SOCIALIZATION:A STUDY GUIDE REVIEW TEST PREP

STRUCTURE 45 QUESTIONS ONE SHORT ANSWER

#1. What is socialization? The lifelong social experience by which

human beings develop their potential and learn culture.

#2. What is personality? The term used for a person’s fairly

consistent pattern of acting, thinking, and feeling.

Social experience forms its foundation.

#3. What is behaviorism? The belief that behavior is NOT instinctive

but learned – that human behavior is rooted NOT in nature but in nurture!

#4. What is the nature vs. nurture debate?

The question over the influence of biology/ genetic factors in contrast to the impact of social experience (socialization) in human development.

#5. What were the findings of the Harlow experiments on the effects of social isolation on rhesus monkeys?

The Harlow experiments to discover the effects of social isolation on rhesus monkeys showed that monkeys isolated for more than six months were highly anxious when returned to others of their kind.

Conclusion: Infant monkeys could recover from about three months of isolation. But by about six months, isolation caused irreversible emotional and behavioral damage.

#6. Regarding social isolation, what do the cases of Anna, Isabelle, and Genie all have in common?

Taken together, the cases of Anna, Isabelle, and Genie provide strong evidence that social experience has a crucial role in forming human personality.

#7. What was Freud’s focus? Personality: id, ego, superego An idea in Freud’s thinking that has special

importance to sociology is his assertion that humans have basic, self- centered drives that must be controlled by learning the ways of society.

#8. What is the id? “Freudian term” Our basic human drives or needs which are

unconscious and demand immediate satisfaction

Is present at birth, making the newborn “a bundle of demands”

*Society opposes the self-centered id, which is why one of the first words a child learns is NO!

#9. What is the superego? Another Freudian term… In Freud’s model of personality, the part of

the personality that represents the demands of society, balancing innate pleasure-seeking drives.

Acts as our conscience - a moral sense of right and wrong!

#10. What was Jean Piaget’s focus? Cognition: how people think and understand

Not what you know but how you know it Aka “the acquisition of knowledge”

Identified four stages of cognitive development Sensorimotor : learning = senses Preoperational: ages 2 – 6; glass experiment Concrete-Operational: ages 7 – 11; more than one

symbol recognition (Today is ____ & my birthday,too!) Formal Operational: ages 12+; level of human

development at which individuals think abstractly & critically; fully embraces symbolism/ multiple symbol recognition

#11. What was the focus of Kohlberg’s research? Moral Reasoning

HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY PIAGET BUILT ON PIAGET’S WORK IN STUDYING

MORAL REASONING, THE WAYS IN WHICH INDIVIDUALS JUDGE SITUATIONS AS RIGHT OR WRONG

CONCLUDED THAT MORAL REASONING, LIKE COGNITION, DEVELOPED IN STAGES…

Pre-Conventional Conventional Post-Conventional

#12. With which issue was Carol Gilligan involved / concerned? Gender Issues / Equality Inclusion of girls in sociological studies

Reacted to Kohlberg’s male-only studies Extended Kohlberg’s research

Found that girls and boys typically use different standards in assessing situations as right and wrong.

By ignoring gender, we end up with an incomplete view of human behavior.

#13. What did Mead mean by “taking the role of the other?”

Imagining a situation from another person’s point of view…

#14. What did Cooley mean by the term “the looking-glass self?”

People see themselves as they think others see them.

#15. What / who is a “significant other?”

Parents Those people who are most important/

influential.

#16. What / who is a “generalized other?”

Other factors, NOT people, influencing the socialization process

Widespread cultural norms and values people take as their own.

