1. Socialization
How society effects human development, nature v. nurture, are we prisoners of socialization

2. What is Human Nature?
Socialization is the process by which people learn the characteristics of their group- knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and actions appropriate for them
Nature and nurture effect human development
Societal interaction is a key to human development- shown in studies of feral and isolated children
Language, social contact and interaction allow humans develop in emotionally “healthy” human beings. This is known as the social environment (entire human environment including direct contact with others)
Language is not natural it is learned
The family is the primary agent of socialization

3. Theories of Human Development
Humans develop reasoning skills, personality, emotions, morals and a sense of self through social observation, contact and interaction.
Major theories- Cooley’s “looking glass self”, Mead and role taking, Piaget and stages of development, Kohlberg’s stages of development, and Carol Gilligan’ stages of development.

4. Looking Glass Self and Role Taking
“Each to a looking glass reflects the other that doth pass.”
Charles Cooley- coined the term. It is the process by which a person’s sense of self develops from interactions with others.
1-Imagine how we appear to those around us 2-Intrperet others reactions 3- develop self- concept
The self is never a finished product, it is always a process
Mead and Role Taking (1934)
In order to take the role of the other the person needs to put themselves in the other persons shoes
Not born with this ability- during childhood this is developed through play
Children first learn to take on the role of the significant other eventually take the role of the “generalized other”

5. Three Stages of Role Taking
Three and Under- mimic gestures and words of others
Three to Six- Take role of others; firefighter, superhero
Games- play organized games that require them to take multiple roles

6. “I” and “Me” and the Mind as a Product of Society
Self is divided into two parts-”I” and the “Me”
I is the self as subject, creative, active part of self
Me is the self as an object
Mead drew the conclusion that not only the self but the human mind is a social product
We think using symbols.
Symbols come from societies, like language. If society did not provide symbols we could not think
The mind is a product of society

7. Piaget and the Development of Reasoning (1954)
Piaget concluded that children go through four stages as they develop the ability to reason
1. Sensormotor stage
2. Preoperational stage
3. Concrete operational stage
4. Formal operational stage

8. Piaget and the Development of Reason
Sensormotor Stage
understanding limited to direct contact.
Can’t recognize cause and effect-
birth to age two
Preoperational Stage
do not understand common concepts like size and speed, do not understand numbers.
Can’t take the role of the other
Two to age seven

9. Piaget and the Development of Reason
Concrete operational stage
Reasoning ability remains concrete
Children can understand causation
Take the role of others and participate in games
Need concrete examples to talk about concepts
Ages seven to twelve

10. Piaget and the Development of Reason
Formal Operational Stage
Children capable of abstract thinking
Can talk about concepts based on general principles
Children know right from wrong without needing concrete examples
After age twelve

11. Kohlberg and Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg described development of moral reasoning (what we consider right and wrong)
As we develop we pass through levels of moral thinking
Moral reasoning
The ways in which individuals judge situations as right or wrong
Preconventional
Young children experience the world as pain or pleasure
Conventional
Teens lose selfishness as they learn to define right and wrong in terms of what pleases parents and conforms to cultural norms.
Postconventional
Final stage, considers abstract ethical principles

12. Carol Gilligan and Gender Factor
Compared moral reasoning of girls and boys
Boys develop a justice perspective.
Formal rules define right and wrong.
Girls develop a care-and-responsibility perspective.
Personal relationships define reasoning.
Critical evaluation
Cultural conditioning accounted for the differences.
Male and female morals will probably become more similar as more women enter the workplace.

13. Global Aspects of the Self and Reasoning
Cooley, Mead, Kohlberg and Piaget’s ideas are universal
Children enter stages at different times
Piaget’s main idea demonstrates that a basic structure underlies the development of reasoning, children all over the world begin with the concrete and move to the abstract
Some people get stuck in stage four of Kohlberg’s scale
Studies show that college nurtures stage five and people without this experience have less ability for abstract thought.
Social experience and culture can modify these stages.

