Part 1: Intro to
Socialization
What is Socialization?
• DEFINITION: the
process by which
individuals learn the
ways of society and
culture (basic skills, values, beliefs and appropriate
behavior)
• Necessary for a successful existence
• Lifelong process
The Big Questions
of Socialization
• How do we learn to get
along with others?
The Big Questions of
Socialization
• How do we learn to view
ourselves as one among
others?
• How do
others
influence
us?
Part 2:
The Social
Experience
What is Personality?
• DEFINITION: the sum total
of behaviors, attitudes,
beliefs & values that are
characteristic of an
individual
• Determines how we adjust to our environment &
how we react in certain situations
Personality Development:
Nature v. Nurture
• Charles Darwin (SOCIOBIOLOGY;
NATURE):
• All human behavior is instinctive; inherited
behavioral patterns
• John B. Watson (BEHAVIORISM; NURTURE):
• All human behavior can be taught and learned
Nature or Nurture?
• Brown eyes
• Enjoys bungee
jumping
• 6’ tall
• Red hair
• IQ of 150
Nature or Nurture?
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Weighs 500 pounds
Depressed
Alcoholic
Has cancer
Personality Development:
Nature v. Nurture
• Twin Studies:
• Used to determine
heritability; VERY important in understanding the
role of genes and environment in forming an
individual
Personality Development:
Nature v. Nurture
• Premise:
• Since identical twins have
identical genes,
differences between
them are solely due to
environmental factors
Personality Development:
Nature v. Nurture
• Elyse Schein and
Paula Bernstein
• A classic twinning
study
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yTCShemS_0
The Sociological View
• Sociologists believe
personality development,
or a fairly consistent
pattern of acting, thinking
and feeling is shaped by
BOTH biology and social
experience
Personality Development:
Nature v. Nurture
• 4 Factors That Influence
Personality:
• Heredity
• Birth Order
• Parents
• Cultural Environment
Heredity
• Definition:
• Transmission of genetic
characteristics from parents
to children
• Includes aptitude – capacity
to learn a particular skill or
acquire a particular body of knowledge
Birth Order
• Research indicates that
birth order DOES have
an influence on
personality development
• ONLY CHILDREN: tend to endure pressure to
achieve & excel; overactive and socially involved ;
many are leaders; often worrisome
Birth Order
• OLDEST CHILDREN:
tend to share traits
with only children;
cautious & achievement oriented
• SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN: better in social
relationships; more affectionate; friendly &
creative; more sensitive & humorous
Silverman’s Class: Birth
Order & Average GPA
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2nd Period:
Oldest/Only Child: 8
Numeric Avg: 90.1
Middle Child: 7
Numeric Avg: 83
Youngest Child: 11
Numeric Avg: 88.4
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4th Period:
Oldest/Only Child: 10
Numeric Avg: 90.3
Middle Child: 6
Numeric Avg: 86.8
Youngest Child: 8
Numeric Avg: 90.1
Parents
• A child’s FIRST
attachment is to his or her mother
• Later, both parents serve as role models & shape
perception of sex roles & family members
• Parental characteristics can influence level of
education, religious affiliation, cultural heritage,
economic status and occupation
Cultural
Environment
• A society’s cultural environment may determine
which personality traits are emphasized
• For example, American culture emphasizes
competition and success
Social Isolation
• Effects on
Nonhuman Primates:
• The Harry Harlow
Experiments
• Results?
Social Isolation: Effect on
Children
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Feral Children:
Wild or untamed children
Raised in isolation
Case Studies:
Anna & Isabelle
Genie, “The Wild Child”
Results?
Part 3: The Process
of Socialization
Much research forms the
basis for our
understanding of human
development…
The Concept of Self
• Definition: your conscious
awareness of possessing a
distinct identity that separates you and your
environment from other members of society
• How do you develop a sense of self?
Charles Horton Cooley: The
Looking Glass Self
• The Looking Glass Self:
• Developing an image
of oneself based on
how we think others
see us
• “I am, who I think,
you think I am.”
George Herbert Meade:
The Social Self
• Role Taking:
• Take roles of others in society
to better understand what
YOUR expectations are
• Usually starts with your closest relationships “significant others”
• We internalize the attitudes, expectations, and
viewpoints of society – the “generalized other”
George Herbert Meade:
The Social Self
• I and ME
• I is the unsocialized spontaneous, self-interested
component of personality & self-identity
• ME is the part of ourselves that is aware of the
expectations and attitudes of society – the
socialized self
• In childhood, the I component is stronger than the
ME
Part 4:
Agents of
Socialization
Agents of Socialization
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Family
Peer Group
School
Mass Media
Agents of Socialization
• The FAMILY: Structured
• Principal agent of ALL
children (0-adolescense)
• Can be deliberate or unconscious
• EXAMPLES:
• Deliberate socialization?
• Unconscious socialization?
Are your personality traits similar to
those of your parents?
• I’m mostly influenced by my parents. They’re the ones who
taught me right from wrong and have shaped my personality.
• I’m usually late or running late for events…which is just like my
mom.
• I think I learned my sense of humor from my dad.
• I always want to be on time like my parents. They say, “If
you’re not early, you’re late.”
• I am influenced by my dad. He has taught me that hard work in
school pays off for the rest of your life.
