1. Sociology 1301: Introduction to Sociology
Socialization & Media
Sociology 1301: Introduction to Sociology
Week Four

2. Socialization
Socialization: the process through which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a society and learn to function as its members
Values: moral beliefs
Norms: how values are put into play
Human Nature: a blend of “organic equipment” and social interaction

3. Agents of Socialization
Family
School
Peers
Media
Resocialization
Total Institution Socialization

4. Theories of Socialization
Charles Horton Cooley
Self: the individual identity of a person as perceived by that same person.
George Mead
I: one’s sense of agency, action or power
Me: the self as a distinct object to be perceived by others
Other: someone or something outside of oneself
Generalized Other: an internalized sense of the total expectations of others in a variety of settings regardless of whether we’ve encountered those people or places before
Erik Erickson
8 Stages of Psychosocial Development

5. Erickson

6. Culture Culture: a set of beliefs, traditions, and practices.
Nonmaterial culture: values, beliefs, behaviors, and social norms.
Material culture: everything that is part of our constructed environment, including technology.
Cultural Relativism: taking into account differences across cultures without passing judgment or assigning value.
Cultural scripts: modes of behavior and understanding that are not universal or natural.
Subculture: the distinct cultural values and behavioral patterns of a particular group in society; group having social, economic, or ethnic traits distinctive enough to distinguish it from others within the same culture or society.

7. Reflection Theory Three limitations
Culture is a projection of social structures and relationships into the public sphere, a screen onto which the film of the underlying reality or social structures of our society is shown.
Three limitations
It does not explain why some cultural products have staying power, whereas others fall by the wayside.
If reflection theory is true, why do some products change their meaning over time?
Reflection theory is unidirectional, and states that culture has no impact on society, but culture is an interactive process between culture and social structure.

8. Media
Media: formats or vehicles that carry, present, or communicate information
Hegemony: a historical process in which a dominant group, by virtue of its moral and intellectual leadership in society, secures the voluntary "consent" of the masses

9. Impact of the Media

10. Works Cited
Conley, D. (2008). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Massey, G. (Ed.) (2006). Readings for sociology (5th Ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.