Socialization -Week 3

Question 1

What is Socialization?

Answer 1

the process that teaches the norms, values, and other aspects of the culture to new group members

how you come to know what you know
a process by which people develop their human capacities and acquire a unique personality and identity. How culture is passed on from generation to generation. Starts at birth —continues through life

Question 2

What is the difference between primary socialization vs secondary ? What is Adult socialization?

Answer 2

Primary- occurs in childhood

Secondary- continues throughout life

Adult socialization- often requires replacement of previously learned norms

Question 3

What is nature vs nurture

Answer 3

nature- represents the belief that genetic and biological heredity are the primary causes of human behaviors.

genetic make up
biological inheritance
cerebral cortex

nurture - represents the belief that the way in which we think, feel and behave are the results of our environment.

environment, interaction, everyday experiences

Question 4

What are engrams?

Answer 4

memory traces. chemically formed entities in the brain that store in physical form a person’s recollections of experiences. stores a mass of information, impressions and images. This is part of our biology

Question 6

What are the agents of socialization?

Answer 6

Family, peer group, school, community, media

Question 7

What are families and their parenting styles?

Answer 7

Family: no matter what form our family takes–two parent, single parent, foster family, siblings/no siblings, same-sex parents, etc.–family is our primary group and primary socializing agent. They are our first interaction, and first to teach us norms

Authoritative Style – a parenting style in which parents listen to their children’s input while consistently enforcing the parent’s rules

Permissive Style – a parenting style in which parents provide high levels of support but an inconsistent enforcement of rules

Authoritarian Style – a parenting style with which children experience high levels of social control but low levels of emotional support

Question 8

What are peer groups?

Answer 8

tend to be dominant agent in mid & late adolescence. Peer group is the 1st experience of independence and while we know peers begin to establish a pecking order, we first enter peer groups as equals

Question 9

School and socialization?

Answer 9

both formal and informal education. Formal is the curriculum that is decided by school districts. Informal includes interactions

ex. who is more likely called in class; interactions on the playground

Question 10

Community and socialization?

Answer 10

neighborhood, religious institutions, sport leagues, scouts. This is also impact by whether or not you grew up in rural, suburban, or urban areas.

Question 11

Media and socialization?

Answer 11

historically not considered a socializing agent, wasn’t considered significant at all but rather ‘just entertainment.’ Today most recognize how influential media is on the development of the self. However, media remains the most controversial of the agents of socialization.

ex. print,music,radio,tv,movies,internet

Question 12

Theories of Socialization and theorists?

Answer 12

Sigmund Freud (psychoanalytical approach)

Charles Cooley (The Looking Glass Self)

George Herbert Mead (Role Taking)

Erickson’s Stages of Development

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Question 14

Sigmund Freud (psychoanalytical approach) ?

Answer 14

Unconscious is a major motivating factor
Childhood experiences are of fundamental importance in later development
The relationship between the individual and society is essentially one of conflict
According to Freud humans are driven one way by biology and the other by society
Id, Ego, SuperEgo
begin as egocentric, aggressive pleasure-seeking infants – ID, as children we struggle to accommodate the demands of society

The ego – the rational part of the self develops

Children begin to internalize their parents and others expectations and ideas of right and wrong and develop a conscience called a superego

Question 15

Charles Cooley (The Looking Glass Self)

Answer 15

symbolic interactionist, argued that the self develops in three main stages: Looking-glass self
1.We imagine how we appear to others – beginning as small children we acquire our sense of self by seeing ourselves reflected in others attitudes and behavior
2.We draw general conclusion based on the reactions of others –We start by imagining the way we appear to others, then we identify with how we imagine others judge that appearance
3.Based on our evaluations of other’s reactions, we develop our sense of personal identity. Finally we interpret those judgments for ourselves in order to develop unique personalities

Question 16

George Herbert Mead (Role Taking)

Answer 16

Mead was a pioneer symbolic interactionist who wrote Mind, Self and Society. He argued that the self is the part of personal identity that has self-awareness and self-image. For Mead the self consists of two parts: the I -active spontaneous part of the self and the me-objective part which questions how others might interpret our actions.

Mead argued that the self develops in three stages

1. Imitation stage (birth to about 2)
2. Play stage (pre-school) – begin to play roles of others separate from themselves
3. Game stage (school age and above) – we begin to understand that others have expectations and demands, anticipate the roles of others in games, baseball, basketball, etc.

the generalized other- gradually by role-taking, children develop a generalized impression of what people expect of them

Question 17

Erickson’s Stages of Development

Answer 17

proposed that humans develop a personality in 8 psychosocial stages. During each stage, we experience a particular psychosocial crisis it must be resolved positively or negatively. Each outcome will have an effect on our ability to deal with the next crisis.
the crisis at each stage of development must be resolved positively before one can successfully master subsequent stages
Infancy
Toddlerhood
Preschooler
Elementary School
Adolescence
Young Adulthood
Middle Adulthood
Late Adulthood

Question 18

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Answer 18

1.Sensorimotor stage – the stage at which infants learn to experience and think about the world through their senses and motor skills (think about the first thing a baby does when they get their hands on an item…it goes straight to their mouths)

2.Preoperational stage – the stage at which the ability to speak grows rapidly; Piaget was particularly interested in this stage.

3. Concrete Operational Stage – the stage at which children can think about objects in the world in more than one way and start to understand causal connections in their surroundings

4.Formal Operational Stage – the stage at which people become able to comprehend abstract thought

Question 19

Theories of Moral Development and theorists ?

Answer 19

Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral theory
Carol Gilligan’s Moral Theory

Question 20

Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral theory?

Answer 20

moral reasoning occurs on three levels

The Preconventional level – moral decisions based on seeking pleasure over pain

The Conventional level – use of norms and rules to determine what is right and wrong

The Postconventional level – morality based on abstract principles

Question 21

Carol Gilligan’s Moral Theory?

Answer 21

Gilligan suggested that males and females make moral decisions differently. Boys use morality of justice – a morally based on the rule of law. Girls use morality of care – a morality that enables them to make moral decisions by a standard of how best to care for individuals

Question 22

what is resocialization ?

Answer 22

the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors and abandoning old ones. The process of being socialized again. Involves radical changes and discarding values and expectations unsuited to new circumstances.
used in total institutions

Question 23

What are total institutions? characteristics?

Answer 23

places in which the most effective forms of resocialization can occur because they isolate people from outside influences so they can be controlled
characteristics
1There is one authority, and activities take place in specific locations.
2.Carefully structured activities control the participants
3.Authorities carefully screen all information from outside the institution
4.Rules and roles are clearly defined
5. A strict hierarchy exists within the institution
6.Total institutions restrict individual choices

Question 24

Core theories and socialization

Answer 24

Functionalism- Functionalist socialization occurs when people internalize society and enact its norms, values and roles. To keep the society in equilibrium and running smoothly, people must adopt the norms and values and expectation of their particular institution.

Conflict Theory- the haves or privileged and have nots are socialized differently. Different classes do not have the same access to participate in organized sports, take music or art lessons or involvement in other activities. Working class and middle class children are socialized to play different roles in society.

Symbolic Interactionism-socialization is the major determinant of human nature. People develop their sense of self by incorporating how others interpret their behavior. The symbols we encounter such as other people’s interpretation of our behavior help shape who we are and what we become.