Transcript The Role of Socialization

THE ROLE OF
SOCIALIZATION
Environment and Heredity
Socialization
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Socialization: continuing process whereby an
individual acquires a personal identity and learns
the norms, values, behaviour, and social skills
appropriate to his/her social position.
What is the Role of Socialization?
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What makes us who we are?
Is it determined by genetics?
Or is it our environment?
Divide into groups of 3 or 4
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Create a list of 5 reasons to justify each position
NATURE
NURTURE
Nature vs. Nurture Debate
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Traditional clash over the relative importance of
biological inheritance and environmental factors in
human development
Heredity vs. environment
Most social scientists have moved beyond this
debate
Acknowledge interaction of these variables in
shaping human development
Nature: Influence of Heredity
Oskar
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Sudetenland,
Czechoslovakia
maternal grandmother
strict Catholic upbringing
Member of Hitler Youth
Learned to hate Jews
Jack
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Trinidad
Jewish father
Joined Israeli kibbutz
(collective settlement)
at 17
Served in Israeli army
Brothers reunited in middle age
Similarities
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wearing wire-rimmed glasses and
moustaches
wore pocket shirts with epaulets
like spicy foods and sweet liqueurs
are absent-minded
have a habit of falling asleep in front
of the TV
Think it’s funny to sneeze in a crowd
of strangers
Flush the toilet before using it
Store rubber bands on their wrists
Read magazines from back to front
Dip buttered toast in their coffee
(Holden 1980)
Differences
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Jack = workaholic
Oskar = enjoyed leisure time
Jack = traditional liberal who
was much more accepting of
feminism
Oskar = traditionalist who was
domineering toward women
Jack = extremely proud to be
Jewish
Oskar = never mentioned his
Jewish heritage
Heredity and Environment
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Separated twins studies
Minnesota Center for Twin and Adoption Research
Similarities
Characteristics (temperament, voice patterns, and nervous
habits) = linked to heredity
 Tendency toward leadership and dominance
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Difference
Attitudes, values and types of mate chosen, drinking habits
= linked to environment
 Need for intimacy, comfort, and assistance
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Sociobiology
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Systematic study of the biological bases of social
behaviour
Apply Charles Darwin’s principles of natural selection to
study social behaviour
Assume that particular forms of behaviour become
genetically linked to a species if they contribute to its
fitness to survive
In its extreme form, sociobiology suggests that all
behaviour is the result of genetic or biological factors
and that social interactions play no role in shaping
people’s conduct.
Sociobiology continued…
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Focus on how human nature is affected by the
genetic composition of a group of people who
share certain characteristics
Many sociologists are highly critical of
sociobiologists’ tendency to explain, or seemingly
justify, human behaviour on the basis of nature and
ignore its cultural and social basis.
Nurture:
Environment and the Impact of Isolation
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The Case of Isabelle
 Lived
in almost total seclusion until age 6
 Darkened room
 Only contact with deaf, mute mother, and grandparents
who kept her hidden
 Discovered by Ohio authorities when her mother
escaped the grandparents
Isabelle
Communication
Socialization
Reactions
Could not speak
Croaking sounds
Simple gestures to
communicate with
mother
Deprived of
interaction and
socialization
experiences
Saw few people
Initially showed
strong fear of
strangers
Reacted like a wild
animal
As grew accustomed
became apathetic
Training Isabelle
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At first believed she was deaf, but soon became to
react to sounds
Specialists develop a systematic training program
to help her adapt to human relationships and
socialization
Quickly passed over six years of missed
development
Isabella’s progress
Few days
2 months
9 months
9 years
14 years
• Speaking first words
• Speaking in complete sentences
• Identifying words and sentences
• Ready to attend school with others children
• 6th grade and well adjusted
Cases of neglect
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Romania (former communist Eastern Europe)
Romanian orphanages
Babies in cribs 18 or 20 hours
Feeding bottles, little adult care for 1st 5 years
Many orphans fearful of human contact
Prone to unpredictable antisocial behaviour
Huge adjustment problems for 20% of orphans
adopted to NA families
Importance of Early Socialization
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Not enough to care for an infant’s physical needs
Parents must also concern themselves with children’s
social development
Primate Studies
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Harlow’s experimentation – rhesus monkeys
Raised away from their mothers and away from
contact with other monkeys
Fearful and frightened, did not mate
artificially inseminated female became abusive
mother
Harlow’s “Artificial Mothers”
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Two substitute mothers
Cloth-covered replica
 Wire-covered that had the ability to offer milk
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Went to wire one for milk but spent more time clinging
to cloth “mother”
Monkeys valued the artificial mother that provided a
comforting physical sensation more than the one that
provided food.
Appears that the infant monkeys developed greater
social attachments from their need for warmth, comfort,
and intimacy.