Chapter Four Socialization
 Socialization is the lifelong process of
social interaction through which
individuals acquire a self-identify and
the physical, mental, and social skills
needed for survival in society. The
content of socialization differs greatly
from society to society.

Human Development:
Biology and Society
 Every human being is a product of
biology, society , and personal
experiences, or heredity and
environment.
 Sociobiology is the systematic study of
how biology affects social behavior

Social Isolation
 Social environment is a crucial part of an
individual’s socialization; people need social
contact with other in order to develop
properly.
 Researchers have attempted to demonstrate
the effects of social isolation on non-human
primates that are raised without contact with
other of their own species

Social Isolation
 Isolated children illustrate the
importance of socialization
 The most frequent for of child
maltreatment is child neglect

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Freud and the Psychoanalytical
Perspective
 Human behavior and personality originate
from subconscious forces within the
individual
 At this time biological explanations for human
behavior were prevalent
 An era of extreme sexual repression and male
dominance

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Freud and the Psychoanalytical
Perspective
 Freud’s theory based on the notion that
people have two basic tendencies
 The urge to survive
 The urge to procreate

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Freud and the Psychoanalytical Perspective
 Human Development Occurs in three states that
reflect different levels of personality
 The id is the component of the personality that
includes all of the individual’s basic biological
drives and needs that demand immediate
gratifications
 The ego is the rational, reality-oriented
component of personality that imposes
restrictions on the innate pleasure-seeking
drives of the id
 The superego, or conscience consists of the
moral and ethical aspects of personality

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Piaget and Cognitive Theory of Human
Development
 In each state of human development
children’s activities are governed by
their perceptions of the world around
them
 When age appropriate tasks are
complete, new mental abilities allow the
the transition the the next stage

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Piaget and Cognitive Theory of Human
Development
 Four Stages of Cognitive Development
 Sensorimotor (0-2) children develop object
permanence
 Preoperational (2-7) children develop ability to use
words are mental symbols and to form mental
images
 Concrete Operational (7-11) children learn to
reason and take the role of the other
 Formal Operational (12-adolescence) children
develop the ability to think in highly abstract
thought

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Piaget and Cognitive Theory of Human
Development
 Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
 Does not address individual differences
 Says little about cultural differences
 Does not address how gender impacts
cognitive development

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Kohlberg and stages of Moral
Development
 Presented subjects with moral dilemmas to
learn about moral reasoning
 Preconventional (7-10) punishment and
obedience
 Conventional (10-adulthood) peer approval and
conformity to rules
 Postconventional (few adults reach this stage)
individual and human rights that transcend
government and laws

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Kohlberg and stages of Moral
Development
 Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory
 Some Challenge the universality of his stages
 Use of moral dilemmas too abstract for children

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Gilligan’s View on Gender and Moral
Development
 Her theory is based on a critical
response to Kohlberg’s methodology
and findings
 Kohlberg used men in his study—
production biased results

Social Psychological Theories
of Human Development
 Gilligan found differences in the ways
that men and women think about moral
problems
 Female Moral Development in three
stages
 Motivated by selfish concerns
 Recognizes responsibility in others
 Makes decisions based on desire to do
good for herself and others

Sociological Theories of
Human Development
 Cooley and the Looking Glass Self – sense of
self is developed from the perceptions of
others through a three step process
 We imagine how our personality and appearance
will look to other people
 We imagine how other people judge the
appearance and personality we think we represent
 We develop a self-concept

Sociological Theories of
Human Development
 George Herbert Meade linked the idea
of self-concept to role-taking—the
process by which a person mentally
assumes the role of another person in
order to understand the world from that
person’s point of view

Sociological Theories of
Human Development
 G. H. Meade
 Significant Others are those persons
whose care, affection, and approval are
especially desired and who are most
important the the development of the
self; these individuals are extremely
important in the socialization process

Sociological Theories of
Human Development
 G. H. Meade
 Mead divided the self into the “I” and “me”
 “I” is the subjective element of the self that
represents the spontaneous and unique traits
of each person
 “me” is the objective element of self, which is
composed of he internalized attitudes and
demands of other members of society and
the individual’s awareness of those demands

 G. H. Meade outlined three stages of self-
development
 Preparatory stage – children largely imitate the
people around them
 Play stage (3-5) – children learn to use language
and other symbols, thus making it possible for
them to pretend to take the roles of specific people
 Game stage – children understand not only their
own social position but also the positions of those
around them.
 At this time the child develop a generalized other – an
awareness of the demands and expectations of the
society as a whole or of the child’s subculture.

