Chapter 3: Socialization from Infancy to Old Age

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Chapter 3 Socialization from Infancy to Old Age

• Roderick Graham

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What is socialization?

• Socialization refers to the lifelong social
  experience by which people develop their human
  potential and learn culture.

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What is the relationship between socialization
and personality?

• It is through the constant socialization that we
  develop our personality (consistent ways of
  acting, thinking, and feeling)
• For animals, their behavior is mainly set by
  biology (nature). However most sociologists
  believe that we learn to be truly human through
  socialization (nurture).

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What are the four agents of socialization?

• Family
• The most important agent of socialization
• Teaches skills, values and beliefs
• Teaches gender roles
• Gives social identity

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What are the four agents of socialization?

• School
• Socialize people into gender roles
• Richer schools are able to more effectively teach
  the hidden curriculum

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What are the four agents of socialization?

• Peer group
• Peer groups share common interests, social
  position, and age.
• We may want to move to another peer group, and
  change our habits. This is called anticipatory
  socialization.

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What are the four agents of socialization?

• Mass media
• Deliver impersonal communication to a large
  audience
• Because of the large audiences, people are
  concerned about the messages coming from
  television

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How do we explain socialization?

• Freuds Elements of Personality
• Id Basic human drives
• Ego Conscious effort to balance basic human
  drives with the demands of society
• Superego The internalization of the demands of
  society
• Culture and society (in the superego) represses
  demands. A well adjusted adult can use his ego
  to balance his own drives and those of society
  through other mechanisms (sublimation).

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How do we explain socialization?
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How do we explain socialization?

• George Herbert Meads Theory of the Social Self
• The Self part of an individuals personality
  composed of self-awareness and self-image
• I and me two parts of the self. The I
  is how we act and see things, and the me is how
  we think others will interpret our actions.
• We have a fully developed self when we can take
  the role of the other and know our me.

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How do we explain socialization?

• George Herbert Meads Theory of the Social Self

Learning to take the role of the other
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How do we explain socialization?

• George Herbert Meads Theory of the Social Self
• Looking glass-self self-image based upon how we
  think others see us
• Significant others people who have special
  importance for socialization
• Generalized other cultural norms and values we
  use as a reference in evaluating ourselves

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How are we socialized throughout life?

• Childhood
• The idea of childhood is grounded in culture and
  not biology
• Childhood has been extended to give young people
  more time to learn the skills to progress in
  modern society

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How are we socialized throughout life?

• Adolescence
• A buffer (middle stage) between childhood and
  adulthood
• Adolescence varies by social class. Working class
  children move straight from high school to work.
  Middle class children extend adolescence into
  twenties and thirties
• The rebelliousness of adolescence is due to
  cultural inconsistency

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How are we socialized throughout life?

• Adulthood
• Our personalities are largely formed by the time
  of adulthood
• Most major accomplishments take place (family,
  career)
• Major problems as wellgrowing older, empty nest,
  realization of health problems

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How are we socialized throughout life?

• Old Age
• Begins around mid-sixties
• The value of old age varies by culture. In
  traditional and eastern cultures the elderly are
  highly valued.
• In western and modern societies the elderly are
  not as valued.

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Can we be resocialized? Total Institutions

• Total institutions are settings in which people
  are isolated from the rest of society and
  controlled by an administrative staff.
• People are resocialized in total institutions.
  Their personality and selves are changed.

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Can we be resocialized? Total Institutions

• Steps to resocialization
• Break down ones existing identity.
• All interaction is rule bound, and set by the
  administrators
• No privacy
• People loose distinctiveness (no unique hair
  styles or clothes, and serial numbers used)
• Build a new self through rewards and punishments
• The more the inmate conforms to the rules of the
  institution, the quicker he can be released

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Can we be resocialized? Total Institutions

• Examples of Total Institutions (in different
  degrees)
• Cults
• Prisons
• Boot camps
• Convents
• Orphanages
• Boarding schools
• Any more examples?

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An Example of Socialization
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• END