Chapter Four: Socialization PDF

Chapter Four Socialization  Socialization ▪ The lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire a self-identity and the physical, mental, and social skills...

Chapter Four Socialization  Socialization ▪ The lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire a self-identity and the physical, mental, and social skills needed for survival in society. – Why Important: ▪ Essential for the individual’s survival and growth ▪ Essential for the survival and stability of society ▪ Kind of human we become is linked to the time and kind of society we live in 4-2 Classification: Protected A  Schools of Thought ▪ Human Development: Biology and Society – we are products of biology, society, and personal experiences – Two contrasts: ▪ Sociologists focus on nurture, culture, and society ▪ Socio-biologists focus on biology and how it affects social behaviour ▪ Combined view: both nature and nurture shape us 4-3 Classification: Protected A  Why Necessary ▪ Problems with Isolation and Maltreatment: – Nonhuman primates and isolation: the Harlow studies – Isolated Children (or feral children), e.g., Anna, Genie and Isabelle 4-4 Classification: Protected A  What are the consequences to children of isolation and physical abuse, as contrasted with social interaction and parental affection? Sociologists emphasize that social environment is a crucial part of an individual’s socialization. 4-5 Classification: Protected A  Agents of Socialization ▪ The Family ▪ The School ▪ Peer Groups ▪ Mass Media 4-6 Classification: Protected A  The Family ▪ The most basic and foundational agent ▪ From a functionalist perspective, fami-lies are the source of procreation and socialization of children – Source of emotional support – Social status 4-7 Classification: Protected A  The Family ▪ Social Conflict Perspective: – Socialization reproduces class in children from the class of the parents ▪ Symbolic Interactionist Perspective – Through interactions with our parents, kin, and siblings we are socialized to become who we are 4-8 Classification: Protected A  The School ▪ A significant agent because most people would typically spend about 20 years in education, all things being equal ▪ Schools are miniature societies; we learn skills, punctuality, obedience to authority figures, etc. 4-9 Classification: Protected A  The School ▪ Functionalist Perspective: 1. teaching students to be productive members of society 2. transmission of culture 3. social control and personal development 4. selection, training, and placement of individuals in social ranks 4-10 Classification: Protected A  The School Social Conflict Perspective ▪ Children have varied experiences depending on class, race, gender, and ethnicity ▪ Hidden curriculum: children learn the ideals of the capitalist system in school including: – to value competition, materialism, work over play, obedience to authority and attentiveness 4-11 Classification: Protected A  The School Symbolic Interactionist Perspective ▪ Socialization is a result of daily interac-tions in the school setting ▪ Students learn about their culture, the nation, aggression and compliance, and gender identity/roles. 4-12 Classification: Protected A  Peer Groups ▪ Defined: a group of people linked by common interests, equal social position, and similar age. ▪ Functions: – provide links to the larger culture – contribute to sense of “belonging” – give some sense of freedom from family – teach and reinforce cultural norms 4-13 Classification: Protected A  Peer Groups ▪ Peer Pressure: - When we conform we are rewarded but when we rebel we are punished - Conflict between conformity to peers and conformity to parents - Strong pressure to have things that other children have is passed on to parents 4-14 Classification: Protected A  4-15 Classification: Protected A  Mass Media ▪ Functions: 1. they inform us about events 2. they introduce us to a wide variety of people 3. they provide a variety of viewpoints of the world around us 4. they make us aware of products and services 5. they entertain us 4-16 Classification: Protected A  Mass Media ▪ Issues/problems of mass media: – Children know more about media figures than current events – Reading skills of children decrease – Effects - lower grades, children read fewer books, exercise less, and are overweight – “Digital divide”: knowledge divide between those with computers and those without 4-17 Classification: Protected A  Sociological Theories of Human Development ▪ Overview: – Meaning of self ▪Self concept: the totality of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves ▪Self-identity: perception about what kind of person we are 4-18 Classification: Protected A  Charles Horton Cooley ▪ Cooley,Mead and symbolic interactionism: social life is socially created ▪ Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) ▪ Looking-Glass Self: 1. We imagine how we look to others 2. We imagine how others judge our appearance 3. We develop a self-concept by evaluating if others are positive we feel good but if we think they are negative in their judgments, we feel bad 4-19 Classification: Protected A  George Herbert Mead ▪ George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) ▪ Central concepts: – Role-taking: the process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person in order to understand the world from that person’s point of view. – Most influential - significant others - those persons whose care, affection, and appro-val are especially desired and who are most important in the development of the self. 4-20 Classification: Protected A  Psychological Theories of Human Development ▪ Piaget and Cognitive Development ▪ Kohlberg and the Stages of Moral Development ▪ Gilligan’s View on Gender and Moral Development 4-21 Classification: Protected A  Piaget and Cognitive Development ▪ A theory of the development of our cog-nitive skills. As we age, we change how we think. ▪ Key concepts (stages): 1. Sensorimotor (birth to 2) 2. Preoperational (2-7) 3. Concrete operational (7-11) 4. Formal operational (12- through adoles-cence) 4-22 Classification: Protected A  Kohlberg and the Stages of Moral Development ▪ Lawrence Kolberg (1927) ▪ A theory of the development of our moral or ethical skills. As we age, we change our moral behaviour. ▪ Key concepts (stages): 1. Preconventional (7-10) 2. Conventional (10 through adulthood) 3. Postconventional (adult life but few attain it) 4-23 Classification: Protected A  Gilligan’s View of Gender, and Moral Development ▪ Carol Gilligan ▪ Key Theory: We develop morally depending on our gender. ▪ Key gender contrasts 1. Males - More concerned about justice, law, and order - Abstract standards of right and wrong 4-24 Classification: Protected A  Gilligan (cont’d) 2. Females - More focused on relationships - Concerned about the consequences of wrong-doing such as stealing might have on persons and their relationships 4-25 Classification: Protected A  Gilligan (cont’d) ▪ Women’s Moral Developmental stages: 1. Motivated by selfish concerns 2. Motivated by some responsibility for others 3. Motivated to do the best both for herself and for others 4-26 Classification: Protected A  Gender and Racial-Ethnic Socialization ▪ Gender socialization: the aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of being female or male in a specific group or society ▪ Sources of gender socialization: family, social class, schools, peers, and the media 4-27 Classification: Protected A  Socialization Through the Life Course ▪ Infancy and Childhood ▪ Adolescence ▪ Adulthood ▪ A key concept that is reflected in all of these transitions is anticipatory socia-lization: “the process by which know-ledge and skills are learned for future roles” 4-28 Classification: Protected A  Resocialization ▪ The process of learning a new and different set of attitudes, values, and behaviours from those in one’s previous background ▪ Total institution: a place where people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and come under con-trol of the officials who run the institution 4-29 Classification: Protected A  Resocialization Voluntary Involuntary When we receive a When we receive new status of our own a new status not free will of our own free e.g., religious will conver-sion, joining e.g., conscription the armed forces, into the armed self-check into a forces, rehab. centre imprison-ment, ordered into rehab. 4-30 Classification: Protected A  Socialization in the Future ▪ The family will continue to be the foundational source of socialization ▪ Increased use of computer technology may further impact socialization 4-31 Classification: Protected A