Socialization Flashcards
- Define socialization
- Debate the social and biological factors on developing the social self
- Explain how socialisation works
o Cooley’s looking-glass self
o Mead’s “I” and “Me”
o Agents of socialisation - Define rites of passage
- Describe the process of resocialisation in Total Institutions
- Evaluate if people are prisoners of socialisation
a
Debate the social and biological factors on developing the social self: Elaborate on Nature vs Nurture
Nature:
- Nurture is the social environment having an influence on us.
- Behaviour is determined by our inherited, genetic structure
- It is also called innate behaviour
- Social Environment: Interaction of heredity and environment shape human development
Nurture (The influence of heredity):
- Nature is what we have inherited.
- Behaviour is the result of learning and experience resulting from outside factors such as parents, media, peers and religion
- It is also called learned behaviour
Without social interaction humans
- will find it difficult to survive
- cannot develop a social self
Socialization occurs as a result of nature or nurture
What is definition of socialisation?
- Lifelong process in which people learn appropriate attitudes, values, and behaviours
- Evolves continually as it interacts with various agents of socialisation
- Society moulds its members into proper social beings
- People acquire cultural competency and through which society perpetuates the fundamental nature of existing social structures
What is the difference between primary and secondary socialisation?
Primary Socialisation
- socialisation that takes place during childhood
Secondary Socialisation
- dynamic socialisation that continues throughout our lives
Elaborate Cooley’s Looking-Glass Self
View of ourselves comes from contemplation of personal qualities and impressions of how others perceive us
- We imagine how our behaviours will look to others
- We interpret others’ reactions to our behaviours
- We develop a self-concept
- The self is product of social interactions with other people
- Social self is constructed as a result of this reflective process
What is the difference between primary and secondary groups?
What is a primary group?
- A primary group is typically a small social group whose members share closer, personal and enduring relationships.
- These groups are marked by members’ concern for one another, in shared activities and culture.
- Examples include the family, childhood friends, and highly influential social groups.
What is a secondary group?
- Secondary groups are where explicit exchange of commodities take place, exchanging labour for wages, services for payment and others.
- People in a secondary group interact on a less personal level than in a primary group.
- The relationships are temporary rather than long lasting.
- The secondary group is one in which you have chosen to be a part of. They are based on interests and activities.
- Relationships here are described as acquaintances.
Elaborate on Mead’s “I” and “Me”
“I” self
- Subjective sense of who we are
- Seeks self-fulfillment
- Part of self that is based on how others see you
- Made up of attitudes we internalise from interactions with others
- The self as object
“Me” self
- Objective part of who we are
- Questions how others might interpret our actions
- Understands symbols that others give us
- Seeks to find favourable reactions to our behaviours from others
- Part of self that is uniquely you – your personal reactions to the situation
- The active, spontaneous creative part of the self
- The self as subject
What are the stages of self (Mead)?
Preparatory/ Imitation stage
Play stage
Game stage
Elaborate more on preparatory/ imitation stage.
- Self is not present at this stage
- Child imitates the actions of others
- They don’t attribute meanings to their actions, nor do they understand the implications of their behaviour.
- As they grow older, children become more adept at using symbols
- Birth to 2/3 years of age
- Example: When adults laugh and smile, child laughs and smiles
Elaborate more on
play stage
- Self is developing at this stage
- Child takes the role of a single other, as if he or she were the other.
- Children develop skill in communicating through symbols and role taking occurs
- From 2/3 to 6 years of age
- Example: Child first takes the role of doctor, then the role of patient
How does the play stage work?
By playing roles, children see others as separate from themselves. They understand their actions can affect other people and vice versa
As they play, children:
- Take on a variety of roles
- Begin to appreciate the perspectives of other people
- Build up a sense of themselves as something that other people look at and make judgments about.
- First step in constructing a “Me”
- First exposure to taking on the roles of others and seeing themselves as others might see them
Elaborate more on
game stage
- Self is present at this stage
- Child considers the roles of two or more others simultaneously
- Children of about 8 or 9 consider several actual tasks and relationships simultaneously
- Have rules that specify the roles people play and the behaviour associated with those rules
- Example: In game of hide-and-seek, child takes into account the roles of both hider and seeker.
What is the theory of self (Mead)?
- Self begins as privileged, central position in a person’s world
- As the person matures, the self changes and begins to reflect greater concern about reactions of others
Significant others
- Individuals most important in the development of the self
What are some examples of agents of socialisation?
- Family
- School
- Peer groups
- Mass Media and Technology
- Workplace
- Religion and State
How does family affect as agent of socialization?
- Gender roles: Expectations regarding proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females
- Parents tend to pass on to their children the outlooks that are suited to their own experiences in the world.
