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SOCIALIZATION & THE LIFE COURSE

CHAPTER 4

SOCIALIZATION

• Socialization is the process through which people learn the expectations of

society.

• Through socialization, people absorb their culture: customs, habits, laws,

practices, and means of expression.

• Socialization is the basis for identity and personality.

• Identity is both personal and social.

• Socialization occurs during interaction with each other

– Who we are is defined in part by how others see us

– How one is socialized differs for individuals depending on factors such

as age, race, sex, class, and personality.

• Through socialization, one internalizes the expectations of society.

– You become a product of your culture, how you were raised, and by

whom.

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SOCIALIZATION

• Seldom, if ever, does one stop to question why s/he is who s/he is, or even who s/he is.

– It is simply taken for granted.

– Identity questions arise for people who have to make choices about their identity. For example:

• A child born to an Asian and African American parent

• A person who looks female but identifies better with male tendencies and preferences

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THE NATURE–NURTURE

CONTROVERSY

• An ongoing debate amongst social and biological scientists is, ―What makes us who we are?‖

• Is it nature (inborn) or nurture (acquired)?

• Are we a product of our socialization or our genetic composition?

• Sociologists do not deny the influence of genetics on defining our potential, but they focus on how social influences shape who we are.

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NATURE VS. NURTURE

• Sociologists speak about our lives being socially constructed,

including our feelings, attitudes, opinions, beliefs, values, and

abilities.

• Our values and social attitudes are not inborn.

• They emerge through the interactions we have with others and

our social position in society.

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SOCIALIZATION AS SOCIAL CONTROL

• Sociologist Peter Berger pointed out that not only do people live in

society, but society also lives in people (1963).

• Socialization is, therefore, a mode of social control.

• Social control is the process by which groups and individuals

within those groups are brought into conformity with dominant

social expectations.

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SOCIAL CONTROLS

• Learned beliefs and the expectations of others keep people in line, we do not need to be coerced or threatened in order to follow society‘s cultural expectations (norms).

• Members of our culture such as our family, peers, teachers, and clergy exert social controls over us.

• We are rewarded for compliance and punished for misconduct.

• Good boy, good girl, you deserve an ice cream sundae.

• Naughty boy, bad girl, go to your room until you decide to behave.

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CONFORMITY AND INDIVIDUALITY

• Saying that people conform to social expectations does not

eliminate individuality. We are all unique to some degree.

• Our uniqueness arises from:

• different experiences

• different patterns of socialization

• the choices we make

• the imperfect ways we learn our roles

• resistance to some of society‘s expectations

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THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIALIZATION

• Socialization is a lifelong process with consequences that affect how

we behave toward others and what we think of ourselves.

• Sociologists have identified the following four consequences of

socialization:

1. socialization establishes self-concepts

2. socialization creates the capacity for role-taking

3. socialization creates the tendency for people to act in socially

acceptable ways

4. socialization makes people bearers of culture

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AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

• Andersen and Taylor identify six major agents of

socialization

• social institutions responsible for helping socialize

us and for helping us create our self-identity.

1. Family

2. Mass Media

3. Peers

4. Religion

5. Sports

6. Schools

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THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION

• Each of the sociological perspectives, including functionalism,

conflict theory, symbolic interaction, and feminism.

• Each theory provides a unique set of assumptions about

socialization and its effect on the development of the self.

• Psychoanalytic theory and social learning theory also provide a

perspective on socialization.

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PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY SIGMUND FREUD

• Psychoanalytic theory originates in the work of Sigmund Freud

(1856–1939).

• Perhaps Freud‘s greatest contribution was the idea that the

unconscious mind shapes human behavior.

• Psychoanalytic theory depicts the human psyche in three parts,

the:

• Id = deep drives and impulses.

• Superego = internalized cultural values and norms.

• Ego = the seat of reason and common sense.

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PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY (CONTINUED)

• Freud‘s Psychoanalytic theory places an emphasis on the internal

unconscious processes of the human mind.

– Glimpses of the conflict between the id and the superego, which

occurs in the subconscious mind and which shapes human

behavior can be seen in dreams and in occasional slips of the

tongue.

• Psychoanalytic theory interprets human identity as relatively fixed at

an early age in a process greatly influenced by one‘s family.

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PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE NANCY CHODOROW

• Nancy Chodorow (1978), a contemporary sociologist, used

psychoanalytic theory to explain how gendered personalities develop.

We call this a NeoFreudian perspective

– According to her, even in adulthood:

• girls identify with the mother, do not need to separate from the

female/mother in order to develop normally.

• men‘s personalities are based on greater detachment from their

mother as they relate to the male, father, role model while growing

up. Male is that which is not female (thus the plethora of female

debasing jokes and words used to affirm hypermasculinity)

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SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

• Social learning theory considers the formation of identity to be a

learned response to external social stimuli.

• Emphasizes the societal context of socialization.

