THEORIES of SOCIALIZATION

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THEORIES of SOCIALIZATION

• MSAN Sociology Seminar
• Unit 3

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Functionalism

• Consensus Theory
• Derived from Durkheim, Parsons Merton
• Stresses how socialization contributes to a
  stable society.
• Based on premise that all aspects of society
  institutions, roles, norms all serve a purpose
  and that all are indispensible for the long term
  survival

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Conflict Theory

• Power Conflict Theory
• Derived from Karl Marx Max Webber
• Views Socialization as a way for the powerful to
  preserve the status quo.
• Conflict is ongoing, persistent and a fundamental
  part of our society.

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Symbolic Interactionism

• Interaction Interpretation Theory
• Derived from Blumer, Mead, Goffman
• Holds that socialization is a major determinant
  of human nature.
• Human behavior is determined not only by the
  objective facts of a situation but also by how
  people define that situation that is, by the
  meaning they attribute to it.

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Eriksons 8 Stages of Development

• Erik Erikson a psychoanalyst who believed that
  human development was determined by the
  interaction of the body (genetic) AND cultural
  influences.
• Theory describes the physical, emotional and
  psychological stages of development and relates
  specific issues, or developmental work/tasks, to
  each stage.

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Cycle of Socialization

• Developed by Bobbie Harro.
• The socialization process if PERVASIVE (coming
  from all sides and sources), CONSISTENT
  (patterned and predictable), CIRCULAR
  (self-supporting), SELF-PERPETUATING
  (intra-dependent) and often INVISABLE
  (unconscious and unnamed).

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Cycle of Socialization
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Cycle of Liberation

• Cycle of Socialization teaches us how to play
  our roles of oppression, and how to revere the
  existing systems that shape our thinking.
• Cycle of Liberation describes a cyclical process
  that seems to occur in most successful social
  change efforts, leading to some degree of
  liberation from oppression for those involved.

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Cycle of Liberation