C HAPTER 4 Socialization Over the Life Course

Chapter Outline  Social Participation of Social Deprivation  Theoretical Perspectives and Socialization  Psychology and Life Course Theories  Socialization and the Life Course  Socialization and the Mass Media

Questions for Consideration  Who were the early proponents of each side of the debate?  Which do you feel is more influential in development, nature or nurture? Why?  Do you think individuals can have a sense of self without interaction with others?

Socialization  Socialization – life long process of learning to participate in group life through the acquisition of culture; learning what the expectations of behavior are in order to adjust and adapt.

Socialization and Personality  Personality – the relatively organized complex of attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors associated with an individual.

Importance of Socialization  Harlow’s experiments show negative effects of social isolation among rhesus monkeys.  Social isolation causes monkeys to ignore or abuse their own babies.

Social Isolation Among Humans  Anna: was confined to an attic-like room in a farmhouse. Kept alive on milk until age of 5.  When found, was extremely emaciated and undernourished.  No signs of intelligence were shown and she could not walk or talk.  At time of her death (age 10) she could carry out instructions, identify a few colors, wash her hands, brush her hair, and try to help others.

Social Isolation Among Humans  Isabelle: child of a deaf-mute mother. Both she and her mother stayed in a dark room, secluded from the rest of the family.  Isabelle was found at age 6 ½, was physically ill from inadequate diet and lack of sunshine. She was unable to talk.

Social Isolation Among Humans  Communicated with her mother through gestures. Reacted with fear and hostility toward strangers.  After two years of an intensive rehabilitation program, she acquired the skills mastered by a 6- year-old.

Social Isolation Among Humans  Genie: from the age of 2 was kept isolated by her father in a locked room.  Was found at age of 13, much of her behavior was “subhuman”. She was completely silent, did not cry or sob. Could not chew as she had not been given solid food. Social behavior was primitive.  Attempts to socialize her over a 4 year period were unsuccessful. She could not read, only speak in short phrases, and had begun to control some of her feelings.

Theoretical Perspectives and Socialization

Symbolic Interactionism and Socialization  Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead challenged the prominent belief in their day, that human nature is biologically determined.

Looking-glass Self Theory  Theory was developed by Cooley.  Cooley defined self-concept – an image of oneself as an entity separate from other people.  Looking-glass self – a self-concept based on our perception of others’ judgments of us.  The looking-glass self is the product of a three stage process that is constantly taking place.

Looking-glass Self Theory 1. We imagine how we appear to others. 2. We imagine the reaction of others to our imagined appearance. 3. We evaluate ourselves according to how we imagine others have judged us.

Mead’s Theory of Development of Self  Some people are more important to us than others.  Significant others – those people whose judgments are most important to our self-concept (mother, father, grandparents, playmates, etc.)

Mead’s Theory of Development of Self  Role taking – the process which allows us to take the viewpoint of another individual and then respond to ourselves from that imagined viewpoint.  A cognitive process that permits us to play out scenes in our mind.

Ability to Role Take - Mead 1. Imitation Stage – begins around 1 ½ to 2 years of age. The child imitates the physical and verbal behavior of a significant other. 2. Play Stage – children take on roles of others (significant others) one at a time (e.g., playing house).

Ability to Role Take - Mead 3. Game Stage – children learn to engage in more sophisticated role taking. Can consider roles of several people simultaneously (e.g., able to truly play soccer). Able to incorporate the generalized other – an integrated conception of norms, values, & beliefs of one’s community/society

 “me” – the part of the self formed through socialization; accounts for predictability and conformity.  “I” – accounts for spontaneity and unpredictability; takes the “me” into account.

Sigmund Freud – Psychoanalytic Perspective  The personality has three parts: 1. Id - made up of biologically inherited urges and impulses; selfish and irrational; ruled by pleasure principle. 2. Ego - the conscious, rational part of the personality; balances the id and the Superego; ruled by reality principle. 3. Superego - the conscience; contains all the “right” and “wrong” ideas we have learned; all the “shoulds” we have learned from society.

Erik Erikson - Psychosocial Development  Described eight developmental stages that occur from infancy to old age; personality changes throughout life.  Each stage is accompanied by a psychosocial crisis, or developmental task.  Socialization and personality development are lifelong processes.

Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Jean Piaget – Cognitive Development  Children gradually develop cognitive abilities through interaction with their social settings; children are active participants.  Each of us must pass through 4 stages in the proper developmental sequence:

Jean Piaget – Cognitive Development  Sensorimotor stage (0 – 24 mo.)  Preoperational stage (2 – 7 yrs.)  Concrete operational stage (7 – 11 yrs.)  Formal operational stage (after age 11)

Questions for Consideration  What are the agents (agencies) of socialization identified in the video?  Can you identify any additional agents of socialization?  Which agency/agent is considered the primary one?  What is the purpose of schools in the socialization process?

Goffman’s Total Institutions  Total institution – places in which residents are separated from the rest of society (e.g., prisons, mental health institutions, military).

Goffman’s Total Institutions  Desocialization – process of relinquishing old norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors.  Resocialization – process of learning to adopt to new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors.

 Anticipatory socialization – the process of preparing oneself for learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors.  Reference groups – a group used to evaluate oneself and from which to acquire attitudes, values, beliefs, and norms.

Questions for Consideration  How culturally universal are the various life stage development theories relative to how people learn the rules of a society?  Are life cycle stages defined by biology, psychology, or sociology?

Socialization of the Young  Family is the child’s first exposure to the world.  Through members of the family we learn to:  think and speak;  internalize norms, beliefs, and values;  form basic attitudes;  develop capacity for intimate and personal relationships;  acquire a self-image.

School  School provides children with non-related care.  Exposes children to objective standards of performance and punishment.  Encourages them to develop loyalties beyond their own families.

School  Trains children to be disciplined, orderly, cooperative, and conforming.  Hidden curriculum – informal and unofficial aspects of culture that children are taught as preparation for life in larger society.

Peer Groups  Peer group – individuals roughly the same age with similar interests; not controlled by adults.  Provides young people with experiences they cannot easily obtain elsewhere.  Teaches young people to deal with others as equals.

Peer Groups  Children learn to be different from their parents in ways that contribute to self-sufficiency.  Helps them gain experience in self-direction and establish independence from adults.

Mass Media  Mass Media – means of communication designed to reach the general population.  Sociologists agree that mass media are powerful socializing agencies.

Mass Media  Children learn behavior expected of individuals in certain social statuses.  The media display role models for children to imitate.

Early Adulthood  Involves a move beyond adolescence and a preliminary step into adulthood.  Interest in achieving occupational success, contributing to society, and establishing a solid family life are central here.  Ends when the individual has made a life within the adult world.

Middle Adulthood  New questions about one’s place in the world arise.  Choices are made to either continue the path already taken or establish a different life path.  Acceptance of one’s level of achievement occurs at the end of this stage.  Emphasis of success is replaced by concern with personal relationships and small pleasures in life.

Late Adulthood Socialization  Roles are lost because statuses are lost.  Expected to retire from work.  Generally face the loss of a spouse.

Developmental Periods in the Eras of Early and Middle Adulthood

The Sociology of the Life Course  Qualifications of early, middle, and late adulthood: 1. models of adulthood are based primarily on males 2. not all people follow the same pattern 3. age ranges are only an approximation

Questions for Consideration  Does this model of development apply to both men and women?  Does the model apply across different cultures and subcultures?  What are socialization experiences unique to women? Unique to men?

Functions of the Mass Media 1. Provides valuable information. 2. Promotes social continuity and integration. 3. Provides entertainment. 4. Explains and interprets meanings of events and information. 5. Helps mobilizes a society.

Dysfunctions of the Mass Media 1. Fosters panic. 2. Increases social conformity. 3. Legitimates the status quo. 4. Impedes social change while promoting social continuity and integration.

Dysfunctions of the Mass Media 5. Diverts the public from serious issues through trivial entertainment. 6. Shapes views through editorializing as they “interpret” events and information. 7. Creates violence via public mobilization.

Conflict Theory and the Media: Marxian View  Workers are exploited by being paid less than they deserve.  Ruling class monopolizes the media and receives excessive profits.  Ruling class views media as necessary to disseminate the ideology of the ruling class.  The media are a tool of manipulation by which the ruling class maintains its power.

Conflict Theory and the Media: Power Elite (Dye)  Power elite – a unified coalition of top military, corporate, and government leaders.  Evidence that the media is controlled by the ruling class: 1. Concentration of power in the media 2. Agenda-setting power of the media 3. Media’s ability to socialize the population

Questions for Consideration  Who do you think has more influence on people’s behavior – friends or family? Explain.  As a college student have you undergone desocialization, resocialization, anticipatory socialization? Explain.