The Process And Agencies Of Socialisation Flashcards
What are agencies of socialisation?
➞ any group that passes on cultural norms + values
➞ can be primary or secondary socialisation
➞ Parsons and Durkheim agreed that people learn shared cultural norms + values through socialisation. Can be primary e.g family, or it can be secondary e.g education, peer groups, media.
What is primary socialisation?
➞ the first stage of socialisation that takes place from the moment of birth
➞ family is the most important agency of socialisation
➞ teaches role modelling, expectations + sanctions through parents + siblings
What is secondary socialisation?
➞ the 2nd + life-long stage of socialisation
➞ e.g. education, peer groups + the media
➞ passes on norms, values + traditions
➞ can create sub-culture
How does the family provide primary socialisation?
➞ parents teach us how to become members of society e.g -learn social roles; gendered behaviours
-ability to do things e.g read
➞ Bourdieu (Marxist) claimed that people of different classes and ethnicity learn different behaviours as have different family members.
➞ family teaches us basic attitudes, norms + values of our culture + gender roles:
-imitation = copying parents, learning social skills
-role models = people children copy become role models to them e.g encouraged to act like same-sex parent
-sanctions = punished for bad behaviour or rewarded for good behaviour
-expectations = boys develop better spatial skills than girls as more physical play
➞ Parsons believed that parents have separate roles in the family. Male has an instrumental role and Female has an expressive role. Her task is to look after emotion well-being of family.
How can the family pass on cultural norms + values?
➞ taught manners + to maintain bodily hygiene
➞ taught traditions + rules of culture e.g Christmas
➞ social control occurs when children sanctioned through praise or punishment.
➞ copy behaviour of family members through imitation + family members can become role models
Name 5 agencies of secondary socialisation
➞ peer groups
➞ education
➞ religion
➞ media
➞ work
Explain peer groups
➞ made up of people of similar ages + status e.g people in your class
➞ children develop group norms + behaviours which differ from families
➞ peer pressure is the process where people change their behaviour to fit into a group. Any age
Explain education
➞ functionalists view schools are the most important agency of secondary socialisation as children encounter authority and formal social control. They say hidden curriculum transmits norms + values
➞ Marxists see it as a tool of oppression
➞ feminists see is as a tool of patriarchy, children taught gender through lessons
➞ formal control: schools teach knowledge + culture, time tabled lessons. Althusser (Marxist) said education exists to teach children an unfair society is totally acceptable
➞ hidden curriculum: a contested concept. General opinion is that it’s a set of assumptions + beliefs that are unintentionally taught by schools. Includes values + beliefs that are implied in textbooks, uniforms etc.
➞ many textbooks placed women in domestic roles, reinforcing traditional gender roles
Explain religion
➞ powerful force of socialisation and sets moral codes for culture.
➞ Durkheim said it was impossible to have any form of social life without shared values + norms - collective conscience. Established principles + beliefs that make society stable + well-ordered
➞ parental faith: in religious families, children will be affected by the beliefs on parents. Erickson said children have little to no choice but to take on the beliefs.
➞ Marxists critical of religion as keeps capitalists in control, teaches society to be poor + get riches in heaven
➞ feminists view religion as patriarchal + male dominated
Explain media
➞ claimed to be a link between youth violence + media. Bandura claimed there was a direct link between exposure to watching violence + violent play among children.
➞ copycat behaviour: Bandura’s claim that children model their behaviour through role models on TV. E.g murder of James Bulger. 2 murderers watched horror movies the night before
➞ hypodermic syringe model: Marxist theory that suggests media acts as a drug injected into people’s minds affecting their beliefs. Children more vulnerable
Explain work
➞ very important agent of adult socialisation
➞ people have to adapt to demands of work position, done through formal training e.g (doctors) medical training, + informal training e.g learn social skills
➞ mcdonaldisation of work: Ritzer describes a way low-skilled work demands workers to follow a script e.g have a nice day, ensuring correct image of workplace.
Learning gender through socialisation [2]
Family:
➞ Feminine and masculine roles, Parsons believed that parents have separate roles in the family. Male has an instrumental role and Female has an expressive role. Her task is to look after emotion well-being
➞ children copy become role models to them e.g encouraged to act like same-sex parent
➞ Ann Oakley claimed that children learned expected gender behaviour through;
- manipulation = parents encourage behaviour that is normal for the gender + discourage what they see as inappropriate e.g ‘boys don’t cry’
- canalisation = boys + girls channeled into appropriate activities. Boys given males toys to encourage physical activity + girls given dolls to encourage caring
- verbal names = girls are called “princess”, whereas boys called “little monster”, more aggressive names
Media:
➞ copycat behaviour off role models seen online, Wolf complained that the idea of the perfect body image controlled + exploited women
➞ unrealistic lifestyles e.g on TV, wife cooking + cleaning while husband earning money.
➞ passes messages about what is expected of boys + girls, influencing gender norms + values
Learning class identity through socialisation [2]
Education:
➞ Savage states that lifestyles of MC differ to WC. More disposable income to spend on nice cars, holidays etc. their children can expect to attend good schools, go to uni + have a high-paying job.
➞ Bourdieu - cultural capital. People in MC have been socialised into culture of the dominant ruling class + more likely to succeed in school rather than WC children.
Work:
➞ In families, kids pick up values and ideas about success based on their parents’ backgrounds. For example, wealthier families might stress the importance of education, while less wealthy families may focus on getting a job quickly.
Learning ethnic identity through socialisation [2]
Family:
➞ first place where people learn there ethnicity is the family e.g through language, food, traditions
➞ Bourdieu (Marxist) claimed that people of different classes and ethnicity learn different behaviours as have different family members.
Religion:
➞ for many families, ethnic identity passed on through religious practice
➞ parental faith: in religious families, children will be affected by the beliefs on parents. Erickson said children have little to no choice but to take on the beliefs.
Leaning national identity through socialisation
➞ Extreme nationalism- extreme forms of behaviour e.g rise of Nazi
➞ Civic nationalism - more positive as unites different groups together to feel pride of their country
➞ through sport people can be socialised into nationality through events such as the World Cup
