UCSP

Module 4: Socialization

Start up
At the end of the lesson,
you will be able to: The self is a result of social
processes. The development of the self is
a) define socialization; discovered through various social
b) describe why interactions as socialization is not
socialization is episodic, but lifetime.
important in being
‘fully human’ ;
In order to initially understand the
c) identify the agents of
concept of socialization, do this simple
socialization and the
activity. Read and follow the instruction
different social
carefully.
groups; and
d) analyze the
consequences of
socialization 1. Enumerate some of the values your
family holds dear inside the box.
 Module 4: Socialization

2. Answer the following question:

a. In what ways do these values affect your lifestyle as a
teenager?

Work it out

Unveiling What You Know | Time Allotment: 15 mins.

Socialization is the process through which individuals learn their

culture and become fully human. In this lesson, we will discuss and
understand how socialization helps in identifying our status and roles
in the society, and how different social groups and networking can
shape our individuality.

Read the article titled, “Will the Pandemic Socially Stunt My Kid?”,
published in The New York Times, dated September 30, 2020.
Afterwards, answer the questions (utilize the blank spaces in your
module or use any clean piece of paper).

Will the Pandemic Socially Stunt My Kid?

How masks and distancing may affect emotional development.
By Jessica Grose | Published Sept. 30, 2020 | Updated Dec. 10, 2020

Sometime in July, we met up at a local playground with friends whose

children are the same age as our 7- and 4-year-olds. Everyone was
masked, and it was basically the first time we had socialized with people
we weren’t related to since March. For the first 20 minutes of the play date,
the children completely ignored each other. They’d make brief eye contact
and then go careening off to different parts of the park.

As I watched the children appear to flee from social connection, I broke into
a light sweat: Had they forgotten how to relate to other kids while under
quarantine?

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 Module 4: Socialization

When we asked NYT Parenting readers for their most pressing concerns,
some version of the above was the most frequently asked question: How
will masks, social distancing and lack of interaction with other children
affect their kid’s social and emotional development? For example, reader
Ariel Wittenberg, mom to a 7-month-old in Arlington, Va., wrote, “The thing
that keeps me up at night is what it means that my daughter essentially has
no idea other babies exist. Is she going to have problems socializing in the
future?”

The short answer is: The majority of neurotypical kids will be able to
socialize just fine, even if we’re still wearing masks in a year. A lot of
socialization happens implicitly through interactions with caregivers, said
Erika Hernandez a postdoctoral scholar of social development at Penn
State. Just having conversations with your kids, asking them about their
feelings and setting boundaries (no, you can’t hit Dad) gets you most of the
way to the socialization they need.

And even if there are some social setbacks in the next year or two, Dr.
Hernandez said, “development is a lifelong process. There’s not a skill or
domain in which children can’t get better or work at.” It’s also worth noting
that there’s a “huge cultural variability” in what’s considered “normal”
socializing for children, said Lisa A. Serbin, Ph.D., a professor of
psychology at Concordia University in Montreal. “There are many cultures
where small children rarely see anyone but their cousins and siblings, who
they know very well. They turn out just fine once they get to school. They
have social skills,” said Dr. Serbin.

With the caveat that this particular pandemic is unique, and we won’t
definitively know how it affects anyone of any age for years to come, I asked
four experts in child psychology and social development for their thoughts
about the minimum level of interaction kids need, organized by age range.

Ages 0-2: “If you have a baby during this pandemic, you’re good for 18 to
24 months,” as long as you have at least one knowledgeable and attentive
adult on hand, said Sally Beville Hunter, Ph.D., a clinical associate
professor of child and family studies at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville. That’s because infants are mostly playing by themselves with
toys, or having face-to-face interactions with adults, and they only have a
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 Module 4: Socialization

limited emotional repertoire that Dr. Hunter called the “Inside Out” feelings
— after the Pixar movie that depicts joy, fear, anger, disgust and sadness
inside a child’s head. They don’t care about other children’s emotions.
“Children who are that age can’t meet each other’s social needs. They only
can tell people when they need something,” Dr. Hunter said. Before 18
months, children haven’t started the developmental task psychologists call
“theory of mind,” which is the understanding that other people have
thoughts different from their own thoughts. Enjoy your tiny narcissists!

Ages 2-5: What children are getting from socializing with other kids in the
preschool years is moral reasoning, said Dr. Hunter. “They need to learn
what is fair and what is right, and they learn that from being with other
children,” she said. They can learn that from siblings; if your kid is an only
child, though, it’s tougher for them to learn that from parents. That’s
because adults tend to allow their children to choose the games they play,
whereas when kids are interacting with peers, they will learn that they don’t
always get their way.

