CL

Sociology - Socialization and the Life Course

Module 13: The Role of Socialization

  • Socialization:
    • A lifelong process where individuals learn attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate for their culture.
    • Occurs through ongoing human interactions, starting in infancy and continuing through retirement.
  • Personality:
    • An individual's typical patterns of attitudes, needs, characteristics, and behavior.
  • Nature vs. Nurture:
    • Debate over the relative importance of biological inheritance and environmental factors in human development.
    • Contemporary understanding acknowledges the interplay between heredity and environment.
  • Impact of Isolation:
    • Case of Isabelle:
      • Lived in seclusion until age six.
      • Could not speak and used simple gestures.
      • Showed fear of strangers.
      • Systematic training program helped her socialize.
    • Romanian Orphans:
      • Babies left in cribs for extended periods with minimal care.
      • Resulted in fear of human contact and antisocial behavior.
    • Primate Studies:
      • Monkeys raised in isolation displayed fear.
      • Infant monkeys prioritized warmth, comfort, and intimacy over milk.
  • Influence of Heredity:
    • Minnesota Twin Family Study:
      • Identical twins raised apart show influence of both genetic and environmental factors.
      • Temperament, voice patterns, and nervousness are similar.
      • Attitudes, values, mates, and drinking habits differ.
    • Twins raised in similar social settings have similar intelligence test scores.
    • Twins raised in different environments score differently.
    • Some traits (e.g., bipolar disorder) have genetic components.
    • Other traits (e.g., eating disorders) are influenced by social environment.

Module 14: The Self and Socialization through the Life Course

  • Self:
    • A distinct identity that differentiates us from others.
    • Develops and changes throughout life.
  • Sociological Approaches to the Self:
    • Cooley's Looking-Glass Self:
      • The self is a product of social interactions.
      • Three phases:
        1. Imagining how we present ourselves to others.
        2. Imagining how others evaluate us.
        3. Developing feelings about ourselves based on these impressions.
      • Related to double consciousness: division of identity into multiple social realities.
      • Self results from individual's imagination of others' views, which can be based on incorrect perceptions.
    • Mead's Stages of Self:
      • Three stages:
        • Preparatory Stage:
          • Children imitate others.
          • Begin to understand symbols.
        • Play Stage:
          • Awareness of social relationships.
          • Pretend to be other people.
          • Role-taking: mentally assuming the perspective of another.
        • Game Stage:
          • Understand social positions of self and others.
          • Generalized other: understanding attitudes, viewpoints, and expectations of society.
    • The self begins as a central position in one's world and matures to consider others' reactions.
    • Significant Other: an individual important in the development of the self (e.g., parent, friend, teacher).
    • Goffman and Impression Management:
      • Impression management: altering self-presentation to create appearances and satisfy audiences.
      • Dramaturgical approach: viewing social interaction as theatrical performance.
      • Face-work: efforts to maintain proper image and avoid embarrassment.
  • Psychological Approaches to the Self:
    • Freud's Psychoanalysis:
      • The self as a social product.
      • Conflict between instincts and societal constraints.
      • Social interaction teaches societal expectations and appropriate behavior.
    • Piaget's Cognitive Theory of Development:
      • Newborns are self-centered.
      • Children are socialized into social relationships.
      • Four stages of cognitive development:
        • Sensorimotor Stage: using senses for discovery.
        • Preoperational Stage: using words and symbols.
        • Concrete Operational Stage: logical thinking.
        • Formal Operational Stage: abstract thought.

Socialization Throughout the Life Course

  • Rite of Passage:
    • Ritual marking transition from one social position to another.
    • Validates changes in status.
    • Worldwide social phenomenon.
  • Life Course Approach:
    • Examining social factors influencing people from birth to death.
  • Turning points vary across societies and generations.
  • Terms like youthhood and emerging adulthood reflect prolonged ambiguous status of young people.
  • Anticipatory Socialization:
    • Rehearsing for future positions and relationships.
  • Resocialization:
    • Discarding old behaviors and accepting new ones during life transitions.
    • Can involve stress.
    • Effective in total institutions.
  • Total Institution:
    • Regulates all aspects of a person's life under a single authority.
    • Examples: prisons, military, mental hospitals, convents.
    • Rules and activities are devised by authorities without participant input.
    • Degradation Ceremony:
      • Humiliating rituals that occur within total institutions.
      • Individuals become secondary and invisible within the environment.

Module 15: Agents of Socialization

  • Socialization involves social forces that influence our lives and self-images.
  • Agents of Socialization:
    • Family:
      • Primary agent of socialization.
      • Includes exposure to cultural assumptions about gender and race.
      • Gender Role: Expectations regarding behavior of males and females.
    • School:
      • Socializes people into norms and values of culture.
      • Fosters competition through rewards and punishments.
      • Functionalists: teaches values and customs of society.
      • Conflict Theorists: reinforces social class divisions.
    • Peer Group:
      • Increasingly important as children grow older.
      • Association with similar-aged individuals of similar social status.
      • Gender differences are noteworthy.
    • Mass Media and Technology:
      • Radio, motion pictures, recorded music, television, and the Internet are key agents.
      • Socialization occurs online.
      • Reliance on new communication technologies.
    • Workplace:
      • Learning appropriate occupational behavior.
      • Socialization changes with shift from part-time to full-time work.
      • Frequent job changes are common.
    • Religion:
      • Religious organizations stipulate traditional rites.
    • The State:
      • Government regulations set age limits for drinking, driving, voting, marrying, and retiring.
  • Child Care around the World:
    • In the U.S., most employed mothers rely on others for child care.
    • High-quality child care centers do not adversely affect socialization.
    • Variability exists among providers and government policies.
    • Coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for child care.
  • Applying Sociology:
    • Studies on child care quality reflect micro-level analysis.
    • Explores macro-level implications for institutions like the family.
    • High-quality day care is not equally available.
    • Conflict perspective: child care costs burden lower-class families.
    • Feminist theorists: lack of government support due to seeing care as helping women work.
  • Initiating Policy:
    • Policymakers must decide if child care is desirable and how much to subsidize.
    • Affordability and accessibility are global issues.