Notes to Socialization and Development

I. WHY IS SOCIALIZATION IMPORTANT

AROUND THE GLOBE?

• Socialization:  A lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire self-identity and the physical, mental, and social skills needed for survival in society.

--Socialization enables a society to reproduce itself by passing on its culture from one generation to the next.

--Maintain structure/avoid chaos

--Content differs from society to society,

         --but how people talk, walk, eat, make love and war, are     all functions of the culture in which we are raised.

--Also influenced by subcultures of class, race, ethnicity, religion, and gender.

--“Kind of person we become depends on the society and social groups that surround us at birth and early childhood.

--What we believe about ourselves, our society, and the world does not spring full-blown from inside ourselves; rather, we learn these things from our interactions with others (Kendall 72)”.

B. Human Development: Biology and Society

 Sociobiology:  the systematic study of how biology affects social behavior (Wilson, 1975). 

         --Genetic inheritance underlies many forms of social behavior such as war and peace, envy and concern for others, and competition and cooperation.

--Most sociologists disagree that biological principles can be used to explain all human behavior.

--Except for simple reflexes, most human actions are social.

--We focus on social environment to explain how we act.

--However, heredity does provide basic material from which other people help to mold an individual’s human characteristics.

C. Social Isolation:  Appropriate social content is a crucial part of socialization.

--Humans and primates alike need social contact with others of their species in order to develop properly.

EXAMPLE 1) : non-human primates:

Harlow rhesus monkeys and isolation.

Having been deprived of contact with their own species for the first 6 months of life, they never learned how to relate to other monkeys or become well-adjusted adults—they were fearful or hostile toward other monkeys.

EXAMPLE 2) : Isolated Children: 

a) Anna, born 1932 to mentally impaired woman.

She was kept in her grandfather’s attic.

Received just enough care to keep her alive.

--Six years later when they found her (at the age of six), she couldn’t speak, walk, no sense of gesture, couldn’t feed herself, apathetic and difficult for her to communicate.

--When she was placed in special school, she learned to walk, talk, and care for herself.  She learned a lot before her death at the age of ten.

• Genie, found in 1970 at the age of 13, locked in a bedroom alone, either strapped down to a child’s potty chair or straitjacketed into a sleeping bag since she was 20 months old.

--Her father kept her in a back bedroom, and she was fed baby food and beaten on a daily basis for almost 12 years.

--Hadn’t heard the sound of human speech because nobody talked to her and no TV or radio.

--When they found her, couldn’t stand erect, salivated, no control over urinary or bowel functions, couldn’t chew solid food, and looked like a child half her age.

--Showed psychological traits associated with neglect (acted like blind child).

--Therapy was used to try and socialize Genie and develop her language abilities, but in the 1990’s, she was living in an in-care home for retarded adults.

*Above examples show the importance of socialization and reflect how detrimental social isolation and neglect can be to the well-being of people.

--Child maltreatment:  Neglect is the most frequent form of child maltreatment.

--Neglect occurs when child’s basic needs (emotional warmth and security, shelter, food, health care, educations, clothing, and protection) are not met, regardless of the cause.

--Neglect often involves acts of omission (where parents or caregivers fail to provide health care, etc.) rather than acts of commission (physical or sexual abuse).

II. SOCIALIZATION AND THE SELF

A.  Self-concept:  The totality of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves: the physical (short); active (gymnast); social (nice to others); psychological self (A statement of your beliefs) ie, “I’m an advocate for civil rights”.

--Self-concept develops and changes through time.

Self-Identity: Our perception about the kind of person we are.

We get this through our contact with others.

--Family plays important role here.

--Neglect affects this.

B. Sociological Theories of Human

Development

1. Cooley and Mead: Micro-Interactionist

--Cooley’s Looking-Glass Self: Refers to the way in which a person’s sense of self-identity is derived from the perceptions of others.

--Based on our perceptions of how people see us, and not necessarily on who we are.

--Three Step Process: 

1) We imagine how our personality and appearance will look to other people (cute or not, fat or not, nice or not, etc.).

2) We imagine how other people judge the appearance and personality that we think we present.

This step involves our PERCEPTION.

3) We develop a self-concept.

--If we think their evaluation of us is favorable, our self-concept is enhanced. 

--If unfavorable, our self-concept is diminished.

--Always developing as we interact with others.

