Socialization Study Guide

Definition of Nature

Our genetic makeup, physical attributes that are inherited to us from our parents, the environment plays a small role, personality and traits are a sole result of DNA

Definition of Nurture

The way we are raised, our social interactions and interactions can influence our personalities and traits 

Know what Socialization is

the process by which people learn the characteristics of their group - the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, norms and actions thought appropriate for them. 

The difference between Nature and Nurture

Nurture comes from how we were raised and nature is our genetic makeup

What is the most critical in the development of a child’s brain?

The first five years of living 

What influences brain development - establishing the neural connections that provide the foundation for language, reasoning, problem-solving, social skills, behavior, and emotional health?

The early experiences 

Who plays a critical role in helping children get ready for school?

Families and communities

Children's development sufferers when?

Their early learning and care experiences lack appropriate social language and cognitive stimulation.

What is the key to human development and without it, people have no mechanism for developing thought and communicating their experiences?

Language 

Isolated children prove that without language, there can be no culture, and no shared way of life. What is the key to what people become?

Culture 

Genie:

Tied to a toilet, the dad would bark at her and only spoon-feed her, slept in a crib where she couldn't get out for over 13 years

Oxana:

Mom and dad had too many kids so not enough beds , she slept with the dogs ages 3-8, could only bark like a dog, do anything a dog did.

Dani:

Locked in a room, slept on a moldy mattress, ribs and collarbone jutted out, hair matted with lice. Never learned how to walk, talk or feed herself

What are the difficulties experts are facing in studying toddler screen time?

The pace of technology is outstripping the pace of research

Experts have found children who spent more time with hand-held screens were more likely to exhibit signs of what?

A delay in expressive speech, the way they communicate, how they use sounds and words

Media designers sometimes forget to build what kind of content? 

To build content that's interactive to both the child and the parent, not engaging them

Why is “free play” so important?

creates an opportunity for children to explore their world in their own way and helps foster creativity and using their imagination

What are the factors that have changed the routine of childhood?

Parents receive messages from a variety of sources stating that good parents actively build every skill and aptitude their child might need from the earliest ages.

What is the self?

the unique human capacity of being able to see ourselves “from the outside”; the views we internalize of how we think others see us

Who coined the term looking glass self?

Charles Horton 

What are the three elements of the looking-glass self?

1. we imagine how we appear to those around us

2.   we interpret others’ reactions 

3. we develop a self-concept

Who is associated with developing the concept of role-taking?

George Herbert Mead 

At first, who can we only take the role of?

Significant others like parents or siblings 

How does Mead refer to the perception of how people in general think of us?

Generalized perception(The norms/values/attitudes/expectations of people in general)

What are the three stages of role-taking?

1. Imitation 

   1. Under the age of three, no sense of self

2. Play

   1. ages 3-6, play “pretend” with others

3. Games

   1. After 6-7, team games, learn to take multiple roles.

Use the Phases of Life and Agents of Socialization Slides(matching)

Know the phases of life and what each phase entails (you don’t need to know the ages unless that helps you)

childhood (from birth to about age 12)

Observe social roles, what they perceive will influence self concept 

youth and adolescents (ages 13-17)

This stage is renowned for uncertainty, rebellion and inner turmoil. Generally a confusing time and time of conflict, expected to act like an adult but be denied adult privileges

transitional adulthood (ages 18-29)

Postpone responsibilities by going to college, require adaptation like: marriage, new career, starting a family

the middle years (ages 30-65)

More sure of themselves, the sandwich generation, helping their kids and their parents, divorce, job security

the older years (age 65 on)

Contemplates death, social Isolation harms both the body and brain - people who are more integrated into social networks stay mentally sharper. 

Know the definition of agents of socialization and a few examples.

Media: stereotypes, trend and how to act

Peers: activities trends

School: grammar, rules, social settings

Clubs: rules governing activities

Ethnic background:  Beliefs, values, customs

Know the definition of gender

the behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity or femininity

Who first introduces us to the gender map? Is it on purpose?

Our parents, Sometimes, consciously or not, gender can become associated with colors like pink and blue, which have no inherent meaning.

Who bombards us with messages about what it means to be men and women today?

Our culture

What is one way we can learn gender?

Through play, Parents subtly encourage different behavior based on gender. Sons are urged to play rough while daughters are encouraged to be delicate and compliant.