SOCIALIZATION

SOCIALIZATION

• The life-long process by which individuals learn the way of life- culture of their
society
• It connects different generations to one another
• Individuals learn about their social roles-socially defined expectations that a person in
a given position follows
• Social process through which we develop our personalities
• Agents of socialization –people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions,
attitudes and behaviour

Who do we learn about the social world from?

• Socialization begins in the family- parents, siblings, grandparents- entire social world
when you are young
PRIMARY SOCIALIZATION- Family
o Your first experiences with language, values, beliefs, behaviours and norms of
your society
o Absence of social interaction with outside world- cases of Anna, Isabelle,
Kamala and Genie

Agents of socialization
• Family
• Schools
• Peers
• Media

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The Self and Socialization

Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929): Looking-Glass self

• Our view of ourselves comes from how others perceive us
• He used the phrase looking glass self to emphasize that the self is the product of
our social interactions and self image based on how we think others see us
• A critique of looking glass self is that the self results from an individual’s
imagination of how others view him/her
• Self identities can change depending on the perception

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931): Stages of the self

Developed a model of the process by which the self emerges defined by 3 stages

The Preparatory stage-imitation (pre-school-up to 3 years)

o Children imitate people around them- family members
o Interaction with family, relatives, friends, media they begin to understand
symbols

The Play stage (3-5 years)

o Children become more aware of the social relationships as they develop
communication skills
o During this stage children pretend to be other people
o An important aspect of play stage is role playing
o Taking the role of significant others- Role taking
o Assuming a role and responding from the imagined position/role
Example- children learn when is it best to ask for favours from parents

The Game stage

o The child in the age group of 8-9 years begins to consider several actual tasks
and relationships simultaneously
o Children grasp their position as well as of others around them
o Mead uses the term generalized other to refer to the attitudes, viewpoints and
expectations of society as a whole that the child takes into account
o At the game stage children learn to be more sophisticated view of the social
environment

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

• Studied human cognition-how people think
• Newborns are self-centered and demand all the attention
• They understand only ‘me’
• Cognitive theory of Development- 4 stages

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Sensorimotor(0-2 years)- use senses to make discoveries. Infants in the first two years
experience the world through the five senses-touching, tasting, smelling, looking and
listening
Preoperational stage( 2-6 years)-At about two years of age children begin to use
words and symbols to distinguish objects and ideas. Identify things but cannot judge
weight, size, volume

Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)- children engage in more logical thinking and
try to establish causal connections in their surroundings. Children learn to focus on
why and how things happen.

Formal operational stage(12 onwards)- adolescents become aware of abstract thought

processes and begin to think critically. This capacity of abstract thought helps young
people understand metaphors

Gender Socialization
• The specific process of socialization which teaches children their gender roles is
called: Gender socialization/Gendering/Gender indoctrination
• Learning the psychological and social traits and behaviours associated with a person’s
sex
• Begins right after birth and continues throughout life

Race socialization
• The process through which children learn the behaviours, values and attitudes
associated with racial groups
• Racial discrimination is the result of what is learned from people & media

Anticipatory socialization

• The process of socialization in which a person “rehearses” for future roles,

positions, occupations and social relationships
• A society can function more efficiently and smoothly if members become
acquainted with the norms, values and behaviour associated with social position
before actually assuming the position
• Preparation for many aspects of adult life begins with anticipatory socialization

Resocialization

• Process of discarding former behaviour patterns and accepting new ones as part of a
transition in one’s life
• It can occur in reform schools, therapy groups, prisons, religious conversions,
political indoctrination camps

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• Involves considerable stress
• Resocialization is effective when it occurs within a TOTAL INSTITUTION
o Total institution is a term coined by Irving Goffman
o People are segregated and kept away from the society
o Isolated from rest of the society and provides for all the needs
o Prisons, mental asylums, convent

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