PowerPoint Presentation

prepared by
Terri Petkau, Mohawk College
CHAPTER THREE
Socialization
William Shaffir
Michael Rosenberg
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3-3
INTRODUCTION
Will examine:

Process of socialization

Theoretical explanations for
development of the self

Gender socialization

Socialization through the life course

Agents of socialization

Resocialization*
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3-4
SOCIALIZATION
Socialization: Active process whereby
human beings

Learn how to become members of
society

Develop a self or sense of individual
identity, and

Learn to participate in social
relationships with others*
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3-5
SOCIALIZATION: TWO TYPES

1. Primary socialization:
Occurs in childhood
Lays foundation that influences self-
concept and involvement in social life

2. Secondary socialization:
Learning that occurs after people have
undergone primary socialization
Continues throughout life*
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3-6
NATURE VERSUS NURTURE
DEBATE
Longstanding debate over whether human
behaviour is outcome of biological
inheritance (nature/instincts) or the social
environment (nurture)

Sociology emphasizes importance of
society and socialization (nurture) in
human behaviour*
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3-7
EVIDENCE FOR NURTURE
Studies of children raised in isolation:
Demonstrate importance of social
interaction in socialization process

Study on infants in orphanage and infants
in prison nursery: Demonstrates
importance of social contact in
development of human infants

Socialization essential to physical
wellbeing, social competence of infants,
and development of self*
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3-8
THE SELF AND
SOCIALIZATION
Socialization involves not only learning about
others but developing sense of self

The self:
Is our sense of individual identity
Allows us to understand ourselves
Allows us to differentiate ourselves from others

Newborn unable to differentiate itself from
mother
Differentiation occurs gradually through
interaction*
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3-9
COOLEYS LOOKING-GLASS
SELF
Gestures and reactions of others are a mirror or
looking glass in which we see ourselves:
Attention is paid to others gestures and reactions
to us
We imagine how our appearance, manners, and
presentation of self are regarded by others
Our evaluation of how we believe ourselves
judged by others influences how we view our self
(e.g., with pride, embarrassment, etc.)

Our first images of self come from significant
others (e.g., parents) and the primary group (e.g.,
the family)*
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3-10
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD
Theorized relationship between mind, self, and
society
Key to process: Ability to communicate
symbolically through gestures, objects, or sounds
Through interaction with others, children learn to
take the role of the other and internalize values,
attitudes, and beliefs of society to which they
belong
Process is central to developing sense of self*
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3-11
MEADS STAGES IN TAKING
THE ROLE OF THE OTHER
1. Imitative stage: Inability to take role of the other;
much of behaviour is imitative make-believe

2. Play stage: Ability to adopt roles of significant
others (e.g., parents, storybook hero); play
shifts from imitative to imaginative

3. Game stage: Ability to develop generalized
impression of behaviour people expect and
sense of ones place in the group
Internalize the generalized other: Conception of
how people in general will respond in situation*
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3-12
MEAD: THE ME AND THE I
The me: Objective element of the self
We first imagine ourselves from perspective of
others
Makes us aware of ourselves as social objects

The I: Subjective or active part of the self
Allows us to react to and assess ourselves
Leads us to engage in internal conversation

Our experience involves continuous
conversation between the me and the I*
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3-13
WILLISS APPLICATION AND
EXTENSION OF MEADS THEORY
Recognizes that socialization implies both
conformity and creativity
Individual must deal with constraints and take
advantage of opportunities

Argues teens and young adults still engaged in
developing identity and sense of self:
Example: E-mail user names invented by students
Attempts at controlling how others respond to
user*
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3-14
GENDER SOCIALIZATION
Sex: Biological identity; i.e., male or female

Gender: Attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours
we associate with masculinity and
femininity

Gender socialization: Learning cultural
expectations of masculinity and femininity

Children initially socialized into gender roles
by significant others (e.g., parents)

Gender roles: Reinforced by mass media
and other institutions*
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3-15
SOCIALIZATION THROUGH THE
LIFE COURSE
Adolescent socialization Adolescence:
Modern stage of life between childhood and
adulthood
Product of industrialization and mass education

Requires balance be found between autonomy
and conformity, and freedom and constraint
Need for managing tension between parents
expectations of maturity while simultaneously
being treated as a child

