Chapter 3 Socialization Society Makes Us Human Feral

Chapter 3 Socialization

Society Makes Us Human • • Feral Children Isolated Children (Read Genie Handout) Institutionalized Children Deprived Animals © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Society Makes Us Human Babies do not develop “naturally” into social adults; although their bodies grow, human interaction is required for them to acquire the traits we consider normal for human beings. The process by which we learn the ways of our society, through interaction with others, is called socialization. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Society Makes Us Human Social environment: the entire human environment, including direct contact with others. Self: the unique human capacity of being able to see ourselves “from the outside”; the views we internalize of how others see us. Personality: Stable patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. Core of self. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization into the Self and Mind • Cooley (1864 -1929) and the Looking Glass Self – Imagine how we look to others. – Interpret (evaluate) others reactions. – Develop a self concept. A favorable reflection in the “social mirror” leads to a positive self-concept, while a negative reflection leads to a negative self-concept. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization into the Self and Mind • Mead (1863 -1931): Role-taking – Imitation: Children mimic others. – Play: Take on roles of others (starts at three). – Team games: Children learn the role of each team member. Play is critical to the development of a self. In play, we learn to take the role of others—to understand anticipate how others feel and think. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization into the Self and Mind Generalized other: The norms, values, attitudes, and expectations of people “in general”; the child’s ability to take the role of the generalized other is a significant step in the development of a self. Significant other: An individual who significantly influences someone else’s life. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization into the Self and Mind “I”: Subjective, active, spontaneous, creative part of the social self (for instance, “I shoved him”). “Me”: Objective part—attitudes internalized from interactions with others (for instance, “He shoved me”). Both self and mind social products. Cannot think without symbols. Language provides us with these symbols (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization into Gender • Gender: The behaviors and attitudes that a society considers proper for its males and females; masculinity or femininity. • Gender Socialization: The ways in which society sets children onto different paths in life because they are male or female. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agents of Socialization Agents of socialization: Individuals or groups that affect our self-concept, attitudes, behaviors, or other orientations toward life. They provide structured environments in which socialization occurs. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agents of Socialization • The Family – Social Class and Type of Work • • • The Neighborhood Religion Day Care The School and Peer Groups The Workplace © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agents of Socialization Primary Socialization: Occurs during childhood when a child learns the attitudes, values and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Anticipatory Socialization: Learning to play a role before entering it. Resocialization: Learning new values, norms, attitudes, and behaviors to match new situations. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agents of Socialization Total Institutions: A place where people are cut off from the rest of society and come under the control of officials who are in charge. Degradation Ceremony: An attempt to remake the self by stripping away an individual’s current identity and stamping a new one in its place. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization Through Life course: The stages of our life as we go from birth to death, where we learn the various roles that enable us to meaningfully participate in social groups. The stages follow a biological sequence; but the content is socially understood. Early Adulthood Adolescence Transitional stage Birth 18 -29 Middle-Age 30 -65/67 Death Childhood Sheltered period Age 65/67 and Beyond Disengage from more active social roles Above sequence is life course as typically found in industrial societies and post-industrial societies. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization Through Life • Childhood - Birth to 12 yrs • Adolescence - 13 to 17 yrs • Transitional Adulthood - 18 to 29 yrs (Early adulthood on handout) • The Middle Years - 30 to 65/67 yrs (Middle-age on handout) – Early Middle Years - 30 to 49 yrs – Later Middle Years - 50 to 65/67 yrs © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Socialization Through Life • The Older Years (about age 65/67 on) – The Transitional Older Years – The Later Older Years • Sociological Significance of Life Course – Does Not Merely Represent Biology – Social Factors Influence Life Course – Social Location Very Significant © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Are We Prisoners of Socialization? • Sociologists Do Not Think So – We have a self • Individual behavior is hard to predict • Individuals Are Actively Involved in the Construction of the Self © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.