Socialization:

The Art of Becoming

PART FIVE:
THE AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:
PEER GROUPS
Marshall High School
Sociology
Mr. Cline
Unit Three AE
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

By the time they enter school, children have joined a peer

group, a social group whose members have interests, social
position, and age in common.

Unlike the family and the school, the peer group lets children
escape the direct supervision of adults.

Among their peers, children learn how to form relationships

on their own.

Peer groups also offer the chance to discuss interests that

adults may not share with their children (such as clothing and
popular music) or permit (such as drugs and sex).
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

It is not surprising, then, that parents often express concern

about who their childrens friends are.

In a rapidly changing society, peer groups have great

influence, and the attitudes of young and old may differ
because of a generation gap.

The importance of peer groups typically peaks during

adolescence, when young people begin to break away from
their families and think of themselves as adults.

Even during adolescence, however, parental influence on

children remains strong.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

Peers may affect short-term interests such as music or films,

but parents have greater influence on long-term goals,such as
going to college.

Finally, any neighborhood or school is made up of many peer

groups.

Individuals tend to view their own group in positive terms and

put down other groups.

In addition, people are influenced by peer groups they would

like to join, a process sociologists call anticipatory
socialization, learning that helps a person achieve a desired
position.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

In school, for example, young people may copy the styles and
slang of a group they hope will accept them.

Later in life, a young lawyer who hopes to become a partner

in the law firm may conform to the attitudes and behavior of
the firms partners in order to be accepted.

When children move out from family to child-care centers,

school, and the community at large, they begin to form
attachments, and friendships emerge through their play.

These relationships influence behavior. Even infants and

toddlers are observed reacting to other infants by touching
them, by crying when others cry, and later by offering
nurturance or comfort.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

By about age three, early friendships begin to form and

childrens peers begin to have a more lasting influence

Gradually, children discover that others can share their

feelings or attitudes or have quite different ones.

The perspectives of others will affect how children feel about

their own families.

Children usually have a family view of their own and of

other cultures. So, when confronted with other perspectives,
they often need to rethink their own viewpoints.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

It is often difficult for children to adjust to the idea that other

families can function radically differently from their own and
yet hold many of the same attitudes and beliefs and be
equally nurturing and secure.

The peer group serves as a barometer for children examining

themselves and their feelings about self and family.

The peer group also influences development of childrens

socializing skills.

These early friendships help children learn how to negotiate

and relate to others, including their siblings and other family
members.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

They learn from peers how to cooperate and socialize

according to group norms and group-sanctioned modes of
behavior.

The peer group can influence what the child values, knows,
wears, eats, and learns.

The extent of this influence, however, depends on other

situational constraints, such as the age and personality of
children and the nature of the group.

Socialization is particularly important for children with

disabilities, and it is the reason many programs include peers
who are typically developing in special education programs or
include children with disabilities in general education
classrooms.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

In its most acceptable form, the peer group is a healthy

coming-of-age arbiter, by which children grasp negotiating
skills and learn to deal with hostility and to solve problems in
a social context.

In its most destructive mode, the peer group can demand

blind obedience to a group norm, which can result in socially
alienated gangs with pathological outlooks.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

Peer Groups

They learn from peers how to cooperate and socialize

according to group norms and group-sanctioned modes of
behavior.

The peer group can influence what the child values, knows,
wears, eats, and learns.

The extent of this influence, however, depends on other

situational constraints, such as the age and personality of
children and the nature of the group.

Socialization is particularly important for children with

disabilities, and it is the reason many programs include peers
who are typically developing in special education programs or
include children with disabilities in general education
classrooms.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

The mass media are the means for delivering impersonal

communications to a vast audience.

The term media (plural of medium) comes from the Latin

word for middle, suggesting that media connect people.

Mass media arise as communications technology (first

newspapers and then radio, television, films, and the
Internet) spreads information on a massive scale.

In the United States today, the mass media have an enormous

influence on our attitudes and behavior.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

By comparison, just 95 percent have telephones.

Five out of six households also have cable or satellite

television.

The United States has one of the highest rates of television

ownership in the world.

In this country, it is people with lower incomes who spend the

most time watching TV as well as using their television to
watch movies and to play video games.

