Name: Socialization
Uploaded: 2023-07-09
Duration: 6 min 9 s
Description: Socialization. The lifelong process of developing a self and becoming capable members of our group(s) and society..

Socialization. The lifelong process of developing a self and becoming capable members of our group(s) and society.. 

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The lifelong process of developing a self and becoming capable members of our group(s) and society.

Introduction to the Self and Social Structure Module. 

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Introduction to the Self and Social Structure Module

This is the start of the Self and Social Structure module. In this section on  socialization , we explore how we become members of our culture and society, including personality development from a sociological perspective. In the next section,  Groups, Social Structures, and Institutions , we will learn how our culturally influenced patterns of interaction create the structures on which our society is built. We will see how we as individuals create and are influenced by our groups, from dyads to institutions.  In the  culture  section of this module, we define the concept of culture and learn how ideas, what we do, and our stuff make up our way of living. We’ll end with a section on  deviance , or what happens when we do not follow the norms of our society.

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Socialization is not a party. Socialization is the process through which we learn how to become ourselves and members of our society. It does NOT mean talking to each other (or “socializing” in the ordinary English sense of the word). We need to learn our language, what counts as food, what we should wear, what we should know, etc. to be a part of our society. So how do we learn this stuff?. 

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Socialization is the  process  through which we learn how to become ourselves and members of our society.  It does  NOT  mean talking to each other (or “socializing” in the ordinary English sense of the word).  We need to learn our language, what counts as food, what we should wear, what we should know, etc. to be a part of our society. So how do we learn this stuff?

Nature vs. Nurture The first debate. The idea of nature is that our biology creates our personalities, choices, etc. In other words, we don’t really get socialized. We don’t learn our society; our bodies determine who we are. The idea of nurture is that our society creates our personalities, choices, etc. Sociologists argue that this dichotomy (two mutually exclusive choices) does not accurately represent human development. While our genes may provide us with specific, individual aptitudes, our culture and environment make it possible or impossible for those aptitudes to be expressed and shape the means of expression. In other words, our personal biography intersects with both social history and our personal biology. Shades of C. Wright Mills! See the next slide . 

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The idea of nature is that our biology creates our personalities, choices, etc. In other words, we don’t really get socialized. We don’t learn our society; our bodies determine who we are. The idea of nurture is that our society creates our personalities, choices, etc. Sociologists argue that this dichotomy (two mutually exclusive choices) does not accurately represent human development. While our genes may provide us with specific, individual aptitudes, our culture and environment make it possible or impossible for those aptitudes to be expressed and shape the means of expression. In other words, our personal biography intersects with both social history and our personal biology. Shades of C. Wright Mills! See the next slide  

Nature, nurture, and the sociological imagination. 

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Nature, nurture, and the sociological imagination

Remember that Mills argues that we must understand how our personal biography intersects with social history.  Our genetic predispositions affect our personal biography and social history affects if and how these predispositions can be enacted.   If Mozart were born into a culture that did not have pianos, he would not have become a pianist even though he likely had a natural talent for the piano. However, he might have still become a musician and composer using the music and instruments indigenous to his culture. What would have happened if he was born into a culture that did not have music?

Human beings are social animals. Human beings require human interaction in order to develop into fully realized people and to maintain mental health. The process of socialization teaches us how to interact with other people in culturally appropriate ways. There are numerous psychological studies about the negative effects of isolation on human beings. The Geneva Conventions on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners forbids prolonged solitary confinement. Cross-cultural studies show that shunning is often considered the very worst punishment possible. People who are shunned are at an extremely high risk of suicide.. 

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Human beings require human interaction in order to develop into fully realized people and to maintain mental health. The process of socialization teaches us how to interact with other people in culturally appropriate ways. There are numerous psychological studies about the negative effects of isolation on human beings. The Geneva Conventions on the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners forbids prolonged solitary confinement.  Cross-cultural studies show that shunning is often considered the very worst punishment possible. People who are shunned are at an extremely high risk of suicide.

Genie-a tragic example of extreme isolation. In 1970, a 13-year-old girl who had been kept in virtual isolation for most of her life was found in California. Her tragedy provided psychologists and linguists with the opportunity to study the effects of isolation on language and social development. These studies occurred in the context of her treatment and provided valuable information about the stunting effects of isolation on the brain. This optional video is an excerpt from a documentary about Genie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZolHCrC8E. 

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Genie-a tragic example of extreme isolation

In 1970, a 13-year-old girl who had been kept in virtual isolation for most of her life was found in California. Her tragedy provided psychologists and linguists with the opportunity to study the effects of isolation on language and social development. These studies occurred in the context of her treatment and provided valuable information about the stunting effects of isolation on the brain. This  optional  video is an excerpt from a documentary about Genie.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZolHCrC8E

Primary socialization. Because of her extreme isolation, Genie had no one to socialize her For most of the rest of us, our primary socialization occurs within our family. Primary socialization is the way that we learn the very basic structures of our society such as our language, what things are considered food and how to eat them, and basic gender behaviors. We mostly take what we learn in primary socialization for granted.. 

