Socialization and Enculturation Quiz

Socialization and Identity Formation

• Identity is formed through interaction with other people, resulting in the development of norms, values, and status.

Norms and Values

• Norms are determined rules that guide people on what is right, wrong, proper, or improper.
• Values are the standards that define what is important or desirable.

Status

• A status is a label that implies certain roles that must be performed.
• A status set is a collection of social statuses that an individual holds.
• Types of social status:
  • Ascribed status: determined by birth or personal characteristics.
  • Achieved status: acquired through individual effort, merit, or choice.

Importance of Socialization

• Socialization helps form culture, sex role differentiation, and personality.
• Agents of socialization include:
  • Family
  • School
  • Church
  • Peer group
  • Workplace
  • Mass media

Conformity and Deviance

• Conformity: an act of submitting oneself to the norms and conventions of a society.
• Types of conformity:
  • Compliance: acceptance of influence to achieve a favorable reaction from others.
  • Internalization: genuine acceptance of group norms.
  • Identification: maintaining a satisfying self-defining relationship with others.
  • Integrational: gaining favor or acceptance from others.

Deviance

• Deviance: violating norms and causing a negative reaction.
• Functions of deviance:
  • Serves as an outlet for diverse forms of experiences.
  • Defines the limits of acceptable behavior.
  • Promotes in-group solidarity.
  • Serves as a barometer of social strain.

Sociological Theories of Deviance

• Functionalism theory: deviance serves a number of functions for society (Emile Durkheim).
• Strain theory: tension between socially approved goals and an individual's ability to meet those goals (Robert Merton).

Socialization and Enculturation

• Socialization: a lifelong process of social interaction, where people acquire their identities.
• Enculturation: the process of being socialized into a specific culture.
• Functions of socialization:
  • Personality and role development.
  • Skills and development training.
  • Values formation.
  • Social integration and adjustment.
  • Social control and stability.

Quotes

• "No man is an island" (John Donne): every individual is a part of the larger society.