Transcript Socialization - LISA Academy

Socialization
How society effects human development,
nature v. nurture, are we prisoners of
socialization
What is Human Nature?
Socialization is the process by which people learn the characteristics of their
group- knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and actions appropriate for them
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Nature and nurture effect human development
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Societal interaction is a key to human development- shown in studies of feral and
isolated children
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Language, social contact and interaction allow humans develop in emotionally
“healthy” human beings. This is known as the social environment (entire human
environment including direct contact with others)
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Language is not natural it is learned
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The family is the primary agent of socialization
Theories of Human Development
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Humans develop reasoning skills, personality,
emotions, morals and a sense of self through
social observation, contact and interaction.
Major theories- Cooley’s “looking glass self”,
Mead and role taking, Piaget and stages of
development, Kohlberg’s stages of
development, and Carol Gilligan’ stages of
development.
Looking Glass Self and Role Taking
Looking Glass Self (1902)
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Each to a looking glass reflects the other that doth pass.
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Charles Cooley- coined the term. It is the process by which a person’s sense of self develops from
interactions with others.
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1-Imagine how we appear to those around us 2-Intrperet others reactions 3- develop self- concept
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The self is never a finished product, it is always a process
Mead and Role Taking (1934)
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In order to take the role of the other the person needs to put themselves in the other persons shoes
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Not born with this ability- during childhood this is developed through play
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Children first learn to take on the role of the significant other eventually take the role of the “generalized
other”
Three Stages of Role Taking
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Three and Undermimic gestures and
words of others
Three to Six- Take role
of others, firefighter,
superhero
Games- play organized
games that require
them to take multiple
roles
“I” and “Me” and the Mind as a
Product of Society
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Self is divided into two parts-”I” and the “Me”
I is the self as subject, creative, active part of self
Me is the self as an object
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Mead drew the conclusion that not only the self but
the human mind is a social product
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We think using symbols.
Symbols come from societies, like language. If society did not provide
symbols we could not think
The mind is a product of society
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Piaget and the Development of
Reasoning (1954)
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Piaget concluded that children go through
four stages as they develop the ability to
reason
1. Sensormotor stage
2. Preoperational stage
3. Concrete operational stage
4. Formal operational stage
Piaget and the Development of Reason
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Sensormotor Stage
understanding limited to direct contact.
Can’t recognize cause and effectbirth to age two
Preoperational Stage
do not understand common concepts like size and
speed, do not understand numbers.
Can’t take the role of the other
Two to age seven
Piaget and the Development of Reason
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Concrete operational stage
Reasoning ability remains concrete
Children can understand causation
Take the role of others and participate in
games
Need concrete examples to talk about
concepts
Ages seven to twelve
Piaget and the Development of Reason
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Formal Operational Stage
Children capable of abstract thinking
Can talk about concepts based on general
principles
Children know right from wrong without
needing concrete examples
After age twelve
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Lawrence Kohlberg described development of moral reasoning (what
we consider right and wrong)
As we develop we pass through levels of moral thinking
Global Aspects of the Self and
Reasoning
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Cooley, Mead, Kohlberg and
Piaget’s ideas are universal
Children enter stages at different
times
Piaget’s main idea demonstrates that
a basic structure underlies the
development of reasoning, children
all over the world begin with the
concrete and move to the abstract
Some people get stuck in stage four
of Kohlberg’s scale. Studies show
that college nurtures stage five and
people without this experience have
less ability for abstract thought.
Social experience and culture can
modify these stages.
Freud and the Development of
Personality
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Along with development of the mind is the
development of the personality
Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychologist theory
of the three elements of personality
The id
The ego
The superego
Freud and the Development of
Personality
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Id- all people are born with it. The
inborn drive that leads us to seek
self gratification.
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Ego- the id is blocked by the needs
of others. To adapt to these needs
the ego develops. It is the balancing
force between the id and societies
needs to suppress it.
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Superego- the culture within us.
The norms and values we have
internalized from our social groups.
The moral component of our
personality.
