Key Concepts in Socialization and Social Status
Human Social Need
- Humans are social beings; isolation can lead to negative outcomes, such as trauma and suicide.
Socialization Basics
- Socialization involves multiple agents: family, peers, neighbors, schools, media, etc.
- Includes knowledge and ideas transmitted by these agents (e.g., learning from books).
- Is a lifelong process that occurs at various stages of life and through new experiences.
- Normative Socialization: Learning societal norms; integration into society.
- Anticipatory Socialization: Preparing for future roles, often influenced by parents and societal expectations.
- Resocialization: Abandoning former behaviors for new ones, often seen in contexts like military service or incarceration.
Social Status
- Positions that individuals hold (e.g., parent, employee, student).
- Distinction between ascribed (involuntary) and achieved (voluntary) statuses.
- Context matters in defining if a status is ascribed or achieved (e.g., immigration circumstances).
Social Roles
- Behavioral expectations associated with statuses (e.g., responsibilities of a student).
- Role strain occurs from pressures associated with fulfilling these expectations.