SOC. SCI. 215
Maternal instinct – when mother feeds her
Chapter 5 – SOCIALIZATION
Socialization – is the process by which a society
transmits its cultural values
through its agents, such as parents
and teachers, to individuals so that
they can function properly as its
members.
Personality – is one of the most important
outcomes of socialization.
- the fairly stable patterns of
thought, feeling, and action that
are typical of an individual.
3 Main Elements of Personality:
1. Cognitive – component of thought belief,
perception, memory and other intellectual
capacities.
2. Emotional – component of love, hate,
envy. Sympathy, anger, pride, and other
feelings.
3. Behavioral – component of skills,
aptitudes, competence and other
capabilities.
Nobody is born a great mathematician, the
life of the party, or a skillful carpenter. People are
maybe born with the potential to become any of
these but what they actually become is primarily
the product of their unique experiences.
Socialization in Relation to Society
Socialization as an act of compliance
among individuals is highly significant in achieving
the society’s order, system and stability. The
ultimate aim of socialization is to get all members
behave in an expected pattern. Without
socialization, no stable society can ever be formed.
Ex.
Socialization in Relation to Culture
Socialization is impossible to take place
without culture for the latter becomes the object
of the former. All of us are taught to learn and
adopt our own culture.
Socialization in Relation to Social Institution
Socialization seems to be more effective if
it is institutionalized. This means that socialization
done by social institution is ordinarily better than
socialization done by just an individual institution
outside the influence of any institution. That is why
formal education becomes more credible and
acceptable than informal education since one gets
it through the organized efforts of a duly
recognized institute of learning.
Socialization in relation to Social Status
One common formed is observing and
interacting with people more experienced. These
people become “models” of behavior to the less
experienced and immature ones. Another form is
direct teaching in which the adult tells, explains,
explains, demonstrates or guides a young person
how to do something. In fact, a growing child is
usually subjected to an adult’s approval or censure
on every behavior he shows.
Nature and Nurture
Rather than to nurture – what people are
taught – to explain human behavior, many social
scientists looked to nature – what people inherit.
From instinct to genes:
Because animals are governed by instincts
and humans are also animals, some people
reasoned, human behavior must also be governed
by instincts.
baby
Aggressive instinct – nation went to war
Acquisitive instinct – used to explain both hard and
honest work and bank robbery.
John Watson – concluded that all emotions and
behaviors are learned through such associations
and that environment, not heredity makes us what
we are.
Edward O. Wilson – a prominent sociobiologist,
defines sociobiology as “ the systematic study of
the biological basis of human behavior.”
According to sociobiologist, human
behavior must be explained in the terms used to
explain animal behavior. Although they admit the
environment influences our behavior, they
emphasize the importance of genetic factors.
In other words, virtually all human actions
result from our genes trying to protect themselves,
to ensure their survival.
Agents Socialization
1. Family – the most important socializing
agent especially during the first five years
of life.
2. School – at home the children are treated
as a unique persons. At school, however,
they may treated impersonally as mere
holders of role.
Whereas socialization by families
often contributes to diversity of society,
the schools are more likely to contribute to
uniformity. Society, in effect, officially
designates them as socializing agents.
3. Peer Group – as children grow older, they
become increasingly involved with their
 peer group, which consists of children who
are about the same age and similar
interests. As a socializing agent, the peer
group is quite different from the family and
school. While the parents and teachers
have more power than a children and
students, the peer group is made up of
equals.
- The peer group teaches its members
several important things; First, it
teaches them to be independent from
adult authorities which, may speed up
their entry to adulthood. Second, it
teaches social skills and group loyalties.
Third, teaches its member the value of
friendship and companionship among
equals ---- values that are relatively
absent in the socialization received
from authority like parents and
teachers.
4. Mass Media – includes popular books,
magazine, newspapers, movies, television,
and radio. They probably exert more
influence on children than many other
socializing agents.
5. Other agents - religious groups, youth
organizations, and later in life, such agents
as corporation or other employeras and
voluntary associations like clubs political
movements, and retirement homes.
