McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 1

SOCIOLOGYRichard T. Schaefer

Socialization4

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 2

4. Socialization

• The Role of Socialization • The Self and Socialization• Socialization and the Life Course• Agents of Socialization • Social Policy and Socialization

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 3

The Role of Socialization

– Interaction of heredity and environment shape human development• The Case of Isabelle• Primate Studies

• Social Environment:The Impact of Isolation

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 4

The Role of Socialization

• The Influence of Heredity– Studies of Identical Twins

• Intelligence tests show:

Similar scores when twins are reared apart in roughly similar social settings

Quite different scores when twins are reared apart in dramatically different social settings

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 5

The Self and Socialization

– Self: distinct identity that sets us apart from others

– Cooley: Looking-Glass Self• We learn who we are by interacting with

others• Our view of ourselves comes from

contemplation of personal qualities and our impressions of how others perceive us

• The self is the product of our social interactions with other people

• Sociological Approaches to the Self

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 6

The Self and Socialization

Continued...

• Sociological Approaches to the Self– Mead: Stages of the Self

Play Stage: children develop skill in communicating through symbols and role taking occurs

Game Stage: children of about 8 or 9 consider several actual tasks and relationships simultaneously

Preparatory Stage: children imitate people around them.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 7

The Self and Socialization

• Sociological Approaches to the Self– Mead: Stages of the Self

Symbols: gestures, objects, and language that form basis of human communication

Role Taking: process of mentally assuming the perspective of another

Generalized Others: attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society as a whole that child takes into account

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 8

The Self and Socialization

• As person matures, the self changes and begins to reflect greater concern about reactions of others

• Sociological Approaches to the Self– Mead: Stages of the Self

• Self begins as privileged, central position in a person’s world

Significant Others: Individuals most important in the development of the self

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 9

Goffman’s view sometimes called Dramaturgical Approach: people resemble performers in actionFace-work: Need to maintain proper image of self to continue social interaction

The Self and Socialization

• Sociological Approaches to the Self– Goffman: Presentation of the Self

• Impression Management: individual learns to slant the presentation of self to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 10

The Self and Socialization

– Freud• Self is a social product, however, natural

impulsive instincts in constant conflict with societal constraints

• Personality influenced by others (especially one’s parents

• Psychological Approaches to the Self

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 11

The Self and Socialization

• Piaget emphasized the stages humans progress through as the self develops.

• Cognitive theory of development identified 4 stages in development of children’s thought processes

• Social interaction key to development

• Psychological Approaches to the Self– Piaget

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 12

Socialization and the Life Course

• Ceremonies mark stages of development in life course

• The Life Course– Rites of Passage: Means of dramatizing

and validating changes in a person’s status

Life-course Approach: Looks closely at social factors that influence people throughout their lives

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 13

Socialization and the Life Course

• The Life Course– We encounter some

of the most difficult socialization challenges in later years

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 14

Socialization and the Life Course

Table 4-1. Theoretical Approaches to Development of the Self

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 15

Socialization and the Life Course

Table 4-2. Milestones in the Transition to Adulthood

Source: T. Smith 2003

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 16

Socialization and the Life Course

– Anticipatory Socialization: processes of socialization in which person “rehearses” future occupations and social relationships

– Resocialization: process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as transition in one’s life

• Anticipatory Socialization and Resocialization

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 17

Degradation Ceremony: ritual where individual becomes secondary and rather invisible in overbearing social environment

Socialization and the Life Course

• Anticipatory Socialization and Resocialization– Total Institution: institution—prison,

military, mental hospital, or convent—that regulates all aspects of a person’s life under a single authority

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 18

Agents of Socialization

– Role of family in socializing a child cannot be overestimated

– Cultural Influences

– The Impact of Race and Gender

• Family

Gender Roles: expectation regarding proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 19

Agents of Socialization

– Teach children values and customs of the larger society

– Traditionally socialized children into conventional gender roles

• Peer Group– As children grow older, peer groups

increasingly assume the role of Mead’s significant others

• School

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 20

Agents of Socialization

Table 4-3. High School Popularity

Source: Suitor et al. 2001:445

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 21

Agents of Socialization

– Technology socializes families into multitasking as the social norm

• Mass Media and Technology

47% of parents reported at least one child has a TV in his/her bedroom

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 22

Agents of Socialization

Figure 4-1. InternetUsage, Ages 10—17

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation/San Jose Mercury News 2003

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 23

Agents of Socialization

– Learning to behave appropriately within occupational setting is fundamental aspect of human socialization

• Socialization in workplace involves four phases:– Career choice– Anticipatory socialization– Conditioning– Continuous commitment

• Workplace

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 24

Agents of Socialization

– Government and organized religion impacted life course by reinstituting some rites of passage

• Religion and State

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 25

Social Policy and Socialization

• In 2002, 55% of women who had given birth the previous year were back in the labor force

• 35% of all preschoolers with employed mothers attend group child care programs

• Child Care Around the World– The Issue

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 26

Social Policy and Socialization

• Finding the right kind of day care challenges parents and pocketbook

• Researchers found high-quality child care centers do not adversely affect socialization of children

• Child Care Around the World– The Setting

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 27

Social Policy and Socialization

• Studies assessing quality of child care outside of home reflect micro-level of analysis favored by interactionists

• Functionalists study child care from perspective of macro-level analysis of the family as a social institution

• Child Care Around the World– Sociological Insights

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 28

Social Policy and Socialization

• Feminist perspective raises questions about the low status and wages of day care workers

• Child Care Around the World– Sociological Insights

• Conflict perspective notes child care costs are an especially serious burden for lower-class families

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 29

Social Policy and Socialization

• Policies regarding child care outside of the home vary throughout the world

• When policymakers decide that child care is desirable, they must determine degree to which taxpayers should subsidize it

• Child Care Around the World– Policy Initiatives