1. The Importance of Socialization
Sociology: Chapter 4, Section 1

2. Section Preview
Socialization is the cultural process of learning to participate in group life
Without group life, our human character would be quite different
Animals and human infants who are deprived of intensive social contact are stunted in their emotional and social growth

3. Socialization and Personality
Nearly all human social behavior is learned
It is natural in the United States for a husband and wife to walk side by side, while in India and other places, it is natural for a wife to walk slightly behind her husband

4. Socialization and Personality
When a human is born, it doesn’t know anything about society’s values or norms
This process of learning his or her society’s ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving is called socialization
With socialization, we learn how to participate in a group
This learning takes place through cultural transmission
Cultural transmission is how the culture is passed down from generation to generation

5. (A kind of fish)

7. Socialization and Personality
Socialization begins at birth and continues throughout life
Socialization is necessary for people as they adjust to different situations throughout their life
People need socialization as they transition from middle school to high school, as they transition from college to a job, or from one job to another

8. On the Job Training is a form of socialization, where a new employee not only learns the skills necessary for the job, but also how he or she should act while in the workplace

9. Socialization and Personality
The most important learning occurs early in life
Without early social contact, children have more trouble learning how to walk, talk, or love

10. Socialization and Personality
How do we know socialization is important?
An experiment could be set up to have one control group of infants that has normal socialization, and an experimental group that is given little or no human contact.
Would that be a good experiment?

11. Socialization and Personality
While it’s not ethical to deprive a child from human contact just for experimental purposes, unfortunately there are socially isolated children that can be studied
Psychologists have run such tests on monkeys, however

12. Socialization and Personality
Harry Harlow conducted a famous experiment where he separated infant monkeys from their mothers and gave them the choice between a wire “mother” with food and a soft terry cloth “mother” with no food.
Which do you think the monkeys preferred?
Harlow's Monkeys

13. Harlow’s Monkey Experiments
Despite the wire “mother” on the right containing a bottle, the baby monkeys still preferred to stay with the soft, terry cloth “mother.”
What conclusion can we draw from this?

14. Socialization and Personality
Harlow showed that infant monkeys need intimacy, warmth, physical contact, and comfort
Infant monkeys raised in isolation became distressed, apathetic, withdrawn, and hostile
As mothers, they rejected, ignored, and even abused their babies, thus continuing a cycle
If we could generalize this to humans, what does this say?

15. Case Studies on Isolated Children
Read the introduction to the chapter on page 109, and report what you know about Genie
Next read about Anna on page 113, and summarize what you learn about her situation
Now read about Isabelle on page 114. What was her situation?
Compare/ contrast what you know about these three
Genie (Secret of the Wild Child)

16. Assessment
Complete #1-4 on page 114