Resocialization – learning that involves a sharp
break with the past and socialization into radically
different norms and values.
- The kind of socialization that is aimed
at replacing one’s old self with a new
self.
The Emergence of the Self
Self – the core of personality
- the individual’s conscious experience of a
distinct, personal identity that is separate from
all other people and things.
Our sense of self is a social product, create
and modified throughout life by interaction with
other people.
2 Theories on how social interaction leads to
emergence of the self:
1. Cooley” the Looking- Glass Self
- Charles Horton Cooley – an American
economist turned social psychologist.
He held that self-concepts are formed
early in childhood and then
reevaluated throughout life whenever
a person enters a new situation.
Looking-glass-self – a self concept derived from a
social “mirror” in which we can observe how
others react to us.
The process of developing the self involves three
steps:
1. Imagining our own appearance – we
imagine what appearance we present to
others--- particularly to “significant others”
whose opinions are important to us, like
family members, close friends, or teachers.
2. Interpreting others’ reactions – we imagine
how others judge out appearance that we
represent.
3. Developing self-concept – we use our
interpretation of others judgments to
develop feelings about ourselves.
Of course, people may misjudge the way
others see them. All of us make misinterpretations
at times, and some people habitually misjudge the
opinion of others and have unrealistically high or
low self-concepts as a result. But whether our
reading of the image in the “looking-glass” is
accurate of not, it is through this interpretation
that we learn our identify. There can be no self
without society, no “I” without corresponding
“they” to provide our self image.
2. Mead: Role-Taking
- George Herbert Mead – is one of the
most important figures in American
social science. A philosopher and social
psychologist, Mead was all accounts a
fascinating lecturer, yet he never wrote
a book – his attempt to commit his
ideas to paper lead him to agonies and
frustrations.
- Mead elaborated Cooley’s ideas by
introducing the concept of symbolic
interaction, the interaction between
people that takes place through
symbols such as signs, gestures, and
language. Mead placed particular
importance on language, he argued,
there can be a mind, and because
language is socially learned, the mind
itself is, in a sense, special product.
- Mead pointed out the vital outcome of
socialization is the ability to anticipate
what others expect from us and to
shape our own behavior accordingly.
Role-taking – the capacity mead argued which can
be achieved.
- Pretending to take or actually taking
roles of other people, so that one can
see the world and one’s self from their
viewpoints.
Child Progress in a three stage Role taking shown
by Mead:
1. Imitation – children under the age of about
lack of developed sense of self and so have
difficulty distinguishing their roles from
 those of others. They merely mimic or
imitate people in immediate environment,
such as family members, etc.
2. Play – at about Three years, children begin
to play at taking the roles of specific other
people: they walk around in their parent’s
shoes; pretend to be an adult and scold a
doll; or play “house” “doctor and nurses”
and so on.
3. Games – by early school age, children are
ready to take part in organized games---
preludes to the “game” of life- in which
their roles are real and in which they must
simultaneously take account of the roles
and expectations of all the participants.
Mead pointed out that socialization is
never perfect or complete. He distinguished
between what he called the “I” (spontaneous, self-
interested, impulsive, unsocialized self). The “I” he
insisted, is never completely under the control of
the “me”. The socialized is usually dominant, but
we all have the capacity to break social rules and
violate expectations of others.
The Life Course
Infancy – birth to 18 months
- Oral stage (mouth)
- Trust versus mistrust – ability to trust
others/ sense their own
thrustworthyness versus withdrawal
and estrangement
Early childhood/ toddler – 18 months to 3 years
- Anal stage (anus)
- Autonomy versus shame and doubt –
self control without the loss of self-
esteem ability to cooperate express
self versus compulsive compliance;
defiance
Life span – the maximum length of life possible in
Preschool – 3 – 5 years the species.