Also involves anticipatory socialization:
Aspirants to particular social roles imagine what
it would be like to enact those roles*
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3-16
ADULT SOCIALIZATION
Adult socialization: Process by which
adults take on new statuses and acquire
new and different social identities

Can occur in new situations at work (e.g.,
new job) or in private life (e.g., new
married/divorced status)

Involves more freedom of choice than
adolescent socialization (e.g., whether to
marry, have children; which career to
pursue, etc.)*
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3-17
SOCIALIZATION AMONG
SENIORS
Challenges of later years of life:
Decreased physical ability and prospect of death
in midst of Western societys denial of death
Negative media stereotypes of aging and seniors
Lowered prestige through loss of useful roles and
valued statuses (e.g., worker and spouse)

Challenges create status and identity problems
Exacerbated by societys lack of preparation and
guidance for new roles (e.g., retirement,
widowhood)*
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3-18
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
Agents of socialization: Individuals,
groups, and institutions that impart range
of information needed for individuals to
interact effectively and participate in
society

Include families, schools, peer groups,
mass media, religious institutions, etc.

Provide both formal and informal
training*
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3-19
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
FAMILIES
Through close interaction with parents and
small number of others, child:
Learns to think and speak
Internalizes norms, beliefs, and values
Learns gender roles
Develops capacity for intimate and
personal relationships
Begins to develop a self image*
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3-20
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
FAMILIES
Socialization affected by:
Social class of parents
Parenting style
Preparedness of parents for parenting
role
Psychological health of parents (e.g.,
neglect, abuse, or abandonment of child)
Family type (e.g., single parent family,
blended family)*
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3-21
TOP TWELVE CONCERNS
OF CANADIANS
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3-22
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
SCHOOLS
Teach children indirectly to be less
emotionally dependent

Adjust children to their social order

Build character through formal curriculum
and hidden curriculum: Informal teaching
that helps ensure students integration into
society

Reinforce gender roles*
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3-23
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
PEER GROUPS
Peer group: Individuals usually of same
age who enjoy approximately equal
status

In childhood, formed largely by accident
of association
Later in life, tend to choose peer groups
based on certain criteria

Only agent of socialization in childhood
and youth not controlled mainly by
adults*
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3-24
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
PEER GROUPS
Allow children and young people:
Opportunities to engage in experiences
not provided in family, including
examining feelings, beliefs and ideas not
acceptable to family
Opportunities for self-direction and self-
expression

Can strongly shape individuals
aspirations and behaviours through
stringent demands for conformity*
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3-25
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
THE MASS MEDIA
Create, manage, and control impressions of what is
deemed important and real

May inadvertently perpetuate stereotypes

May teach individuals to become obedient
consumers

Exert powerful socializing influence but effects
difficult to measure
Most effects impersonal and transmitted in one
direction
Research on effects of violence in mass media
debated*
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3-26
OTHER SOCIALIZING
AGENTS
Religious institutions: May have effect on moral
outlook

Athletic teams: May teach young people about
cooperation, competition, following rules, and
establishing friendships

Youth groups: May be instrumental in teaching
about group rules and expectations about
conformity and deviance
Conflict both among and within agencies of
socialization inevitable in complex societies*
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3-27
IDENTITY AND SOCIAL
CHANGE
Social circumstances of life powerfully
influence identity

Today more autonomy but less sense of
purpose and fewer enduring social ties

Difficulty in establishing stable and
coherent identity

Voluntary and sometimes forcible shifting
in identity (e.g. cult member, life-
threatening illness, imprisonment)*
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3-28
RESOCIALIZATION
Resocialization: Deliberate attempt to
correct or instill particular values and
behaviours in individual or group

Occurs in total institutions:
Settings in which people are isolated from
rest of society for set period
Where all aspects of persons life are
regulated under one authority
Examples: The military, convents, prisons,
boarding schools, psychiatric hospitals*
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3-29
GOFFMAN:
RESOCIALIZATION
Total institution resocializes inmate into new identity
by:
Completely controlling and manipulating
environment
Stripping away established identity
Subjecting inmate to mortification rituals
(e.g., humiliations, degradations, physical pain)
Reconstituting inmates sense of self by imposing
new identity and new way of life

Process likened to symbolic ritual death and
rebirth**