERMIC SYRINGE MODEL:
->early Marxist theories in the media suggested that the media acts as a drug injected directly into people’s minds
->the media affects people’s beliefs, as people do not question what they see in the media
->children are particularly vulnerable to this
->violence is often portrayed as heroic in children’s TV
COPYCAT BEHAVIOUR (ROLE MODELS & IMITATION):
->Albert Bandura -SLT
->Bandura suggests that children are particularly sensitive to what they see in the media
->he believed that children learned behaviours from the media by copying what they saw on TV
->he focused on the learning and imitation of aggressive behaviour