That doesn’t mean your child is doomed if they’re not going to a school or
day care right now. “If it’s safe to do so, getting outside and meeting up for
a peer group interaction, even just a little bit every week” should be enough,
said David J. Bridgett, Ph.D. a professor of psychology at Northern Illinois
University. Dr. Bridgett also encouraged parents to find their “inner child”
and “do make-believe and pretend-play” with their preschoolers. Pretend-
play helps children learn about creativity and problem-solving, he said.

Elementary school: “I’m not worried about them at all,” said Dr. Hunter.
While the very youngest elementary students may need the same support
preschoolers do, by the time children are 7 or 8, they’re finding ways to get
their social needs met, whether that’s through virtual interactions
(FaceTiming while playing Roblox, anyone?), or riding bikes together
around the neighborhood. My kids have taken to playing hide-and-seek in
our building’s courtyard with other children from the surrounding
apartments.

A note on masks: I asked every expert I spoke to whether they were

worried that being around masked children and adults would make reading
social cues more difficult for this generation of children. No one was
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 Module 4: Socialization

concerned about it, and in fact, both Hernandez and Bridgett thought
children may develop other skills more as a result of mask wearing — they
may become better verbal communicators and learn to look people in the
eyes more as they’re speaking.

When to worry: Everyone — kids included — has ups and downs during
the pandemic. “What you’re looking for is a pattern of downs,” said Dr.
Hunter. If it’s lasting for a week, and it’s because of distress from our new
versions of school, she said she’d suggest a mental-health day off for the
child, which she probably would not have recommended pre-Covid. But if
your child’s grades are suffering, and their being upset is lasting weeks or
months, it’s time to talk to your pediatrician.

By the way, about 15 more minutes into that first play date in July, the kids
stopped ignoring each other and started chasing each other on their
scooters. Turns out they just needed a little while to warm up and leave
their worries at the chain-link fence.

1. According to the article, how can social interactions help in the coping mechanism of
children during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis?

2. After reading the article, is social interaction necessary in the life of an individual?

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 Module 4: Socialization

Let’s Discuss | Time Allotment: 15 mins.

A. Socialization defined

It is a lifelong social experience by which people develop their

human potential and learn culture. Sociologists study the practices
of socialization in order to determine why people behave the way
they do. That is why they do not rank different ordered systems of
socialization as good or bad.

B. Major Theories of Socialization

Theory Major figure/s Major assumptions

Looking-glass Charles Horton Individuals use the
self Cooley perceptions that others have
of them to develop
judgments and feelings about
themselves, hence they “see”
themselves when they
interact with other people as
if they are looking in a
mirror.
Taking the role of George Herbert Children, most specifically,
the other Mead pretend to be other people in
their plays and in doing so
learn what others expect of
them.
Psychoanalytic Sigmund Freud If a child does not develop
normally and the superego
does not become strong
enough to overcome the id, it
results to antisocial
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 Module 4: Socialization

behavior. (3 personality
elements: id, ego, superego)
Cognitive Jean Piaget Cognitive development
Development occurs through four stages.
The final stage, the formal
operational stage (ages 12
and up), uses general
principles to resolve various
problems.

C. Agents of Socialization

Family • Have always had a lifelong

impact
• Lay down a basic sense of
self, motivation, values, and
beliefs
• Parents send subtle
messages to their children
about society’s expectations
Neighborhood • Some are better places for
children to grow up than
other neighborhoods
Religion • Influences morality and
others such as dress, speech,
and appropriate manners
Schools • Primary agents of
socialization
• Exposes children to peer
groups who are also the most
powerful socializing force in
society aside from family

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 Module 4: Socialization

Workplace • For adults, a major agent of

socialization
• Not only skills are learned,
but also matching attitudes
and values
• Anticipatory socialization –
learning to play a role before
actually entering into it and
enabling individual to
gradually identify with the
role

D. Social Groups and Networks

Social Groups consist of two or more people who regularly interact

with one another on the basis of mutual expectations and who share
a common identity.
• Primary groups – usually small that is characterized by
extensive interaction and strong emotional ties that endures
over time. These are the first groups that an individual
belongs to. (E.g.) family, small peer friendship groups
• Secondary groups – larger, more impersonal, often exist for
a relatively short time, and only to achieve a specific
purpose. These groups do not provide the potential emotion
benefit that primary groups ideally give, however these are
equally important as primary ones. (E.g.) Religious
organizations, NGOs

Social Networks have been important in linking individuals to other

people and groups in order to bring certain advantages or favorable
consequences. Social media websites such Facebook and Twitter
have made possible networks of a size unimaginable.

