Chapter 4

Socialization
 Chapter Outline
• Why Is Socialization Important
Around the Globe?
• Social Psychological Theories of
Human Development
• Sociological Theories of Human
Development
 Chapter Outline
• Agents of Socialization
• Gender and Racial-Ethnic
Socialization
• Socialization Through the Life Course
• Resocialization
• Socialization in the Future
WHY IS SOCIALIZATION IMPORTANT
AROUND THE GLOBE?
 Socialization
• The lifelong process of social
interaction through which individuals
acquire a self identity and the
physical, mental, and social skills
needed for survival in society.
• Socialization is the essential link
between the individual and society.
Why Socialization Is Important
• Teaches us ways to think, talk and
act that are necessary for social
living.
• Ensures that members of society are
socialized to support the existing
social structure.
• Allows society to pass culture on to
the next generation.
 How Much Do You Know About Early
Socialization and Child Care?
True or False ?
– In the United States, full-day child care
often costs as much per year as
college tuition at a public college or
university.
 How Much Do You Know About Early
Socialization and Child Care?
• True.
– Full-day child care typically costs
between $4,000 and $10,000 per child
per year, which is as much or more
than tuition at many public colleges
and universities.
 How Much Do You Know About Early
Socialization and Child Care?
True or False?
– The cost of child care is a major
problem for many U.S. families.
 How Much Do You Know About
Early Socialization and Child Care?
• True.
– Child care outside the home is a major
financial burden, particularly for the one
out of every three families with young
children but with an income of less than
$25,000 a year.
 Human Development
• Each of us is a product of two
forces:
• Heredity- “nature”
• The social environment -“nurture.”
• Biology dictates our physical
makeup.
• The social environment largely
determines how we develop and
behave.
• Sociobiology is the systematic
study of how biology affects social
behavior.
 Discussion
• How has the environment influenced
you to be the person you are?
 Question
• _____ is the lifelong process of
social interaction through which
individuals acquire a self-identity.
a. Human development
b. Socialization
c. Behavior modification
d. Imitation
 Answer: b
• Socialization is the lifelong process
of social interaction through which
individuals acquire a self-identity.
 Problems Associated with Social
Isolation and Maltreatment
• Harlow's research with monkeys
showed the detrimental effects of
isolation on nonhuman primates.
• Human children raised in isolation
show many negative effects in:
– Language
– Emotions
– Self care
– Social relationships
• Neglect is the most frequent form of
child maltreatment.
 Discussion
• Is spanking a form of abuse?
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
 Freud’s Theory of Personality
• Human development occurs in three
states that reflect different levels of
personality:
– Id—basic biological drives
– Ego—rational, reality oriented
– Superego—moral and ethical aspects
Freud's Theory of Personality
 Erikson and Psychosocial
Development: 8 Stages
• According to Erikson, each stage is
accompanied by a crisis that involves
transitions in social relationships:
1. Trust versus mistrust (birth to age
one).
2. Autonomy versus shame and doubt (1
to 3).
3. Initiative versus guilt (3 to 5).
4. Industry versus inferiority (6 to 11).
 Erikson and Psychosocial
Development
5. Identity versus role confusion (12 to
18).
6. Intimacy versus isolation (18 to 35).
7. Generativity versus self-absorption (35
to 55).
8. Integrity versus despair (maturity and
old age).
 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
1. Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2)
- children understand the world
through sensory contact and
immediate action.
2. Preoperational stage (age 2 to 7) -
children begin to use words as
symbols and form mental images.
 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
3. Concrete operational stage (7 to 11)
- children think in terms of tangible
objects and events.
4. Formal operational stage (12 and
up) - adolescents begin to think
about the future and evaluate
different courses of action.
 Discussion
• What experiences have you had with
children that illustrate Piaget's
theory?
 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Reasoning
1. Preconventional level (7 to 10)
Children’s perceptions are based on
punishment and obedience.
2. Conventional level (10 to adult)
People are concerned with how they
are perceived by peers and how one
conforms to rules.
 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Reasoning
3. Postconventional level (few adults
reach this stage)
People view morality in terms of
individual rights; “moral conduct” is
judged by principles based on
human rights that transcend
government and laws.
 Gilligan’s Stages of Female
Moral Development
• Stage 1: A woman is motivated
primarily by selfish concerns.
• Stage 2: She recognizes her
responsibility to others.
• Stage 3: She makes a decision based
on a desire to do the greatest good
for self and for others.
 Question
• According to Sigmund Freud, the
_____ consists of the moral and
ethical aspects of personality.
a. id
b. ego
c. super ego
d. libido
 Answer: c
• According to Sigmund Freud, the
super ego consists of the moral and
ethical aspects of personality.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
 Self-concept
• Self-concept is the totality of our beliefs
and feelings about ourselves.
• Four components make up our self-concept:
1. the physical self (“I am tall”)
2. the active self (“I am good at soccer”)
3. the social self (“I am nice to others”)
4. the psychological self (“I believe in
world peace”)
• According to Charles Horton Cooley,
the looking-glass self refers to the
way in which a person's sense of self
is derived from the perceptions of
others.
The Looking-Glass Self
 Mead and Role-taking
The self is divided into “I” and “Me”:
• “I” represents the unique traits of each
person.
• “Me” is composed of the demands of
others and the awareness of those
demands.
• “I” develops first. “Me” is formed during
three stages of self development.
• Role-taking is 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.
• Significant others are those persons
whose care, affection, and approval are
especially desired and are most
important in the development of the
self.
 Mead’s Three Stages of
Self-Development
1. Preparatory Stage (up to age 3)
Children prepare for role-taking by
imitating the people around them.
2. Play Stage (3 - 5)
Children begin to see themselves in
relation to others.
 Mead’s Three Stages of
Self-Development
3. Game Stage (early school years)
Children understand their social
position and the positions of those
around them.
Children become concerned about
the demands and expectations of
others or society as a whole (the
generalized other).
 Bronfenbrenner's Ecological
Systems Theory
• Ecological systems are the
interactions a child has with other
people and how these interactions
are affected by other people and
situations.
– Microsystem—immediate family
– Mesosystem—family interactions
– Exosystem—outside the family
– Macrosystem –larger society
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.
– Family
– Peer Group
– School
– Mass Media
 The Family
• The most important agent of
socialization
• Forms our sense of self
• Primary source of emotional support
 Discussion
• To what extent are parents
responsible for how their children
turn out?
 The School
Teaches students to be productive
members of society.
Transmits culture.
Experiences depend on social class,
racial–ethnic background, gender,
and other factors.
 Peer Groups
• A peer group is a group of people who
are linked by common interests, equal
social position, and (usually) similar age.
• Peer groups function as agents of
socialization by contributing to our sense
of “belonging” and our feelings of self-
worth.
• Peer groups provide children with an
opportunity for successful adaptation to
situations such as gaining access to
ongoing play, protecting shared activities.
Media As Socializing Agents
1. Inform us about events.
2. Introduce us to a variety of people.
3. Provide an array of viewpoints on
current issues.
4. Make us aware of products that will
supposedly help us.
5. Entertain us.
 Discussion
• Are the media a good influence on
young children?
 Gender Socialization
• The aspect of socialization that
contains specific messages and
practices concerning the nature of
being female or male in a specific
group or society.
• Important in determining what we
think the “preferred” sex of a child
should be and in influencing our
beliefs about acceptable behaviors
for males and females.
 Racial Socialization
• 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
– Intergroup and interindividual
relationships
– position in the social hierarchy
SOCIALIZATION THROUGH THE
LIFECOURSE
 Socialization Through the
Lifecourse
• Each time we experience a change in
status (becoming a college student
or getting married), we learn a new
set of rules, roles, and relationships.
• Before we achieve a new status, we
often participate in anticipatory
socialization, the process by which
knowledge and skills are learned for
future roles.
• The lifecourse includes:
– Infancy
– Childhood
– Adulthood
– Lake adulthood
 Occupational Socialization

