Chapter 5 Socialization Feral Children Feral children are

Chapter 5 Socialization

Feral Children Feral children are a poignant example of the nature vs nurture interplay in socialization. Read text pages 99 -100 about the neglected girl in Florida, Socialization- The process through which people are taught to be proficient members of a society *The most basic of human activities are learned- even things like walking, sitting, bouncing a ball, holding a spoon etc

Examples of Lack of Social Contact • Harry Harlow- Monkey experiments- attachment • Danielle- Text example • Genie- Youtube • Victor- “Wild Child”- historical example- “Forbidden Experiment” • Summary- All the examples had significant impairment in their development. Major areas were language, social, basic skills, stimulus response (pain, cold). • These deficits were often permanent- Critical Period

Theories of Self Development • Developing a sense of Self is a major process. This means having an understanding of who you are and how others see you. Freud • Believed that personal and sexual development were closely linked • If you didn’t properly engage and disengage from developmental stages you’d have problems

Freudian Stages and Associated Issues 1. Oral- Overeating or binge drinking 2. Anal- Neat freak (anal retentive) or a slob (anal expulsive) 3. Phallic- Promiscuity or immature *No solid evidence has been found to support Freud’s views but his ideas still are influential

How are Sociology and Psychology Different? Remember Durkheim’s suicide study? Psychologists look to individual causes like depression, drug use, parenting style etc to explain suicide Sociologists (Durkheim) looked at social factors like religion to explain suicide Text also uses dating- how would you explain the first kisss from the two perspectives?

Erikson’s Theory of Personal Development Erikson is Freud based but he felt that personality continue to change over time. • Social aspects are more important than sexual • The 8 Stages cover the span of your life • More Ego based than Id based • Personal experience influenced his theories

Jean Piaget • Specialized in child development • A main focus was on social interactions during development • Felt the “Self” evolved between a negotiation between the world as it exists in our mind and the world that exists as it is experienced socially. Wrap your head around that- definite formal operations thinking • To Piaget you could only have a “self” when your cognitive development (neural maturing) was developed enough • His area in psych was cognitive developmental

Sociological Theories of Self Development Charles Cooley felt: Your self understanding is “constructed”- part of your concept of self is in your perception of how others see you- “The Looking Glass Self” *A looking glass is another name for a mirror* - Poem on next slide George Herbert Mead- Felt that the “self” – your distinct identity had to be learned through social interaction- have to be able to view yourself as others see you- something that you are not born with. To Mead Danielle had no self because she had no interaction

Mead’s Path to Self 1. Preparatory Stage- Children can only imitate-can’t imagine how others see things 2. Play Stage- Children start taking on the role that one other might have- usually mom or dad- dress up 3. Game Stage- Children learn how to take on multiple roles and how they interact. They could play several of the roles in a restaurant. 4. Generalized Other- They have the common behavioral expectations of society- they can imagine how others see themtherefore they now have SELF *Can you feel the Piaget*

Kohlberg and Moral Development • Moral Development- how we learn what society considered to be “good” or “bad”-Tied to Piaget and Freud (Unchecked urges need to be controlled) • Kohlberg was most interested in how people learn to decide right from wrong-why’s are real important also Kohlberg divided his theory into • Preconventional • Conventional • Postconventional

Gilligan **Carol Gilligan felt that Kohlberg’s theory held gender bias**- 1936 • Research was only conducted with male subjects • She used both males and females and she found that girls and boys had different understandings of morality Boys- Justice perspective- Rules and Laws Girls- Care and Responsibility- consider people’s reasons Gilligan felt the reason for the difference was in socialization- rules are better for the work environment and care and responsibilit 0 y for the home She was miffed that Kohlberg consider the boys’ perspective to be superior

Making Connections • Page 103 of text The gist is that society socializes girls to be very focused on their looks. According to (Bloom 2011) 50% of girls between the ages of 3 to 6 think they are fat. This is just one facet of this socialization The Egalia preschool in Sweden is as gender neutral as possible. • Toys • Clothes • Friend instead of he or she Bloom suggest a middle ground like asking little girls about their favorite book etc- Instead of saying how cute they are

Why Socialization Matters 1. By teaching culture a society can perpetuate itself- democracy, fairness etc 2. Allows us to see ourselves through the eyes of others- we know how we are acting according to our culture 3. Allows us to fit into the world around us- dress, rituals, eating etc 4. How we learn verbal and nonverbal language. *Danielle had no language to communicate and thinktherefore no Self

Nature vs Nurture- The relationships and caring that surround us Nature- Genetics This debate is as old as time. Twin studies- especially identical twins who have been separated at birth and raised in different cultures is the best way to separate the N and N influences. Results- Genetics is very important but a sociologist also wants to evaluate the influence of nurture factors like race, gender, religion, social class etc. Both are important Two examples next slide

