Socialization

							The importance of positive versus negative
Experiences in childhood
            Socialization

   Transforms Biological Organisms into
               Social Beings

                    “Self”

   Our recognition that we are at once
        distinct and part of a whole
If socialization makes us….

     Then what does isolation do?
        = a dysfunctional self
         From Pavlov’s Dogs to
           Harlow’s Monkeys
       Social behavior is learned
    Personality or “self”

   Can be seen as having three
            components
              Cognition
              Emotion

              Behavior
  Feral Children -
 “mythic” – legendary
      accounts
 Neglected Children
       “reality”
        Raised in relative
             isolation
   ANNA: In the late 1930s and 1940s a noted sociologist, Kingsley Davis, was
    called to investigate the case of Anna, a young girl who was the illegitimate
    daughter of a poor and mentally impaired mother who left Anna alone, locked in
    the attic. Anna’s mother had kept her locked up in an attic room to avoid Anna’s
    grandfather’s anger at her birth. Aside from brief visits to bring food, she had
    almost no human contact. When found, she was unable to walk or to speak.
    Her hearing and vision were normal. She seemed to show potential to learn and
    did desire human contact. She died at age 10
   Before her death, Anna learned to walk, understand simple commands, feed
    herself, and achieve some neatness. Although she seemed to show some
    potential to learn language, she spoke only in phrases, rather than complete
    sentences.
   She could bounce and catch a ball, string beads, identify a few colors, and build
    with blocks.
   When found, Anna had the mental capacity of a newborn infant. At her death
    she had achieved a mental level of approximately 2 to 3 years…
   GENIE: A more recent case from the 1970s teaches us a lot.
    This is the case of Genie written about in your text. Extensive
    tests showed that in many ways Genie was highly intelligent.
   But her language abilities never advanced beyond that of a 3rd
    grader. Genie never became a truly social being. Eventually the
    scientists who worked with her concluded that the most severe
    deprivation that caused her to fail at language was her lack of
    emotional learning and her feelings of loss and lack of love.
    Genie was never fully capable of living independently and spent
    her life in a home for developmentally disable adults. (Genie
    was showcased, along with the famous case of Victor from
    France, in a video entitled “Secrets of a Wild Child,” available in
    our college library.)
   ISABELLE was 6½ years old when she was found. Isabelle’s mother
    was a deaf mute (could not hear or talk) who stayed in a dark room
    with Isabelle, shut off from the rest of the family. Like Anna, Isabelle
    was in bad shape both physically and mentally. She spent most of her
    life in a room with her mother.
   For speech she made a strange croaking sound. (secret language?)

   She reacted to strangers, especially men, with much fear. She behaved
    like a deaf child, and her mental capacity was no more than that of a
    6-month of baby.
   An intensive training program was started right away and gradually
    Isabelle began to respond. Then suddenly she began to learn rapidly.
    Two months – full sentences and Sixteen months - a vocabulary of
    1,500-2,000 words
   Her I.Q. tripled in a year and a half.
             Spitz Research

   Comparison of those raised in nursing
    home with those in orphanage

   Much higher death rates for those left
    in the orphanages
    Skeels and Dye Research

 IQs increased by 28% over time with
  mentally disabled women
 IQs decreased by 30% for those left in
  the Orphanage --
 Teaches us that cognitive development
  depends upon healthy socialization
       Stimulating interaction is essential for the
                  development of “self”


   Socialization into a full sense of “self” requires
    group experience and social interaction to
    develop a normal human personality.

    Language (any kind we create) allows us to
      internalize and make sense of the culture
                    surrounding us
Social Psychological perspectives
  on the development of self

     Informed by sociology as well as
                psychology
               Self concept

       “totality of our beliefs and feelings
                 about our selves”
   physical “I’m wrinkled”
   active “I’m good at soccer”
   social “I’m nice to dogs and elderly people”
   psychological “I am opposed to war”
                   Mead

 Self develops in
three social stages

   Imitation, play,
         game
                     Mead
“Without language there is no mind, therefore
      the mind itself is a social product.”

