Socialization

Socialization:
lifelong social experience by which individuals develop their
human potential and learn culture.
Social experience: the foundation for the personality

19th century: debate---nature (biology) vs nurture

(socialization)
Sociologists: nurture > nature in shaping human behavior.
Socialization and Personality

A. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Personality: 3 basic components:
a. id-- human beings basic drives.
b. ego-persons conscious efforts to
c. balance innate pleasure
c. superego-- operation of culture within the
individual.

Id and Superego: in conflict, in a

well-adjusted person; Ego: manages the two
opposing forces.

Criticisms:
-childhood experiences lasting importance in socialization
process?
--sex as a basic human drive? --theory difficult to test scientifically
(B) Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
Cognitive development: 4 stages

1. sensorimotor stage: experience the world through

sensory contact.

2. preoperational stage: use language and other

symbols.

3. concrete operational stage: perceive causal

connections in their surroundings.

4. formal operational stage: think abstractly and

critically.
Criticism: people in all societies
pass through all the four stages?
(C) Lawrence Kohlberg (1981):
Moral development
3 stages:
(1)Preconventional: experience the world in terms of pain and
pleasure
(2)Conventional: learn to define right and wrong
(3)Postconventional: consider abstract ethical principles

Criticism:
(1)applicability in all societies?
(2) theory based on research using exclusively male subjects
(D) Carol Gilligan (1982, 1990): gender and moral
development
1. boys: a justice model stressing formal
rulesjustice perspective
2. girls: caring and responsibility and less on
the rules responsibility perspective

Criticism:
not adequately address the issue of the origin of the
gender
(E) George Herbert Mead (1863-1931): The social self.
1. Self: personality
composed of an individuals self-
awareness and self-image.
(a) emerges from social experience
(b) social experience based
on the exchange of symbols.
(c) understanding someones
intentions requires imagining the
situation from that persons point of view-- taking the role of
the other.

Self- dual nature:

a. I as subject: active and spontaneous.
b. me as object: the way we imagine other see us
Self develops through:
a. Imitation.
b. Playtake the roles of significant others e.g. parents.
c. Games--take the roles of several other people at the same
time.

Acquisition of the generalized other, defined as widespread

cultural norms and values we use as references in
evaluating ourselves.

Criticism:
ignoring the role of biology in the development
 Agents of Socialization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=526pL1fXmRY

1. Family: socialization varies by social

class.
2. School: introduces and being evaluated
according to universal standards.

hidden curriculum

3. Peer groups: members having same

interests, social position, and age

anticipatory socializationthe
process of social learning directed toward
gaining a desired position, commonly
occurs among peers.
4. Mass media: impersonal communications

Television;
Others forms of
communications?
Socialization and the Life Course
(1)Childhood: not grounded in biology

Childhood become shorter-- results from

changes in family e.g. high rate of divorce &
both parents in the labor force learn
dependence, less supervision

(2) Adulthood:
(a)early adulthood--working toward goals set
earlier in life
(a) middle adulthood: greater reflectiveness.

(3) Old age: final stage of life

traditional societies: slow changes; wisdom &
skills useful earn respect
modern, industrial society: rapid changes;
work and live apart from parents; knowledge &
experiences of the old are of little value
Resocialization: Total Institutions
A. settings in which people are isolated from the rest of society
and manipulated by an administrative staff.
B. their purpose is resocialization: radically altering an
inmates personality through deliberate control of the
environment.

a two-stage process:
1. The staff breaks down the new inmates existing
identity.
2. The staff tries to build a new self conform to the
current social values.