Socialization

1. Socialization

2. What is Socialization Socialization is the term sociologists use to describe the ways in which people learn to conform to their society�s norms, values, and roles. How people learn to behave according to cultural norms�the way they learn their culture, makes possible the transmission of culture from one generation to the next.

3. When does Socialization Occur? Socialization occurs throughout the lifetime as individuals learn new norms and new groups and situations. Socialization can be divided into three major phases.

4. Primary Socialization Occurs within the family and other intimate groups in a child�s social environment.

5. Adult Socialization Person learns the norms associated with new statuses such as wife, husband, researcher, teacher.

6. Secondary Socialization occurs in late childhood and adolescence, when the child enters school and comes under the influence of adults and peers outside the household and family environment

7. Controversial Issues in the Study of Socialization Nature vs. Nurture What is the relative strength of biological (i.e., genetic) vs. social influences on the individual?

8. How do we come to be who we are? Nature vs Nurture The nature position holds that human behavior is the product of a person�s heredity, which is determined at birth and is thus beyond human control. According to this view, many of our characteristics, abilities, and personality traits are dictated by our biological equipment, innate intelligence, and hormonal make-up.

9. Nurture The nurture position argues that human beings are flexible and adoptable and that human behavior is determined by the learning and social contact that people experience as they mature.

10. Sigmund Freud Theory of personality is based on the assumption that human beings are born with certain biological drives, such as the desire to seek pleasure, that must be controlled by society and channeled into socially productive activities. The relationship between the individual and society is one of conflict and tension.

11. Sigmund Freud (human qualities innate; biologically determined) was the social scientist to develop a theory that addressed both the nature & nurture aspects of human existence. Freud believed that the social self develops primarily in the family, where the infant is gradually forced to control its biological functions and needs: sucking, eating, defecation, genital stimulation, etc.

12. Freud Freud believed that infants have sexual urges and by showing that these aspects of the self are the primary targets of early socialization�that the infant is taught in many ways to delay physical gratification and to channel its biological urges into socially accepted forms of behavior.

13. Freud divided personality into three functional areas: ID Superego Ego

14. The id. . . . The id is the unconscious biological fund of primitive energies with which every person is born. In the newborn child, the id is the only part of the personality that exists. Through interaction with others, child learns that unrestricted satisfaction of id is impossible. This leads to emergence of the . . .

15. Superego The superego is the �conscience,� consisting of internalized rules that guide behavior. It represents the morality of society and usually reflects the beliefs, values, and norms of the child�s parents. The superego constrains the impulses of the id, while the ego conciliates the id and the superego by searching for ways of satisfying the id that are acceptable to the superego.

16. Ego (the moral component of the personality) The ego exists at a conscious level and seeks socially approved ways of gratifying the desires of the id. The ego serves as mediator between the impulses of the id and the constraints of society.

17. Pre-test Question After reading the case of Oskar and Jack, the two identical twins who were raised separately, we can conclude that the person we become is the result of______? A. both heredity and the social environment B. our social environment C. our heredity D. the attitude we inherit about the world

18. Henslin presents the case of Isabelle to illustrate the fact that. . A. child abuse is a serious social problem B. inadequate diet and sunshine will result in ill health C. society makes us human D. single parent families have more problems than two parent families

19. What the case of Isabelle tells us about human nature Humans have no natural language Human contact and affection during infancy is critical Also, as in the case of Genie, if deprivation is extensive and prolonged, development may be permanently stunted.

20. The Wild Boy of Aveyron He was found roaming the woods and fields of Luane, France in 1797. He was about 11 or twelve years old, he did not have �the gift of speech,� but instead used only �cries and inarticulate sounds.� He rejected all clothing, he could not distinguish real objects from pictures and mirrored objects, and he did not weep. �He had no emotional ties, no sexual expression, no speech; he had a peculiar gait and would occasionally run on all fours� Source: Lane, Harlan. 1976. The Wild Boy of Aveyron. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press

21. Humans without Social Contact Other cases of humans who grew up without social contact have appeared in the news occasionally. What emerges is a consistent picture of beings: who do not use language who react to others with fear and hostility who exhibit a general apathy

