Understanding Socialization

Learning Objectives

• Socialization is essential for becoming fully human
• Key sociological theorists on socialization include Cooley, Mead, Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Erikson
• Five key agents of socialization are identifiable
• These agents have both positive and negative impacts
• The life course involves major transitions

Further Learning Objectives

• Early childhood events can have lasting effects
• Resocialization involves significant changes in beliefs and behavior
• Total institutions exhibit specific characteristics
• New socialization patterns can address societal challenges

Introduction to Socialization

• Socialization is how people learn their culture
• People have the potential to learn harmful beliefs and behaviors
• Social surroundings shape individuals' thoughts, actions, and opportunities
• Children and teens acquire knowledge from diverse sources

Socialization Activity

• Deliberate about the origins of negative views

Socialization

• Culture is learned through socialization from agents such as values, norms and social roles
• Social roles are socially defined expectations of people in certain statuses like doctors, parents etc

Importance of Socialization

• Socialization transmits culture and enables societal function
• Social interaction is vital for socialization
• Feral children demonstrate the absence of culture and normal behavior due to extreme social isolation

Harlow's Monkey Experiments

• Experiments demonstrate the detrimental effects of social isolation on monkeys' development
• Experiments highlighted the importance of social interaction for normal development

Theories of Socialization

• Major theories focus on infancy, childhood, and adolescence
• Socialization is now understood to be a lifelong process

Cooley's Looking-Glass Self Theory

• Interactions shape self-perception
• People develop self-image based on how they believe others perceive them

Mead and the "I" and "Me"

• Mead studied symbolic interactionism and self-development through play
• Children take on roles, internalize expectations of others including parents (significant others) to understand social interaction
• The generalized other represents society's conscience and moral rules

Mead's Stages of Development

• Imitation Stage: Infants mimic behavior
• Play Stage: Children pretend to be others (significant others and family normally)
• Game Stage: Children grasp the generalized other, and take on roles and attitudes of society

Mead's Two Parts of Self

• "I": unsocialized, spontaneous self
• "Me": social self-conscious, shaped by society
• Society requires a balance of individual creativity and social conformity

Psychological Explanations of Cognitive Development

• Personality, cognitive abilities, and moral development are explained psychologically
• Freud studied the unconscious personality
• Piaget explored cognitive development
• Kohlberg and Gilligan focused on moral development

Freud's Personality Theory

• Freud's psychoanalytic theory posits that the id, ego, and superego shape personality
• The id is selfish with biological instincts and demand immediate gratifications
• The ego is rational and develops as needs aren't immediately served
• The superego internalizes society's norms
• Individuals are prone to commit antisocial behavior if not shaped by the super-ego

Piaget's Cognitive Development

• Piaget thought the brain develops in four stages
• Adequate development needs socialization
• Infants in the sensorimotor stage explore with senses
• Children begin to use symbols in the preoperational stage
• Children understand cause and effect in the concrete operational stage
• Adolescents begin abstract thinking in the formal operational stage

Cognitive Development Research

• Early years help children's cogitative development
• Providing stimulating social interaction improves neurological and cognitive development
• Interaction is important

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

• Morality develops through stages
• In the preconventional stage, children avoid punishment
• In the conventional stage, adolescents follow rules
• In the postconventional stage, individuals recognize higher moral standards than those which society follows
• Antisocial behavior is caused by deficient moral development

Gilligan's Theory of Moral Development

• Kohlberg's research didn't study girls properly
• Males decide what is right and wrong
• Girls incorporate relationships in development

Erikson's Identity Development Theory

• Socialization is lifelong with development in 8 stages
• To age 12 children learn self-control and interdependence
• Teenagers experience an identity crisis
• Later stages relate to family and work

Agents of Socialization

• Agents is groups and institutions that greatly impact socialization
• Key agents include family, schools, peers, the mass media, and religion

The Family in Socialization

• For children, the family is one of the most significant agents of socialization
• Parental influence has a lasting impact

Parental Influence and Social Class

• The family transmits different expectations
• Obedience emphasized by Working-class
• Independence emphasized by middle class

Impact of Concerted Cultivation

• Middle-class parents actively foster specific skills in their children
• After school activities and museum trip taken
• Working-class parents allow children to grow naturally instead

The family in Gender Socialization

• Children's socialization differs by sex
• Gender socialization occurs by parenting

Racial socialization in the family

• Black parents have to socialize children in Black culture
• Racial discrimination a growing problem

Cross-Cultural Socialization

• Socialization practices vary across culture
• Japan stresses group belonging and dependence, in-group work
• The group's similarity is stressed

Activity - Importance of the Family

• Describe how your values and attitudes have been socialized

Schools' Key Role

• Reinforce society's cultural values
• Negative values of American past are suppressed

Effect of Hidden Curriculum

• American and capitalist values are taught
• Students learn what is valued over others
• Blaming the victim is reinforced

The Role of Peers

• Emotional support is given
• Influence is given
• Emotional support continues into adulthood

Potential Negative of Peers

• There are downsides to friendships
• Inducement to violate social harms
• Exmaples include the use of drugs

The Media

• Views can be affected
• Examples include political or societal views

Media and Violence

• Often blamed for violence
• Examples include reinforcement on racism

Activity- Personal Influence

• Debate over influence is key
• Ask: do they make people violent

Religion

• Influence is given
• Non-religious have very different attitudes

Life course

• All stages have affect
• Adolescence is included

Childhood

• One of the most critical life stages
• Affects depend on many things, including societal standings

Later stage

• Bad experiences can have great effect

Adolecence

• There are social aspects
• Teenagers not children but not adults

Puberty

• Puberty included
• Puberty has psychological effects

Adulthood

• Defined as the years from 18 to 64
• There is a distinction between yound and middle adults
• Brain matures and behaviour improves

Activity - Behaviours

• Compare yourself now and then
• Think of how you change now