Are you a product of your cultural
environment?
• 1. What does the term Dalai Lama refer to?
• 2. If someone gave you some Lapsang souchong
what would you do with it?
• 3. What is Lhasa?
• 4. What country is yak butter an important part
of?
• 5. The English translation of the word
Chomolungma is “Goddess Mother of the
World”. What do you think Chomolungma is?
Are you a product of your cultural
environment?
• 1. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the people
of Tibet, a region in the southwest of China
• 2. Labsang souchong is a type of tea, a favorite
beverage of the people of Tibet, so you would drink it!
• 3. Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet
• 4. Tibet is mountainous, the climate is severe. The yak
is one of the few animals that can survive in this harsh
setting, they rely on the yak for food, clothing, and
shelter. Yak butter is a major part of the Tibetan
culture.
• 5. Chomolungma is a mountain - Tibetan name for
Mount Everest
Are you a product of your cultural
environment?
• Why did we do so poorly on this quiz?
• You cultural environment influences what you experience and learn.
• Focused on culture in Tibet, in order to know the correct answers you would need to
know about life in Tibet. If you grew up in Tibet the answers would be obvious.
• Do people solely involved in the Tibetan culture know who our first president was?
• Partner work:
• Writing Response 1 Create a 10 question quiz for American
culture. What would be familiar to most Americans but perhaps
no to many people in other parts of the world?
• Let’s look at how these cultural values are instilled in the
individual.
• In other words what factors in society teach us to function
in a group – that enable us to socialize (or sometimes
prevent us from socializing?
AGENTS OF
SOCIALIZATION
Family
School
Peers
Mass Media
There is no human nature—
humans are responsible for how
they create themselves. --Sarte
Human nature is an extension of
animal evolution.. --Darwin
Labor defines
human nature.
Human Nature?
--Marx
Human nature is
corrupted by
society—we are
the noble savage.
--Rousseau
Sociology. the character of
human conduct, generally
regarded as produced by living
in primary groups.
-dictionary
Human nature is
aggressive—it is the
satisfaction of
unconscious drives
and instincts.
--Freud
Human nature is antisocial—
we are naturally at war with
each other—therefore, we
need the government. Every
man is enemy to every man.
--Hobbes
SOCIETY MAKES US HUMAN
• Babies do not develop
“naturally” into what we
consider adults
• Humans require interaction
to develop into adults
• Socialization is extremely
important
– From helpless infant to
independent person
SOCIALIZATION
• The process by which a society transmits its cultural
values to its members
• In other words, how a society teaches its children to be successful
members
Where are we without
socialization?
• WR # 2:
• 1. What would be the consequences to an
individual if they were completely cut off from
all social factors?
• 2. Name the differences between an animal and a
human
Isolation in Childhood
• Feral Child: ‘wild’ child – raised without the
influence of a cultural environment
– Few recorded instances
– Either found living with animals or were isolated in their
homes by family – so no one knew they existed.
Feral Children
• Feral Children
– Go over worksheet
• Sociological studies of feral children point
strongly to the conclusion that our personality
comes from our cultural environment
• Few human characteristics – other than
appearance
–
–
–
–
Acquired no reasoning ability
No manners
No ability to control their bodily functions
Lacked ability to move about like other human beings
Anna – 1930’s
– Born to a single mother
– Moved around until age of 6 months – returned to mother
– Confined to room – almost no human contact
• Not spoken to, held, bathed, or loved
– Discovered by a social worker 6 years old– could not walk,
talk, or feed herself. Expressionless face – no interest in other
people
– Over time – learned to walk, feed herself, and brush her teeth.
Could only talk in phrases. Died at age of 10
Genie - 1970
• Confined from age of 20 months to a small bedroom tied to a
potty-char.
• Beaten if made noise – when interacted with her father barked,
growled, and bared his teeth at her like an angry dog
• Toys: two plastic rain coats, empty spools of thread, empty cottage
cheese container
• Found at age 13: Could not stand straight and had social and
psychological skills of a one year old.
