Socialization Initial personality development The social self Agents of socialization

Personality Development Nature vs. Nurture Nature – much of human behavior & personality is instinctive & caused by heredity Twin studies, parent-child bonds, sociobiologists Nurture – behavior & personality dictated by social environment & experience Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura 4 main factors influence personality development: heredity, birth order, parents, and cultural environment

Parental Characteristics Heredity Physical characteristics (hair & eye color) Aptitudes – capacity to learn & gain skills Birth Order First-borns tend to be achievement-oriented; more conservative Later-borns tend to be stronger socially (friendly & affectionate); more risk-taking Parental Characteristics Age, education level, religion, economic status, job Different expectations & ways of relating to their children

Cultural Environment Determines basic types of personalities that will exist in that society (through models) Common U.S. traits = competitiveness, assertiveness, individualism Iks of Uganda (pg. 101) How we experience that culture affects our personalities Gender, SES, ethnic background

Agents of Socialization Agents of socialization – individuals, groups & institutions that shape our socialization 4 main agents in our society: Family, peers, school, mass media Total institutions & resocialization

Family Peers Most important socialization at young age Deliberate (teaching kids to say “please” & “thank you”) or unintended (kids watching what their parents DO) Traits of family affects socialization of children Number of family members, SES, religion, etc. Peers Peer group – primary group of people of similar age & social characteristics Most important socialization in late childhood & adolescence Conform to group values & standards to win acceptance

School Important throughout childhood (large amount of time spent there) Involves socialization from peers & adults Deliberate (teach information, skills, & larger cultural values) & unintended (look to teachers’ or peers’ behavior as a model) Mass Media Mass media – instruments of communication that reach large audiences w/o personal contact Books, movies, TV, internet TV & internet = most influential

Resocialization in total institutions Total institution – one that isolates people from the rest of society & controls behavior Prisons, monasteries, boot camp, psych. hospitals Socialization is different in these settings Resocialization – breaking with past experiences & learning new values & norms Strip away old identity & replace with new one Uniforms, controlled behavior patterns, standard hair cuts, etc.

The Social Self Socialization – interactive process through which people learn skills, values, & behavior patterns of society Different theories on how we experience a sense of “self” Locke: The Tabula Rasa Cooley: The Looking-Glass Self

Tabula Rasa = Clean Slate No personality at birth – we acquire it through social experience Extreme view, but many sociologists agree people absorb elements of themselves from their social surroundings The Looking-Glass Self: others help us see ourselves interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we image other people view us 3 step process: Imagine how we appear to others Imagine & analyze their reaction to us Develop feelings about ourselves