1. PowerPoint Presentation prepared by Terri Petkau, Mohawk College

2. CHAPTER THREE Socialization William Shaffir Michael Rosenberg

3. Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd
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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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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5. SOCIALIZATION: TWO TYPES
Primary socialization:
Occurs in childhood
Lays foundation that influences self-concept and involvement in social life
Secondary socialization:
Learning that occurs after people have undergone primary socialization
Continues throughout life*
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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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Instincts: Inborn patterns of behaviour that are often responses to specific stimuli
Danger in explanations attributing human behaviour to instincts: Often shift to emphasis on group differences and lead to racist or sexist explanations.
Sociologists believe that low IQ scores are due to social and cultural factors:
In their view, coming from a deprived background, having teachers with low expectations, and writing culturally biased IQ tests results in low IQ scores.
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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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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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Where does our sense of self come from? Sociologists and psychologists alike have sought to answer that question.
They have examined how individuals develop and modify a sense of who they are—their sense of self—and found that self-image greatly depends on social interaction.
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9. COOLEY’S 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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Important early theorists who analyzed development of self: Charles Horton Cooley ( ) and George Herbert Mead ( ).
Without the social mirror, there can be no sense of self.
Primary group: Small group, especially the family, that is characterized by intimate, face-to-face interactions.
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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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Theory became foundation of symbolic interactionism.
Mead regarded socialization as an active process in which individuals play a crucial role in their own development.
Human communication is symbolic interaction. That is, we communicate by using symbols: gestures, objects or sounds that stand for something else and whose meaning depends on shared understandings.
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11. MEAD’S STAGES IN TAKING THE ROLE OF THE OTHER
Imitative stage: Inability to take role of the other; much of behaviour is imitative make-believe
Play stage: Ability to adopt roles of significant others (e.g., parents, storybook hero); play shifts from imitative to imaginative
Game stage: Ability to develop generalized impression of behaviour people expect and sense of one’s place in the group
Internalize the generalized other: Conception of how people in general will respond in situation*
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The generalized other: Ability to conceptualize a view of society in general, its cultural norms and values
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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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13. WILLIS’S APPLICATION AND EXTENSION OF MEAD’S 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: user names invented by students
Attempts at controlling how others respond to user*
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The recognition that socialization implies both conformity and creativity and that the individual must both deal with constraints and take advantage of opportunities underlies the work of British sociologist Paul Willis.
Willis uses a theoretical approach similar to that of Mead but extends it by looking at youths rather than at children and, more importantly, by recognizing the institutional and social contexts within which the self is forged, maintained, and transformed.
Willis extends Mead’s theory by:
1. Looking at youths rather than children
2. Recognizing institutional and social contexts within which the self is forged, maintained, and transformed.
We are all creative individuals trying to transform world in ways that allow us to express and control our selves.
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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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Socialization is not a unitary process
Different categories of people will participate in socialization in different ways:
One of the most important of those differences is gender
Most differences between sexes are cultural, not biological.
From birth, parents treat girls and boys in “gender appropriate” ways. As they grow up, boys and girls face different expectations, are assigned different tasks, and learn about typical male and female domestic and occupational roles.
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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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Socialization continues throughout life
In premodern societies, adolescence did not exist as a separate and prolonged stage of life.
Adolescence as a distinct period of life is a product of industrialization and the extension of education that it introduced.
As Willis noted, during adolescence and youth, dramatic transformations of identity, status, and social relationships tend to occur (although in everyday speech status means “prestige,” in sociology it refers to the culturally and socially defined position a person occupies in an interaction).
We enter adolescence as children and are somehow transformed by the end of that period into young adults.
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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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Adults frequently find themselves in new situations at work or in private life, meeting new people and taking on new responsibilities.
To participate effectively in their society, adults must continue to undergo socialization (Clausen, 1986; Hogan and Astone, 1986).
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17. SOCIALIZATION AMONG SENIORS
Challenges of later years of life:
Decreased physical ability and prospect of death in midst of Western society’s 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 society’s lack of preparation and guidance for new roles (e.g., retirement, widowhood)*
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With little preparation for old age, and vague norms surrounding the status of retiree, elderly people face what has been called a “roleless status.”
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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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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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The family is well suited to socialization because its members are in intimate, face-to-face contact and parents are usually highly motivated to socialize their children well.
Families are not, however, always efficient agents of socialization.
Parents may reproduce negative modeling they experienced as children.
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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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21. TOP TWELVE CONCERNS OF CANADIANS
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The family is not always an effective or efficient agent of socialization; parents may be negative role models too.
For instance, highly career-oriented parents may be surprised when their son opts to drop out of university to enjoy life, rejecting a way of life that requires enormous sacrifices be made for career success. Some parents have little understanding of parenting.
They may be unprepared for it emotionally and their dedication and commitment to the task may be offset by competing considerations (see Figure 3.1).
Some parents neglect, abuse, or even abandon their children.
As well, much evidence indicates that parents may reproduce in their children the negative modelling they experienced in their own upbringing.
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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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School is usually the first setting in which children are supervised by adults who are not relatives or friends of family.
Schools serve as a model of much of adult world.
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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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Peer groups are increasingly important sources of socialization because tradition and inner conviction are fading as significant guides to action, while parents’ experiences are insufficient guides to action in an era of rapid change.
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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 individual’s aspirations and behaviours through stringent demands for conformity*
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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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The mass media - a passive, impersonal means of receiving and transmitting information – are strong socializing influences whose effects are difficult to measure.
The mass media:
Can control and create perceptions of what is important in society by selecting and stressing particular topics, views, interpretations, and themes
Create audience that passively consumes mass culture.
Research supports a stronger link between violent interactive entertainment (e.g., video/computer games) and violent behaviour, than between violent programs (e.g., TV shows, movies) and violent behaviour.
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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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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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Socialization is an active process in which we transform our identity as we take on new roles.
In contemporary societies, people are emancipated from the tyranny of tradition, often leaving them without the security of heritage.
As a result, people often shuttle between identities searching for their “true self.”
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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 person’s life are regulated under one authority
Examples: The military, convents, prisons, boarding schools, psychiatric hospitals*
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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 inmate’s sense of self by imposing new identity and new way of life
Process likened to symbolic ritual death and rebirth**
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Completely controlling and manipulating environment deprives the inmate of contradictory forms of social experience.
Old identities are eroded by a system of rewards and punishments, including the ritual status of degradation. This results in brainwashing or conversion. The inmate’s self is then reconstituted and rendered compliant and trustworthy.
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