Just how glued to the tube are we? Survey data show that
the average household has at least one television set turned
on for eight hours each day and that people spend more than
half their free time watching television.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

One study, by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that,

compared to adults, school-age youngsters typically spend
even more timeabout seven and a half hours each day
watching television or playing video games.

The extent of daily television viewing is greater for African

American children (averaging almost six hours) and Hispanic
children (almost five and a half hours) than for white children
(about three and a half hours).

About two-thirds of U.S. children report that the television is

typically on during meals, and more than 70 percent claim
that parents do not limit the amount of time they spend in
front of the screen.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Younger children favor watching television and playing video

games; as children get older, music videos and Web surfing
become a bigger part of the mix.

At all ages, boys favor video games and girls lean toward
music videos (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010; U.S. Census
Bureau, 2010; Nielsen Media Research, 2011).

Years before children learn to read, television watching is a

regular part of their daily routine.

As they grow, children spend as many hours in front of a

television as they do in school or interacting with their
parents.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

This is the case despite research suggesting that television

makes children more passive and less likely to use their
imagination.

Researchers explain that most television is not itself harmful

to children; however, watching television prevents children
from engaging in other activitiesespecially interacting with
other children and adultswhich is vital to social and mental
development.

Television and Politics

The comedian Fred Allen once quipped that we

call television a medium because it is rarely well
done.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Politics

For a number of reasons, television (as well

as other mass media) provokes plenty of criticism.

Some liberal critics argue that for most of

televisions history, racial and ethnic minorities have
not been visible or have been included only in
stereotypical roles (such as African Americans
playing butlers and maids, Asian Americans playing
gardeners, or Hispanics playing new immigrants).
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Politics

In recent years, however, minorities have moved

closer to center stage on television. There
are ten times as many Hispanic actors on primetime
television as there were in the 1970s, and they play
a far larger range of characters.

On the other side of the fence, conservative critics

charge that the television and film industries are
dominated by a liberal cultural elite.

In recent years, they claim, politically correct

media have advanced liberal causes, including
radical feminism and acceptance of homosexuality.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Politics

But not everyone agrees, with some studies

suggesting that the mainstream media
are fairly conservative on many issues

In addition, some television cable channels (such as

MSNBC) have a decidedly liberal point of view, while
others (such as Fox Network) are more
conservative.

One study of the 2008 presidential election found

that the Democratic candidate Barack Obama was
endorsed by almost three times as many U.S.
newspapers as Republican candidate John McCain
(Ongoing Tally, 2008).
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Politics

At the same time, research suggests that a

wide range of political opinion is available in todays
mass media and that most of us tend to focus on
those media sources, whether more liberal or more
conservative, that are closer to our own personal
opinions.

However, the media available to the distinct political

perspectives suggests that the mainstream media,
meaning the traditional media enterprises of
newspaper, and major network news, are heavily
dominated by a more liberal perspective.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Politics

The continual loss in revenue in these mediums,

while similar mediums that provide a more
conservative viewpoint succeed, suggests that a
large segment of the American population are
dissatisfied with the bias, or particular slant,
provided by liberal news outlets.

Television and Violence

In 1996, the American Medical Association issued

the startling statement that violence in television
and films had reached such a high level and that it
posed a hazard to our health.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Violence

More recently, a study found a strong link between

aggressive behavior and the amount of time
elementary school children spend watching
television and playing video games.

The public is concerned about this issue: Three-

fourths of U.S. adults report having walked out of a
movie or turned off the television because of too
much violence.

About two-thirds of parents say that they are very

concerned that their children are exposed to too
much media violence.
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Violence

There may be reason for this concern: Almost two-

thirds of television programs contain violence, and
in most such scenes, violent characters show
no remorse and are not punished.

Back in 1997, the television industry adopted a

rating system. But we are left to wonder whether
watching sexual or violent programming harms
people as much as critics say.

More important, why do the mass media contain so

much sex and violence in the first place?
* What is Socialization?

The varying institutions used by society to socialize individuals are known as

the Agents of Socialization.

Among these are:

The Mass Media

Television and Violence

Television and the other mass media enrich our

lives with entertaining and educational
programming.

The media also increase our exposure to diverse

cultures and provoke discussion of current issues.

At the same time, the power of the media

especially televisionto shape how we think
remains highly controversial.