14. Freud and the Development of Personality
Along with development of the mind is the development of the personality
Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychologist theory of the three elements of personality
The id
The ego
The superego

15. Freud and the Development of Personality
Id- all people are born with it. The inborn drive that leads us to seek self gratification.
Ego- the id is blocked by the needs of others. To adapt to these needs the ego develops. It is the balancing force between the id and societies needs to suppress it.
Superego- the culture within us. The norms and values we have internalized from our social groups. The moral component of our personality.
Freud does not take into account the fact that social class and roles in groups underlie our behavior

16. Socialization and Emotions
Emotions essential to what we become.
depend on socialization
Six universal emotions- anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise
expressed differently in different cultures
byproduct of culture, class and relationship
Childhood socialization centers on learning the norms of emotion, how to express our emotions in a variety of settings

17. The Self and Emotions as Social Control
Socialization is needed to turn us into conforming members of society
What factors influence how we act?
Our social mirror – the result of being socialized into a self and emotions- sets up effective controls to our behavior

18. Socialization and Gender pp.75-78
Society uses gender socialization that set different expectations for males and females
By adulthood most of us act, think and feel according to cultural guidelines, what is appropriate about our sex
Parents are the first significant others that teach us about our roles

19. Gender and the Family
Studies show that boys are subconsciously rewarded for being active and independent and girls are rewarded for being passive and dependent
Boys and girls have different toys, play differently, boys get dirty, girls are more compliant
Socialization lies at the heart of male-female differences

20. Gender Messages from Peers and Mass Media
Sorting process begins with family and continues with peer groups, individuals of roughly the same age linked by common interest
Television, movies and video games reinforce societies expectations of our behavior
Television and movies can reinforce stereotypes or display stereotype breaking characters
Gender serves as the primary basis for social inequality- privileges and obligations given to one group and not another- makes gender images important to understand

21. Agents of Socialization pp.78-85
Groups that influence our orientation toward life- our self concept, emotions, attitudes and behavior- are called agents of socialization.
Major Agents of Socialization
The Family
The Neighborhood
Religion
Day Care
School and Peer Groups
Sports and Competitive Success
The Workplace

22. The Family
Study of how working class families and middle class families raise their children.
Job type is a defining characteristic of child rearing style.

23. The Neighborhood Parents try to move to better neighborhoods
Children from low income neighborhoods are more likely to get into trouble, get pregnant, drop out of school and have a disadvantaged life.
More affluent neighborhoods people watch out for each other more because the population is more stable. This keeps children out of trouble and safe

24. Religion Religion influences values
40% of Americans attend church regularly
Even people who do not go to church regularly religion provides a framework for morality
Teaches ideas about dress, speech, manners that are appropriate for formal occasions

25. Latent and Manifest Functions
Latent functions- unintended consequences of people’s actions
Manifest functions- intended beneficial consequences of people’s actions

26. Day Care
A study that followed children from age infancy to kindergarten reported that children that spent more time in day care than with their mothers were more uncooperative and unaffectionate toward their mothers. This was regardless of social class or the families social status
A positive finding was the children scored higher on language tests regardless of income or social status. This is probably due to the social interaction with other children at day care.

27. School and Peer Groups
As children enter school the influence of the parents and family lessens
When this occurs there is a transfer of values too those of the peer group
Children separate themselves by sex group

28. School and Peer Groups
School gives children a broader perspective that helps them prepare for the world beyond the family
Children learn universality- the same rules apply to everyone regardless of how special they may be at home
Corridor Curriculum-What students teach each other outside of classroom
Schools around the world reflect and reinforce their nation’s social, economic and political systems

29. School and Peer Groups Boys Norms Athletic Ability Coolness Toughness
Academic Achievement for boys lowered their popularity
Girls Norms
Popularity based on family background
Physical appearance
The ability to attract popular boys
Academic achievement increased standing among peers

30. School and Peer Groups
It is almost impossible to go against your peer group
Those who conform are “insiders”. Those that don’t are “outsiders”.
Standards of peer groups dominate our lives and influence our choices

31. Sports and Competitive Success
Sports teach values- “how to be a team player”
Boys learn to achieve in sports to gain prestige
Encourages boys to develop instrumental relationships- those based on what you can get out of people
Girls construct their identities on meaningful relationships, not competitive success

