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Socialization
Chapter 4
The first part of our lives is ruined by our parents
and the second half by our children.
--Clarence Darrow
The Role of Socialization
 Socialization-learning the attitudes, values and actions
appropriate to individuals as members of a particular
culture.
 Personality- the sum total of behaviors, attitudes,
beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an
individual
• No two individuals have exactly the same personalities
• Continue to develop throughout their lifetime
How do you become you?
Nature
Sociobiology Perspective- biological
basis for all social behaviors,
determined by genetic factors
Heredity- transmission of genetic traits
Examples?
Nurture
Social-Learning Perspective- Most
behavior is learned through observation
and understandings of the world around
you
Cultural Environment- differences in
values, beliefs, understandings, etc.
Examples?
Heredity is vital to development:
 How to study?……….Twins!
 Preliminary results lean to both heredity and
environment
 One study of identical twins reared apart found:
1. Both chain smoked the same brand;
2. Chewed their fingernails
3. Same model blue Chevrolet
4. Same dog’s names
Differences between twins:
 Attitudes, values, friends, drinking habits
Similarities between twins:
 Temperaments, voice patterns, nervous habits
Perhaps both?
 Most sociologists believe that personality and social
behavior result from a combination of heredity and
environmental factors.
 Almost every example given can be attributed to both
forms of personality development.
What traits can be both Nature and Nurture?
 Personalities
 Athleticism
 Competition
 Religion
 Slavery
…WHAT ELSE?
Personality Development
HEREDITY
BIRTH
ORDER
CULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT
PARENTS
Unique and Wonderful YOU 
Personality Development
HEREDITY
 Provides biological needs
 Places limits on what is
possible but does not
determine behavior
 Aptitudes: capacity to learn a
particular body of knowledge
 Inherited aptitudes can be
encouraged or discouraged by
parents
BIRTH ORDER
 Children with siblings often
have a different view of the
world than do only children
 Influences personality
development:
 First born- achievement
oriented and responsible;
conservative in thinking
 Last born- better in social
relationships, affectionate,
friendly; risk-takers, intellectual
and social rebels
Personality Development
PARENTS
 Influenced by characteristics of
your parents; affected by:
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Age of parents
Differences between parents
Education
Religion
Economic Status
Cultural heritage
Occupation
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
 Cultures give rise to model
personalities” that are typical
and valued by members of
society; affected by:
 Gender
 Subcultural differences
THINK – PAIR – SHARE
Write down 5 positive things about yourself:
12345Are these products of sociobiology or socialization?
What would happen if
a child was reared in
total isolation? How
would they develop a
“personality”?
Isabelle
 First six years, lived in almost total seclusion
 Little contact with people, exception was her mother,
who could neither speak nor hear
 Isabelle’s mother’s parents were deeply ashamed of
the illegitimate birth & kept her hidden away
 Isabelle & her mother escaped
 Ohio authorities discovered her in 1938 – age 6
Isabelle
 Isabelle could not speak: made croaking sounds &
communicated with simple gestures
 Strong fear of people
 Reacted like a wild animal when confronted with an
unfamiliar person
 Scored infant level on maturity tests at 6 yrs.
Isabelle
 Researchers developed a systematic training program
to help Isabelle adapt to life
 After a few days- she made her first attempt to
verbalize
 After two months, she could pass the maturity tests
at a 6 yr. old level
 After 9 months-identify words and speak in sentences
 At 14 years – in school, well adjusted in the 6th grade
Genie
 In 1970, L.A. social workers become aware of a 13 year
old girl who had been neglected and abused
 Spent most of her life isolated and in a closet- caged
like an animal
 Physically and cognitively impaired
 Team started to work with her to try to recover what
had been lost
 Genie’s linguistic abilities were severely and
irreversibly restricted—mental retardation.
Different ideas of SELF:
Locke
Cooley
Mead
Piaget
Freud
Locke’s
Tabula Rasa
 Born as a clean slate
 Personalities are developed through experience
 Anyone can be socialized to become a member of a
given society despite biological influences
Charles Horton Cooley’s
Looking Glass Self
 The self is the product of our interactions with other
people
 Process of developing a self-identity:
1. Imagine how we present ourselves to others-relatives,
friends, strangers
2. Imagine how others evaluate us-attractive, shy,
intelligent, strange
3. We develop some sort of feeling about ourselves-such
as respect or shame
Cooley’s Looking Glass Self
 Individual’s “imagination” of how others view him or
her has an effect
 Can develop self identities based on incorrect perceptions
 Example: Incorrect reaction to a teacher’s criticism – Student
thinks teacher views him as stupid - misconception converted
into negative self-identity
1. The teacher criticized me
2. The teacher must think I’m stupid
3. Therefore, I am stupid
George Herbert Mead’s
Stages of the Self
Studied the “Self”
Developed a useful model of how the
“self” emerges –
Role-Taking
3 distinct stages...
1. Preparatory Stage:
 Children imitate the people around them
 Example: bang on wood if parent doing
carpentry, throw a ball if older sibling is doing
the same
 As they grow older-they become more
familiar with using symbols
 Gestures, objects, language that form the basis for
communication
2. Play Stage:
 Child is able to understand other people’s
actions
 Child becomes able to pretend that they are
other people (dress up, play school, etc.)
 Role taking:
 Process of mentally assuming the perspective of
another
3. Game Stage:
 Begins around 8 or 9 years old
 Child starts to consider several tasks or relationships
simultaneously
 Able to understand their social position and the social
position of those around them:
 Ex. Aware of other students in a classroom setting
 ‘Generalized Others’- Child’s awareness of attitudes,
viewpoints and expectations of a society
 A child will learn courtesy is not to please a parent, but is
a widespread social value endorsed by parents, teachers,
friends and religious leaders
Mead’s Theory of the Self
 When born, the ‘self’ is a privileged, central position
 Children tend assume the focus is on them and find it difficult to
understand others’ points of view: Egocentric
 As we develop, this fades but never completely disappears
 Significant others: those people who are most important to the
development of the self
Jean Piaget’s Theory of the Self
 There are four stages in the development of children’s
thought processes:
 1. Sensorimotor - Young children use their senses to
make discoveries-by touch they discover their hands are
part of themselves
 2. Preoperational – Children use words and symbols to
distinguish objects and ideas
 3. Concrete operational – Children engage in more
logical thinking
 4. Formal operational - Adolescents are capable of
sophisticated abstract thought and deal with ideas and
values in a logical way
Sigmund Freud’s
Theory of the Self
3 parts to the Conscious Self
1. Id:
 What you WANT to do
 Acts on Pleasure Principle: demands instant gratification
 Pays no attention to the laws or needs of others
 The Id is inborn – infant needs
The id:
a primitive part of the personality that pursues only pleasure and
instant gratification.
Sigmund Freud’s
Theory of the Self
2. Superego
 What you SHOULD do
 Defines and tells us what society says we
should do
 Acts on Reality Principle
The superego:
contains our social conscience and through the
experience of guilt and anxiety when we do something
wrong, it guides us towards socially acceptable behavior.
Sigmund Freud’s
Theory of the Self
3. Ego
 What you WILL do
 Satisfies the id, but understands we
cannot always get what we want
The ego:
that part of the personality that is aware of reality and is
in contact with the outside world. It is the part that
considers the consequences of an action and deals with
the demands of the id and superego.