what is socialization?
process where we learned the knowledge, skills and attitudes we need to survive and thrive in our culture while also becoming ouselves/developing our identity
what do sociologists look at in terms of socialization?
how people learn the basic rules and attitudes of human behaviour that are considered acceptable in our society
what do psychologists look at in terms of socialization?
the development of human personality and the acquistion of those personal characteristics that make everyone unique
what do anthropologists look at in terms of socialization
how permanent human societies are produced (based on marriage, family, and household)
what do the three disciplines agree on about socialization?
its a key factor in the development of an individual and it is needed for society to continue
primary socialization
process by which we learn most of the basics or primary norms and values of society
when does primary socialization occur?
early childhood
what are some examples of things we learn during early socialization?
use language, eat, practice hygiene, deal with our emotions, understand gender roles, etc
secondary socialization
when we learn to function in groups, and follow behviour that society expects from us (in workplaces, as parents, friends, so on)
when does secondary socialization occur?
after childhood
anticipatory socialization
ability we deveolp to think ahead and act accordingly
resocialization
the deliberate attempt by society to replace aspects of an individual’s socialization with new learnings
agents of socialization
the different vehicvles that contribute to our socialization
six agents of socialization
family, mass media, peers, religion, school, work place
what is the role of the family as an agent of socialization?
providing beliefs needed to survive, teaches about social behavior, introduces you to ideas about rights vs wrong, proper vs improper, etc
what is the role of school as an agent of socialization?
transmitting knowledge and skills, teaching certain beleifs/attitudes, endorses certain behaviors in certain situations, teaches behaviour like punctuality, self reliance, teamwork, etc
what is the role of the workplace as an agent of socialization?
like school for adults! how to behave in certain situations (learnt early from playing and observing adults)
what is the role of peers as an agent of socialization?
learning skills like communication, collaboration and compromise, teaches about sexual relationships, creating relationships with people from different cultures/backgrounds
what agent of socialization can teach the opposite of peer groups? why migh that be?
the family, because values and beliefs in peer groups are often very infuenced by the media
what is the role of mass media as an agent of socialization?
helps us understand behaviour, ads teaching what to wear, how to act, etc, young children can learn values and beliefs from TV characters, can normalize violence
what is the role of religion as an agent of socialization?
giving moral codes/sets of standards that followers are expected to adhere to, can teach responsability and the importance of charity
social influence definition
the effect of other people on a person’s thoughts and actions
direct influence
influence from things that people around you explicitly say/do/think (ex: your friends want to do one thing and you want to do something else, but your friends convince you to do their thing)
indirect influence
infulence from how you think others will feel or do (ex: not dating someone because you assume your parents won’t approve of them)
how does the family influence our social behaviour?
telling us what is and isnt acceptable, teaching us how to act and the skills to act in that way
what is social behaviour a product of?
interactions, customs and rituals observed in the home
how does gender influence our social behaviour?
we often internalize our societies gender roles and then act accordingly, and our views/behaviour can be influenced by gender
how does culture infulence out social behaviour?
our chracterisitcs/traditions we practice, can have complex symbols and values that we learn and internalize
when do people often have to ajust their cultural views?
to be able to function and make sense of the social norms around them if they live in a multicultural society/moved to a place with a different culture
what are typical forms of play for children in north america?
playing with toys usually based on gender (dolls for girls and cars for boys, etc)
what do children need to become productive, well-ajusted members of society?
attention, encouragemnt and stimulation from a caregiver, along with a nuturing environment
physical abuse
adult inflicting harm
emotional abuse
repeatedtly criticising child or subjegating them to an unhappy/disturbing envrionment
neglect
the failure to provide the emotional or physical nessecities of life
sexual abuse
when an adult, the sibling or peer touches a child sexually or inappropriatly
what are feral children?
children deserted at a young age and raised by animals, usually mimic the behaviours of the animals that raised them and have trouble with paticipating in society/behaving in socially apropriate ways
how old is our earliest evidence of written language?
approx 5000 yrs old
what are three overlapping stages of written language
pictography, ideography, and phonography
pictography
writing with pictures, serise of drawings placed side by side to form simple sentences
ideography
writing with idea symbols in order to portray abstrsct ideas
phonography
writing with sound symbols, symbols linking to the sound of the word (same sybol used to represent same sound in diff words)
what are the two types of communication?
verbal (includes writing) and non-verbal
what are the different parts of non-verbal communication?
symbols, body language (incl facial expression and tone of voice), proximity, and sign language
what is needed for verbal communication to be effective?
clear and consise communication
what are the requirements of verbal communication?
speaking and listening (if you don’t listen you’re being communicated at not with)
communication barrier
an obstacle that keeps a message from getting through as intended
what are the 5 communication barriers?
ppl not sharing the same vocab
people using unecessary words
people using jargon
emotionalism
fear (can comepletly block communication)
what must happen for communication to be blocked?
something is wrong with one part of the communication model (either the sender or the receiver of the message)
communication barriers by the sender
using wrong level of language ( slang v formal)
disorganized thoughts
message too long or short
wrong medium (spoken v written)
sending incorrect info
communication barriers by the receiver
lack of concentration, lack of understanding
how did evolution impact communication?
as brain size incresed the brain started becoming able to be organized in a way that let us exchange information and have abstract though
what is the relationship between language developping, body language, and potential misunderstandings?