• The first pair Bouchard met, James Arthur Springer and James Edward Lewis, had just been reunited at age 39 after being given up by their mother and separately adopted as 1 -month-olds. Springer and Lewis, both Ohioans, found they had each married and divorced a woman named Linda and remarried a Betty. They shared interests in mechanical drawing and carpentry; their favorite school subject had been math, their least favorite, spelling. They smoked and drank the same amount and got headaches at the same time of day. • Equally astounding was another set of twins, Oskar Stohr and Jack Yufe. At first, they appeared to be a textbook case of the primacy of culture in forming individuals -- just the opposite of the Lewis-Springer pair. Separated from his twin six months after their birth in Trinidad, Oskar was brought up Catholic in Germany and joined the Hitler Youth. Jack stayed behind in the Caribbean, was raised a Jew and lived for a time in Israel. Yet despite the stark contrast of their lives, when the twins were reunited in their fifth decade they had similar speech and thought patterns, similar gaits, a taste for spicy foods and common peculiarities such as flushing the toilet before they used it.

Chris Langan-Page 105 195 IQ- one of the highest ever recorded Spent his life doing manual labor Doesn’t possess the social skills that are learned Lower income upbringing- natural growth and lots of independence Upper income- actively engaged a child’s talents, interests, opinions More exposure to enriching activities, go to bat for their kids More unquestioned acquiescence to authorities First year in college- straight A’s- flunked out because he couldn’t get his schedule changed to get to school • Final analysis- almost nobody can make it alone • •

Three Paradigm’s View of Socialization Structural Functionalists- Essential to society because it trains members to operate successfully and perpetuate society Conflict Theorist- Perpetuates (reproduces) inequality by conveying different norms to different groups of people- gender/social class etc Interactionist- Face to face exchanges and symbolic communications are important-little girl in pink that sends different gender expectations

Agents of Socialization Social Group Agents Families and peers communicate expectations and reinforce norms Families: • 1 st Agent that includes all the relatives around the child. • How to use objects and relate to others, whose a friend and who is a foe, how the world works • Not in a vacuum- time and place, socioeconomics, religion, race, gender- In Sweden it is fine for a dad to raise an infant (480 days) Peer Group: People of similar age, social status who share interests • Begins in early age and peaks in adolescence • Very important for friendship • Influences decision-making Who has the most influence of kids- peers or families? Discuss

Agents of Socialization Institutional Agents • School- 12+ years of 7 hours a day for 180 days. Schools have a major socializing effect. Manifest Functions like math, science and reading and Latent Functions like teamwork and using textbooks. Schools also have a Hidden Curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools- the societal expectations of children like competition- Why do we spend so much time on US History? Say the Pledge of Allegiance every day? • Latent Functions and Hidden Curriculum can be the same thingsometimes the only distinction is intentionality. • Hint- Which would you consider “dealing with bureaucracy”?

Institutional Agents Continued Get the joke? *Textbooks are incredibly influential and controversial- Page 108 for example. Other examples like German, US Southern etc. * Other Areas Where Socialization Occurs The Workplace- Material and nonmaterial culture- changes with each job Religion- Interact with material culture, ceremonies, gender roles, rites of passage Government- Establishes 18 and 65 as important, Selective Service, medicare etc Mass Media- Learn about objects of material culture and beliefs values and norms *The depiction of girls in cartoons is a topic of debate- brainstorm helpless girls and self-sufficient heroines

Socialization Across the Life Course ***Socialization is a life time process-think how many societal norms, values and beliefs have changed in just your lifetime. In the US socialization is greatly influenced by age norms and timerelated rules and regulations- IE- school age, 18 and 21, retirement, child labor laws, dating in 6 th grade as compared to 11 th. Other societies have very different views of US age norms. Education is a great example of the cultural relativity within and outside the US. In the US most middle and upper class families expect their children to go to a 4 -year university, many expect their children to go directly to work. Look around you- expectation is often reality

Gap Years *It is easy to argue that industrialization created adolescence • Graduating from high school in developed countries is generally considered a rite of passage • The US often encourages its graduates to get right into college or a career • Many countries have a 1 to 3 year military conscription or public service requirements • Other countries have a “Gap Year” where the students explore or experience different things in life before committing to work or school.

Millennials Road to Adulthood Millennials is a term to describe those born in the early 80’s to early 90’s Their lives have been much different than many previous generations: • Graduated from high school or college in horrible economic times • Unable to find work, many moved back home • Many had huge college debt they couldn’t repay • Finding work, marrying, buying a home much later than in the past • Working as internships, volunteers or other tough low paying jobs What do you think will be the long-term impact on this generation and America?

Socializations 1. Anticipatory Socialization- Getting ready for a new stage in life. Ex’s - Marriage, career, baby, retirement, military- Others? 2. Resocialization- When old behaviors are removed for a new environment. Ex’s- nursing home, military, jail, boarding school • Part of this is often a total institution- where you are isolated from society and forced to follow someone else’s rules. • Often times this is a two-part process. A. Degradation Ceremony- you lose your old identity and are given a new one. Ex’s- prison #, rank, sometimes gentle, other times gentle B. Rebuilding- Given a new identity that matches the new society How does this happen in the military? Other situations?