22. Skeel & Dye Experiment Control Group (Orphanage) Lost 30 IQ points < third grade educ. 4 still institutionalized Low level jobs Only 2 married Experimental Group (Retarded women) Gained 28 IQ points 12 grade education 5 college education 11 married All self-supporting; higher status jobs

23. Conclusion Intelligence, and the ability to establish close bonds with others depends on early interaction. The self concept begins in childhood

24. Behaviorism viewed individuals as a tabula rasa, or a blank slate, that could be written upon by socialization

25. Pavlov Behaviorism traces its roots to Ivan Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist A. Pavlov dog experiment ? behavior conditioned by learning situations B. John B. Watson. ? �Little Albert��11 month old boy

26. Criticisms of behaviorism Sociologists argue that while behaviorists may show us how some types of social learning take place, psychological research often does not deal with real social environments.

27. The Social Construction of Self in sociology, the self is viewed as a social construct: It is produced or constructed through interaction with other people over a lifetime. How the self emerges usually take an interactionist perspective.

28. Charles Horton Cooley. The Looking-Glass Self One of the founders of the interactionist perspective The self is a social product; developed through interactions with other people. The term looking-glass self refers to the process through which we develop our sense of self based upon the reactions of other people to ourselves or our actions.

29. Three elements of looking-glass self. . . We imagine how ourselves or our behavior appear to other people. We imagine how these people evaluate us or our behavior. We experience some feeling because of this judgment; develop a self-concept

30. Pre-test Question According to Charles Horton Cooley, we develop a self-concept: A. by inheriting genetic characteristics from our parents B. by learning self discipline C. by interpreting our feelings about ourselves D. by interpreting how others think about us.

31. So�.how is the �self� developed? You should be able to describe the contributions made by Cooley, Mead, and Freud to our understanding of the socialization process.

32. George Herbert Mead Credited with having expanded Cooley�s ideas People not only react to each other, but they also interpret each other�s actions. That is, they learn to take the role of the other. That is, to put themselves in someone else�s shoes. Learned in play Significant others As children internalize expectations, develop sense of �generalized other��our perception of how people in general think of us

33. The Generalized Other. . . Mead maintained that the experience of role-play and pretence in early childhood were vital for the formation of a mature sense of self, which may only be achieved by the child learning to take on the role of the other, i.e., seeing things from another person�s perspective. Able to see self not just from another�s point of view, but from groups of others.

34. Three Stages Imitation�mimic others

35. Stage 2: Play Play�children act out roles of others. Even if only pretending, children behave as though they were the other person and thereby learn to view world from different perspective.

36. Stage 3: Games Games�children perform roles that require them to coordinate their actions with real people.

37. Two Parts to Self; �I� and �Me� �me� is the part of the self that reflects our perceptions of what people think of us. It is the part that permits evaluation and enables us to control our behavior.

38. �I� The �I� is the independent, spontaneous, and unpredictable side of the self.

39. Pre-test Question According to George Herbert Mead, we acquire a sense of self___________. A. through the �looking-glass� process. B. when we evaluate ourselves in a positive way C. when we can think abstractly D. when we learn to take the role of the other.

40. Ervin Goffman: The Presentation of Self Impression management Altering of the presentation of self�ways we learn to present ourselves socially.

41. The Arithmetic of Inequality The following example highlights how social class determines one's "fate" in life. Social class affects one's life chances across a broad spectrum of social phenomenon from health care, to educational attainment, to participation in the political process, to contact with the criminal justice system. Jimmy is a second grader. He pays attention in school, and he enjoys it. School records show that he is reading slightly above grade level and has a slightly better than average IQ. Bobby is a second grader across town. He also pays attention in class and enjoys school, and his test scores are similar to Jimmy's. Bobby is a safe bet to enter college (more than four times as likely as Jimmy) and a good bet to complete it -- at least twelve times as likely as Jimmy. Bobby will probably have at least four years more schooling than Jimmy. He is twenty seven times as likely as Jimmy to land a job which by his late forties will pay him an income in the top tenth of all incomes. Jimmy has about one chance in eight of earning a median income (Bassis, 1991:216).

42. Three parts of human personality Id Ego Superego

43. Socialization and Comformity