SOC 1000 Socialization and Social Roles

When does primary socialization occur?

During childhood

What is determinism?

Degree to which an individuals behaviour/characteristics are determined by something specific

What does biological determinism state?

The greater part of who we are is determined by genes (nature)

What is behaviour modification?

Shaping someones behaviours through rewards and punishment

Who coined the “law of effect”?

Edward Thorndike

Who argued that behaviourists work with an over socialized representation of human beings?

Dennis H. Wrong

What are agents of socialization?

Groups that have a significant impact on ones socialization

Who argued that children are socialized by others + internalize norms/values

George Herbert Mead

What are the 2 categories of agents of socialization that Mead distinguished?

Significant others + generalized others

What are the 3 developmental stages of the socialization of a child?

Preparatory, play, game

What occurs in the preparatory developmental stage?

Child imitating others

What occurs in the play developmental stage?

Child engages in role-taking, assumes perspective of significant others

What occurs in the game developmental stage?

Child can consider several roles/viewpoints simultaneously

Who introduced the idea of the looking glass self as an explanation on how the self develops?

Charles Cooley

What is the first and most powerful agent of socialization?

The family

Who investigated the relationship between social class vs. passing on of parental values to children?

Melvin Kohn

Are there higher rates of risk behaviour in broad or narrow socialization?

Broad socialization

Who did studies on the relationship between violent TV watching vs. violent behaviour?

Rowell Huesmann

What are the 2 theories Rowell Huesmann proposed to explain an increase in violent behaviour?

Observational learning theory + desensitization theory

What is the observational learning theory?

Children acquire aggressive solutions for solving social problems by watching violent TV

What is the desensitization theory?

Increased exposure to TV violence desensitizes the natural negative reaction to violence

Who argues that discussion about TV violence are about cultural conflict?

Jib Fowles

Who coined the concepts of habitus and reproduction?

Pierre Bourdieu

What is habitus?

Wide ranged set of socially acquired characteristics

What is reproduction?

Means by which classes preserve status differences among classes

Who studies how culture contributes to the hurried child syndrome, how children have lose free play and have rigid schedule?

David Elkind

What is resocialization?

Process of unlearning old behaviours and adopting new ones upon moving into a significantly different social environment

What is voluntary resocialization often marked by?

A rite of passage

What is hazing?

Entails resocializing new members of group by ridiculing rookie members by veterans

What is a recognized social position that an individual occupies called?

Status

What is achieved vs. ascribed status?

Achieved = entered during life, not born into

Ascribed = born into/enters involuntarily

Who created the concept of master status?

Everett Hughes

What was the labelling theory developed to explain?

The negative effects a label can have when applied to a group outside the majority

Who developed the labelling theory?

Howard Becker

What does status hierarchy entail?

Statuses can be ranked from high to low based on prestige and power

What is status consistency?

Condition a person experiences when all of their statuses fall in the same range in the social hierarchy

What is status inconsistency?

Occurs when a person holds social statuses that are ranked differently and do not align

What can status inconsistency result in?

Social tension + marginalization

What is a role?

Set of behaviours associated with a particular status

Who developed the idea of role set?

Robert Merton

What is role set?

All roles attached to a status

What is role strain?

Develops when there is conflict between roles within the role set of a status

What is role conflict?

Occurs when a person is forced to reconcile incompatible expectations generated from 2 or more statuses they hold

Who created role exit?

Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh

What is role exit?

The process of disengaging from a role that has been central to one’s identity, then attempting to establish a new role