Socialization and Enculturation Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and concepts from the lecture on Socialization, Enculturation, and related sociological topics.

Socialization

The lifelong social experience through which people develop their human potential and learn culture.

Enculturation

The process by which an individual learns and internalizes the norms, values, behaviors, and traditions of their native culture.

Acculturation

Cultural adaptation in which individuals or groups adopt elements of a different culture, typically after migration or extended contact.

Objective Socialization

Aspect of socialization that involves society acting upon the child to shape behavior.

Subjective Socialization

Transmission of culture that adapts the individual to accepted ways of organized social life.

Personality and Role Development

Function of socialization that forms a sense of identity and belonging.

Skills Development and Training

Socialization function that cultivates communication, interpersonal, and occupational abilities.

Values Formation

Process by which individuals absorb the prevailing values of their groups and society.

Social Integration and Adjustment

Socialization process that helps individuals fit into organized social and cultural settings.

Social Control and Stability

Binding of individuals to societal norms that regulate acceptable relationships and behavior.

Culture (Transmission)

Total pattern of ideas and behaviors a society passes to succeeding generations through socialization.

Sex Role Differentiation

Expectation through socialization that individuals perform roles deemed appropriate for their biological sex.

Personality (in Socialization)

Composite of emotional and behavioral traits shaped through social interactions.

Impulse Control

Goal of socialization (J. Arnett): teaching individuals to regulate impulses and develop a conscience.

Role Preparation

Goal of socialization in which individuals learn to perform occupational, gender, and institutional roles.

Shared Sources of Meaning

Goal of socialization that fosters common values and understandings within a culture.

Agents of Socialization

People or institutions—such as family, school, or media—that transmit culture and shape the self.

Family

Primary agent of socialization that teaches behavior, develops emotional ties, and instills values and norms.

School

Institution that molds beliefs, provides knowledge and skills, and teaches citizenship and national pride.

Church

Religious institution that fosters unity, group solidarity, and provides existential meaning.

Mass Media

Non-proximate agent distributing information widely and influencing perceptions of culture.

Peer Group

Set of individuals of similar age and status whose shared interests provide a key socialization context for adolescents.

Workplace

Setting in which adults learn new norms, skills, and behaviors related to their occupational roles.

Cultural Learning

Process of communicating and imitating others’ behavior to acquire cultural traits.

Feral Children

Human children who grow up with little or no human contact, lacking typical social behavior and language.

George Herbert Mead

Sociologist who theorized that the self develops through social interaction.

Imitation Stage

First stage in Mead’s model where children mimic others without understanding roles.

Play Stage

Stage where children take the roles of specific others and begin to grasp different social positions.

Game Stage

Stage in which organized play leads children to understand multiple roles and complex interactions.

Generalized Other

Internalized sense of the broader community’s expectations that guides an individual’s behavior.

Identity Formation

Development of a distinct personal and social identity through affiliations and experiences.

Self-concept

Sum of a person’s knowledge and understanding of themselves.

Cultural Identity

Feeling of belonging to a particular cultural group.

Ethnic Identity

Identification with a specific ethnicity.

National Identity

Sense of belonging to a nation defined by shared heritage and values.

Religious Identity

Set of beliefs and practices a person adheres to within a faith tradition.

Status

Recognized social position that a person occupies.

Ascribed Status

Social position assigned at birth or involuntarily later in life.

Achieved Status

Social position attained voluntarily through personal effort and achievement.

Status Set

Collection of all statuses held by an individual at a given time.

Role

Expected behavior associated with a particular status.

Role Set

Array of roles attached to a single status.

Role Strain

Tension among roles connected to a single status.

Identify the six major agents of socialization.

The six major agents of socialization are: Family, School, Church, Mass Media, Peer Group, and Workplace.

Describe George Herbert Mead's four key concepts in the process of self-development.

George Herbert Mead's four key concepts are:

1. Imitation Stage: Children mimic others without understanding roles.
2. Play Stage: Children take on the roles of specific others.
3. Game Stage: Children understand multiple roles and complex interactions.
4. Generalized Other: An internalized sense of the broader community’s expectations that guides an individual’s behavior.