Socialization Nature Vs Nurture

1. Nature and Nurture: What do twin studies tell us about nature/nurture? Also, discuss the

influence of heredity in explaining the process of ones personality and intellectual

development. Provide examples.

Twin studies can tell us the role nature and nurture has on socialization. Twin studies can tell us

whether or not there is a genetic link (nature) for socialization or if there is an environmental link

(nurture) for socialization. A significant part of twin studies is when twins are separated and

raised in different environments from one another. For example, if one twin is raised in an

environment where socialization is frowned upon, and childhood isolation is evident, then

chances are this twin will grow up lacking in age-appropriate socialization skills due to nurture.

The other twin, if raised in an environment where socialization is encouraged, and the twin is

free to socialize with other children, then this twin will grow up with age-appropriate

socialization skills. As to twin behavior, however, there appears to be some genetic link (nature).

For example, there was a twin study relating to twin girls Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein born

in 1968. Their mother was mentally ill, and the twins were subsequently put up for adoption. The

twins were separated from each other to be raised in different households. When the twin girls

reunited in 2003, the twins had the same hand gestures and facial expressions. Although Schein

and Bernstein were separated and raised in different households, they happened to have the same

hand gestures and facial expressions. This says a lot about the role of nature in influencing ones

hand gestures and facial expressions. Nurture has no effect on ones hand gestures and facial

expressions at all. The only thing nurture has an effect on is ones socialization skills.

2. What is the self? According to Charles Horton Cooley, explain the looking glass self

(discuss the three phases). George Herbert Mead also discusses the stages of the self:
 identify differences between I and Me. What is meant by significant others? How are

significant others related to the self? Identify Meads three-stage process of self-

development.

The self is basically our sense of who we are. The self is what sets individuals apart from one

another, and it is influenced by the people we socialize with. The looking glass self is an

expression coined by Charles Horton Cooley. The looking glass self is basically the idea that

we become who we are based on how we think people are judging or perceiving us. We try to see

how people are perceiving us and we react accordingly. The first stage of the looking glass self

is imagining how our peers (relatives, friends, strangers) perceive us. The second stage is

imagining what kind of terms (personality traits) our peers would categorize our personality as

depending on their perception of us. The third and final stage is ultimately where we reach our

definition of self.

While George Herbert Mead also discusses the stages of the self, the stages of the self are

different from those of Cooleys in which Cooleys stages of the self occurs after each interaction

while Meads stages of the self occurs during adolescence. Mead argues that there is a difference

between I and Me. I is basically the acting self. The I is the part of us that performs the

actions we want to undertake. The Me is the part of us that we use to plan and judge our

performance of the actions we undertook with the I. The Me is based upon our past actions

and experiences. A significant other, according to Mead, is a person that plays the most important

role in ones development of the self. A significant other can be a parent, a friend, or teacher.

Significant others help us out in developing our sense of who we are.

Meads three-stage process of self-development includes the preparatory stage, the play stage,

and the game stage. The preparatory stage lasts until age 3, and this is where children imitate the
people around them. Children start learning to communicate through symbols such as gestures,

objects, and words. The play stage lasts from age 3 to 5, and this is where children start to

pretend to be other people via role taking. In the play stage, children start to learn to recognize

right from wrong, along with empathy. In the game stage, which lasts from ages 6 to 9, children

learn to communicate and work together with peers. In the game stage, children begin to

understand that there are societal norms although they might not have a complete understanding

as to why these norms exist.

3. Explain the dramaturgical approach. What occurs on front-stage? What happens in

backstage? How can Erving Goffmans idea of impression management and face-work be

used to understand social behavior?

The Dramaturgical approach is a way of studying interaction, treating people as if they were

actors on a stage attempting to play their roles successfully. On front-stage, we (treated as actors)

perform for our audience with all the necessary props and materials and other people (treated as

actors) if the situation calls for it. We would work together with other people and tend to follow

scripts with as little improvisation as possible. In backstage, we prepare all our props and

materials in order to put on a believable performance. Erving Goffmans idea of impression

management and face-work can be used to understand how people communicate with one

another. There are people in some cultures that interact via the dramaturgical approach in order

to engage in impression management and face-work. People use impression management and

face-work in order to impress people they are around. Surely, people want to project the positive

qualities of themselves onto new people they meet, for they do not know how these new people

will react to their supposedly negative qualities of themselves. Projecting negative qualities of

oneself in social interaction may cause the people involved to cut off social interaction with these
people. For example, in Japan, being unemployed has a negative stigma attached to it. So family

members, along with the unemployed people themselves, will try to hide the fact that they are

unemployed for as long as they can. People on the receiving end of this information would then

exercise caution unless they are unaware of impression management and face-work. Basically

speaking, knowledge of impression management and face-work gives us the ability to question

the information that people around us convey to us. We ultimately learn to think more critically.

4. Identify the agents of socialization. What is the role of schools in gender role

socialization? How has technology (computer, cell phone, email, & TV) influenced the

socialization process?

