144lect13: Family, Children, Population

1
Socialization
. continuing process whereby individual acquires identity and learns norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate social position.
2
Parents and Children

• Parents and children impact each other.

MONEY. Raising children is expensive by 18th
birthday in 1993 middle-income two-parent family
spent average of 132,660. It costs 10,000 to
raise a child to its first birthday today!!
3
Discipline?

• Root word from Latin disciplina, disciple--a
  follower, learner.

4
Socialization Theories

• Learning/Behaviorist Theories
• Learning occurs through system of rewards and
  punishments or associations
• Impact of punishment, especially corporal
  punishment---aka spanking
• At what age? With what? Where? For what?

Spanking -traditional form of corporal
punishment, in particular of children but also,
in past, wives. Spanking (not beating), today's
definition, striking the buttocks repeatedly,
with either open hand or various implements
including belt, switch, hairbrush or paddle.
5

• Psychoanalytic Theory--Freud
• Basic human drive is sexual and destructive
• Purpose of socialization is to divert the
  dangerous impulses into socially acceptable
  forms
• Proper negotiation of stages of development is
  crucial in first 6 years

6

• Child development theories
• E.Erikson and Jean Piaget
• Children and adults go through universal
  developmental processes
• Human nature neither inherently good nor bad, but
  unfolding

7
Symbolic Interactionist View of Socialization
(Mead)

• Because of symbolic capacity, humans are
  different from other animals
• Humans acquire and construct meanings.
• Humans learn roles and modeling
• Humans are intentional actors my action involves
  imagining others reactions to my potential
  actions, and adjusting accordingly.
• First significant others then generalized others.

8

• Humans develop not only actions and behaviors,
  but also self concepts.
• Charles Horton Cooleys Looking Glass Self
• We see ourselves as we think other people see
  us.
• Thus, others perceptions of us can become a
  self-fulfilling prophecy,
• Pygmalion Effect.

Pygmalion (mythology), the name of a sculptor who
created an ivory statue, Galatea, and fell in
love with it.
9
Parenting Outcomes

• Children of divorced or never-married parents
  generally
• have higher rates of delinquency, drug use, and
  school behavioral problems
• become sexually active earlier
• leave home earlier
• have lower success in school
• are more likely to go through divorces themselves.

10
Why these outcomes?

• Parental conflict (not only divorce)
• In some cases divorce reduces conflict.
• Drop in income
• Dramatic life change--family, friends,
  neighborhood.
• Lack of stable adult supervision and
  role models.

11
Summary
Children raised in families with

• Children raised in families with low levels of
  adult conflict, long-term attachment, and parents
  that provide monitoring and support, have higher
  levels of physical, psychological and social
  well-being.
• Intact marriage of biological parents is most
  likely way to provide the above.