Download File

Chapter 3
Socialization
Society Makes Us Human
•
•
•
•
Feral Children
Isolated Children (Read Genie Handout)
Institutionalized Children
Deprived Animals
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Society Makes Us Human
Social environment: the entire human
environment, including direct contact with
others.
Self: the unique human capacity of being able
to see ourselves “from the outside”; the views
we internalize of how others see us.
Personality: Stable patterns of thought,
feeling, and behavior. Core of self.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Society Makes Us Human
Babies do not develop “naturally” into social
adults; although their bodies grow, human
interaction is required for them to acquire the
traits we consider normal for human beings.
The process by which we learn the ways of our
society, through interaction with others, is
called socialization.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization into the Self and Mind
• Cooley (1864-1929) and the Looking
Glass Self
– Imagine how we look to others.
– Interpret (evaluate) others reactions.
– Develop a self concept.
A favorable reflection in the “social mirror” leads to a
positive self-concept, while a negative reflection leads to a
negative self-concept.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization into the Self and Mind
• Mead (1863-1931): Role-taking
– Imitation: Children mimic others.
– Play: Take on roles of others (starts at three).
– Team games: Children learn the role of each
team member.
Play is critical to the development of a self. In play, we
learn to take the role of others—to understand and
anticipate how others feel and think.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization into the Self and Mind
Generalized other: The norms, values, attitudes,
and expectations of people “in general”; the child’s
ability to take the role of the generalized other is a
significant step in the development of a self.
Significant other: An individual who significantly
influences someone else’s life.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization into the Self and Mind
“I”: Subjective, active, spontaneous, creative part
of the social self (for instance, “I shoved him”).
“Me”: Objective part—attitudes internalized from
interactions with others (for instance, “He shoved
me”).
Both self and mind social products. Cannot think
without symbols. Language provides us with these
symbols (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis).
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Society Within Us
•
•
•
•
The Self and Emotions as Social Control
Are We Free?
Expectations of Family and Friends
Social Mirror (Cooley)
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization into Gender
• Gender: The behaviors and attitudes that a
society considers proper for its males and
females; masculinity or femininity.
• Gender Socialization: The ways in which
society sets children onto different paths in life
because they are male or female.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization into Gender
• Learning the Gender Map
• Gender Messages in the Family
• Gender Messages from Peers
• Gender Messages in the Mass Media
– Advertising
– Movies and Television; Video Games
– Anime
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agents of Socialization
Agents of socialization: Individuals or
groups that affect our self-concept, attitudes,
behaviors, or other orientations toward life .
They provide structured environments in
which socialization occurs.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agents of Socialization
• The Family
– Social Class and Type of Work
•
•
•
•
•
The Neighborhood
Religion
Day Care
The School and Peer Groups
The Workplace
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agents of Socialization
Primary Socialization: Occurs during childhood
when a child learns the attitudes, values and
actions appropriate to individuals as members of a
particular culture.
Anticipatory Socialization: Learning to play a
role before entering it.
Resocialization: Learning new values, norms,
attitudes, and behaviors to match new situations.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Agents of Socialization
Total Institutions: A place where people
are cut off from the rest of society and come
under the control of officials who are in
charge.
Degradation Ceremony: An attempt to
remake the self by stripping away an
individual’s current identity and stamping a
new one in its place.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization Through Life
Life course: The stages of our life as we go from
birth to death, where we learn the various roles
that enable us to meaningfully participate in
social groups. The stages follow a biological
sequence; but the content is socially understood.
Early
Adulthood
Adolescence
Transitional stage
Birth
18-29
Middle-Age
30-65/67
Death
Childhood
Sheltered period
Age 65/67 and
Beyond
Disengage from more
active social roles
Above sequence is life course as typically found in industrial societies and post-industrial societies.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization Through Life
• Childhood - Birth to 12 yrs
• Adolescence - 13 to 17 yrs
• Transitional Adulthood - 18 to 29 yrs
(Early adulthood on handout)
• The Middle Years - 30 to 65/67 yrs
(Middle-age on handout)
– Early Middle Years - 30 to 49 yrs
– Later Middle Years - 50 to 65/67 yrs
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socialization Through Life
• The Older Years (about age 65/67 on)
– The Transitional Older Years
– The Later Older Years
• Sociological Significance of Life Course
– Does Not Merely Represent Biology
– Social Factors Influence Life Course
– Social Location Very Significant
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Are We Prisoners of Socialization?
• Sociologists Do Not Think So
– We have a self
• Individual behavior is hard to predict
• Individuals Are Actively Involved in the
Construction of the Self
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.