• I sometimes say what I mean without meaning to! This is like my
dad – he tells people what he thinks.
• My mom does not, will not, ever lie. I can’t help but be honest
no matter what. If you have a booger I will tell you.
• Like my mom, I try to hide emotions to appear strong.
• I’ve learned from watching my dad it’s easier to be calm during
arguments.
Agents of Socialization
• The PEER GROUP: Loose
• Primary group;
composed of those
similar in age & background
• Increasing importance during adolescence; focuses
on the skills necessary to “fit in” to subculture
• Group goals are often at odds with societal goals
Do your friends influence your behavior?
• Yes, they influence me to be more outgoing. For example, I do
not like to dance, but if I ever go dancing with my friends, I take
on their positive energy and try to get myself out there.
• I think my sarcasm and wit is influenced by my friends.
• I mimic what they are doing to avoid conflict.
• I guess they make me want to fit in as much as possible. I
always try to please people.
• Yes, I act crazy around my friends. I can be with my friends and
just say and do random things that I wouldn’t normally do.
• I notice that I have polite friends so it encourages me to stay
polite as well…my friends and I tend to wear the same clothing.
• Sometimes they influence me when they’re studying and I am
too lazy to study, but I end up studying with them.
• I think we pick up on similar behavior. For example, my best
friend always says “swag” so now I say it.
• I find myself doing things that my friend want to do even if I
would have never done it on my own.
Agents of Socialization
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The SCHOOL: Highly Structured
Deliberate socialization
EXAMPLES:
Class activities/academic
subjects
• Values education
• ***Peer groups present; family involvement
Agents of Socialization
• The MASS MEDIA: Loose
• TV, radio, magazines, internet,
newspaper, etc.
• Unconscious socialization
(debatable)
• Most influential form of mass media?
• Television (98% of homes; 7 hours/day)
Agents of Socialization
• Positive Impact of Mass Media:
• Exposure to certain elements of society that one
might not otherwise be exposed to
• Negative Impact of Mass Media:
• Exposure to violence
• Impact of “popular” culture
Are you influenced by the media?
• Yes…if I see someone famous on TV with some good looking shoes,
I want to go buy them.
• Mass media has influenced me in a way that I’m somewhat
addicted to knowing what’s going on outside my life.
• If I see an ad for a product, it may make me want to use it.
• Yes, for example, certain news programs and channels impact
how I feel on the government and government issues.
• It influences the clothes I wear, type of music I listen to, type of
language I use. It also shapes what I value in the world…famous
people, clothes, money.
• Yes, it affects my dress and what I think is “cool.”
• Yes, it has made me more aware of appearances and what
“right” and “wrong” actions are.
• I think TV and media make living an adult life as a teenager
more normal.
Agents of Socialization
• Secondary Agents of
Socialization:
• Clubs & Organizations
(Boys Scouts, etc.)
• Religious Affiliation
• Government
• Ethnic Group
• Work
Agents of Socialization
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Total Institutions:
Isolates members from the rest of society
EXAMPLES:
Prisons, psychiatric hospitals, monasteries
Generally, the primary goal of total institutions is
to RESOCIALIZE, or the break with past
experiences & learn new values
Part 5: Socialization
& the Life Course
Stage 1: Childhood
• Childhood:
• First 12 years of life
• Characterized by a certain
level of freedom from
responsibilities
• Must acquire key life lessons
Stage 2: Adolescence
• Definition:
• The period between the normal onset of
puberty and the beginning of adulthood
• Puberty:
• The physical maturing that makes an
individual capable of sexual reproduction
• In the U.S., generally considered ages 12 to
19…now 25?
Stage 2: Adolescence
• Adolescence is NOT universal
• In many preindustrial societies, young people
go directly from childhood to adulthood
• In the U.S. 3 factors create this distinct life
stage
– Education (mandatory until age 16)
– Child Labor Laws
– Juvenile Justice System
Stage 2: Adolescence
• Characteristics of
Adolescence:
• Biological Growth & Development
• Changes can cause anxiety or embarrassment,
especially if individual is physically way ahead or
behind peers
• Undefined Status
• Some adults treat adolescents as children, others
treat them as adults
Stage 2: Adolescence
• Increased Decision Making
• Making many of their own decisions for the
first time
• Increased Pressure
• From multiple sources: parents, friends, school,
society
Stage 2: Adolescence
• Search for Self
• Determining personal
values and priorities, &
figuring out role he/she will play in society
• Anticipatory Socialization
• Learning the rights, obligations, and
expectations of a role to prepare for assuming
that role in the future
• Examples?
Stage 3: Adulthood
• Jobs, finance,
marriage,
pregnancy, health,
fitness, stress,
divorce, physical
changes, death, etc.
Stage 3: Adulthood (Men)
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Issues:
Tough Trap
Accidents
Violence
Suicide
Stage 3: Adulthood (Women)
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Issues:
Beauty Trap
Eating Disorders
Depression
Double Standards
Stage 3: Adulthood
Later Years
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Issues:
Young-Old (ages 65-74)
adjustment to retirement
Middle-Old (ages75-84) & Old-Old (ages 85+)
adjustment to physical and mental functioning,
adjustment to dependency and impending
death