32. The Workplace
We learn different perspectives about the world from our co-workers and workplace
Before we become engaged in a career we become involved in anticipatory socialization-learning to play a role before entering it. This allows us to become familiar with a role and become aware what is expected of us
The more we participate in a line of work the more it becomes part of your self concept, people describe themselves by their line of work

33. Resocialization pages 85-87
Occurs when people learn new norms, values and attitudes to match their new situation. When new ideas become incorporated into the person, they view life as fundamentally different.
Examples of Resocialization
Divorce
Going to college AA

34. Total Institutions
A place where people are cut off from the rest of society and are totally controlled by the officials that run the place.
Examples
Boot Camp
Prison
Concentration Camps

35. Total Institutions
When a person enters a total institution they go through a degradation ceremony
This is an attempt to strip away the persons identity- shaved head, take away personal items, undergo examination in public, given a uniform
All routine is standardized, takes away individuality
This experience brands a person for life

36. Life Course pages 87-90
The stages we go through in life from birth to death are the life course
As we pass through life it effects your behavior and orientations
Life course differs because of social location (corners in life people occupy because of where they are located in society)
Race , ethnicity, gender map out different experiences

37. Childhood (Birth- 12) Historically childhood was not a special time
Industrialization changed how we view childhood
They began to attend school, attitudes of dependency and children needing gentle guidance to develop emotionally, intellectually and morally.
Today this view is taken for granted and seen as natural
Technology can change the nature of childhood, TV images of war, rape, murder expose children to a world that used to be hidden from them.
In Least Industrialized Nations childhood is still not seen as a special time

38. Adolescence (13-17) Not a natural division but a social division
Industrial Revolution brought material abundance that allowed teens to stay out of the labor force, this stage created by society not biology
At the same time education became important , this created a gap between childhood and adulthood
In industrialized nations adolescents must find their own identity- leaving the younger world and not yet in the older world
Adolescents develop their own clothing, attitudes, language, music- their own subculture
In tribal societies there are initiation rites as a person passes from childhood to adulthood

39. Transitional Adulthood (18-29)
Post industrial societies have extended adolescence, this period called transitional adulthood (adultolescence)
Mostly freed from control of parents, yet they do not have to support themselves
Young adults attend college, graduate and either establish a career or “find themselves”
At some point during this period people take on a full time job, get married , go into debt , etc.

40. The Middle Years 30-65 Early Middle Years 30-49
People become sure of themselves and their goals in life
Women have trouble with the transition during this time- supermom, career, superwives
Pressures of too little time and too much to do
Many adjustments during this period

41. Middle Years Later Middle Years 50-65
Health issues and morality play a role during this stage
Change in orientation of thinking- from birth to time left to live
Compare what they have accomplished with how far they hoped to go
Evaluation of the past and come to terms of what lies ahead
Many care for children and aging parents
Many enjoy job security and the children are grown
Idea of self is firmly planted and fewer upheavals are likely to occur

42. Older Years 65 and on
In modern industrial societies the older years begin after 65
Until the early 1900’s most people died before reaching this age, industrialization brought better public health and nutrition that prolonged life
Early Older Years- 65 to 80
Many people view this as an extension of the middle years
The idea of death becomes less abstract
People feel time closing in on them
Later Older Years- 80 +
People see others around them pass away
Stage is marked by growing frailty and illness

43. Sociological Significance of the Life Course
When you live and your social location determine your life course.
Being born ten years later or earlier can change the direction your life takes
Social Location- your gender, social class and race- is also significant. Societies events will have similar effects on people of the same social location
Individual factors also influence your life course. examples – marrying early, entering college late

44. Are we Prisoners of Socialization?
We are not completely products of socialization- socialization does not go in and behavior comes out.
Socialization effects us all, but we each have a self.
The self is dynamic not a passive sponge, we are each actively involved in the construction of the self.
Some social institutions, like the family, provide us with the basic elements of our personality. We voluntarily join other social groups that have an effect on our self. People can change the self and social location along with the options available within society.