1. Chapter 4
Socialization

2. Chapter Outline The Socialization Process Agents of Socialization
Theories of Socialization
Growing up in a Diverse Society
Socialization Across the Life Course
Resocialization

3. The Socialization Process
Humans learn the expectations of society through socialization.
Socialization is different based on race, gender and class.

4. Socialization as Social Control

5. Socialization and Self-Esteem
How much value one sees in oneself is greatly affected by socialization how you are seen by society.
A national study of 9th and 12th graders examined the eating behaviors:
57% of the girls and 31% of the boys reported eating disorders.
Fear about one’s appearance to others was is associated with this risky behavior.

7. Consequences of Socialization
Establishes self-concepts.
Creates the capacity for role taking.
Creates the tendency for people to act in socially acceptable ways.
Makes people bearers of culture.

8. Agents of Socialization
Institutions pass on expectations about appropriate social behavior:
Family
Media
Peers
Religion
Sports

9. The Family Families introduce children to the expectations of society.
How parents define and treat a child is crucial to the development of the child’s sense of self.
Some families emphasize educational achievement; some may be more permissive, whereas others emphasize strict obedience and discipline.

10. The Media
The average young person (age 8–19) spends 6 3/4 hours per day immersed in media in various forms, often using multiple media forms simultaneously.
Television is the dominant medium, although half of all youth use a computer daily.
Analysts estimate that by age 18, the average child will have witnessed at least 18,000 simulated murders on television.

11. Polling Question
Which media source do you think has the strongest impact on attitudes and behaviors of your generation?
Advertising
Television
Music and music videos
The Internet
Magazines

12. Peers For children, peer culture is an important source of identity.
Through interaction with peers, children learn concepts of self, gain social skills, and form values and attitudes.
Girls’ peer groups tend to be closely knit and egalitarian.
Boys’ peer groups tend to be more hierarchical, with evident status distinctions between members.

13. Religion
Children tend to develop the same religious beliefs as their parents.
Very often those who disavow religion return to their original faith at some point in their life, especially if they have strong ties to their family of origin and after they form families of their own.
Religious socialization also influences beliefs about sexuality, including the likelihood of tolerance for gay and lesbian sexuality.

14. Sports Through sports, men and women learn concepts of self.
Men learn that being competitive in sports is considered a part of “manhood.”
Current research finds that women in sports develop a strong sense of bodily competence, which is typically denied to them by the prevailing cultural images of women’s bodies.

15. Student-Athletes: The Impact of Title IX

16. Schools
In school, teachers and other students are the source of expectations that encourage children to think and behave in particular ways.
Research finds that teachers respond differently to boys than to girls, with boys receiving more of their attention.
The hidden curriculum consists of the informal and often subtle messages about social roles conveyed through classroom interaction and materials.

17. Polling Question
Which agent of socialization do you think is the most responsible for gender differences in how males and females are socialized?
The family
Religion
The peer group
Education
Mass media

18. Moments in America for Children
Every 9 seconds a high school student drops out.
Every 20 seconds a child is arrested.
Every 37 seconds a child is born to a mother who is not a high school graduate.
Every 43 seconds a child is born into poverty.
Every minute a child is born to a teen mother.
Every 2 minutes a child is born at low birth weight.

19. Moments in America for Children
Every 4 minutes a child is born to a mother who received late or no prenatal care.
Every 4 minutes a child is arrested for drug abuse.
Every 8 minutes a child is arrested for a violent
crime.
Every 19 minutes a baby dies.

20. Moments in America for Children
Every 3 hours a child or youth under 20 is killed by a firearm.
Every 3 hours a child or youth under 20 is a homicide victim.
Every 5 hours a child or youth under 20 commits suicide.
Every day a young person under 25 dies from HIV infection.

21. Psychoanalytic Theory of Socialization
Individual Learning process
Unconscious mind shapes behavior
Formation of self
Emerges from tension between id and superego
Influence of society
Societal expectations are represented by the superego

22. Object Relations Theory of Socialization
Individual Learning process
Infants identify with same-sex parent
Formation of self
Emerges through separating oneself from primary caretaker
Influence of society
Division of labor in the family shapes identity

23. Social Learning Theory of Socialization
Individual Learning process
People respond to social stimuli in their environment
Formation of self
Created through interaction of mental and social worlds
Influence of society
Young children learn principles that shape the external world

24. Functionalist Theory of Socialization
Individual Learning process
People internalize role expectations in society
Formation of self
Internalizing the values of society reinforces social consensus
Influence of society
Society relies on conformity to maintain social equilibrium

25. Conflict Theory of Socialization
Individual Learning process
Aspirations that are part of identity are shaped by available opportunities
Formation of self
Group consciousness is formed in the context of a system of inequality
Influence of society
Social control agents exert pressure to conform

26. Symbolic Interaction Theory of Socialization
Individual Learning process
Children learn by taking the role of significant others
Formation of self
Emerges as the creative self interacts with social expectations of others
Influence of society
Expectations of others form the context for learning social roles

27. Piaget: Social Learning Theory
Stages of cognitive development:
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational

28. Looking-glass Self How we think we appear to others.
How we think others judge us.
How these make us feel - proud, embarrassed or something else.

29. The Looking-glass Self

30. Mead: Taking the Role of the Other
Imitation stage - children imitate behavior of those around them.
Play stage - children take on the role of significant others.
Game stage - children internalize an abstract understanding of how society sees them.

31. Children in the United States

32. The World’s Children

33. Socialization Across the Life Cycle
Childhood - establish identity and values.
Adolescence - form a consistent identity.
Adulthood and Old Age - learn new roles and expectations in adult life.

34. Work and Play Among Youth
Gender
% Work
% Play
% Both
% Neither
Male
29.4
29.6
8.2
32.7
Female
27.9
26.9
9.6
35.7

35. Work and Play Among Youth
Race/Ethnicity
% Work
% Play
% Both
% Neither
Asian
31.4
26.8
11.2
31.5
Hispanic
29.1
23.9
7.5
40.6
African American
29.3
22.8
38.4
White
27.9
30.9
10.0
31.9
Native American
29.9
10.8
35.4

36. Resocialization Existing social roles are altered or replaced.
Takes place in organizations that maintain strict social control.
Examples: military, prison, cults, fraternities and sororities

37. Quick Quiz

38. 1. According to Piaget, at what stage do children begin to use language and other symbols?
a. play stage
b. sensorimotor stage
c. concrete operational stage
d. preoperational stage

39. Answer: d
According to Piaget, children begin to use language and other symbols at the preoperational stage.

40. 2. According to Mead, at what stage do children become capable of taking on a variety of roles at the same time?
a. the preoperational stage
b. the imitation stage
c. the play stage
d. the game stage

41. Answer: d
According to Mead, children become capable of taking on a variety of roles at the same time at the game stage.

42. 3. Psychoanalytic theory originates in the work of:
a. George Herbert Mead
b. Sigmund Freud
c. Charles Horton Cooley
d. Jean Piaget

43. Answer: b
Psychoanalytic theory originates in the work of Sigmund Freud.

44. 4. The process of resocialization involves:
a. learning the values and beliefs of a new school
b. relearning existing social roles
c. changing or replacing existing social roles
d. adjusting to new significant others

45. Answer: c
The process of resocialization involves changing or replacing existing social roles.

46. 5. Society has no influence on one's identity.
a. True
b. False

47. Answer: False
Society does influence one's identity.

48. 6. Socialization is a subtle form of social control.
a. True
b. False

49. Answer: True
Socialization is a subtle form of social control.