Socialization
Reflection
 What does it mean to be human?
 It is society that makes people ‘Human’???
 How would be human if they isolated from society at early
age?
 What is the source of our “humanness”?
 Are we born with these human characteristics
 Or, do we develop them through our interactions with others?
Socialization
 The lifelong process of social interaction
through which individuals acquire a self-identity
and the physical, mental, and social skills
needed for survival in society. It is the basis for
identity or how one defines themselves.
 Why is socialization
lifelong?
 Lifelong Learning
 Change in Status –
new rules, roles,
relationships
Anticipatory Socialization
 Process by which knowledge and skills are
learned for future roles.
 Rites of passage
Theorist and Philosophers
 1. Cooley
a. coined the term “looking-glass self”
 2. Mead
b. coined the term “generalized other”
 3. Piaget
 4. Freud
 5. Kohn
c. studied development of the ability to
reason
d. id, ego, and superego
e. studied social class differences in
child rearing
Concepts and Meanings
 1. Looking-glass self
 2. Significant other
 3. Gender
socialization
 4. Peer group
 5. Resocialization
a. developed by Charles Cooley
b. an individual who significantly
affects a person’s life
c. learning to be “male” or
“female”
d. groups of individuals
approximately the same age
e. process of learning new norms
Hypothesize
 If we are socialized by external forces (nurture), are there
any aspects of our social selves that might be in-born
(nature).
 Is our need for human affection a product of nature or
nurture?
 What can the monkeys tell us?
What does the “looking glass” tell us about ourselves?
Agents Of Socialization
Guiding Question: How do we
know what the social expectations of
society are and how do they affect us?
In life one person can take on many roles.
Within these roles are expected behaviors.
When you came into school today, you
took on the role of a student. What
expectations are involved with being a
student? If you are able to identify
expectations, how did you come to know
what those expected behaviors are?
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
o FAMILY
o MEDIA
o PEERS
o RELIGION
o SPORTS
o SCHOOL
 HOW DO YOU THINK
EACH AGENT HAS
INFLUENCED YOUR
OWN
SOCIALIZATION OR
UNDERSTANDING OF
SOCIAL
EXPECTATIONS?
Respond the followings:
Is the socialization experience
the same for everyone?
What can make it different?
GENDER ROLES
 What are women supposed to be like? How
are they supposed to act, look, dress, etc?
What types of jobs are they supposed to have?
 What are men supposed to be like? How are
they supposed to act, look, dress, etc? What
types of jobs are they supposed to have?
Timeline of Life
 What are the major changes that take place at
each stage?
Infancy and Childhood
Adolescence
Adulthood
Old Age
Death and Dying
Infancy and Childhood
 Sense of self
 Micro-level
 Families – provide warmth, trust,
security (Trust v. Mistrust – Erik
Erikson)
 Abuse – low self-esteem, isolation,
mistrust, powerlessness
 Macro-level
 Public Institutions – policies and
practices to promote positive
childrearing
Discussion
What is the most difficult aspect of
being a teenager?
Adolescence
 Buffer between childhood and
adulthood
 Formal Operational Stage
(Piaget)
 Often characterized by emotional
and social unrest
 Teens develop their own identity
(conflict with adults) (Identity v.
Role Confusion - Erikson)
 SES impact on this period
(shortened or lengthened)
 Freedom of Choice
Adulthood
 Young Adulthood
 Financial self-support (Job)
 Goals of creating meaningful relationships,
seeking personal fulfillment (Intimacy v.
Isolation)
 Workplace socialization
 Middle Adulthood
 Compare accomplishments with earlier
expectations
 Reach goals or recognize limits
Old Age
 Integrity v. Despair (Erikson)
 May experience social devaluation
 A person or group is considered to have less social value than
other persons or groups
Death and Dying
 Experience decreased physical ability, lower prestige,
prospect of death
 Come to terms with one’s own mortality
Example – What is Masculinity?
 How have the men in this video been
socialized to be “masculine”? Were they
born that way or did they learn to act
the way they do?