Society Makes Us Human

Give your insights about this quote in not less than 3 sentences. ¼ sheet
 Agents of Socialization
 1. Family - most important agent of socialization. Families introduce children to the expectations
of society.
 2. School - teach children values and customs of the larger society
 3. Religion - child is not raised in a religious family, it influences morality. It affects the manner
of dressing, speech and manners
 4. Peer Group - group of persons of roughly the same age who are linked by common interests.
For children, peer culture is an important source of identity.
 5. Mass Media and Technology - shapes our attitudes, values and other basic orientation to life.
 6. Workplace - major agent of socialization for adults; from jobs, we learn not only skills but
also matching attitudes and values.
Poll Questions

 1. Which media source do you think has the strongest impact on attitudes and behaviors of
your generation?
 a. Advertising

 b. Television
 c. Music and music videos
 d. The Internet
 e. Magazines
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Poll Questions

 2. Which agent of socialization do you think is the most responsible for gender
differences in how males and females are socialized?
 a. The family
 b. Religion
 c. The peer group
 d. Education
 e. Mass media
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 Feral Children

The naked child was found in the forest, walking on all fours, eating grass and lapping water from the river. When
he saw a small animal, he pounced on it. Growling, he ripped at it with his teeth. Tearing chunks from the body, he
chewed them ravenously.
This is an apt description of reports that have come in over the centuries. Supposedly, these feral (wild) children
could not speak; they bit, scratched, growled, and walked on all fours. They drank by lapping water, ate grass, tore
ravenously at raw meat, and showed insensitivity to pain and cold. Why am I even mentioning stories that sound so
exaggerated?
It is because of what happened in 1798. In that year, such a child was found in the
forests of Aveyron, France. “The wild boy of Aveyron,” as he became known, would have been written off as
another folk myth, except that French scientists took the child to a laboratory and studied him. Like the feral
children in the earlier informal reports, this child, too, gave no indication of feeling the cold. Most startling,
though, the boy would growl when he saw a small animal, pounce on it, and devour it uncooked. Even today, the
scientists ’detailed reports make fascinating reading (Itard 1962).
Ever since I read Itard’s account of this boy, I’ve been fascinated by the seemingly fantastic possibility that animals
could rear human children. In 2002, I received a report from a contact in Cambodia that a feral child had been
found in the jungles. When I had the opportunity the following year to visit the child and interview his caregivers,
I grabbed it. The boy’s photo is to the left. If we were untouched by society, would we be like feral children? By
nature, would our behavior be like that of wild animals? That is the sociological question.
 1. What will happen to you if you did not have any opportunity to socialize?
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Independent Practice (5 Minutes)

 1. What agent of socialization is directly responsible for the kind of behavior you have today?
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 2. Who are the most influential persons in your life? How did they affect your life?
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Closure Activity (5 Minutes)

 Name some cultural traits that you have acquired from your family members?
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Explore Activity

 Directions: Choose one agent of socialization and draw It.