- Phallic stage – (Oedipus complex,
Electra complex) (Genetals) The final point in this life course – the
- Initiative versus guilt – realistic sense annihilation of the self, the ultimate confrontation
of purpose/ able to evaluate own with the unknown – mocks our claim to human
behavior versus self-denial/ self- mastery of the world, and we therefore try to deny
restriction. the mystery and power of death by excluding it
Childhood – 6 – 12 years from discussion and thoughts.
- Latent stage (quiescence)
- Industry versus inferiority – realization
of competence/ perseverance versus
feeling one will never be any good,
withdrawal from school and peers
Early Adolescence – 12 – 14 years
- Genital Stage (sex organ)
- Identity versus role diffusion –
coherent sense of self/plan to actualize
abilities versus feelings of confusion/
indecisiveness or antisocial behavior
Middle Adolescence – 14 – 16 years
- Genital Stage
- Identity versus role diffusion
Late Adolescence – 17 – 21 years
- Genital Stage
- Identity versus role diffusion
Young Adulthood – 18 – 25 years
- Intimacy versus Isolation
- Commitment in love/work/play versus
superficial, impersonal
Adulthood – 25 – 45 years
- Generativity versus Stagnation
- Productivity care about others versus
self-centered and indulgent
Later Adulthood – 45 years – death
- Integrity versus despair
- Sense of accomplishment versus
hopelessness, depression.
Life expectancy – the length of life the average
new born will enjoy.

SOC. SCI. 215
Chapter 6
Deviance and Control
What is Deviance?
Deviant Behavior - is generally defined as any act
that violates a social norm.
- Any act considered by public
consensus or the powerful at a given
time and place of some social rule.
Three determining Factors of Deviance:
1. Time – what constitutes deviance varies
from one historical period to another.
2. Place – the definition of deviance varies
from one place to another.
3. Public Consensus or Power – whether a
given act is deviant depends on public
consensus.
Crime Indicators
A. Non-Criminal Deviance – is less likely to
harm someone else. Ex. Mental disorder,
Alcoholism, and Suicide.
B. Criminal Deviance – more serious, and is
prohibited by law. Ex. Murder, Rape, Price
Fixing
Murder - the crime of deliberately killing a person.
- most personal crime, largely committed
against acquaintances, friends, and relatives.
Rape - is a type of sexual assault usually involving
sexual intercourse or other forms sexual
penetration perpetrated against a person without
that person’s consent.
Date Rape – which a man commits sexual
aggression against a woman he is out with.
Why do we have so many rapes?
Primarily: we live in a _______________________
1st : Women are treated like men’s property
2nd: Women are treated if they were objects of
men’s masculinity contest.
3rd: A myth that, deep down, a woman wants to be
raped.
Corporate Crimes - crime committed by company
executives without the overt use of force.
Three distinct characteristics
1. The victim’s unwitting cooperation with the
corporate criminal.
2. The society’s indifference to corporate crimes.
3. The perpetrators often see themselves as
respectable people rather than common criminals.
Mental Illness - refers to a wide range of mental
health conditions- disorders that affect your mood,
thinking and behavior. Example of mental illness
includes depression, anxiety disorders,
schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive
behaviors.
Five positive Functions of deviance
1. Deviance may enhance conformity in the society
as a whole by defining and clarifying norms.
2. Deviance strengthens solidarity among law
abiding members of society.
3. Deviance is the provision of a society valve for
discontented people.
4. Deviance also provides jobs for many law-
abiding people.
5. Deviant behavior sometimes includes social
change.
Functions of Deviance
1. Clarification of norms
2. Enhancement of solidarity
3. Diversion of discontent
4. Identification of problems
Dysfunction of Deviance
1. Disruption of social order
2. Confusion of norms and values
3. Diversion of resources
4. Violation of trust
Explanations of Deviance
1. Individual Characteristics
a. Biological theories says that the source if
deviance can be found in the person’s body.
b. Psychological theories say that the source is the
psyche.
2. Anomie – literally means “normlessness”
- A condition of instability resulting from a
breakdown of standards value or from a lack
purpose or ideals.