--George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

--Linked the idea of self-concept to

role-taking: the process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person or group in order to understand the world from that person’s or group’s point of view (ex: when little kids play house)

--Children do this a lot

--Mead’s Process:

Role taking (learning how to play the role, (ie, student)àrole-making (constructing roles and anticipating responses)àrole-playing (Marshall, 1998).

Significant others: those person’s that care for us and are most important in the development of the self.

Gradually, we begin to see ourselves in contrast with them, developing a self-concept.

*When we can represent ourselves in our minds as objects distinct from everything else, our self has been formed.

--Mead’s The “I” and the “Me”:

        “I” is the subjective element of the self, represents spontaneous and unique traits.

        “Me” is the objective element of the self, which is composed of the internalized attitudes and demands of other members of society and the individual’s awareness of those demands.

--Both the “I” and the “Me” are needed for the social self.

--Unity constitutes full development of the individual.

--“I” develops first, and the “Me” takes form during the first 3 stages of development:

        1)Preparatory stage: up to three, interactions lack meaning, imitation stage, preparing for role-taking

        2) Play stage: 3-5, kids learn to use language and other symbols, enabling them to play roles.

--But don’t see role-taking as something they have to do.

        3) Game stage: Children understand their own social position as well as the position of others.

--In contrast to play, games are structured by rules, are often competitive, and involve a number of other “players”.

--Children become concerned of the demands and expectations of others and of the larger society.

= The Generalized Other: The awareness people develop that there are expectations put upon them (from society, for example). The Generalized Other is what stops us from running around inside the supermarket, for example, and from yelling to our friend inside a quiet building.

*Shows that the self is a social creation.

--Society shapes us, and we shape society.

--“Selves can only exist in relation to other selves” (Mead)

--Self concept and Child Maltreatment:

--Neglect

--labeling

--The cycle of abuse, or stopping the cycle.

III. AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

A. Agents of socialization:  The persons, groups, or institutions that teach us what we need to know in order to participate in society.

--Exposed to many during our lifetime.

--Most pervasive ones in childhood are the family, the school, peer groups, and the mass media.

1. family

                       a.  sociological perspectives

--Most important agent in all societies.

--Transmit cultural and social values to us.

--FUNCTIONALISTS PERSPECTIVE: These sociologists focus on the functions of families:

         --procreation, socialization of children, emotional support, learn about larger culture, acquire a sense of self, and become part of subcultures (class, religion, racial, ethnic subcultures) with which our parents and family belong.

--Socialization varies by race/ethnicity, class, and gender

         --Kohn says that ‘parent’s occupation’ is better predictor of child-rearing practices than was social class itself:

         Working class whose parents are closely supervised and expected to follow orders at work emphasize obedience and conformity.

         Middle and Professional Classes who have more freedom and flexibility tend to give kids freedom to make their own decisions and to be creative.

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE: These sociologists focus on the idea that socialization contributes to a false-consciousness: a distorted perception of the reality of class and how it affects all aspects of life.

--Socialization reaffirms and reproduces the class structure (wealth/poverty) in the next generation rather than challenging existing conditions.

(Ex: cultural capital and the belief in the value of education.  What’s perceived as realistic?)

2. the school

a. sociological perspectives

--The amount of time we spend in educational settings has increased.

--Schools teach knowledge and skills and also effect child’s self-image, beliefs, and values.

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE:

1) socialization, or teaching students to be productive members of society.

2) transmission of culture

3) social control and personal development

4) the selection, training, and placement of people in different positions in society.

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE: Students have different experiences in the school system depending on their social class, racial/ethnic background,  gender, etc.

--Bowles and Gintis Hidden Curriculum: kids learn to be neat, on time, to be quiet, wait their turn, and to remain attentive to their work.

Thus schools socialize kids for their future roles in the work force.

--Students destined for leadership or elite positions acquire different skills and knowledge than those who will enter working-class and middle-class occupations.Thus, kids from wealthy backgrounds have advantages that kids from lower class backgrounds don't have.

3. peer groups: group of people who are linked by common interests, equal social position, and usually similar age.

--Give us information and approval on our behavior

--Contribute to our sense of belonging and self-worth.

--Some freedom, but still pressure to abide by cultural norms:

         --Peer Pressure

4. mass media: composed of large-scale organizations that use print or electronic means (radio, TV, film, Internet) to communicate with large numbers of people.