– Identity as the result of modeling oneself in response to the

expectations of others.

– Behaviors and attitudes develop in response to reinforcement and

encouragement from those around us.

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SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY JEAN PIAGET

• Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget (1896–1980) transformed early

social learning theory from a mechanical perspective to a more

dynamic interpretation.

• Argued that learning was crucial to socialization but that cognitive

development is critical

• Human mind organizes experience into mental categories, i.e.,

schema (the rules of the game).

• Schema are then modified and developed as social experiences

accumulate.

• Note that the ability to use these schemes is age-based

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JEAN PIAGET (CONTINUED)

• Humans do not simply respond to stimulus but

actively absorb experience and figure out what they

are seeing to construct a picture (a schema) of the

world.

• Piaget (1926) proposed that children go through

distinct stages of cognitive development as they

learn the basic rules of reasoning.

• They must master the skills at each level before

they go on to the next.

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FUNCTIONALISM

• Socialization integrates people into society because it is the

mechanism through which they internalize social roles and the

values of society.

• This reinforces social consensus because it encourages at least

some degree of conformity.

• Socialization is one way that society maintains its stability.

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CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

• In American society, the white male is the dominant group. This

influences media messages, socialization into gender roles, etc.

• Power and coercion in society, conflict theorists would be most

interested in how group identity is shaped by patterns of inequality in

society.

• A person‘s or group‘s identity always emerges in a context, and if

that context is marked by different opportunities for different

groups, then one‘s identity will be shaped by unequal access to

opportunities. In other words, people of color, women, and other

minority groups will not have the same opportunities as the

dominant group

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SYMBOLIC INTERACTION THEORY

We learn identities and values through socialization.

– The self is what we imagine we are; it is not only an interior

bundle of drives, instincts, and motives.

• The meaning assigned to something, including one‘s own

identity, is constantly reconstructed as we act within our social

environments.

• Peter Berger emphasized that human beings make conscious and

meaningful adaptations to their social environment.

• Identity is not something that is unconscious and hidden from

view, but is socially bestowed and socially sustained.

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TWO NOTEWORTHY SYMBOLIC INTERACTION THEORISTS

• Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929) and George Herbert Mead

(1863-1931) were the early founders of the interactionist perspective

in the 1900s.

• Both theorists proposed that self is a product of the environment

and who one interacts with, not genetic components

• These are what determine and shapes one‘s identity.

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CHARLES HORTON COOLEY (1864–1929)

• Charles Horton Cooley postulated the looking glass self to explain

how a person‘s conception of self arises through considering our

relationships to others.

• The development of the looking glass self emerges from:

1. how we think we appear to others.

2. how we think others judge us.

3. how the first two make us feel proud, embarrassed, or

other feelings.

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C. H. COOLEY (CONTINUED)

• According to Cooley‘s looking glass self, the formation of the self is

a social process, based on human social interaction, the capacity for

self-examination, and the perception of how others seee us.

• One unique feature of human life is the ability to see ourselves

through others‘ eyes.

• People can imagine themselves in relationship to others and

develop a definition of themselves accordingly.

• Important development by Cooley, Mead, et al is to add the step

of interpretation between stimulus and response

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GEORGE HERBERT MEAD (1863-1931)

• George Herbert Mead agreed with Cooley that children are

socialized by responding to others‘ attitudes toward them.

• According to Mead, social roles are the basis of all social interaction.

• Taking the role of the other is the process of putting oneself into

the point of view of another.

• Role-taking is a source of self-awareness.

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ACCORDING TO G.H. MEAD

• As people take on new roles, their awareness of self

changes and one‘s identity emerges from the roles

one plays.

• He saw childhood socialization as occurring in three

stages:

1. the imitation stage

2. the play stage

3. the game stage

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FIRST STAGE: IMITATION

• The first stage, the imitation stage, children merely copy the

behavior of those around them. The child does not have the

cognitive ability to do more:

• They simply mimic the behavior of another without much

understanding of the social meaning of the behavior.

• Example: A young child mimicking a male adult shaving.

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PLAY STAGE

• Play stage, children begin to take on the roles of significant people

in their environment.

• They are incorporating their relationship to the other, especially

significant others.

• Significant others are those close to the child, such as mother,

father or sibling.

• For example:

• A child pretending to be her mother may talk to herself as the

mother would.

• The child begins to develop self-awareness, seeing herself as

others do.

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GAME STAGE

• In the game stage, the child takes on multiple roles at the same

time.

• roles are organized in a complex system and the child develops a

comprehensive view of the self.

• understands how people are related to each other and how others

are related to him or her.

• This is the phase where children internalize (incorporate into the

self) an abstract understanding of how society sees them.

• Think of the baseball game-to be successful, we must understand

the role of each player!

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SOCIALIZATION

• According to Mead the child also acquires a concept of the

generalized other; the abstract composite of social roles and social

expectations.