• One of the most important types of early

adult socialization.
• Sociologist Wilbert Moore divided
occupational socialization into four phases:
1. Career choice.
2. Anticipatory socialization (learning
aspects of the occupation before
entering it).
3. Conditioning and commitment
(learning the occupation and
committing to it).
4. Continuous commitment (remaining
committed even when problems arise).
 Social Devaluation
• When a person or group is
considered to have less social value
than other persons or groups.
• Social devaluation is especially acute
when people are leaving roles that
have defined their sense of social
identity and provided them with
meaningful activity.
• Ageism—prejudice and
discrimination against people on the
basis of age, particularly against
older persons.
 Resocialization
• Learning a new set of attitudes, values,
and behaviors.
• Resocialization is voluntary when we
assume a new status of our own free will.
• Involuntary resocialization occurs
against a person’s wishes and generally
takes place within a total institution.
– Military boot camps, jails, concentration
camps, and some mental hospitals are
total institutions.
 Question
• All of the following are examples of
voluntary resocialization, except:
a. becoming a student.
b. going to prison.
c. becoming a Buddhist.
d. joining Alcoholics Anonymous.
 Answer: b
• Going to prison is not an example
of voluntary resocialization.
SOCIALIZATION IN THE FUTURE
• Predictions for the future of
socialization include:
– Family will continue to be important
– Increased cases of abuse and neglect
– Growing dominance of television and
the Internet
Quick Quiz
1. Socialization is essential for:
a. the individual's survival and for
human development.
b. the survival and stability of society.
c. society to learn how to reproduce
itself.
d. all of the choices.
 Answer: d
• Socialization is essential for the
individual's survival and for
human development, the
survival and stability of society
and for society to learn how to
reproduce itself.
2. The lifelong practice of social
interaction through which
individuals acquire a self-identity
and the physical, mental, and
social skills needed for survival in
society is called:
a. socialization
b. sociological imagination
c. acculturation
d. assimilation
 Answer: a
• The lifelong practice of social
interaction through which
individuals acquire a self-identity
and the physical, mental, and social
skills needed for survival in society
is called socialization.
3. Kohlberg's research classified moral
reasoning into three sequential
levels as follows:
a. id, ego, superego
b. imagination, imitation, and simulation
c. preparatory, play, game
d. preconventional, conventional,
postconventional
 Answer: d
• Kohlberg's research classified moral
reasoning into three sequential levels
as follows preconventional,
conventional, postconventional.
4. The ________ by Charles Horton
Cooley refers to the way in which a
person's sense of self is derived
from the perceptions of others.
a. generalized other
b. reference group self
c. looking glass self
d. ego
 Answer: c
• The looking glass self by Charles
Horton Cooley refers to the way in
which a person's sense of self is
derived from the perceptions of
others.
5. Agents of socialization include:
a. mass media
b. school
c. the family
d. all of the choices
 Answer: d
• Agents of socialization include the
mass media, school, and the
family.