Chapter 5
Socialization
In Conflict and Order:
Understanding Society, 11th edition
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:
any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;
preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images;
any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
The Personality as
a Social Product
• We are all the product of nature and
nurture.
• We develop our sense of self (our
personality) in interaction with other
people.
• Newly born infants have no sense of selfawareness.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Charles H. Cooley
• Cooley believed that children’s
conceptions of themselves arise through
interaction with other people.
• He used the metaphor of a looking glass
self.
• Through interaction children define
themselves according to how they
interpret how people think of them.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
George Herbert Mead
• Mead’s theory of self-development involves
several stages.
– In the play stage children pretend to be a variety of
adult roles (taking the role of the other).
• In the game stage children play at games with
rigid rules.
– They begin to understand the structure of the entire
game with the expectations for everyone involved.
– This understanding of the entire situation is called “the
generalized other”.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Sigmund Freud
• According to Freud’s theory, socialization
is the process by which society controls
the id (the biological needs for pleasure).
– Through this process, children develop egos
(the control of the id by finding appropriate
ways to satisfy biological urges).
– A superego also emerges, which is the
internalization of the morals of the parents,
further channeling behavior in socially
acceptable ways.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Albert Bandura
• According to Bandura’s social cognitive
theory, children observe the behavior of
others and the feedback (positive and/or
negative) for such behavior.
– This then serves as a guide for their actions
as they model after others.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Society’s Socialization Agents
• Personality of the child is, to a large
degree, socially created and sustained.
• Through the process of socialization, the
child internalizes the norms and values of
a society.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Society’s Socialization Agents
The Family
The Media
The Schools
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
The Media
Ten multinational corporations
control television, radio, movies,
books, magazines, and the internet
in the U.S.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
The Media
• The concentration of the media in the
hands of the few results in:
– As ideological monopoly that supports the
status quo
– An emphasis on entertainment over news
– An emphasis on profit making over
information gathering
– News of local interest being sacrificed for
what media moguls consider of interest to the
widest national audience
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Similarities and Differences Among
Members of Society
• Because the socialization agents of
society present a relatively consistent
picture, the members of a society tend to
be alike in fundamental ways (modal
personality type).
• The smaller and more homogenous the
society, the more alike the members of
that society will be.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Similarities and Differences
Among Members of Society
• Even though individuals within societies
are socialized and generally comply with
the demands of their society, every society
has its deviants.
• Despite the tendency for the members to
be alike, people, especially in large,
heterogeneous societies, are not all
similar.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Similarities and Differences Among
Members of Society
• The sources of deviation are the
differences found in:
– Family
– Schools
– Religion
– Social Location
– Generation Cohort
– Contradictory Influences and Role Conflicts
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Contradictory Influences
and Role Conflicts
• Order theorists view socialization as
necessary to promote solidarity and the
development of law-abiding citizens.
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007
Contradictory Influences
and Role Conflicts
• Conflict theorists view the process as one
in which people are led to accept the
customs, laws, and values of society
uncritically.
– This process is so powerful that
disadvantaged people may accept the system
that disadvantages them (false
consciousness).
Copyright © Allyn and Bacon 2007