2. 1 Intro to Sociology Socialization: The Process of Becoming Human Copyright by Michael J. O’Connor 2003 All Rights Reserved

3. Myth or Reality? Who raised Him?

4. 3 What is Socialization? “[S]ocialization is the process by which people acquire cultural competency and through which society perpetuates the fundamental nature of existing social structures ” (McIntyre 2002:143).

5. 4 A Process Life long process of social experiences, leading to: –Personality development The fairly consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting

6. 5 Importance of Interaction Interaction leads to the internalization (absorption) of one’s culture person society

7. 6 Importance of Language and Socialization No natural language Language MUST be learned –Learn emotions –Learn emotional responses

8. 7 Functions of Socialization Personality development –Self—one’s sense of identity and awareness of self, awareness of being human a social product –Self-concept—how you view you

9. 8 Functions of Socialization con’t Role-taking –“to put [ourselves] in someone else’s shoes” (Henslin 2004:62). –a reflective process Reciprocal

10. 9 Chicago School: Symbolic Interaction SI stresses the importance of symbols and meanings in social relationships and social interactions Language is the most important symbol b/c it allows people to construct their own reality (Curry, Jiobu, and Schwirian 2002:76).

11. 10 Chicago School: Symbolic Interaction con’t We can perceive ourselves as objects; we have self-awareness, therefore, –“We build meaning by observing what others people do, by imitating them, and by following their instructions” (Curry, Jiobu, and Schwirian 2002:77).

12. 11 Charles Horton Cooley: the Looking-glass Self How do infants develop a self, the ability to see themselves from the outside? Our self is our interpretation of how others see us

13. 12 Charles Horton Cooley: the Looking-glass Self con’t We are socially created by our interactions with others Self comes about as a result of the way he perceives the responses of others towards him

14. 13 Charles Horton Cooley: the Looking-glass Self con’t “children learn to judge themselves in terms of how they imagine others will react to them…others serve as mirrors for the development of the self” (Shepard 2002:95).

15. 14 Charles Horton Cooley: the Looking-glass Self con’t “the process in which individuals use others like mirrors and base their conceptions of themselves on what is reflected back to them during social interaction” (Thompson and Hickey 2002:86).

16. Norman Rockwell, a famous illustrator of magazine covers, is shown here in a triple self- portrait. His painting suggests the metaphor of the looking glass self; his percept of how he appears to others shows an imagine decidedly younger and more handsome that the actual reflection in the mirror (Curry, Jiobu, and Schwirian 2002:74). SOURCE: Printed by permission of the Norman Rockwell Family Trust. Copyright  1960 the Norman Rockwell Family Trust.

17. other people

18. 17 Cooley—3 stage process 1: imagine how we appear to others 2: interpret reactions of others 3: develop self- concept based on our interpretation of the reaction of others

19. 18 Note on Children and Pronouns Cannot imitate pronouns speak of themselves in the third person

20. 19 Socialization According to George Herbert Mead Socialization takes place through LANGUAGE and ROLE TAKING Language –“a process of indicating certain stimuli and changing the response to them in the system behavior” (Morris 1967:97).

21. 20 Socialization According to George Herbert Mead con’t Role Taking –Because we have language and can think, we carry on silent conversations We think something to ourselves and respond internally to it –We talk to ourselves and answer ourselves

22. 21 Socialization According to George Herbert Mead con’t “Role taking is a cognitive process that permits us to play out scenes in our minds and anticipate what others will say or do” (Shepard 2002:96).

24. 23 Mead’s Stages of Socialization Imitation Stage –Child learns to associate certain meanings to certain types of cries IMITATION STAGE

25. 24 Mead’s Stages of Socialization con’t Play Stage –Increase in mental capacity that facilities learning of language –Play one role at time, reflecting that role back on themselves

27. 26 Mead’s Stages of Socialization con’t Game Stage –Good mastery of language with increased thinking ability so multiple roles can be played simultaneously –Greater awareness of the world of social relationships

28. 27 Mead’s Stages of Socialization con’t Generalized Other Stage –“an integrated conception of the norms, values, and beliefs of one’s community or society” (Shepard 2002:97). understanding multiple roles in multiple structures of society and the world Is this Maturity?

30. 29 What is the SELF? A developmental process occurring between the stimulus and response Interaction between two components—”I” and “me”

31. 30 The Process of Self “I” –Unpredictable –Spontaneous –Self-centered “me” –Socially derived representation of society –Predictability –Conformity –Past “I’s”

32. 31 The Process of Self con’t Language allows an internal conversation between the “I” and the “me” –This conversation produces the uniqueness of a person

33. 32 The Process of Self con’t Person is stimulated by interaction, then reflects upon what behavior to act out, then does so. STIMULUSRESPONSE Process of Self

34. I me

35. 34 Gender and Socialization Sexual Orientation

36. 35 Sex and Gender Sex –biological Gender –socially constructed –socially learned masculinity and femininity

37. 36 Why Do Gender Differences Exist? Symbolic Interactionist perspective –socialization process develops gender identity & gender roles acknowledgment of your sex social expectations associated with a person’s sex

38. 37 Agents of Socialization People and groups who pass culture interacting within the context of social institutions

40. 39

41. 40 Functionalism on Socialization Reinforces the social system Perpetuates society’s existence Transmits culture from one generation to the next

42. 41 Conflict Theory on Socialization Helps to maintain status quo Helps to perpetuate the system of social inequality in a society

43. 42 Socialization: Across the Life Course 1.Desocialize- get rid of old values. 2. Resocialize- adopt new values. –“learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors to match [our] new situations in life” (Henslin 2004:71). Total Institutions-done away from old society. –Prisonization, Rehab, Boot Camp

44. 43 Are We Prisoners of Socialization? “Because of socialization, our identities become embedded in and dependent upon society” (Charon 1999:26). “Society makes the human being, yet the human being, in turn, makes society” (Charon 1999:168).

45. 44 References Charon, Joel M. 1999. The Meaning of Sociology. 6th ed. Prentice Hall. Curry, Tim, Robert Jiobu, and Kent Schwirian. 2002. Sociology for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd ed. Prentice Hall. Henslin, James M. 2001: Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach. 5th ed. Allyn and Bacon. McIntyre, Lisa J. 2002. The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology. 2nd ed. McGraw Hill. Morris, Charles W. ed. 1967. Mind, Self, and Society, from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. The University of Chicago Press. Shepard, Jon M. 2002. Sociology. 8th ed. Wadsworth. Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2002. Society in Focus. 4th ed. Allyn and Bacon.