Download SOCIOLOGY 120 Socialization Across the Life Course ESSENTIAL

Socialization Across the Life Course
ESSENTIAL LEARNING: Students will be able to explain the role of socialization.
Aging = the lifelong process through which an individual learns the cultural norms and values of a
particular society.
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The socialization process continues throughout all stages of the human life cycle.
Rites of passage are specific ceremonies dramatizing and validating changes in a person’s status.
These rites mark stages of development in the life course (religious confirmations, school
graduations, marriage, parenthood, etc...)
Sociologists have moved away from identifying specific life stages or rites of passage that we are
all expected to pass through at some point. People today are much less likely to follow an
orderly progression of life events than they were in the past.
Functionalist Perspective - Disengagement Theory
 Functionalists contend that society and the aging individual mutually sever many of their
relationships.
 It emphasizes that passing social roles on from one generation to another ensures social
stability.
 The approach of death forces people to drop most of their social roles. Younger members then
take on these functions.
 The aging person withdraws into an increasing state of inactivity.
 Society withdraws from the elderly by segregating them residentially, educationally, and
recreationally.
 Society should help older people withdraw from their accustomed social roles.
Interactionist Perspective – Activity Theory
 Interactionists argue that the elderly person who remains active and socially involved will be
best adjusted.
 The older person still has essentially the same need for social interaction as any other age
group.
 The improved health of older people has strengthened the arguments of activity theorists.
 They view withdrawal as harmful for both the elderly and society; they focus on the potential
contributions of older people to the maintenance of society.
 In their opinion, aging citizens will feel satisfied only when they can be useful and productive in
society’s norms – primarily by working for wages.
Mrs. Saunders: Sociology 120
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Socialization Across the Life Course
Conflict Perspective
 Conflict theorist criticizes the disengagement and activity theories because neither attempts to
questions why social interaction “must” change or decrease in old age and ignores the impact of
social class on the lives of the elderly.
 The upper class has a lower likelihood of dependency in old age.
 Working class jobs often carry greater hazards to health and a greater risk of disability; aging will
be particularly difficult for those who suffer job-related injuries or illnesses.
 Working-class people also depend more heavily on government and private pension programs.
 The low status of older people is seen in prejudice and discrimination against them, age
segregation, and unfair job practices.
Feminist Perspective
 Feminist have drawn attention to how aging affects women of diverse backgrounds and
characteristics.
 Aging does not manifest itself in all women in a universal, uniform manner, but rather intersects
with class, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation to produce diverse patterns and conditions.
Ageism
 Prejudice and discrimination against the elderly.
 Ageism reflects a deep uneasiness among young and middle-aged people growing old.
 For many, old age symbolizes disease, disability, and death; seeing the elderly serves as a
reminder that they may someday become old and infirm
 Although men’s aging is seen as a sign of wisdom and experience, women’s aging is seen as a
sign of decline and diminishing status. Aging women are seen as a departure from our culture’s
norms of physical beauty and sexual attractiveness. (feminist perspective)
Types of Socialization
 The development of social self is literally a lifelong transformation that begins in the crib and
continues until a person prepares for death.
 Two types of socialization occur at many points throughout the life course: anticipatory
socialization and re-socialization.
1. Anticipatory Socialization
 Processes of socialization in which a person “rehearses” for future positions,
occupations, and social relationships.
 A culture can function more efficiently and smoothly if members become acquainted
with the norms, values, and behaviour associated with a social positions before actually
assuming that status.
 Preparation for many aspects of adult life begins with anticipatory socialization during
childhood and adolescence and continues throughout life as one prepares for new
responsibilities.
Mrs. Saunders: Sociology 120
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Socialization Across the Life Course
2. Re-socialization
 Occasionally, assuming new social and occupational positions or moving to a new region
or country requires us to unlearn a previous orientation.
 Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding former behaviour patterns and
accepting new ones as part of a transition in life.
 Often occurs when there is an explicit effort to transform an individual (prison, rehab,
etc…)
 The process involves considerable stress for the individual.
Total Institutions
 Re-socialization is particularly effective when it occurs within a total institution.
 Refers to institutions, such as prisons, the military, mental hospitals, and convents, that regulate
all aspects of a person’s life under a single authority.
 Provides for all the needs of its members because it is cut off from society.
 Represents a miniature society.
Goffman’s Four Characteristics of a Total Institutions
1. All aspects of life are conducted in the same place and are under the control of a single
authority.
2. Any activities within the institution are conducted in the company of others in the same
circumstances – for example, novices in a convent or army recruits.
3. The authorities devise rules and schedule activities without consulting the participants.
4. All aspects of life within a total institution are designed to fulfill purpose of the organization.
Thus, all activities in a monastery might be centred on prayer and communion with God.
Mrs. Saunders: Sociology 120
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