1. Socialization
Chapter 5
Based on OpenStax
Introduction to Sociology2e

2.  The most basic of human activities is learned from others
 The process of learning social norms and expectations, society’s
beliefs, and values is called socialization.
 We need meaningful social interaction to have the possibility of
behaving, thinking and feeling in a capacity understood and
recognized by others.
Introduction

3. Theories of Self-
Development

4.  A sense of self -- or who we consider ourselves to be and how we
think about ourselves – emerges through interaction with others.
 Some theories of self-development are:
– Psychological
– Sociological
Theories of Self-Development

5. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
 Personality and sexual development are closely linked
 Maturation process can be divided into psychosexual stages:
– Oral
– Anal
– Phallic
– Latency
– Genital
 Development of self is linked to experiences in early phases of
development
Psychological Perspectives on
Self-Development

6. Erik Erikson (1902 – 1994)
 Used Freud’s ideas as a starting point
 Believed personality was in continuous process of development
– Eight life stages: birth  death
 Self development is influenced by social factors beyond
psychosexual development and basic urges
Psychological Perspectives on
Self-Development

7. Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980)
 Focused specifically on the roll of social interactions in child
development
 The self emerges through negotiation with the world we think exists
(and create ideas about) and the world we experience.
 Stages of development
– Sensorimotor
– Preoperational
– Concrete operational
– Formal operational
Psychological Perspectives on
Self-Development

8. Charles Horton Cooley (1864 – 1929)
 “Looking-glass self”, or mirror self
– We construct a sense of who we are through our interpretations of
others’ reaction to us
– We use other people as a mirror to understand who we are.
Sociological Perspectives on
Self-Development

9. George Herbert Mead (1863 – 1931)
 Social interaction helps us develop a sense of self
 To view ourselves from the eyes of others, we first need to be able
to meaningfully communicate and interact with others
 Through socialization, we learn how to think from another person’s
perspective.
Sociological Perspectives on
Self-Development

10. George Herbert Mead (1863 – 1931)
 Process of development:
– Preparatory stage (imitation): copying; no real ability to imagine how
others see things
– Play stage (role taking): take on role of a particular other person
– Game stage: take on multiple roles of multiple others
– Generalized other: common expectations of general society
Sociological Perspectives on
Self-Development

11. Lawrence Kohlberg (1927 – 1987)
 Moral development is vital part of socialization
 The process of how people learn what is right and wrong:
– Preconventional stage (young children): experience the world through
their senses
– Conventional stage (teens): awareness of others’ feelings & take them
into account when determing “good” and “bad”
– Postconventional: people think about morality in absract terms;
recognize that legality and morality do not always match up evenly
Sociological Perspectives on
Self-Development

12. Carol Gilligan (1836 –)
 Questioned gender bias in Kohlberg’s theory
 Girls and boys have different understandings of morality.
 Boys have justice perspective:
– Place emphasis on rules and laws
 Girls have care & responsibility perspective:
– consider people’s reasons behind behavior
Sociological Perspectives on
Self-Development

13. Why Socialization
Matters

14. Why Socialization Matters
 Teaching culture to new members and generations
– Perpetuates culture
 Socialization helps us
– understand who we are as individuals
– learn where we fit within the social world
– understand what’s appropriate in different circumstances
– continually interact – learning shared understandings facilitates
interaction with others

15. Nature vs nurture
Nature
 Who we are are is based upon genetics
Nurture
 Who we are is based upon our relationships with others and our
position in structures within society
 Sociologists recognize the influence of both nature and nurture, but
focus most attention to nurture

16. Agents of
Socialization

17.  Agents of socialization help communicate expectations and
reinforce norms.
 Agents of socialization include:
– Family
– Peers
– School
– Workplace
– Religion
– Government
– Mass Media
Agents of Socialization

18.  Primary agent of socialization
 Provide initial sensitization to the social world
– How to use objects
– How to interact with others
– How the world “works”
Agents of Socialization:
Family

19.  A group of similar age and social status who share interests
 Peer socialization begins early
– Playground: learning rules of games, how to take turns, and how to
interact
 Peer groups provide first major socialization experience outside
the realm of the family
Agents of Socialization:
Peers

20.  Occupies a large part of children’s day
 Manifest functions:
– Learn subjects that our society deems essential components of
knowledge base
 Latent functions:
– Often the first formal institution that we encounter
– Learn how to follow a schedule; how to work with others who we may
dislike; understand authority structure; learn abstract rules and
repercussions
 Hidden curriculum – latent teaching in which school and
classroom rituals reinforce what society expects from teachers
Agents of Socialization:
Schools

21.  A large part of an adults’ time takes place in the workplace
– Can inform identity and provide means to survive
 In the past, working a single job through retirement wasn’t
uncommon
 Baby Boomers between ages 18-46 worked an average of 11.3
jobs
– Requires different types of socialization to material and nonmaterial
culture for each job and each role held within a particular workplace
Agents of Socialization:
Workplace

22.  Often reinforce norms related to family, power dynamic, gender
and sexuality
 Organized religion fosters a shared set of values
Agents of Socialization:
Religion

23.  Who is an adult?
 What counts as marriage?
 At what age can a child stay alone at home?
 When can you start to work and in what circumstances?
 When do we retire?
 How do we interact with government at different phases of the life
course?
– The government codifies deeply personal category changes
– Rites of passage are filtered through government
Agents of Socialization:
Government

24.  Consists of TV, newspapers, radio, outlets available via the
Internet, etc…
 Greatly influences social norms
– At points, pushing the boundaries
– Or, censoring outputs
Agents of Socialization:
Mass Media

25. Socialization Across
the Life Course

26.  As we age, age-related transition points necessitate socialization
into new roles
– Varies over time
• Younger generations are delaying transition to “adulthood” in comparison
to older generations
 Anticipatory socialization: preparation for future life roles
Socialization Across the Life
Course

27.  Resocialization: Old behaviors useful in previous role need to be
altered to adapt to new role
– Married  Single or Single  Married
– Living on one’s own  Care home, or Living with parents  Living
alone
 Can be stressful due to need to “unlearn” what was once
customary
 Degradation ceremony: new members lose old identity and are
given new identities
– Discard symbolic markers of old identity
– Build new identity
Socialization Across the Life
Course: resocialization