Sociology 110 – Breakout Session

Chapter 3 - SocializationFebruary 20, 2015

Your assignment…

Watch the video and read these two articles:

We are going to discuss them next week in class in combination

with agents of socialization!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWubtUnSfA0

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9028479/Couple-raise-child-as-gender-neutral-to-avoid-stereotyping.html

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2015/02/princeton_university_to_transition_single-stall_ba.html

Individuals and groups that influence our orientation to life, our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors.

NAME SOME…

Agents of Socialization:

Family Social Class Neighborhood Religion Day Care School and Peer Groups Workplace…

Agents of Socialization

Motivations Values Beliefs Sense of Self – who we are Strong or weak, smart or dumb, etc…

PERSONAL EXAMPLE: “Puppies and Kitties”

Agents of Socialization - Family

Prepare children for the life that you predict that they will have – occupation related

Working Class: keep out of trouble tend toward physical discipline Expect to be supervised

Middle Class Develop curiosity, self-expression, self-control Tend toward reasoning with child for discipline

Agents of Socialization – Social Class

Children from poor neighborhood are more likely to get in trouble with the law, become pregnant, drop out of school, and even to have worse mental health as an adult

Children from more affluent neighborhood keep a closer eye on children than residents of poor neighborhood

Agents of Socialization – Neighborhood

Provide a foundation (values plus doctrine) for morality for religious people and non-religious people

2 out of 5 people report that they attend church services

Learn about clothing, speech, and manners for formal occasions

Provide sense of belonging Help integrate immigrant to

society and offer social mobility Influence for social change

Agents of Socialization – Religion

Study in 1999 (and was duplicated in 2006): day care children regardless of quality of daycare, social class, or gender:

Have weaker bonds with mothers and are less affectionate to them

Less cooperative with others and are more likely to fight / be mean

More likely to talk back to teachers

BUT…Children did score higher on language tests

Agents of Socialization – Day Care

Patricia and Peter Adler (1998) – observed elementary schools

Children separate themselves by gender

What made boy popular: athletic ability, coolness, toughness

(high grades lowered statuses) What made girls popular:

family background physical appearance (clothing and makeup) and ability to attract popular boys (high grades elevated status)

THINK ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL

Agents of Socialization – School and Peer Groups

Anticipatory socialization Learning to play a role before entering it Rehearsal for future activity Talk to people who work in the career Read novels about the career Internships Prepares our self concept

Agents of Socialization – Workplace

Resocialization Learning new norms, values, attitudes, and

behaviors to match their new situation in life Examples: A nun, a man just divorced, someone

who left the military Can be mild (new boss) or extreme

(joining AA)

Agents of Socialization – Workplace

Erving Goffman (1961) Coined the term referring to being cut off from society and

totally under control of the officials in charge Examples?

Boot camp Prisons Concentration camps Convents Religious cults Military schools

Enter with a degradation ceremony to strip identity and put a new one in place

Agents of Socialization – Total Institutions

SOCIALIZATION CHANGES OVER TIME…this is the:

SOCIALIZATION THROUGH LIFE COURSE

Life Course: Stages of life from birth to death

Children (birth to age 12) Used to be about terrorizing to create obedience

Ex. Kids witnessing executions (Bravehart) Pre-middle ages and in middle ages – age 7 was common

age for boys to leave home to take work/ girls took on household tasks until marriage

Industrialization allowed children to go to school

Adolescence (age 13-17) SOCIAL INVENTION FROM THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION –

WHY??? Education is important Tribes initiate into adulthood, etc.

Socialization through Life Course

Life Course: Stages of life from birth to death Transitional Adulthood (age 18-29)

“adultolescence” Free from control of parents but many do not support

themselves Continue to “find themselves” College students, young in careers, full time jobs, engage in

courtship, get married, and go into debt

Middle Years (age 30-65) Early Middle Years (age 30-49)

More sure of themselves and goals in life Common in this time – divorce and loss of a job Time of: too little time, too many demands, too little sleep

Socialization through Life Course

Life Course: Stages of life from birth to death Later Middle Years (age 50-65)

Health issues and mortality as body changes Shift of thought of time since birth to time left to live Caring for children and ailing parents Job security and higher standard of living

Older Years (65 on) Transitional older years – begin to understand new life that

is old age Retirement (average 63 / some later at 75) Feel time closing in

Later Older Years (75 on or maybe 85 on…???) Growing frailty and illness

Socialization through Life Course

Have a GREAT Weekend!