Sociology: Socialization and the Self
Society Makes Us Human: Feral, Isolated, and Institutionalized Children
The Foundation of Humanity: Sociological research into children who have experienced extreme social deprivation helps us understand that "society makes us human."
Feral Children: Children who have lived in the wild or with animals, detached from human social contact.
Isolated Children:
Language is considered the key to culture.
Culture is what provides the framework for being human; however, it must be socialized through interaction.
Case Study: Genie Wiley:
Genie Wiley is a prominent and disturbing case of a feral/isolated child discovered by authorities after years of severe neglect and confinement.
Institutionalized Children: Cases involving children in orphanages or similar settings reveal the impact of physical care without social and emotional interaction.
Deprived Animals: Studies on animals (such as Rhesus monkeys) deprived of social contact parallel findings in human children regarding the necessity of interaction for normal development.
The Case of Twins: Comparisons of twins in different social environments are often used to study the reach of isolation versus socialization.
Socialization Into the Self and Mind
Charles Horton Cooley and the Looking-Glass Self:
Cooley posited that our sense of self develops through interaction with others.
The Three Elements of the Looking-Glass Self:
Imagination: We imagine how we appear to those around us.
Interpretation: We interpret others’ reactions to our appearance or behavior.
Self-Concept: We develop a self-concept based on these interpretations (feeling pride or mortification).
George Herbert Mead and Role Taking:
Mead argued that taking the role of the other is essential for becoming a full member of society.
Significant Others: Initially, children only take the roles of individuals who significantly influence them (e.g., parents).
The Generalized Other: Later, individuals develop the capacity to take the role of the group as a whole. This is essential for social cooperation and the control of antisocial desires.
Mead’s Three Developmental Stages:
Stage 1: Imitation: Children under age have no sense of self and simply mimic others.
Stage 2: Play: Children aged to play "pretend" and take on the roles of specific others (e.g., Spider-Man, a princess, or a parent).
Stage 3: Team Games: Starting after age or , children engage in organized play. They must learn to take multiple roles simultaneously to function in the game.
Example: Baseball: Mead used baseball to illustrate the "generalized other." In a team sport, a player must understand the expectations and potential actions of every other player on the field.
Learning Personality, Morality, and Emotions
Socialization into Emotions:
Global Emotions: Sociology identifies six global emotions: anger, distrust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.
Cultural Specificity: While basic emotions may be global, the expression of these emotions and "whose emotions mean what" is influenced by race, gender, class, and disability status.
The Society Within Us:
The self and emotions act as forms of social control.
The "social mirror" refers to how the expectations of family, friends, and society at large dictate our emotional responses and behaviors.
Socialization into Gender
The Gender Map: This refers to the attitudes and behaviors society expects of us because we are male or female.
Gender Messages in the Family:
The family is the first site where we learn to "do gender."
Cross-Cultural Examples:
Borneo, Malaysia: Children are taught gendered behaviors specific to their local culture.
Albania: Shkurtan Hasanpapaj is a "sworn virgin," an Albanian social practice where a woman takes on a male role in society and remains celibate.
Gender Messages from Peers:
Girls: Peer groups reinforce images of appearance and behaviors deemed appropriate for females.
Boys: Peer groups "police" each other’s interests and ways of discussing violence and sex.
Gender Messages in the Mass Media:
Media channels including television, movies, cartoons, video games, and advertising reinforce gender norms.
Video Games: Formerly seen as just a hobby, they are now culturally integrated. Robert Morris University in Chicago awards scholarships for video games, and e-sport coach positions are becoming established roles.
Tik Tok: A modern platform for reinforcing or challenging gender messages via
@mywatchhistoryand other social media handles.
Agents of Socialization
Social Institutions: Established systems within society (e.g., family, education) that shape behavior and values, providing stability and order. They are the "building blocks" of society.
Key Agents and Their Roles:
The Family: Provides primary socialization, teaching basic norms and values. Influenced by social class (e.g., working-class parents often emphasize obedience, while middle-class parents emphasize self-expression).
The Neighborhood: Living in poor versus wealthy neighborhoods affects health, education, and social opportunities.
Specific Study: The Cincinnati Asthma Study investigated these environmental and social disparities.
Religion: Acts as a foundation for U.S. morality, providing specific doctrines and values.
Education (The School):
Manifest Functions: Intended purposes, such as teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Latent Functions: Unintended consequences, such as learning to navigate a bureaucracy.
Hidden Curriculum: The unwritten rules and values taught in school (e.g., patriotism, obedience).
Corridor Curriculum: What students teach each other outside the classroom (e.g., social hierarchies, "coolness").
Peer Groups: Provide a source of resistance to parental and school socialization; linked to "status insecurity."
The Workplace:
Anticipatory Socialization: Mental rehearsal or preparation for a future career.
Ongoing Socialization: The process where the job becomes a significant part of the individual's self-concept.
Resocialization and Total Institutions
Resocialization: The process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors to match a new situation in life.
Total Institutions: Places where people are cut off from the rest of society and are under almost total control of the officials who run the place.
Degradation Ceremonies: Rituals intended to strip away a person's current identity to stamp a new one in its place (e.g., shaving heads in the military).
Examples: Mental institutions, the military, prisons, and sometimes sororities or fraternities.
Socialization Through the Life Course
Stages of the Life Course:
Childhood (Birth to age ): Historically, this stage was influenced by child labor and later changed by industrialization.
Adolescence (Ages to ): Viewed as a social invention; includes initiation rites like experimentation with alcohol and drugs.
Transitional Adulthood (Ages to ): A newer stage where young adults may move back home after college.
Data on Moving Home (Lending Tree survey, July 2022):
No, not considering it:
Yes, moved back and still living there:
Yes, moved back but since moved out:
Yes, I'm considering it:
Positive Financial Impacts of Moving Home:
Able to pay down debt:
Save for a home down payment:
Invest more or save for retirement:
Save for a life event (e.g., wedding):
Take a lower-paying job they are passionate about:
Other:
None of the above:
The Middle Years (Ages to ): Divided into the Early Middle and Later Middle years.
The Older Years (Age +): Divided into the Transitional Older Years and Later Older Years.
Sociological Perspective: Socialization throughout these stages is influenced by an individual's social location, including class, sexuality, and gender.
Discussion: Are We Prisoners of Socialization?
The fundamental sociological question: Are humans merely "cogs in a machine," or do we remain individuals with agency?
Socialization is a powerful force, but sociologists argue we are not strictly prisoners; we have the capacity to choose and influence our social environments.