as language developped, body langauge and potenial misunderstandings descreased
what does it mean for language to be open?
it can evolve and result in new terms (like email!)
what does it mean for language to be discrete?
distinct messages do not blend with other messages, humans can distinguish the messages
what are the steps taken by children to master oral communication from 3 months to 1 yr old?
babbling: serise of meaingless sounds that imitate pitches and tones
what are the steps taken by children to master oral communication from 1-3 years old?
learn more complicted language structures
2-3 word sentences
vocab increases
short, telegraphic sentences
what are the steps taken by children to master oral communication from 3-5 years old?
words pluralized, past tense used, overgenralizations: rules of speech apploed to everything (ex: runned instead of ran)
what are the steps taken by children to master oral communication by 5 years old?
basic rules of language acquired, but still lack a complete vocab and the ability to apply all grammatical rules
what is the learning theory for language?
language is acquired through the conditoning process children experience as they grow up, with the use of postive and negative reinforcement by adults
what is the innate acquisition theory for language?
children are born with the natual/innate ability (and anatomy) to aquire language and the ability to use and comprehend language develops with age (from their envrionment)
chomsky’s universal grammar
theory that all the worlds languages share a similar underlying structure
what do sociologists study as a means of communication?
body language
what are the tools of communication (that sociologists look at)?
verbal (face-to-face, media, TV, film) and written (text, email, etc)
what else do sociologists look at vis a vis communication?
limitiations of our means of communication and how advancements and hinderances in our means of communication shape the development of our society
sapir whorf hypothesis
language shapes our cultural reality, because we think in a particular language the way the language is structured can influence our thoughts
example of the sapir whorf hypothesis
if there is a word for a concept in another language but not in yours, people who speak that language are more likely to consider that concept (ex: lots of words for time vs few, differnt ways of categorizing colours)
what did the milgram experiment test?
obeidiance to authority
why are some people able to commit unthinkable acts?
because they are told to by a figure in authority, who can take responibility for their actions
what hypothesis came from the kitty genovese incident?
that if less people witnessed her murder, someone would have done somthing?
what was proven by experiments inspired by kitty genoveses’ death?
The responsability an individual feels to help others is dimenished when they are in a group/crowd
what did the zimbardo/stanford prison experiment prove?
when there are no clear rules set out for how you should behave, people can be convinced to do things they normally would not (esp if they are instructed by a figure of authority)
Nature
traits, capacities, and limitations that each person inherits from their parents at the moment of conception (can include such things as eye colour, athletic ability, diseases, memory and body type)
nurture
the environmental influences that come into play after conception, beginning with the mother’s health during pregnancy and running all through one’s experience with growth, development and life in the outside world
only child family situation
Birth is a miracle. Parents have no previous experience. Retains 200% attention (both parents). May become the rival of one parent. Can be over-protected and spoiled
only child characteristics
Likes being the center of adult attention. Often has difficulty sharing with peers. Prefers adult company and uses adult language.
oldest child family situation
Dethroned by next child. Has to learn to share. Parent expectations are usually very high. Often given responsibility and expected to set an example.
oldest child characteristics
May become authoritarian or strict. Feels power is his right. Can become helpful if encouraged. May turn to father after birth of next child
second child family situatuion
He has a pacemaker. There is always someone ahead.
second child chracteristics
Is more competitive, wants to overtake older child. May become a rebel or try to outdo everyone. Competition can deteriorate into rivalry.
middle child family situation
Is “sandwiched” in. May feel squeezed out of a position of privilege and significance.
middle child characteristics
May be even tempered, “take it or leave it” attitude. May have trouble finding a place or become a fighter of injustice.
youngest child family situation
Has many mothers and fathers. Older children try to educate him. Never dethroned.
youngest child chracteristics
Wants to be bigger than the others. May have huge plans that never work out. Can stay the “baby.” Frequently spoiled.
twins family situation
One is usually stronger or more active. Parents may see one as older.
twins characteristics
Can have identity problems. Stronger one may become the leader.
ghost child family situation
Child born after the death of the first child may have a “ghost” in front of him/her. Mother may become over-protective.
ghost child characteristics
Child may exploit mother’s over-concern for his well-being, or he may rebel and protest the feeling of being compared to an idealized memory.
adopted child family situation
Parents may be so thankful to have a child that they spoil him. They may try to compensate for the loss of the biological parents.
adopted child characteristics
Child may become very spoiled and demanding. Eventually, he may resent or idealize the biological parents.
how does the spacing of children impact their roles?
if they are more than 5 years apart it will be more like they are from two seperate families
what is a ‘special child’?
any child that recieves a disproportionate share of familt attention (ex: only girl in large family, or disabled children)
what do middle children need the most?
attention
what do younger children tend to benefit from?
bending the rules/more relaxed rules
rite of passage
ceremony/ritual/event that marks a change in life or status
what do rites of passage help to do
move from one stage of life to another, decrease stress, create emotional bonds, and strengthen society
what are examples of parts of life that rites of passage can mark?
birth, adolecesence/coming of age, marriage, death
what are the three stages of a rite of passage?
segregation, transition, and incorporation/reintergration
segregation
person is separated from society and their original status (often change in location or appearance)
transition
person becoming their new self and learning their new role (often with guidance from someone who has completed the rite)
incorporation/reintergration
person rejoins society in their new role, formally recognized in their new status and expected to assume new tasks