Sociological Theories of
Human Development
 Interactionist theories such as Meade’s
and Cooley’s contribute to how the self
develops….but
 These theories do not take into account
differences in people’s experiences based
on race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender or
other social factors

Self-Concept and Child
Maltreatment
 Child maltreatment occurs when there
is an extreme imbalance in positive and
negative social interactions
 Dynamic interplay between social
factors related to past events and
present situations

Agents of Socialization
 Agents of socialization are the persons,
groups, or institutions that teach us
what we need to know in order to
participate in society. These are the
most pervasive agents of socialization
in childhood

The Family as an Agent of
Socialization
 The family is the most important agent of
socialization in all societies.
 Functionalists emphasize that families are the
primary locus of procreation and socialization of
children, as well as the primary source of
emotional support
 To a large extent the family is where we acquire
our specific social positions in society
 Conflict theorist stress that socialization
reproduces class structure in the next generation

Schools as Agents of
Socialization
 Schools have played an increasingly
important role in the socialization
process as the amount of specialized
technical and scientific knowledge has
expanded rapidly
 Schools teach specific knowledge and
skills and they also have a profound effect
on a child’s self-image, beliefs and values

Schools as Agents of Socialization
 From a functionalist perspective
schools are responsible for:
 Socialization—teaching students to be
productive members of society
 Transmission of culture
 Social control and personal development
 The selection, training, and placement of
individuals on different rungs in society

Schools as Agents of
Socialization
 According to Conflict Theorists much of
what happens at schools is a hidden
curriculum
 Working class and low income children
learn to be neat, on time, wait their turn,
and remain attentive to work
 These are attributes that make them more
easily manipulated in the workforce

Peer Groups as Agents of
Socialization
 A peer group is a group of people who are
linked by common interests, equal social
positions, and (usually) a similar age
 Peer groups function as agents of socialization by
contributing to our sense of belonging and our
feelings of self-worth
 Individuals must earn their acceptance with their
peers by meeting the group’s demands for high
level of conformity to its own norms, attitudes,
speech, and dress codes

Mass Media as an Agent of
Socialization
 The mass media function as socialization
agents for children and adults in several
ways:
 They inform us about events
 They introduce us to a wide variety of people
 They provide an array of viewpoints on current
issues
 They make us aware of products and services that
if we purchase them, supposedly will help us to be
accepted by others
 They entertain us by providing the opportunity to
live vicariously

Mass Media as an Agent of
Socialization
 Television is the most pervasive form of
media
 98% of all homes in the U.S. have at least on
television set.
 There is some evidence that television is
potentially harmful to:
 Literacy
 Rampant consumerism
 Increases in violence and violent crime

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Socialization
 Gender socialization is the aspect of
socialization that contains specific
messages and practices concerning the
nature of being female of male in a
specific group or society
 Families, Schools, and sports tend to
reinforce traditional gender roles

Gender Socialization

Gender Socialization

Gender Socialization

Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Socialization
 Racial Socialization is the aspect of
socialization that contains specific
messages and practices concerning the
nature of one’s racial or ethnic status as
it relates to:
 Personal and group identity
 Inter-group and inter-individual
relationships
 Position in social hierarchy

Socialization Throughout the
Life Course
 Socialization is a lifelong process, each time
we experience a change in status, we learn a
new set of rules, roles, and relationships
 Even before we enter a new status, we often
participate in anticipatory socialization – the
process by which knowledge and skills are
learned for future roles.
 The most common categories of age are
infancy, childhood, adolescences, and
adulthood (young, middle, old)

Socialization Throughout the Life Course
 During infancy and early childhood,
family support and guidance are
crucial to a child’s developing self-
concept
 Some families reflect the discrepancy
between cultural ideals and reality
where children grow up in settings of
fear, danger and risks that are created
by parental neglect, emotional
maltreatment, or premature economic
and sexual demands

Socialization Throughout the
Life Course
 Anticipatory socialization for adult roles
often is associated with adolescence,
however, some young people may
plunge in adult responsibilities at this
time

Socialization Throughout the
Life Course
 In early adulthood (until about 40) people
work toward their won goals of creating
meaningful relationships with others, finding
employment, seeking personal fulfillment.
Occupational Socialization has 4 phases:
 Career choice
 Anticipatory socialization
 Conditioninign and commitment
 Continous commitment

Socialization Throughout the
Life Course
 Between the ages of 40 & 60 people enter
middle adulthood and many begin to compare
their accomplishments with their earlier
expectations.
 In older adulthood some people are quite
happy and content, other are not:
 Difficult changes in attitudes and behavior may
occur in the last years of life when people
experience decreased physical ability and social
devaluation

 Late adulthood is a time when many people
experience ageism, prejudice and
discrimination against people on the basis of
age
 Negative images contribute to the view that women are
older ten or fifteen years sooner than men
 Many buffer themselves against ageism by continuing to
view themselves as being in middle adulthood
 It is important to note that everyone does not
go through these passages or stages and
that race, ethnicity, class and gender strongly
influence these stages

Resocialization
 Resocialization is the process of learning a
new and different set of attitudes, values ,and
behaviors from the ones previously held.
 Voluntary Resocialization – occurs when we
enter a new status of our own free will
 Involuntary Resocialization – occurs against a
persons wishers an generally takes place
within a total institution

Socialization in the Future
 Families are likely to remain the institution
that most fundamentally shapes and nurtures
personal values and self-identity
 Parents increasingly feel overburdened by
this responsibility, especially without societal
support, such as high-quality day care and
some education on parenting skills
 A central issue facing parents and teachers
as they socialize children is the growing
dominance of the media and other forms of
technology.