The%20Individual%20in%20Society:%20Socialization

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The Individual in Society Socialization

• The lifelong social experience by which
  individuals develop their human potential and
  learn culture

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What 4 main factors affect the development of
personality?
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• Heredityphysical traits, aptitudes, inherited
  characteristics, biological drives, limits
• Parentsparental characteristics, such as age,
  education, religion, and economic status
• Birth orderpersonalities are shaped by siblings
  and the order in which we are born
• Cultural environmentdetermines the basic
  personality types found in a society

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Heredity inherited characteristics, biological
drives, limits
Birth order Number of siblings and order of
birth
Factors that Shape Individual Personality
Development
Cultural environment basic personality types
found in a society
Parents parental characteristics
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Which is more important in forming who you are?

• Genetics or Environment?

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Personality Development Nature v. Nurture

• Personality, or a persons fairly consistent
  patterns of acting, thinking and feeling, is
  shaped by both biology (nature) and social
  experience (nurture)
• Nature
• Instincts inherited behavior patterns (ex. the
  maternal instinct)
• Examples of instincts?

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Personality Development Nature v. Nurture

• Personality, or a persons fairly consistent
  patterns of acting, thinking and feeling, is
  shaped by both biology (nature) and social
  experience (nurture)
• Nature
• Instincts inherited behavior patterns
• Examples of instincts?
• Nurture
• To raise, bring up, train or educate
• American psychologist John B. Watson believed
  that all behavior could be learned (nurture)
  ex. Little Albert experiments

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John B. Watson

• Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed,
  and my own specified world to bring them up in
  and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and
  train him to become any type of specialist I
  might select doctor, lawyer, artist,
  merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and
  thief, regardless of his talents, penchants,
  tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his
  ancestors.
• I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but
  so have(proof that) they have been doing it for
  many thousands of years. (1930)

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Personality Development Nature v. Nurture

• Personality, or a persons fairly consistent
  patterns of acting, thinking and feeling, is
  shaped by both biology (nature) and social
  experience (nurture)
• Nature
• Instincts inherited behavior patterns (ex. the
  maternal instinct)
• Nurture
• To raise, bring up, train or educate
• American psychologist John B. Watson believed
  that all behavior could be learned (nurture)
  Ex. Little Albert experiments
• Twin studies can be very important in
  understanding the role of genes and environment
  in forming an individual

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A twin study is a kind of genetic study done to
determine heritability. The premise is that
since identical twins have identical genes,
differences between them are solely due to
environmental factors. By examining the degree
to which twins (especially twins raised apart)
are differentiated, a study may determine the
extent to which a particular trait is influenced
by genes or the environment
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Separated at birth Before the 1960s, twins
offered for adoption were often separated at
birth, and brought up by different families.
Scientists interested in human behavior are
studying these twins. If genes are more important
in behavior, then separated twins should have
similar personalities, despite their different
families. But if environment is more important,
then each twin should be more like their adoptive
family. In fact, it is neither genes nor
environment alone that shape our personalities,
but the complex interactions between them.
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How does isolation in childhood affect
personality?
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Twins separated at birth a first person
account

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v1gwnzW4jOMI

Which is stronger - Nature or Nurture?
Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein at age 7.
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Trait Nature Nurture
1. Brown eyes
2. Enjoys bungee jumping
3. 6 tall
4. Red hair
5. IQ of 150
6. Weighs 500 pounds
7. Depressed
8. Alcoholic
9. Has cancer
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Take out a piece of paper

• Write down your birth order on the left
• First born
• Middle born
• Last born child
• Only Child

• On the right, write down your current GPA.

Fold the paper and pass it up.
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Nature Examples of Factors Influencing
Personality Development - Birth Order

• Research indicates that birth order does shape
  childrens personalities
• Only children tend to endure pressure to achieve
  and excel they tend to be overactive and
  socially involved many are leaders often worry
  more
• Oldest children tend to share similar traits of
  only children likely to be cooperative,
  cautious, and achievement oriented
• Later children tend to be better in social
  relationships and to be more affectionate,
  friendly, and creative often are more sensitive
  and have a good sense of humor
• Can be altered due to variables

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Personality Development contd

• Research shows that a healthy cultural
  environment is essential for a childs full
  development.
• Isolation can have severe consequences such as
  developmental disabilities (mental, physical,
  social, and psychological), malnutrition, and
  death.

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Nurture Examples of Factors Influencing
Personality Development - Other Influences?

• Parents
• Childs first attachment is to mother
• Later, both parents serve as role models and
  shape perception of sex roles and family
  membership
• Culture
• A societys cultural environment may determine
  which personality traits are emphasized
• For example, U.S. culture emphasizes
  competitiveness and friendliness

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Understanding how we become who we are Key
Contributors

• Much research forms the basis for our
  understanding of human development
• Social Psychological Theories Processes of
  socialization
• Sigmund Freud (Personality)
• Erik Erikson (Stages of Psychosocial Development)
• Jean Piaget (Cognitive Development)
• Lawrence Kohlberg (Moral Development)
• Sociological Theories Forming our self concept
• Charles Horton Cooley (Looking-Glass Self)
• George Herbert Mead (Social Behavior)

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So, how we are socialized, matters.

• What factors, or agents, in our society can
  affect how children are socialized?
• Take a minute to work on this
• Come up with a list of at least 7 factors, or
  agents, that affect how children are socialized.

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Does this affect development?
Prime Time TV
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Did this affect your development?
Daily Cartoons ca. late 1980s early 1990s
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How about this?
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Discussion point Can one who has never been
socialized, besocialized (nurtured)?
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A Socialization Recap

• To review, socialization is the process by which
  we learn to become members of society
• Humans continue the socialization process
  throughout all stages of life
• Childhood (_at_0-12)
• Adolescence (_at_12-19)
• Early and Middle Adulthood (_at_19-55)
• Old Age (_at_56-71)
• Death and Dying (_at_ 71 end)

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A Case for Nurture - What ab0ut social
isolation?

• How important is human interaction in
  development?
• Social experience helps to develop personality
  and other skills key to human interaction.
• It is possible to recover from abuse and
  isolation, but the younger it begins and the
  older it ends decreases this likelihood.
• Ex. May prevent acquisition of language skills
• Examples Victor, Genie, Anna, Isabelle

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• Because these children have not had experiences
  which help their brain organize systems to make
  sense of the world (language, interpersonal
  relationships, etc.) the world never makes
  sense.
• From the BBC Series Mindshock
• Episode Feral Children

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What does resocialization mean?

• Where might resocialization take place?
• When might resocialization be necessary?

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Resocialization Total Institutions

• A total institution refers to a setting in which
  people are isolated from the rest of society and
  manipulated by an administrative staff
• All spheres of daily life are observed by staff
• Environment is highly standardized (food,
  uniforms, activities)
• Formal rules and daily schedules dictate
  activities

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Resocialization Total Institutions

• Involves 2 million Americans, who are confined
  against their will in prison or mental hospitals
• The goal of a total institution is
  resocialization, or radically changing an inmates
  personality by carefully controlling the
  environment (Breakdown and Build up)
• Break down the inmates existing identity
  (humiliation, degradation, personal loss)
• Build up a new self (rewards and punishments)
• Through this process, a person can become
  institutionalized (without the capacity for
  independent living)

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Is socialization more important during some
stages of life than others?
Discussion points Again, is socialization a
lifelong process?