Socialization Flashcards
Socialization
The process by which people learn to function in social life and become aware of themselves as they interact with others
Self
Consists of your ideas and attitudes about who you are as an independent being
What is socialization the key to?
Human development. Missed phases of life cannot be made up
Freud thought that..
The self is formed socially
What did Cooley propose?
The looking glass self
Looking glass self
We judge how others interact and react to us, and then we develop a set of feelings about who we are
What did Mead propose?
The concepts in self-development: the “I” - subjective/impulsive self that wants things
The “me” - emerges when people learn to communicate symbolically
What are Mead’s Four Stages of Development?
- Imitation (of significant others, like babies copying what their parents are saying)
- Pretending (let’s play house, school, doctor..)
- Playing Complex Games (take the role of SEVERAL OTHERS CONCURRENTLY) e.g. board games, lego, sports
- Developing a sense of cultural standards (image of the generalized other / application to self of the cultural standards)
What context does childhood develop in?
A special Sociohistorical context
Age cohort
People born in the same range of years
Age roles
Norms for people in different stages of life
Generation
age cohort that shares particular formative experiences
Different generations in Canada
- Greatest Generation
- Silent Generation (lucky generation)
- Baby Boomers (Vietnam War, Trudeaumania, popular music)
- Generation X (slow period of economic growth and the job market filled with baby boomers)
- Millenials
- Gen Z
Social Environment
Being surrounded and influenced by real or imagined others
Adaptation
Arranging individual actions to gain an environment’s cooperation.
As you encounter things in your social environment, you change your behaviour to get the best result you can
What kind of process is Socialization?
An Evolutionary process - action and reaction to one’s social environment
What do functionalists emphasize about socialization?
Emphasize how socialization helps to maintain orderly social relations
What do conflict and feminist theorists typically stress?
The discord based on class, gender, and other divisions
What do symbolic interactionists highlight?
Highlight the creativity of individuals in attaching meaning to their social surroundings
What is the MOST IMPORTANT agent of primary socialization?
Families
Primary socialization
Mastering the basic skills needed to function in society during childhood
What is the important agent of secondary socialization?
Schools
Secondary socialization
Socialization outside the family after childhood
What is the Hidden Curriculum in schools?
Teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms
What aspects make up Symbolic interactionism?
Thomas Theorem, Self-fulfilling prophecy, and Peer groups (status)
Thomas Theorem
Outcome of a situation depends on the person’s PERCEPTION of it, and not on the situation itself
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
An expectation that helps bring about what it predicts
Peer Groups
People who are about the same age and status as the individual (secondary socialization)
Status
Recognized social position an individual can occupy
What does the Mass Media expose to individuals, and what do we learn?
Influences that shape our ideas, behaviours, expectations, values and attitudes
We learn GENDER ROLES
Gender Roles
Widely shared expectations about how males and females are supposed to act
Resocialization
Occurs when powerful socializing agents deliberately cause rapid change in people’s values, roles, and self-conception, sometimes against their will
What can be a part of resocialization?
Initiation Rite
Initiation Rite
Ritual that signifies the transition of the individual from one group to another and ensures his or her loyalty to the new group
3 steps in the Initiation Rite
- Ritual Rejection (of your old life)
- Ritual Death
- Ritual Rebirth
Rites of Passage
Cultural ceremonies that mark the transition from one stage of life to another
3 parts in Rites of Passage
- Separation
- Transition
- Incorporation
Total Institutions
Settings in which people are isolated from larger society and are under strict control and constant supervision of a specialized staff
Anticipatory socialization
Dress for the job you want and not the job you have
What helps form Self Identity?
The Internet / Digital Technologies
