PSCC Chapter 10 Socialization

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Socialization

Saturday, October 8, 2011



Chapter Outline

The Socialization Process

Agents of Socialization

Cooley’s Looking Glass Self

Mead’s “I” and “me”

Socialization Across the Life Course

Resocialization




Socialization is the process by which

people acquire the culturalcompetency and through which

society perpetuates social structures

Through socialization, welearn:

• societal norms and values

• Statuses and theirassociated roles




What are we without socialization?

❖ What is left within the human being when allsocialization is removed or if socialization never

occurs?

❖ Evidence from feral and isolated children

❖

Mead believed that without language we could notthink. And, therefore, our “mind” is a socialproduct.




Socialization as Social ControlSociety uses socialization to ensure social order through the

control of its members; self -regulation is the most eff ectivemeans of achieving social control





Through socialization we come to internalize thenorms and expectations of society so that we can

regulate or control ourselves as opposed to socialinstitutions or formal organizations having to do itfor us.

The norms and expectations we internalize are

diff erent depending on race, gender and class ( as well as historical period, social context, and other variables ).




Gender and Socialization

Girls are taught to “self -regulate” with respectto managing or controlling their bodies.

A national study of 9th and 12th gradersexamined eating behaviors:

57% of the girls and 31% of the boys reported

eating disorders. Respondents with eating disorders reported

fear about one’s appearance to others as a concern.





Results in...

1. The creation of self -concepts.

2. The capacity for role taking.

3. The tendency for people to act in socially acceptable ways.

4. People becoming the bearers of culture.




Agents of Socialization

Institutions pass on expectations aboutappropriate social behavior ( i.e., statuses androles ):

Family

School

Peer Groups

Media

Religion




Polling Question

Which agent of socialization do you think isthe most responsible for gender diff erences inhow males and females are socialized?

A. Family

B. School

C.

Peer GroupsD. School

E. Media




❖ Self-concept : an image of yourself as having an identity separate from other people

❖ Cooley developed this idea by watching his own children at play

❖ Children learn to judge themselves based on how they imagine others will react to them

❖ Other people serve as a mirror for the development of self

❖ Looking-glass self : a self concept based

on what you believe others think of you

Cooley’s Looking Glass Self




The Looking -Glass Self

❖ A 3 step process that constantly takes place

1. We imagine how we appear to others ( our perception of how others see us )

2. We imagine the reaction of others to our ( imagined ) appearance

3. We evaluate ourselves according to how we imagine others havejudged us

❖ This process is not a conscious process and the stages can occurquickly. The results can be positive or negative self -evaluation




A Distorted Glass?

❖ Because the looking glass comes from ourimagination, it can be distorted

❖ The mirror may not accurately reflect other’s

opinion of us

❖ Unfortunately, regardless of whether or not weare correct or incorrect about their perceptionthe consequences are just as real as if it were

❖ “I don’t think they liked me; therefore they don’t like me”




Who is your most important mirror?

❖ According to Mead, some people are more important to us thanothers

• Significant Others: People whose judgments are mostimportant to our self -concept

❖ Depending on your age your significant others can change

❖ Children: parents, grandparents, siblings

❖ Teenagers: peers

❖ Adults: spouses, parents, friends, and employers




G. H. Mead and Socialization

• Role Taking: assuming the viewpoint of someoneelse and using that viewpoint to shape our self -concept

❖ Allows us to see ourselves through the eyes of someone else; allows you to imagine in your mind

what someone might say or do

❖ This ability emerges through imitation, play, and then games




Play




Mead’s 3 Stages of Role Taking

1. Imitation Stage ( 1½-2 years ): children imitatethe physical & verbal behavior of significant others

without understanding .

2. Play Stage ( 3-4 years ): play involves acting andthinking as a another person would. The childimagines the world through another’s eyes andassumes one role at a time.

3. Game Stage ( 4+ years ) many roles are consideredat once, they anticipate others actions, and there arespecific rules ( norms of the group are important ). Theplayers know who is supposed to be doing what.




Mead’s “I” and “me”

The “me”

• Role takes to imagine others’responses

• Forms over time throughexperience of interaction

The “I”

• Spontaneous, unpredictable and

creative part of the self • usually kept in check through

dialogue with the “me”

The Self consists of two components in dialogue...




Socialization is a Lifelong Process

• Socialization occurs whenever one

acquires new statuses:adulthood, parent,new job, retiree,senior citizen

• Usually these new statuses are added tothe existing ones




Resocialization

❖ Resocialization is when certain statuses are lost or stripped away in

order to make room for a new dominant status

❖ Resocialization entails learning new norms, values, attitudes, andbehaviors

❖ Resocialization usually happens in total institutions




Total Institutions

❖ Prisons

❖ Boot Camp

❖ Mental Institutions

❖ Cults

❖ Some religions


PSCC Chapter 10 Socialization

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