1. Agents of Socialization

2.  Most important agent of socialization  Children’s first interactions  Socialization can be both deliberate and unintended within a family  Family socialization differs from one family to another

3.  Peer group is a primary group composed of individuals of roughly equal age and similar social characteristics  Most influential during pre-teen and teenage years  Usually focus on the socialization within a subculture

4.  Between ages 5 and 18, children spend roughly 30 weeks a year in school  School plays a major role in socializing individuals  Schools transmit social norms such as patriotism, responsibility, citizenship, appropriate social interaction, and transmission of necessary skills to be a part of society (i.e. reading, mathematics, writing, etc.)

5.  Mass Media: instruments of communication that reach large audiences with no personal contact between those sending the information and those receiving it.  Ex. Television, newspapers, movies, internet, radio, etc.  Is the role of mass media positive or negative? Why?

6.  Resocialization is a break with past experiences and learning new values and norms (can be voluntary or involuntary)  Voluntary: college, move to new state, etc.  Involuntary: change happens against a person’s wishes, usually in a total institution  Total institution: a setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a specific period of time and are subject to tight control ◦ Ex. Military, prisons, boot camp, monasteries, psychiatric hospitals

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