HSB4UI – Challenge and
Change in Society
Unit III – Social Theory
Agents of Socialization
Socialization - Review
• From Unit I:
• What is Socialization?
• Learning values, norms, customs and culture of a
society
• Primary vs. Secondary Socialization
• Primary = Family
• Basic behaviors needed to interact with other
humans
• Secondary = Everything Else
• Specific behaviors needed to interact amongst
humans in specific group settings / situations (IE
School, Church, Work etc.
Agents of Socialization
• Human societies need to replace members who can
function within and integrate successfully into those
societies
• Culture: defined as all the information that is passed
onto new humans from their parents
• Information = Customs, language, gesturing, norms,
values, etc.
• Since culture is not genetically transmitted, these new
members must be taught how to live and act within
their society
Agents of Socialization
• This process is known generically as “socialization”
• Ongoing process that begins at birth and carries on
till death
• Agent of Socialization – General Points:
• People, groups and organizations that influence the
process of integrating into the society in which we
live
• Influences our sense of self-concept, emotions and
attitudes
• Teaches morals, values, norms which are important
to a society
• Organization that is recognized and exists to prepare
people for the role they will play in society
• Agent of Socialization – General Points:
• Lastly, exist to keep people in a state of conformity:
• They are controlled and help control other new
members of society
THE FAMILY
• First human group that affects an individual is usually
their family
• Unlike animals, humans cannot survive on their own
after they are born
THE FAMILY
• Family gives humans a basic sense of self, values,
beliefs, and directs motivations
• This also includes how much value we place on
ourselves / sense of self concept
THE FAMILY
• Family is where humans first learn to compare
themselves to other humans
• “adjective comparisons”
• Smarter, Stronger, Better Looking etc.
• We also learn our first Dominance Hierarchy in the
family:
• Parents, Older Siblings etc.
• Children begin to understand that the family is a
“structure” and try to figure where they fit in
• Generally the most powerful Agent of Socialization in
peoples’ lives is their family
RELIGION
• Religion has traditionally been an important element of
socialization in societies
• Typically influences peoples’ ideas of right and wrong
(morals and ethics)
• Reinforces values such as conformity, tradition, and
adherence to ceremony
• Also shapes peoples’ belief about the “afterlife”
• This frequently serves as a way to further keep
people in a state of conformity
SCHOOL AND EDUCATION
• Schools have two purposes in society:
• MANIFEST FUNCTION
• The stated, intended purpose of an action
• On the surface, schools serve to educate people
• Teach technical skills such as literacy, math, critical
thinking and knowledge
SCHOOL AND EDUCATION
BUT
Schools have a second, more sinister purpose…
SCHOOL AND EDUCATION
• LATENT FUNCTION:
• The secondary, hidden or often unintended
consequences of an action
• Schools exist for other purposes other than education
• Children are supervised by adults (teachers)
• Teachers are a “bridge” between parents and
other adults in society
• Teachers do not love children unconditionally
like their parents do
• However, they are not impersonable employers
either
SCHOOL AND EDUCATION
• Universality:
• The same rules that apply in the home apply at
school
• Apply to everyone regardless of who they or their
parents are (Rule of Law)
• Evaluative:
• Children begin to recognize that their behavior is
being evaluated and written into permanent records
SCHOOL AND EDUCATION
• THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM
• Refers to the values and norms that society considers
important that get taught in schools
• IE Blending of questions in different subjects
relating to:
• Tolerance
• Fairness
• Democracy
• Honesty
• Equality
• Capitalism
PEER GROUP
- When children enter school for the first time they are
introduced to peers their own age
- PEER GROUP:
- Individuals of roughly the same age who are linked
by a common interest
- IE Friends, Clubs, Gangs, Teams, Co-Workers etc.
- Peer Group frequently overthrows the family as the
primary agent of socialization
- Reinforces children’s conception of GENDER
SOCIALIZATION
- Expectations of our gender roles are highly defined
by the peer group
PEER GROUP
- What are considered to be “good” traits for boys?
- Athletics, Competition, “Coolness,” Agressiveness,
Lack of Emotions
- Girls?
- Maturity, Clothing and Appearance, “Sexiness,”
“Drama,” Academics (?)
PEER GROUP
- Peer groups are the most compelling agent of Soc.
- Conform or be rejected
- Most peer groups are not compulsory
- Desire to fit in
- Provide opportunities / excuses for other activities:
- “Going to the mall” “parties” etc.
- Peer groups set standards for music, clothing, attitudes
and lifestyle choices
THE WORKPLACE
- Comes into play later in life
- Range = Part-Time jobs to Lifelong Careers
- Consider: What skills have you learned from your
current jobs?
- Career Socialization involves four stages:
- Career Choice: Selection of career based on many
needs and desires of the individual
- Anticipatory Socialization: Preparing to take on the
role you will play for that career (school, volunteer
etc.)
THE WORKPLACE
- Conditioning and Commitment: Learning the positives
and the negatives of a career but accepting them as part
of the job (stay or run)
- Continuing Commitment: People tend to stick with a
career in spite of the alternatives that might arise
- Master Role
- Term meaning a role that a person considers
themselves before all others
- As people get further in a career, that job becomes
their master role:
- Teacher, Doctor Lawyer
THE WORKPLACE
- Note that some roles carry certain norms and
expectations with them:
- Police and speeding, illegal downloading etc.
THE MEDIA
- The media is the newest Agent of
Socialization in most societies
- Traditionally television has been the
principal medium used by the media to
socialize people
- Media can create perceptions of society
which frequently are not accurate:
THE MEDIA
THE MEDIA
- Strongly reinforces gender socialization:
- What we believe to be male or female
comes from media stereotypes
- What does the media tell us about our
gender roles?
THE MEDIA
John Bobbit
Lorena Bobbitt
THE MEDIA – Representations in Video
Games / Electronic Media
THE MEDIA – Representations:
THE MEDIA - Representations
THE MEDIA - Representations
THE MEDIA - Representations
THE MEDIA - Representations
(Image in 1993)
(Image in 2013)
THE MEDIA
Female representation in video games
THE MEDIA
- Violence in the Media:
- Major influence on our perception of violence:
- Does exposure cause the behavior?
- Desensitization
THE MEDIA
- Consider: Entertainment becoming based on increasing
levels of “shades of grey”
- Questionable morals, ethics and characters the new
norm for modern television
THE MEDIA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI3hecGO_04