Soc Lesson 13

Understanding Socialization from Theoretical Perspectives

Functional Approach

• Socialization plays a crucial role in maintaining society, strengthening the social order, and passing down culture from one generation to the next.
• People are socialized with the attitudes, values, beliefs, and conventions necessary to take on roles and responsibilities.
• Resocialization is essential for smooth transitions from one stage of life to another (e.g., from home to school, from work to education).
• According to functionalists, socialization breakdown leads to social system breakdown.
• Functionalists blame the failure to internalize social standards and poor socialization for deviant behaviors.

Conflict Perspective

• Socialization is used by individuals in positions of authority to maintain the status quo and justify social inequities.
• Socialization prepares people from lower classes to show deference to those above them in the social hierarchy.
• The media plays a significant role in shaping socialization, promoting stereotypes and reinforcing existing power structures.
• Conflict theorists argue that socialization is a means of oppression and control, rewarding conformity and punishing those who challenge the status quo.

Symbolic Interactionism

• Symbolic interactionism focuses on micro-level analysis of social interaction, primary groups, and the interpretation of symbols.
• Cooley's "looking-glass self" concept suggests that our self-concept is shaped by how we perceive others' responses to us.
• Mead's concept of "role-taking" emphasizes the importance of play in developing our ability to assume the roles of others.

Feminist Approach

• Socialization fosters patriarchy and maintains gender roles.
• Socialization instructs people to internalize and accept gendered expectations and norms, which are often harmful to women and marginalized groups.
• The feminist perspective emphasizes the role of socialization in establishing gendered identities and influencing how people view themselves and others.

Socialization into Self and Mind

• Socialization shapes our self-concept and influences how we perceive and interact with others.
• Cooley's "looking-glass self" concept and Mead's "role-taking" concept are key to understanding how socialization influences our self-concept.

Learning Personality, Morality, and Emotions

• Freud's theory of personality development suggests that personality is made up of the id, ego, and superego.
• Kohlberg's theory of moral development suggests that moral development occurs in a series of stages, from amoral to postconventional.
• Gilligan's research on gender differences in morality suggests that women are more likely to judge morality in terms of interpersonal ties.
• Emotions are shaped by socialization, and sociologists research how socialization influences our emotional development.

Let me know if you need me to revise anything!### Universal Emotions

• Paul Ekman's research (1980) identified six basic emotions that are universally felt: anger, disgust, fear, pleasure, sadness, and surprise
• These emotions are accompanied by the same facial expressions across cultures and nations
• Ekman concluded that these emotions are hardwired into our DNA due to the universal facial expressions associated with them

Expressing Emotions

• Emotions can be expressed through various means, including facial expressions, words, gestures, and body language
• Charles Darwin emphasized the biological aspect of universal facial expressions, highlighting their significance in sociology

Socialization and Emotions

• Socialization influences how emotions are expressed, with cultural, social class, and situational "rules" affecting emotional expression
• Gender also plays a role in emotional expression, with different expectations for men and women in certain situations
• For example, American women are more likely to publicly express joyous surprise through physical gestures, whereas men may be discouraged from doing so due to cultural norms