#17. How did Erik Erikson view socialization?Believed that because we face challenges throughout the life

course, development is actually a life-long process. Recognized eight distinct stages with each stage serving as

preparation for the next.InfancyToddlerhoodPreschoolPreadolescenceAdolescenceYoung AdulthoodMiddle AdulthoodOld Age

#18. What are the four recognized “agents of socialization?” Family

Impact:HAS THE GREATEST IMPACT ON SOCIALIZATION

THE FIRST TO TEACH SKILLS, VALUES, & BELIEFS

EVEN TEENS CONTINUE TO PLACE THEIR GREATEST TRUST IN THEIR PARENTS

See next three slides regarding: School - Peer Group - Media

#18. Agents of Socialization, cont. School

ENLARGES CHILDREN’S SOCIAL WORLDS TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH BACKGROUNDS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THEIR OWN.

TEACHES A WIDE RANGE OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS… FEATURES “THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM” HONORING

COMPETITION, ACADEMIC SUCCESS, SOCIETAL VALUES, ETC. ARE MOST CHILDREN’S FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH

BUREAUCRACY RUNS ON IMPERSONAL RULES A STRICT TIME SCHEDULE “JUST A NUMBER” EX. JULIA = #17 THESE BEING THE HALLMARKS OF MANY

ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL EMPLOY THEM LATER IN LIFE.

#18. Agents of Socialization cont.Peer Group: A SOCIAL GROUP WHOSE

MEMBERS HAVE INTERESTS, SOCIAL POSITION, AND AGE IN COMMON.

UNLIKE FAMILY & SCHOOL, THE PEER GROUP LETS CHILDREN ESCAPE THE DIRECT SUPERVISION OF ADULTS.

OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS INTERESTS AND TOPICS NOT DONE WITH ADULTS

#18. Agents of Socialization cont. MEDIA: IMPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS

AIMED AT A VAST AUDIENCE SPREAD INFORMATION ON A VAST SCALE NEWSPAPERS = > RADIO => TV IN THE U.S., IT HAS AN ENORMOUS EFFECT

ON OUR ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR. HIGHEST RATE OF TV OWNERSHIP IN THE WORLD THE AVG. HOUSEHOLD HAS THE TV ON FOR 7 HRS.

A DAY PEOPLE SPEND ALMOST ½ OF THEIR FREE TIME

WATCHING

#19. What are the stages of the life course?

Childhood: approximately the first 12 years Adolescence: aka the teenage years Adulthood: 2 stages

Early: begins in late teens to early 30s Middle: ranges from 40 – 60 years of age

Old Age: begins around mid-60s

#20. How do industrial societies typically define/ treat people in old age?

Not as respected as in more traditional societies

Diminished role / importance in the family Seen as a burden Nursing home reality boom At times seen as vulnerable, “an easy target” for

crime Money scams Car jackings Parking lot muggings

#21. What are the five stages of dying according to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross?

DENIAL – “NO, CAN’T BE ME…” ANGER – “THIS IS SO UNFAIR….” NEGOTIATION – BARGAINING WITH GOD RESIGNATION – DEPRESSION ACCEPTANCE –

RATHER THAN BEING PARALYZED BY FEAR & ANXIETY, THE PERSON WHOSE LIFE IS ENDING, SETS OUT TO MAKE THE MOST OF WHATEVER TIME REMAINS….

#22. What is “anticipatory socialization?”

The term for when people model themselves after the members of peer groups they would like to join.

#23. What is a “total institution?” An institution to radically alter a person’s

personality or behavior. Examples of identifying features:

Staff members supervise all spheres of daily life. Inmates have standardized food, clothing, and

activities. Formal rules dictate daily routines.

#24. Resocialization The process of eroding an old identity, then

building a new identity.

#25. Rockdale What?

Case study / prime example of the impact of the peer group on adolescent behavior

1996 syphilis outbreak in a well-off Atlanta suburb affect over 200 teenagers and revealed lives unknown to parents: group sex, binge drinking, drugs, and violence

Where? Conyers, Rockdale County, GA., USA

When? 1996 Between 3 – 7 pm. After parents went to bed

Why? How? Lack of guidance, structure Lonliness => seeking acceptance

Happy studying!