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Freud does not take into account
the fact that social class and roles
in groups underlie our behavior
Socialization and Emotions
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Emotions essential to what we become.
depend on socialization
Six universal emotions- anger, disgust, fear,
happiness, sadness and surprise
expressed differently in different cultures
byproduct of culture, class and relationship
Childhood socialization centers on learning the
norms of emotion, how to express our emotions in a
variety of settings
The Self and Emotions as Social
Control
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Socialization is needed to turn us into
conforming members of society
What factors influence how we act?
Our social mirror – the result of being
socialized into a self and emotions- sets up
effective controls to our behavior
Socialization and Gender pp.75-78
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Society uses gender
socialization that set
different expectations for
males and females
By adulthood most of us
act, think and feel
according to cultural
guidelines, what is
appropriate about our sex
Parents are the first
significant others that teach
us about our roles
Gender and the Family
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Studies show that boys are subconsciously
rewarded for being active and independent
and girls are rewarded for being passive and
dependent
Boys and girls have different toys, play
differently, boys get dirty, girls are more
compliant
Socialization lies at the heart of male-female
differences
Gender Messages from Peers and Mass
Media
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Sorting process begins with family and continues with peer
groups, individuals of roughly the same age linked by
common interest
Television, movies and video games reinforce societies
expectations of our behavior
Television and movies can reinforce stereotypes or display
stereotype breaking characters
Are video games changing or reinforcing stereotypes? Read
Mass Media in Social Life, page 79, and answer the
questions.
Gender serves as the primary basis for social inequalityprivileges and obligations given to one group and not
another- makes gender images important to understand
Agents of Socialization pp.78-85
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Groups that influence our orientation toward lifeour self concept, emotions, attitudes and behaviorare called agents of socialization.
Major Agents of Socialization
The Family
The Neighborhood
Religion
Day Care
School and Peer Groups
Sports and Competitive Success
The Workplace
The Family
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Study of how working class families and middle
class families raise their children.
Job type is a defining characteristic of child rearing
style.
The Neighborhood
Parents try to move to better neighborhoods
Children from low income neighborhoods are
more likely to get into trouble, get pregnant,
drop out of school and have a disadvantaged
life.
More affluent neighborhoods people watch out
for each other more because the population is
more stable. This keeps children out of
trouble and safe
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Religion
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Religion influences values
40% of Americans attend
church regularly
Even people who do not go
to church regularly religion
provides a framework for
morality
Teaches ideas about dress,
speech, manners that are
appropriate for formal
occasions
Latent and Manifest Functions
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Latent functions- unintended consequences
of people’s actions
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Manifest functions- intended beneficial
consequences of people’s actions
Day Care
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A study that followed children from age infancy to
kindergarten reported that children that spent more
time in day care than with their mothers were more
uncooperative and unaffectionate toward their
mothers. This was regardless of social class or the
families social status
A positive finding was the children scored higher on
language tests regardless of income or social status.
This is probably due to the social interaction with
other children at day care.
School and Peer Groups
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As children enter school the influence of the parents and
family lessens
When this occurs there is a transfer of values too those of the
peer group
Children separate themselves by sex group
School and Peer Groups
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School gives children a broader perspective that
helps them prepare for the world beyond the family
Children learn universality- the same rules apply to
everyone regardless of how special they may be at
home
Corridor Curriculum-What students teach each other
outside of classroom
Schools around the world reflect and reinforce their
nation’s social, economic and political systems
School and Peer Groups
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Boys Norms
Athletic Ability
Coolness
Toughness
Academic
Achievement for boys
lowered their
popularity
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Girls Norms
Popularity based on
family background
Physical appearance
The ability to attract
popular boys
Academic achievement
increased standing
among peers
School and Peer Groups
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It is almost impossible to go against your peer
group
Those who conform are “insiders”. Those that
don’t are “outsiders”.
