Socio green
Socialization
Handout
Michael Cavallaro
Version #2
Socio green website:
http://cannamike.wikispaces.com/SociogreenPBC
The Grammar of the word Socialization
Socialization=noun (process, idea, thing)
To Socialize=verb (action)
Socialized=verb or adjective
Socializing=present continuous or adjective
The Grammar of the word Sociology
Sociology=noun (thing, subject)
Sociological=adjective
Sociologically=adverb
Socialization
Socialization teaches people to be members of society through
human interaction (Henslin, p63.)
In other words, society makes us human. (Henslin, p63.)
And society is able to socialize us with the very unique human language, which was
talked about in the beginning of the class.
What does it mean to be human, sociologically?
Genie was an example of what happens when you are not socialized (adj.). However,
most people are socialized (adj.) as humans.
Socialization in to the Self and Mind
Cooley and the Looking –Class Self
Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)
His theory* talked about humanness is created by, or rather the self, by our sense of selfdevelops from interaction with other people. This is called the looking-glass self.
Theory*= A possible explanation for something you want to understand
There are three parts to this theory*:
1) We imagine how we appear to those around us. For example, people may think we are
dumb or smart.
2) We interpret (try to understand) others’ reactions. We come to assumptions*
(when you think you know something, but it is not for sure) about whether of like
people like us.
3) We develop*(to build, to make) a self-concept.
Your self-concept could be completely wrong, and it starts at birth and ends when you
die.
Learning Personality, Morality* (what you think is
right and wrong), and Emotions
Freud and the Development of the Personality
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
After looking at the self and the mind in the beginning process of socialization*(noun),
now we look at the development of the personality.
Freud believed there were three parts to the personality.
1) id= each child is born with it, the self-gratification*(do things that make you happy
for yourself) drive. In newborns, demands of the immediate fulfillment of basic needs:
food, safety, attention, sex, etc,
2) ego= the needs of parents clash*(to fight with) with innate desires of child, hence ego,
is the balancing system between the demands of society and the id; the ego
suppresses*(to push something down) the id.
3) superego= In other words, the conscious, or superego represents the inner culture
within us, and values we have learned from other social groups. Since the superego
possesses*(to have) the morality component*(a part of something), this is where guilt
comes when not following social rules.
The Agents*(a person or thing that does something) of
Socialization
Agents of socialization mean people and groups that influence our
orientations to life-----our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and
behavior. In other words, they help us become humans and members of
a society.
1) Family: The first socializing*(adj.) group, for example, middle class and
working class families teach their children very different things. Researchers found that
working class people were mainly worried about keeping their children out of trouble,
while the middle class families try to teach their kids, curiosity, self-expression, and selfcontrol. (Kohn et al. 1986).
Why would these classes of people teach their children so differently? According to
Kohn (1986), since blue-collar workers expect their children to have lives like theirs, they
stress obedience. However, middle-class parents take more initiative, expecting their
children to work at similar jobs, so middle class parents teach their children values of the
middleclass workforce.
2) The
Neighborhood:
Children in poor neighborhoods are more likely to get
in trouble with the law, to become pregnant, to drop out of school, and even to have
worse mental health issues in their life life. (Yonas et al. 2006)
More affluent*(rich) neighborhoods have fewer families in transition, so the adults are
more likely to know the local children and their parents. This better equips them to help
keep the children safe and out of trouble. (Sampson et al. 1999).
3) Religion: Two thirds of Americans belong to a church or some place of worship.
Religion provides a basis of morality for both believers and non-believers. Religion
teaches the individual appropriate clothing, good speech, and appropriate manners or
formal occasions. Life in congregations also provides a sense of identity, and a feeling of
belonging. It also helps immigrants in a new society. There is also a possibility for
upward mobility for the poor
4) Day
Care: Research by Adler (1998) as been done that showed kindergarten
children who spent more time in day care have weaker bonds with their mothers and are
less affectionate to them. These kids are more likely to be mean, pick fights, and be less
cooperative. They are also more likely to talk back to the teacher and cause trouble in the
class. But these very students scored higher on language tests. Are we producing
‘smart but mean’ students?
4) The
School and Peer Groups*(people who are around
your age, doing the same things you are): Upon entering school,
children separate by sex and develop their own worlds with unique norms. The norms
that make boys popular are athletic ability, coolness, and toughness. The norms for girls
are popularity based on family background, clothing and the use of makeup, and the
ability to attract boys. In this children’s subculture, academic achievement is deemed
good for girls, but if boys get good grades, they are lowered in popularity. These peer
pressures that are exerted on school are very powerful: conformity or rejection. If you
don’t follow the norms, you quickly become an outcast.
The peer group’s influence is so powerful that whatever the group gets into, be it country
music, to shooting heroine, a chance exists that all group members will partake.
5) The
Workplace:
You have probably had many jobs before, each of these
teaching you skills that accumulate into your skill sets.
Anticipatory socialization is learning to play are role before entering it in the workplace.
For example, an internship is a good example. When you find a career, and the more you
work at it, you will see a tendency for people to qualify who they are by what they do, for
example, a teacher, a nurse, or a sociologist.
Resocialization*(socialization again)
Do a woman who just became a nun and a man who just got divorced have anything in
common?
Yes, they are going through resocialization, which means the learning of new norms,
values and attitudes, and behaviors that must match their new situation in life.
AA, psychotherapy, and joining a cult, are all good examples that are intense
resocialization.
Total Institution
According to Goffman (1961), a total institution is a place where people are cut off from
the rest of society and are under total control of others. For example, boot camps,
prisons, concentration camps, covenants, some religious cults, and some military schools.
Here the process starts with a degradation ceremony (Garfinkel 1956). This is the process
where you are stripped away of your ‘self’ and your current identity. You are
fingerprinted, photographed, your head shaved, all your jewelry is taken, hairstyles gone,
clothing no more, and lastly you are stripped of your name, for it becomes a 10 digit
number on the back of your back.
In these institutions, the culture outside no longer applies, and one must relearn
everything.