• Genie never past the level of a third-grade student. Some
language and conform to basic social norms.
• What do you think is the socialization factor that
plays the biggest role first in a persons life?
FAMILY
• The first exposure to the world
• Principle agent of young children
• Essential developments occur as a result of close interaction with a
small (or large) number of people.
Family Factors
1. Deliberate and unintended
Examples?
– Deliberate: telling you the importance of telling the truth
– Unintended: seeing your father be rude (despite him telling
you to be polite)
• Which one do you think has more influence?
2. Internalizing norms and beliefs
3. Capacity for intimate relationships
FAMILY
4. Acquire self image
Cooley’s Looking Glass Self:
We see ourselves in accordance with how others (i.e., our parents) see us
HARLOW’S MONKEYS
Effect of no parent – child socialization?
• Monkeys were given a
choice:
1. wire “mother” who
provided milk
2. terry-cloth covered
“mother” provided no
food
HARLOW’S MONKEYS
Who do you think the monkeys
preferred?
The terrycloth “mother”! Why?
• Did not provide food, but
provided comfort
•
Harlow's Monkeys
WHAT DOES THIS SAY?
• Shows the need we have for actual physical
contact, but also the extreme value
socialization has in our development!
• Consequences of no parent socialization:
– abnormal interactions or inability to interact with
other monkeys
PARENTS SURVEY
• What do you think are the top 3 qualities that are
the most important to parents to try to nurture in
their young children?
A. Imagination/Creativity
B. Good manners
C. Religious Faith
D. Strong work ethic
E. Independence
F. Obedience
G. Sense of responsibility
PARENTS SURVEY
Qualities Important to Instill in Children
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Good manners (B)
21%
Religious faith (C)
21%
Imagination/Creativity (A)
16%
Obedience (F)
16%
Sense of Responsibility (G)
14%
Independence (E)
9%
Strong Work Ethic (D) 2%
PARENTS SURVEY
• What do you think is the top contributor to the
erosion of good manners in children?
A. Increase in the amount of stress in parents’ lives
B. Negative influences from peers/peer pressure
C. Negative media influences
D. Negative things that children see, i.e., terrorism, wars
E. Parents do not think it’s that important
F. Parents not spending enough time with children
G. Rise in # working moms
H. Rise in # single parent households
I. Rise in # divorces
PARENTS SURVEY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Factors Contributing to Erosion of Good Manners
F. Parents not spending enough time w/kids 66%
E. Parents do not think it’s important
31%
C. Negative media influences
26%
B. Negative influences from peers
20%
D. Negative things kids see around them 13%
G. Rise in # working moms
12%
H. Rise in # single parent households
11%
Article Read – Chinese parents
• Discuss results of article
• Misconception strict and obedient oriented
parenting among Chinese parents leads to abuse
– Severe parent-to-child aggression higher for U.S.
born Chinese parents than immigrant parents
• Not concerned about self-esteem lead to eating
disorders
– Higher percentage of eating disorders for Chinese
influenced by American culture
SCHOOL
School plays a major role in socialization
between ages 5 and 18
Most socialization at school is deliberate
• Class activities are planned to teach reading, writing,
and other skills
• Extracurricular activities (dances, clubs,
sports) are intended to prepare the
student for group life
SCHOOL
Some socialization at school however, is
unintentional
Examples?
• Teachers may become role models in manners
of speech and morals
• Peer groups within the school may influence
their members’ habits
American schools
WR # 1:
1. Positive aspects of current school system?
2. Flaws of current school system?
3. How can it improve?
Get one other classmate to contribute one factor
for each question 1 – 3. Write down their thought
and have them sign it.
SCHOOL’S MAIN OBJECTIVE?
• To prepare students for the adult world—
– Does it really succeed?
• Rules for Life handout
• WR # 2
1. Do you agree these rules are important to teach
in the school system? Why or why not? Refer to
the article in your answer
2. Does BHS teach any of these? Explain
Race to nowhere
• Where are the top performing students?