Standards of peer groups dominate our lives
and influence our choices
Sports and Competitive Success
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Sports teach values- “how
to be a team player”
Boys learn to achieve in
sports to gain prestige
Encourages boys to
develop instrumental
relationships- those based
on what you can get out
of people
Girls construct their
identities on meaningful
relationships, not
competitive success
The Workplace
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We learn different perspectives about the world from
our co-workers and workplace
Before we become engaged in a career we become
involved in anticipatory socialization-learning to
play a role before entering it. This allows us to
become familiar with a role and become aware what
is expected of us
The more we participate in a line of work the more it
becomes part of your self concept, people describe
themselves by their line of work
Resocialization pages 85-87
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Occurs when people learn new norms, values and
attitudes to match their new situation. When new
ideas become incorporated into the person, they view
life as fundamentally different.
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Examples of Resocialization
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Divorce
Going to college
AA
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Total Institutions
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A place where people are cut off from the rest
of society and are totally controlled by the
officials that run the place.
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Examples
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Boot Camp
Prison
Concentration Camps
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Total Institutions
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When a person enters a total
institution they go through a
degradation ceremony
This is an attempt to strip away
the persons identity- shaved
head, take away personal items,
undergo examination in public,
given a uniform
All routine is standardized, takes
away individuality
This experience brands a person
for life
Life Course pages 87-90
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The stages we go through in life from birth to death
are the life course
As we pass through life it effects your behavior and
orientations
Life course differs because of social location
(corners in life people occupy because of where they
are located in society)
Race , ethnicity, gender map out different
experiences
Childhood (Birth- 12)
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Historically childhood was not a special time
Industrialization changed how we view
childhood
They began to attend school, attitudes of
dependency and children needing gentle
guidance to develop emotionally, intellectually
and morally.
Today this view is taken for granted and seen as
natural
Technology can change the nature of childhood,
TV images of war, rape, murder expose children
to a world that used to be hidden from them.
In Least Industrialized Nations childhood is still
not seen as a special time
Adolescence (13-17)
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Not a natural division but a social division
Industrial Revolution brought material
abundance that allowed teens to stay out of
the labor force, this stage created by society
not biology
At the same time education became
important , this created a gap between
childhood and adulthood
In industrialized nations adolescents must
find their own identity- leaving the younger
world and not yet in the older world
Adolescents develop their own clothing,
attitudes, language, music- their own
subculture
In tribal societies there are initiation rites as
a person passes from childhood to adulthood
Transitional Adulthood (18-29)
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Post industrial societies have
extended adolescence, this
period called transitional
adulthood (adultolescence)
Mostly freed from control of
parents, yet they do not have to
support themselves
Young adults attend college,
graduate and either establish a
career or “find themselves”
At some point during this period
people take on a full time job,
get married , go into debt , etc.
The Middle Years 30-65
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Early Middle Years 30-49
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People become sure of themselves
and their goals in life
Women have trouble with the
transition during this timesupermom, career, superwives
Pressures of too little time and too
much to do
Many adjustments during this
period
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Middle Years
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Later Middle Years 50-65
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Health issues and morality play a
role during this stage
Change in orientation of thinkingfrom birth to time left to live
Compare what they have
accomplished with how far they
hoped to go
Evaluation of the past and come to
terms of what lies ahead
Many care for children and aging
parents
Many enjoy job security and the
children are grown
Idea of self is firmly planted and
fewer upheavals are likely to occur
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Older Years 65 and on
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In modern industrial societies the older years
begin after 65
Until the early 1900’s most people died before
reaching this age, industrialization brought
better public health and nutrition that
prolonged life
Early Older Years- 65 to 80
Many people view this as an extension of the
middle years
The idea of death becomes less abstract
People feel time closing in on them
Later Older Years- 80 +
People see others around them pass away
Stage is marked by growing frailty and illness
Sociological Significance of the Life
Course
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When you live and your social location determine
your life course.
Being born ten years later or earlier can change the
direction your life takes
Social Location- your gender, social class and raceis also significant. Societies events will have similar
effects on people of the same social location
Individual factors also influence your life course.
examples – marrying early, entering college late
Are we Prisoners of Socialization?
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We are not completely products of socialization- socialization does not go
in and behavior comes out.
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Socialization effects us all, but we each have a self.
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The self is dynamic not a passive sponge, we are each actively involved in
the construction of the self.
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Some social institutions, like the family, provide us with the basic
elements of our personality. We voluntarily join other social groups that
have an effect on our self. People can change the self and social location
along with the options available within society.