– In the generalized other, they have an example of community

values and general social expectations that adds to their

understanding of self.

– Depending on one‘s social position (that is, race, class, gender,

region, or religion), one learns a particular set of social and

cultural expectations.

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SOCIALIZATION (CONTINUED)

• Social expectations associated with given roles change over time

and place

• social expectations learned through the socialization process are not

permanently fixed.

– Despite many changes in family life and organization, young girls

are still socialized for motherhood, and young boys are still

socialized for greater independence and autonomy.

– Traditional gender expectations retain a remarkable grip even in

Western society.

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SOCIALIZATION IS SHAPED BY ETHNICITY AND RACE

• Where you grow up; how your family is structured; what resources

you have at your disposal; your racial–ethnic identity, sex,

nationality, and age shape the socialization experience.

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SOCIAL CLASS SHAPES THE

SOCIALIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE

• Middle-class children experience highly structured activities --music

lessons, sports, school groups, etc.

• Working-class and poor children, regardless of race, are less

structured in their activities, and economic constraints are a constant

theme in their daily lives.

– Socialization trains children to take their place in the class system

and class distinctions affect their learning

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AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE

• Socialization is an ongoing process from birth (and even before

birth) to death.

• The life course perspective describes and analyzes the connection

between personal attributes, status and roles, life events, and the

social and historical aspects of these events is used to represent

this experience.

• Society‘s history influences one‘s life experiences.

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AGING IN SOCIETY

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CHILDHOOD

• Childhood is a new stage in the life course (20th Century)

• Before middle 1800s, children were seen as miniature adults,

usually died before reaching adulthood

• Children sent out to work at an early age (children were an asset)

• During childhood, socialization helps to establish one‘s initial identity

and values.

• family is most influential source of socialization, along with

experiences in school, peers, sports, religion, and media

• Children acquire knowledge of their culture through countless

subtle cues that provide them with an understanding of what it

means to live in society.

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ADOLESCENCE

• Very new stage in life course

• Until the early twentieth century, children moved directly into adult

roles

• Adolescents want to become independent of their families; yet, they

have not moved into adult roles.

• Conflict and confusion usually arise as the adolescent swings

between childhood and adult maturity.

• Parents find adolescence especially problematic with the potential

for harm to their child—drugs, sex, driving, alcohol, etc

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ECONOMIC PRIVILEGE

• Patterns of adolescent socialization vary significantly by race and

social class.

– National surveys indicate that one‘s economic status and social

class defines an adolescents perception of work and play.

• Most economically privileged young people see their activities

as more like play than work.

• Those less well off are more likely to define their activities as

work.

• White youth (boys especially) are more likely than other groups

to see their lives as playful.

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ADULTHOOD

• Adult socialization involves learning behaviors and attitudes

appropriate to specific situations and roles.

• Resocialization-learning new roles

• Society has changed significantly in the last 50 years and often

adults do not have the skills needed to fit into society.

• They often resist change which makes aging extremely difficult.

• Marriage, a new career, starting a family, entering the military,

getting a divorce, or dealing with a death in the family all

transform an individual‘s previous social identity.

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ADULTHOOD (CONTINUED)

• 21st century adult life is not as predictable as it was in prior

generations.

• Adults must adapt to changing status and roles.

• Becoming an adult takes longer than before.

• More years of education, later marriage, postponing

childbearing.

• More uncertainty today than in the past with major economic

and political instability (housing, credit crisis, downsizing,

outsourcing, corruption, etc).

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RITES OF PASSAGE

• Durkheim argued that these were the ‗glue‘ holding society together

• Ceremonies mark the transition from one role set to another and are

celebrated in the community.

• Baptism, First Communion, Bar mitzvah, wedding, graduation,

even funerals are the rituals shared by the community marking

change

• Getting one‘s driving license, going to the senior prom, etc

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RITES OF PASSAGE (CONTINUED)

• Unlike some cultures and societies, the U.S has no major ceremony

marking the transition from childhood to adolescence.

• Some cultures within the U.S., such as the wealthy or some

Mexican subcultures, have coming out parties marking a girl‘s

16th birthday.

• Most indigenous cultures have major community celebrations

marking the onset of puberty and a girl‘s first menstrual period.

• This denotes their eligibility for marriage

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RESOCIALIZATION

• Resocialization is the process by which existing social roles are

radically altered or replaced.

– Social institutions with norms, and which require a person to

follow rules of behavior

– Example:

• The military

• Convents & seminaries

• Prisons and detention centers

• College Greek organizations

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RESOCIALIZATION OF THE ELDERLY

• Elderly in the 21st century must resocialize to adapt to the rapidly

changing fast paced world around them.

• Using new technology, including cell phones, computers, etc

• Everything is digital in today‘s society.

• An elderly person‘s failure to resocialize can make living

challenging and he/she may withdraw or isolate himself/herself as

a means of coping.

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