• Shanghai
– WR #3: What are some of the factors different from
U.S.? contributing to their success?
• Finland
– WR #4: What are some of the factors different from
U.S.? contributing to their success?
• Stupid in America
– WR # 5: What are some of the flaws of American
schools from the documentary? Did it align with
your thoughts in WR # 1?
WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
PEER INFLUENCE
• Are you more likely to engage in an activity if
your friends are doing it?
• Are you more confident that you will get away
with something when you are with friends?
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
• Peers not only influence participation in
activities, risk-taking behavior also goes up in
groups
• Example: Nobody ever goes T.P.’ing alone!
WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
PEER INFLUENCE
• Which of these behaviors could be affected by
peer pressure if you were out with friends?
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
• Peers tend to encourage the “status quo”—
standing out is implicitly discouraged
• May not be stated outright, but rather
encouraged
WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
PEER INFLUENCE
• Are popular people more likely to be instigators
of rebellious activity?
• Are popular people more likely to drink and/or
do drugs?
Experts have found popular kids are typically the
ones who encourage good behavior and do not
break the rules.
WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
PEER INFLUENCE
Which characteristics do you think most popular
people possess?
WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
PEER INFLUENCE
• Do the values your friends promote differ
greatly from your parents’ values?
• Does the peer pressure you experience typically
encourage you to do bad things?
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
– Can have positive OR negative influence!
– Often, values of family are NOT different from
values of friends
– Peer support article
PEERS
• As an agent of socialization, it is the only agent
where there are no subordinates—meaning
peers are relatively on an equal basis
• You do not have the same inherent power
structure as you see in a family, school, or the
media
• Peers have their greatest influence during preteen and early teenage years
WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
PEER INFLUENCE
• Do you believe your peers encourage masculine
or feminine behavior?
• Do you see differences in the way girls and boys
show disapproval of their peers?
• Which gender seems to have the most damaging
methods of showing disapproval?
PEERS
• How do you think males and females are
socialized to show their disapproval?
• Is it nature?
– Female monkeys shun to show disapproval, male
monkeys show aggression
• Or are we taught this?
– Less socially acceptable for women to show outright
disapproval, male dominance is more socially
acceptable, etc.
MASS MEDIA
• Consists of television, radio, books, magazines,
websites, newspapers, etc.
• Plays a major role throughout life
• By age 20, you will have seen 1 million
commercial messages (going up?)
• You will spend an entire year of your life just
watching TV
• By age 16, the average American has seen 20,000
homicides on TV
MASS MEDIA
• What type of influence do
you think media has on the
individual?
Social Media
• Article
• Discussion Questions
• http://documentarylovers.net/killing-ussoftly-4-advertising-women/
• Skip 27:00 and 28:40
SOCIALIZATION, ACCORDING TO A
FUNCTIONALIST
• Functionalist
– Families, peers, and schools work together to
socialize children.
– Without these agents, society would be
fragmented and chaotic.
• Newer generations would not know how society
is supposed to work
• Provides feelings of comfort and love that
humans need
SOCIALIZATION, ACCORDING TO A
CONFLICT THEORIST
• Conflict Theory
– Socialization perpetuates the status quo – those who
goes against it are treated unequally
• People are socialized to accept their family’s
values and beliefs and not others
– Agents might exploit the weaker
SOCIALIZATION, ACCORDING TO A
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST
• Symbolic Interactionist
– Socialization is the major determinant of human
nature (otherwise, have feral children)
– Through socialization, children develop a sense of
self
• Recall Cooley’s Looking Glass Self
– we think of ourselves according to the ways others think of us
SOCIALIZATION, ACCORDING TO A
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST
• Mead’s Role Taking
Process
– Children go from imitating
to pretending to
internalizing the roles that
are shown to them
• Children develop a sense of
who they are in comparison to
others