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.