The agents of socialization include family, friends, schools, peers, the mass media, the

workplace, religion, and the state. In regard to gender roles, children are traditionally taught that

toughness is a trait that only boys should have, while tenderness is a trait that only girls

should have. These traditional gender roles were supposedly deemed appropriate for society.

Feminine and masculine norms are established although they vary from culture to culture. For

example, in Southern Asia, boys are taught survival skills such as swimming while girls rarely

get taught survival skills. Likewise, schools in the past were dominated by men, as people

thought that only men were capable of learning. People have proven this wrong, and now women

are starting to make up the majority of educated individuals. Schools can go a long way in

helping reinforce both social order and individual opportunity. If schools teach their students

equally regardless of gender, then their students will go a long way developing into productive

members of society. Similarly, if schools teach their students the notion that men are better than

women, then women and men will have a distorted view of self-worth. Schools need to teach

their students without any gender bias in order to move toward a productive society. Technology,
such as computers, cell phones, email, and television has changed how people communicate and

learn. Instead of face-to-face communication, people are beginning to communicate through text

message, email, and social media. And instead of researching topics of interest through books,

people are listening to what the media is telling them without any second thought. Generally

speaking, people are starting to trust the media more. People are also starting to become more

aware of what our peers are going through because it is becoming easier to stay connected with

one another through social media. We eventually use this information for narrowcasting, or

interacting with people we have things in common with. This narrowcasting leads people to

become more selective of who they interact with.

5. What are total institutions? Identify Goffmans four traits of total institutions. Discuss

how a degradation ceremony is used to mortify ones sense of self.

Total institutions are institutions that regulate every single area of the lives of people under their

authority. Goffmans four traits of total institutions are characterized by this: 1. All areas of a

persons life are regulated under an institutions authority. 2. Activities taking place in the

institutions occur around people that need to partake in the same activity. 3. The institutions have

set schedules and rules that participants must follow and may not contest. 4. The institutions

organize activities that fulfills the common goals that the institution has established.

A good example of an event that occurs in total institutions is a degradation ceremony. In

degradation ceremonies, people are stripped of the physical possessions and traits that embodies

their sense of self. When people enlist in the Army, their hair is cut bald or to a really short

length. In prisons, people have their clothes, jewelry, and other possessions on their person are

taken away. And they become prison inmates, having to follow schedules set by the prison and
having to wear general issue clothing. Therefore, people in total institutions lose their sense of

self through loss of control.

6. How does society deal with an elderly population? Discuss differences between

disengagement theory and activity theory? Finally, provide solutions to ageism.

Elderly populations are treated differently by culture. There are societies that value the elderly,

while at the same time, there are societies that see the elderly as unproductive people that are

difficult to please. Some elderly choose to move in to retirement homes, while others choose to

live in their own houses or move in with family members. All societies have a way of assigning

roles to people of different ages. For the most part, societies are reasonable, and many do not

expect the elderly to carry heavy things or young children to be capable of going to war.

The difference between disengagement theory and activity theory is that disengagement theory

suggests implicitly that as people age, they begin to decrease the number of their accustomed

social roles they have taken on in society in order to prepare for death while activity theory

suggests that the more active and socially involved an elderly person is, then the higher the

quality of life that they will experience. Disengagement theory tends toward elderly inactivity,

while activity theory tends toward active and socially involved elderly. A major obstacle to

activity theory is ageism, or discrimination of individuals based on age. Ageism applies to both

young and old people. For example, it can be said that a 20 year old is too young to work at an

insurance company. Rather than the employer of the insurance company laying off the 20 year

old based on age, the employer will pick out a different reason to lay off the 20 year old. This is a

discreet form of ageism. More obvious examples of ageism apply to elderly people. For example,

a 65 year old man working at a shipping company might face ageism from his employer. The

employer may lay off the 65 year old man, telling the 65 year old man that his old age is a sign
that he cannot handle the rigors of lifting heavy objects. Not all 65 year old men are incapable of

lifting heavy objects, just like not all young men are capable of lifting heavy objects. So then the

65 year old man working in the shipping company faces ageism from his employer. To minimize

ageism, I think the best solution would be to mandate physicals for jobs requiring strenuous

lifting and moving. I think mandating physicals is the best way to prevent ageism in the

workplace. Unfortunately, I do not think ageism for younger individuals can be minimized.

Employers can lay off young employees on the basis of education or lack of experience. A young

worker, recognizing that they are of a young age, will understand that age most likely correlates

with the amount of experience one has. There are definitely exceptions to this idea however. The

other solution I have to minimize ageism is to spread a love for learning and open-mindedness.

We need to spread the love for learning and open-mindedness at an early age. Open-mindedness

and learning go hand in hand, as open-mindedness is what fuels the learning process. We need to

understand that anything can be possible, and that preconceived notions do not apply to every

individual that apparently fit that notion.