Understanding Culture and Socialization Review

Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics - Review

• This is a review of culture, society, and politics.
• Includes discussion of socialization.
• Includes examples of different types of groups in society.

The Context, Content, Processes and Consequences of Socialization

• Socialization is learning how society and communities function to become a part of them.
• It's a process of working together to develop responsibility within a community.
• Individuals learn norms and values to conform to a group, creating their self-identity.
• Socialization encompasses acquiring knowledge, language, values, habits, and essential skills in a society.
• The objectives of the lesson are to define and identify social groups and their role in influencing individual identities.

Types of Socialization

• Primary socialization: Occurs when a child learns values, norms, and behaviors specific to a culture and applies them to their daily lives.
  • Example: A child observing their parents' behaviors and attitudes will internalize cultural norms and actions.
• Secondary socialization: Learners adapt to acceptable behaviors within smaller societal groups.
  • Example: A high school graduate choosing a career in Business Management after participating in a small group career seminar led by college business majors exemplifies secondary socialization.
• Developmental socialization: Involves learning and developing social skills.
  • Example: A shy senior high school student teaching English to new freshmen students is a form of developmental socialization.
• Anticipatory socialization: Practices or rehearses for future social relationships.
  • Example: A child anticipates parenthood as he observes his parents performing their daily roles.
• Resocialization: Rejects previous behavior patterns to shift from one life stage to another.
  • Example: A person changing behavior in a work setting, like a correctional officer becoming a different person in a courtroom environment.

Social Groups

• A social group consists of individuals who interact in a structured way based on shared values.
• They interact according to their defined roles in society.
• Types of Social Groups:
  • Based on Social Ties:
    • Primary group: small, intimate groups with strong emotional bonds and prolonged interaction. (e.g., family, close friends).
    • Secondary group: larger, less intimate groups with temporary, objective-oriented interactions. (e.g., classmates, coworkers, clubs).
  • Based on Self-identification:
    • In-group: Those groups an individual identifies with and feels a personal sense of belonging. (e.g., friends group, sports team)
    • Out-group: Groups the person does not identify with or feel any sense of belonging, and may experience feelings of competitiveness or hostility. (e.g., rival sports team)
  • Based on Form:
    • Formal group: structured in a hierarchical manner, guided by rules and authority structures. (e.g., companies, government agencies, school clubs)
    • Informal group: lacks explicit rules, and objectives, and typically contains the characteristics of primary groups. (e.g., friendship groups, peer groups)
  • Networks: Sets of informal or formal connections linking people for personal, economic, religious, or political reasons. ( e.g., professional network comprised of colleagues, classmates, mentors)
• Reference groups: groups that significantly influence an individual's beliefs, values, behaviors, and attitudes.
• Examples: Membership, Aspirational, and Dissociative reference groups.

Consequences of Socialization

• Socialization establishes role-taking self-concepts.
• Fosters the capacity for socially acceptable actions.
• Creates bearers of culture.

Goals of Socialization

• Impulse control and development of a conscience
• Role preparation and performance (occupational, gender-based, etc.)
• Cultivation of values, sources of meaning.

Performance Tasks

• Include tasks focusing on social group mapping, role analysis, and sharing identity stories.

Quiz

• Covers definitions of various key sociological terms