--Function as socialization agent:

         1) inform us about events

         2) introduce us to a wide variety of people

         3) provide an array of viewpoints on current issues

         4) make us aware of products and services that supposedly we need and will make others accept us.

         5) entertain us by letting us live through what we see.

--In US TV is on 4-7 hours a day= influence, seeing the same images over and over again.

--Violence and the media: debated and studied

         --Some studies show that kids who watch a lot of TV have lower grades in school, read fewer books, exercise less, and are overweight (2007).

IV. GENDER AND RACE/ETHNIC

SOCIALIZATION

A. Gender socialization: The aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of being female or male in a specific group or society.

         --color-coded clothing

         --play rough versus lovingly

         --different household chores and privileges often given to male children and female children.

Gender socialization and social class:  Working class families tend to adhere to more rigid gender expectations than do middle-class families (toys).

         --But sometimes if single-parent household, chores will be mixed to help (mom) parent.

--Most studies done on white, middle-class families.

--Schools, peer groups, and the media contribute to our gender socialization:

         --teachers and peers enforce gender-appropriate behavior

         --sports reinforce traditional gender roles through rigid division of events into male and female categories

         --media:  children’s books, TV programs, movies, and music provide sometimes subtle messages about “masculine” and “feminine” behavior.

B. Racial socialization: the aspect of socialization that contains specific messages and practices concerning the nature of one’s racial or ethnic status as it relates to:

         1) personal and group identity

         2) intergroup and interindividual relationships

         3) position in the social hierarchy

--Includes direct statements regarding race

--modeling behavior

--indirect activities that expose person to aspects of their racial/ethnic group.

--Our racial/ethnic identity and attitudes are passed down in our families from generation to generation.

--By about the age of four, society’s ethnic hierarchy has become apparent to the child.

V. SOCIALIZATION THROUGH THE LIFE

COURSE

A. Socialization is a lifelong process

--Anticipatory socialization:  the process by which knowledge and skills are learned for future roles.

--Happens before we achieve a new status. We engage in behavior that allows us to develop the skills necessary for that future role.

B. Life Courses are unique for each person

--But common categories of age are:

1) Infancy and childhood:

--Sense of self formed here.

--family support and guidance are needed here

2) Adolescence: teenage

--Anticipatory socialization associated with this age (education, dating)

--characterized by emotional and social unrest.

--Conflict with authority figures who risk their freedom

--Experiences vary according to race, class, gender (education)

3) Adulthood:

--Until 40, relationships, employment, personal fulfillment

--Learning new roles (as partners and  parents)

--Learn new attitudes, behaviors, from their college kids!

--Workplace socialization

         1) choose career, 2) anticipatory soc., 3) conditioning and commitment, 4) continuous commitment.

--More than one career means experiencing this several times.

4) Middle adulthood: 40-65

--Accomplish goals?

5) Older Adulthood:

--Some happy, some not:

         --Physical disability, financial issues, lower prestige, prospect of death.

--Social Devaluation

--Ageism: prejudice and discrimination based on age, usually older.

C.  Life course patterns are influenced by race, ethnicity, social class, historical time period, etc.

--Adolescence didn’t used to be a category

--Not all people experience stages in same way

VI. RESOCIALIZATION

A. Resocialization: Process of learning a new and different set of attitudes, values and behavior from those in one’s background and previous experience.

1. voluntary resocialization

--Happens when we assume a new status of our own free will (student, employee, retiree)

--Sometimes involves medical, psychological treatment to find new way of life.

2. involuntary resocialization

--Occurs against a person’s wishes

--within a total institution, where they are isolated from rest of society for set period of time and are under control of officials who run the institution (military boot camps, jails, prisons, mental wards)

--People stripped of their formal selves: depersonalization process

--System of rewards and punishment encourage conformity to norms.

--Some may be rehabilitated

--But are they merely learning the norms of the institution?  -----How does that parallel to society?

VII. SOCIALIZATION IN THE TWENTY­FIRST

CENTURY

A. Families may remain the most important

agent:  Shapes, nurtures, gives personal values, self-identity.

1.  families overburdened and need outside help

--societal support, like high-quality, affordable childcare, more education in parenting skills,

--Growing forms of mass media but what about those who can’t afford it?

--Social class and race effects

RESOURCES

Websites:
Socialization – Wikipedia
Media Watch
Take Back the News