Forms of Distinct Deviant Behavior
1. Conformity - The most popular mode of
adaption that involves accepting both the cultural
goal of success and the use of legitimate means for
achieving that goal.
2. Innovation - an adaption that produce deviance,
including crime. (Ex. Thiefs, pimps)
- as a form of deviance, it refers to the use
of new or illicit techniques to achieve desired ends.
3. Ritualism – occurs when people follow social
norms rigidly and compulsively even though they
no longer hope to achieve the goal set by their
culture.
(Ex. Rule-abiding official, Cautious, fearful
employee who over conforms)
4. Retreatism - is withdrawal from the society
which care neither about success nor about
working.
- it is a total escape from a situation where
one cannot achieved desired goals and gives up all
sanctioned means to reach them.
- is thus, a complete rejection of valued
ends and approved means. (Ex. Psychotics,
alcoholics, drug addicts, and tramps)
5. Rebellion - occurs when people rejects of
attempt to change both the goals and the means
approved by society. Rebels tries to overthrow the
existing system and establish a new system with
different goals and means.
- it results from the frustration generated
by very limited opportunities to reach desired goals
and leads to alienation from the norms, standards,
and institutions by which the goals are normally
reached. (Ex. Student activists who reject prevailing
norms and resort to disapproved means, including
violence to achieve their ends.)
Theories of Deviance
Differential Association Theory - through
interaction with others, individuals learn values,
attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal
behavior.
Differential association – the process by
which potential deviants associate more with
criminal elements than with noncriminal elements.
Control Theory - states that behavior is caused not
by outside stimuli, but by what person wants most
at any given time. According to control theory,
weak social system results in deviant behavior.
Society controls individuals in four ways:
1. Internal Control (through parents as its
control agents)
2. Indirect Control (again through parents)
3. Direct Control (society relies on police,
parents, friends, and other conforming
groups)
4. Legitimate Needs Satisfaction (through the
family, school, economic and other social
institutions)
Ways to bond ourselves to society:
1. Attachment to conventional people and
institutions
2. Commitment to conformity
3. Involvement in conventional activities
4. Belief in the moral validity of social rules.
Labeling Theory - a view that people become
criminals when labeled as such when they accept
the label as a personal identify.
- Concentrates on societal reaction to
rule violation and the impact of this
reaction on the rule violator.
- Once a person is labeled as a thief or
delinquent or a drunk, he or she may
stuck with that label for life and be
rejected and isolated as a result.
Finding a job and making friends may
come to accept the label and commit
more deviant acts. Labeling people as
deviants can push them toward further
and greater deviance.
Primary deviance – violations of norms that a
person commits for the first time and without
considering them deviant.
Secondary Deviance - repeated norm violations,
which the violators themselves recognized as
deviant. Secondary deviants are, in effect,
confirmed or career deviants.
Conflict Theory – like labeling theory, is concerned
with societal definition of deviance.
- powerful are more likely than the
powerless to commit profitable
primary deviant acts(tasks fraud and
price fixing). To resist the label of
deviant, and to engage in secret,
undetectable deviant activities.
Two Versions of Conflict Theory:
1. Traditional Conflict Theory – focus mostly
on cultural conflict as a source of deviant
behavior. In other words people become
deviant because they are on the losing side
of cultural conflict.
2. Contemporary Conflict Theory - focus
mostly on class conflict in capitalist society
as the mainspring of deviant labeling and
behavior.
FREEDOM, DIVERSITY AND DEVIANCE
Deviance is not intrinsically good or bad. It can be
socially useful or socially destructive, depending on
the circumstances. Deviance arises from the very
nature of society and the necessity for establishing
and maintaining social order. Without rules there
can be no rule-breakers, but there are rules, there
will always be people who are tempted – pressured
– to break them. The individual deviant may be
abnormal, but deviance itself is intrinsic to social
living.
After all, freedom implies choice; the
exercise of choice leads to differences; and in one
group deviance. In this sense, deviance may be
part of the price that a free society pays for the
liberty its members enjoy