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Because of her extreme isolation, Genie had no one to socialize her For most of the rest of us, our primary socialization occurs within our family.  Primary socialization is the way that we learn the very basic structures of our society such as our language, what things are considered food and how to eat them, and basic gender behaviors. We mostly take what we learn in primary socialization for granted.

Agents of socialization. While our families are key agents of our primary socialization, sociologists have identified several other agents who typically provide secondary socialization: school peers mass media work religion the state (our country) Secondary socialization is the way we learn our place in society and the skills necessary to interact beyond our families. Primary socialization mostly happens when we are very small; we don’t even remember it happening. Secondary socialization is the process of learning everything else.. 

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While our  families  are key agents of  our primary socialization, sociologists have identified several other agents who typically provide secondary socialization: school peers mass media work religion the state (our country) Secondary socialization is the way we learn our place in society and the skills necessary to interact beyond our families. Primary socialization mostly happens when we are very small; we don’t even remember it happening. Secondary socialization is the process of learning everything else.

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Quiz Question 1. While our family typically provides our primary socialization, there are several agents of socialization that move us beyond the basics. The list on the previous slide includes agents of secondary socialization. Pick 4 of these ( except the family ) and write about how each one has helped you to become a member of society.. 

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While our family typically provides our primary socialization, there are several agents of socialization that move us beyond the basics. The list on the previous slide includes agents of secondary socialization. Pick 4 of these ( except the family ) and write about how each one has helped you to become a member of society.

Socialization never stops. As we grow, we continue to become socialized into our new age categories. For example, we expect different knowledge and behaviors from someone who is 5 years old, 15 years old, and 50 years old. When we take on new identities and responsibilities (work, parenting, etc.), we learn the expectations of those identities. Most socialization after our early childhood is secondary socialization, although we may learn about what it means to be an adult from watching our parents when we are very young. There area several different types of socialization. Here, we’ll only discuss three: Anticipatory socialization Resocialization, and Reverse socialization.. 

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As we grow, we continue to become socialized into our new age categories. For example, we expect different knowledge and behaviors from someone who is 5 years old, 15 years old, and 50 years old. When we take on new identities and responsibilities (work, parenting, etc.), we learn the expectations of those identities. Most socialization after our early childhood is secondary socialization, although we may learn about what it means to be an adult from watching our parents when we are very young. There area several different types of socialization. Here, we’ll only discuss three:  Anticipatory socialization Resocialization, and Reverse socialization.

Types of socialization anticipatory socialization. 

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Types of socialization anticipatory socialization

Anticipatory socialization happens when we practice the behaviors, attitudes, etc. that are typical of the identities we want to have. Examples include Learning how to tie a tie in preparation for job interviews Children play “house” in order to understand the expectations of parents Students may “shadow” someone in a career they might like to have Junior ROTC

Types of socialization resocialization. Resocialization happens when there is a change in our lives and we must give up our previous understandings and learn new ones. We must unlearn how to be in society in order to learn the expectations of new statuses. For example, when we move from high school to college, we learn that being a student requires more thought and more time; when we move to a new country, we must learn the new norms of that place.. 

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Resocialization  happens when there is a change in our lives and we must give up our previous understandings and learn new ones. We must unlearn how to be in society in order to learn the expectations of new statuses. For example, when we move from high school to college, we learn that being a student requires more thought and more time; when we move to a new country, we must learn the new norms of that place.

Types of socialization resocialization and total institutions. 

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Types of socialization resocialization and total institutions

Institutions that regulate every aspect of our lives, like prison, the military, or an insane asylum, are called total institutions.  The institution regulates what we wear, what we eat, when we eat, when we sleep, what we do in the daytime…. In these places, we lose our original identity and are re-made into the type of person appropriate for that institution—a soldier, a prisoner. This includes rituals (like boot camp) that degrade us and strip away our individuality in order to make us more-or-less just like everyone else in the total institution.  This is a form of extreme resocialization. Can you think of other total institutions? What function do total institutions fill? How can we understand them in terms of power?

Types of socialization reverse socialization. Reverse socialization typically happens when the expected order of socialization is reversed—when the child socializes the parent. Reverse socialization often happens in immigrant families, when the child has learned the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors of the new society and must help to educate their parents.. 

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Types of socialization reverse socialization

Reverse socialization typically happens when the expected order of socialization is reversed—when the child socializes the parent. Reverse socialization often happens in immigrant families, when the child has learned the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors of the new society and must help to educate their parents.