Download Agents of Socialization - Freeman Public Schools

During childhood and adolescence, the major
agents of socialization are family, school, peer
group, and mass media. The family’s role is
critical in forming basic values. Schools
introduce children to life beyond the family. In
peer groups, young people learn to relate as
equals. The mass media provide role models
for full integration into society.
From the list below, what influences
your life the most?
A. Parent or parents
B. School
C. Peer groups
D. Mass media
0%
A
A.
B.
0%
C.
BD.
A
B
0%
C
C
D
0%
D
The Family and Socialization
• A child’s first exposure to the world
occurs within the family, which is the
primary agent of childhood
socialization.
• Within the family the child learns to
think and speak; internalize norms,
beliefs, and values; form basic
attitudes; develop a capacity for
intimate and personal relationships;
and acquire a self-image.
The Family and Socialization
• Families are generally the first agents
of socialization to teach children the
gender roles considered appropriate
in the general society or in the
family’s culture.
• Socialization varies by social class
and may be a reflection of the values
necessary for the type of jobs held
by the parents, according to
sociologist Melvin Kohn.
Johnny hadn’t been running the streets long when the
knowledge was borne in on him that being a Rocco
made him ‘something special’; the reputation of the
notorious Roccos, known to neighbors, schools, police,
and welfare agencies as ‘chiselers, thieves, and
trouble-makers,’ preceded him. The cop on the beat,
Johnny says, always had some cynical smart crack to
make. Certain homes were barred to him. Certain
children were not permitted to play with him.
Wherever he went—on the streets, in the
neighborhood settlement house, at the welfare
agency’s penny milk station, at school, where other
Roccos had been before him, he recognized himself by
a gesture, an oblique remark, a wrong laugh.“
—Jean Evans, “Johnny Rocco,”
The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1948
From the list below, who are the most
influential people in you life?
A. Parent or parents
B. Other relatives
C. Friends
D. Teachers
0%
A
A.
B.
0%
C.
BD.
A
B
0%
C
C
D
0%
D
Socialization in Schools
:• In school, many of a child’s
relationships with other people are
impersonal.
• In school, rewards and
punishments are based on
performance rather than affection.
Socialization in Schools
• The hidden curriculum is the
informal and unofficial aspects of
culture that schools teach children
in preparation for life.
• The hidden curriculum teaches
children discipline, order,
cooperation, and conformity—all
characteristics required for success
in the adult world of work.
Socialization in Schools (cont.)
•Because they are separated from the adult world for such
long periods of time, school teaches young people to depend
on one another for much of their social life.
Which hidden curriculum influences
you the most?
A. Discipline
B. Order
C. Cooperation
D. Conformity
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Peer Group Socialization
• A peer group is composed of individuals
of roughly the same age and interests.
• A child’s peer group is the only agency
of socialization that is not controlled
primarily by adults.
• In peer groups, children experience
conflict, competition, cooperation, and
self-direction
Peer Group Socialization
• The peer group also provides an
opportunity for children to develop close
ties with friends outside the family,
including members of the opposite sex.
• Interacting with large numbers of
diverse people helps children develop
the social flexibility needed in a mobile,
rapidly changing society.
Do you think peers or family have
more influence on children?
A. Peers
B. Family
A. A
B. B
0%
A
0%
B
The Mass Media and Socialization
• Mass media are means of communication
designed to reach the general population,
such as television, newspapers and the radio.
The Mass Media and Socialization (cont.)
• Positive effects:
–
The display of role models
–
The mass media provide children
with such images and ideals as
achievement and success, activity
and work, equality and
democracy.
The Mass Media and Socialization (cont.)
• Negative effects:
–
Exposure to violence
–
can be used as vehicles for
propaganda to influence behavior.
Availability of Television
Source: The World Bank, 2005 World Development
Indicators.
Which is an example of mass media?
A. Television
B. Newspaper
C. Internet
D. All of the above
0%
A
A.
B.
0%
C.
B
D.
A
B
0%
C
C
D
0%
D
• hidden curriculum
• peer group
• mass media
hidden curriculum
the informal and unofficial aspects of
culture that children are taught in school
peer group
set of individuals of roughly the same age
and interests
mass media
means of communication designed to
reach the general population