1. Socialization Personality Development

2. Goals to Be Met  Goal 5: The learner will analyze the process of socialization.  Objectives  5.01 Define socialization.  5.02 List the agents of socialization.  5.03 Describe how the process of socialization is culturally determined.  5.04 Explain the various theoretical perspectives on socialization.  5.05 Trace how socialization is a life-long process.  5.06 Evaluate the functions and roles of socializing agents.

3. Socialization  Socialization: Process by which society transmits its values to individuals so that they function properly  Most important outcome of socialization is personality

4. Personality  Personality: Sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an individual  Personality traits determine how we adjust to our environment and how we react in specific situations  Continues to develop throughout lifetime  More obviously during childhood and slow down during adulthood

5. Nature v. Nurture  Debate over what determines personality and social behavior  Nature: Much of human behavior is instinctual in origin  Instinct: Unchanging, biologically inherited behavior pattern  Most often applied to animal behavior  Nurture: Behavior and personality are result of his/her social environment and learning  Ivan Pavlov = Pavlov’s Dog Experiment = Dog, Bell, Salvation  John B. Watson = Claimed he could take a dozen healthy infants and train them to become anything he wanted

6. Sociobiology  Sociobiology: Systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior  Argued most of human social life is determined by biological factors  Personality and social behavior result from blending of hereditary and social environmental influences  Environmental factors have the greatest influence

7. Heredity  Heredity: Transmission of genetic characteristics from parents to children  Some argue heredity and others suggest social environment determines personality  Heredity sets limits on temperament, intelligence, and aptitude but socialization plays a key role in determining achievement  What is inherited can be changed by socialization  Aptitude: Capacity to learn a particular skill or acquire a particular body of knowledge (Ex: natural talent for music)  Most social scientists believe that some aptitudes can be learned, but some believe inherited aptitudes often develop due to environment  Ex: Baby moves and smiles to music so they sign baby up for dance

8. Heredity (cont’d)  We inherit genetic characteristics, but we also inherit certain basic needs and capacities  Humans have biological drives  Drives do not determine our behavior, we learn these from interaction with others  Ex: Hunger drive does not tell us when, what, and how to eat  Heredity plays a role in shaping human personalities by setting limits on individuals  Ex: If you are 5-feet tall you are not likely to be a star basketball player

9. Birth Order and Parental Characteristics  Birth Order  Personality is influenced by whether we have brothers, sisters, both.  Research indicated that 1 st born children are more likely to be achievement-oriented and responsible; later-born children tend to be better in social relationships and are more affectionate and friendly  Parental Characteristics  Education, age, religion, socioeconomic status (SES), culture, and job background of parents can influence child’s personality

10. The Cultural Environment  Determines basic types of personalities found in society  Each culture gives rise to a series of personality traits that are typical of members of that society (model personality)  How we experience culture influences our personalities  Ex: Our experiences differ depending on whether we are a boy or girl  Boys and girls are treated differently from the moment of birth (boys = blue, girls = pink)  Boys/girls are nudged in different directions: clothes, activities, speech, habits, and ideas

11. Isolation in Childhood  Feral Children: (Wild or untamed) Have few human characteristics other than appearance  Anna and Isabelle  Discovered in the late 1930s  Anna  Born to an unmarried woman (enraged mother’s father)  Confined to attic room  Discovered by social worker at 6 years old  Couldn’t walk, talk, or feed herself and could only talk in phrases and follow simple directions  Isabelle  Born to unmarried deaf mother  Grandfather kept her and mother confined in a dark room  Had advantage of mother’s company, but did not learn to speak  Found at age 6 and after training began to speak  Concluded that because of constant contact with her mother and training she overcame social deprivation

12. Isolation in Childhood (Cont’d)  Genie  Discovered in 1970 when she was 13  Father hated children and confined her to a small bedroom tied to a potty chair at the age of 20 months  When found she couldn’t stand strait and had social and psychological skills of a 1-year-old  After 8 years of training she had not progressed past the level of a 3 rd grade student  Eventually mastered language and learned to conform to social norms

13. Isolation in Childhood (cont’d)  Children living in institutions (orphanages and hospitals) may show some characteristics of isolated children  Rene Spitz Study  In 1945 Spitz studied effects of institutionalization on group of infants living in an orphanage  Within 2 years 1/3 of children died  Of the survivors less than 25% could walk by themselves, dress themselves, or use a spoon  Only 1 child could speak in complete sentences  They seemed to have simply wasted away from lack of cuddling and loving