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 Module 4: Socialization

Why is socialization an invisible yet very

formidable process that each member of
society has to experience and undergo?

E. How Socialization changed the Society

According to Arnett (1995), socialization has three goals:

1. Socialization teaches impulse control and helps individuals
develop a conscience.
2. Socialization teaches individuals how to prepare for and
perform certain social roles.
3. Socialization cultivates shared sources of meaning and value.

Are we ‘prisoners’ of Socialization? Why do you

say so?

Integrate

Listen to the song, Run by OneRepublic. You can access the song in
Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube. Analyze the lyrics carefully then
answer the questions.

pretty
When I was a young boy living in Momma said "son son son son
the city son
All I did was run run run run run You're gonna grow up, you're
Staring at the lights they look so gonna get old
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 Module 4: Socialization

All that glitters don't turn to gold Run run run

But until then just have your fun
Boy, run run run run run" Didn't get everything that I
wanted
Yeah, run run run But I got what I need, yeah yeah
Run run run I see that light in the morning
Shining down on me
When I was a young kid living in So take me up high, take me
the city down low
All I did was pay pay pay pay Where it all ends nobody knows
pay But until then let's have some
And every single dime that good fun, yeah
Lord gave me Run run run run run
I could make it last 3, 4, 5 days
Living it up but living down low They tell you that the sky might
Chasing that luck before I get old fall
And looking back, oh, we had They'll say that you might lose it
some fun all
Boy run run run run run So I run until I hit that wall
Yeah, I learned my lesson, count
They tell you that the sky might my blessings
fall Look to the rising sun and run
They'll say that you might lose it run run
all
So I run until I hit that wall Yeah, one day well the sky might
Yeah I learned my lesson, count fall
my blessings Yeah, one day I could lose it all
Look to the rising sun and run So I run until I hit that wall
run run If I learned one lesson, count
Yeah, one day well the sky might your blessings
fall Look to the rising sun and run
Yeah, one day I could lose it all run run
So I run until I hit that wall
If I learned one lesson, count Run run run
your blessings Yeah
Look to the rising sun and run Run run run
run run
Yeah, I learned my lesson, count

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 Module 4: Socialization

my blessings
Look to the rising sun Yeah, if I learned one lesson,
count your blessings
Yeah, I learned my lesson, count Look to the rising sun, yeah, run
my blessings run run
Look to the rising sun

1. What is the connection of the song in the context of socialization?

2. Which lines in the song struck you the most? How are these lines related to socialization?

3. After listening to the song, what realizations did you get from it?

Try These

True or False | Time Allotment: 10 min.

Assess whether the statements are true or false. Write AGREE if the
statement is true and DISAGREE if the statement is false.

1. Socialization is a process that takes place only during the early

years of our life.
2. The social self can also be considered as the mind.
3. The self develops purely from social interactions.

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 Module 4: Socialization

4. A person’s personality is similar to his/her self.

5. Norms have equal importance.
6. Norms are called as such because they are considered guides of
behavior.
7. Our status refers to what we do as a social person.
8. We can inherit our status.
9. Roles that we occupy in life are always coherent and hence are
meaningful as a set.
10. We can manipulate others’ impression of us.

Challenge Yourself

Final Mini Participant Observation Paper | Time Allotment: 1 week

1. Combine the first and second participant observation paper into

one document. This time, follow the format given below:
• Document size: US Letter
• Font: Courier/Courier New
• Font size: 12
• Spacing: 1.5
• Margin: 1” all sides
• Paragraph style: Justified
• Convert the file to PDF

2. Save the document under the file name:

UCSP11_MiniObservationTask-Final_SURNAME
3. Submit it in the UCSP Module 3 folder under Mini Observation
Paper Final assignment material
4. Rubrics:
Organization and 15 points
Structure (includes

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 Module 4: Socialization

following the given

format)
Proper Use of Grammar 5 points
Observations 10 points
Conclusion 10 points
Total 40 points

High Five!

Well done! You have reached the end of this learning module! To
conclude your learnings, answer the following questions:

1. Why is society a force that is present inside and outside of us?

2. List down three (3) learnings that you got from the topic.

References

Contreras, A.P., Dela Cruz, A.R., Erasga, D.S., Padrigon, C.C. (2016). The Padayon
Series: Understanding Culture, Society, & Politics. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

University of Minnesota (2016). Sociology: Understanding and Changing the

Social World. PDF file.

CrashCourse (2017, June 21). Socialization: Crash Course Sociology #14.

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-RvJQxqVQc

Grose, J. (2020, September 30). Will the Pandemic Socially Stunt My Kid?. The
New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/parenting/coronavirus-masks-kids-
socialization.html

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