THEORIES OF SOCIALISATION Norms Values

RECAP NORMS AND VALUES Where do norms and values come from? Why are they important? Why and how do they change over time? Once established how are they maintained? Why do different cultures maintain different norms and values? Whose interests are best served by establishing norms and values? Individuals or dominant social groups?

define: Marxism Functionalism Interactionist Conflict Social Control Learning Objective: By the end of this lesson I will be able to…

Socialisation process involves Social control We are ‘shaped’ from childhood We develop values and adopt norms which place limits on what is acceptable behaviour We act (role play) in ways that is orderly and predictable in certain situations Rules are supported by social sanctions We have a choice whether to obey these rules.

SOCIAL CONTROL FORMAL INFORMAL Written rules/laws Apply to everyone Attempts to ensure that the values and norms that operate within both cultures and subcultures are kept by the members of such groups FORMAL INFORMAL Written rules/laws Apply to everyone Enforced by police, military etc (jail, fines) Unwritten rules Apply to individual situations Enforced by peers/family (ridicule, sarcasm, punch)

Give an example of a form of social control for each agency Fit in with your friends Obey school rules Education Peer groups Media Girls should be very thin Obey all laws The police Religious belief Obey your parents Only marry one person at a time Family Work hard to succeed Give an example of a form of social control for each agency Work and careers

Education Peer groups Media The police Religious belief Family Work and careers Give an example of a form of social control for each agency

Structure Social Groups… Society Institutions Small Groups Individuals Our relationships are based on (or structured by) both formal and informal rules. “Society” therefore, represents a totality of relationships that imposes rules upon our behaviour. Structure Social Groups… Society The largest group to which we usually belong… Institutions Small Groups Institutions are stable patterns of group behaviour that persist over long periods of time Individuals Groups, such as families, peer and friendship groups, etc. Individuals are active in creating social change through interactions, language and interpretation of meanings Action The main types of institutional groups in our society are: Family and Kinship, Government, Work and cultural institutions such as the media, education, and religion.

Symbolic interactionism Sociology / Structural Theory Action Theory micro macro Consensus Conflict Interpretivism Functionalism Marxism Feminism Symbolic interactionism Theory can be said to be like looking at society through different lenses – each give it a different perspective or appearance.

FUNCTIONALIST VIEW Emile Durkheim If we all learn the norms and values of our society and accept them and keep them, this will make society predictable and stable. There should not be any great conflicts or civil wars. A society like this would be based on consensus –(agreement) Emile Durkheim http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxVImdGYu3I&feature=related 10

MARXIST VIEW If the norms and values are against our interests and suit those who are running society then there will be conflicts. There are groups with different degrees of power, one group defending its wealth and power against the others. Karl Marx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ztVeUX8Hpo&feature=related 11

INTERACTIONIST VIEW G Mead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E66iDghFkg People negotiate which moral standards are relevant to a particular situation. People are not passive in the creation or maintenance of social order. Our way of understanding the world is through a moral process Critics of both Marxist and Functionalist views. People are not constrained by moral codes (functionalist) nor are they constrained by the economic relationships (Marxist) G Mead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E66iDghFkg 12

Sociological perspective Theorist Level of analysis Main Focus of theory 1. Interactionist Social Action theory George H Mead Max Weber Micro Use of symbols, face to face interactions 2. Functionalism Consensus theory Talcott Parsons Emile Durkheim Macro Relationship between the parts of society. How aspects of society are functional (adaptive) 2. Marxism Conflict theory Karl Marx Competition for scarce resources, how the elite control the poor and weak

FEMINISTS Socialisation contributes to gender inequalities Over simplified Socialisation contributes to gender inequalities Gender roles are socially constructed Parents canalise their children by offering gender specific toys and activities Gender stereotyping is reinforced in books, media etc. Some children don’t accept the gender stereotypes presented in the media