   Through socialization we learn to take the
    role of the “significant” other and then the
                “generalized” other.
                   results in …..


                    “I” and “Me”
                       Cooley

       Looking Glass Self

   Society is
    internalized &
    becomes part of the
    self through the
    interaction
I’m not who you think I am…..
I’m not who I think I am….
I am who I think you think I am.
Dr. H’s Looking
Glass Self!
               Goffman

 We have virtual selves……
 “If I were ever in a room with everyone
  I have ever known, I would not know
  who to be”…..
 Some call it “flexible”, others “mutable”
                Freud
Civilization is dependent upon the
         control of impulse!
                     Id

   impulsive drives and is present at birth

    the id is supposed to be the instinct
     which gives rise to our more brutish,
              irrational behaviors
                  Ego

     links the self to the real world,
  mediating the drives of the id and the
          control of the superego.
 The ego is our cognitive system - i.e.,
   our perceptions - it's what controls
  action and organizes our personalities
              Superego

         has three jobs to do –
  1 - to inhibit the impulses of the id
 2 - to persuade the ego to substitute
       moral goals for realistic ones
       3 - to strive for perfection.
                    Erickson
        Life course
    socialization is about
         ego identity
        development

   is based on how we
     resolve our crises
       From trust to
         integrity….
Crisis: Trust vs. Mistrust


Positive outcome: If
 their needs are met
 consistently by the
 parents, infants not only
 will develop a secure
 attachment with the
 parents, but will learn to
 trust their environment
 in general as well.
   Negative
    outcome: If not,
    infant will develop
    mistrust towards
    people and things in
    their environment,
    even towards
    themselves.
    Crisis: Autonomy (Independence)
          vs. Doubt (or Shame)

   Description: Toddlers learn
    to walk, talk, use toilets, and
    do things for themselves.
    Their self-control and self-
    confidence begin to develop
    at this stage.
   Positive outcome:
    If parents
    encourage their
    child's initiative and
    reassure when she
    makes mistakes, the
    child develop the
    confidence needed
    to cope with future
    situations
   Negative outcome: If
    parents are
    overprotective, or
    disapproving of the
    child's acts of
    independence, he/she
    may begin to feel
    ashamed doubt his/her
    abilities.

     Crisis: Initiative vs. Guilt


    Description: Children have newfound
    power at this stage as they have
    developed motor skills and become
    more and more engaged in social
    interaction with people around them.
   Positive outcome: If
    parents are encouraging, but
    consistent in discipline,
    children will learn to accept
    without guilt, that certain
    things are not allowed, but
    at the same time will not feel
    shame when using their
    imagination and engaging in
    make-believe role plays.
    .
        Crisis: Competence (aka.
        "Industry") vs. Inferiority

   Description: secondary socialization --
    school is the important event at this
    stage. Children learn to make things,
    use tools, and acquire the skills to be a
    worker and a potential provider.
   Positive outcome:
    If children can
    discover pleasure in
    intellectual
    stimulation, being
    productive, seeking
    success, they will
    develop a sense of
    competence.
   Negative
    outcome: If not,
    they will develop a
    sense of inferiority.


           Crisis: Identity vs. Role
                  Confusion

    Description: This is the time when we ask the question "Who
    am I?" Here, we must integrate the healthy resolution of all
    earlier conflicts. Did we develop the basic sense of trust? Do we
    have a strong sense of independence, competence, and feel in
    control of our lives? Adolescents who have successfully dealt
    with earlier conflicts are ready for the "Identity Crisis", which is
    considered by Erikson as the single most significant conflict a
    person must face.
    Positive outcome: come out of this stage with a strong
    identity, and ready to plan for the future.
    Negative outcome: sink into confusion, unable to make
    decisions and choices, especially about vocation, sexual
    orientation, and general roles.
    Crisis: Intimacy vs. Isolation

    Description: In this stage, the most important events are love
    relationships. No matter how successful you are with your work,
    you are not complete until you are capable of intimacy. An
    individual who has not developed a sense of identity usually will
    fear a committed relationship and may retreat into isolation.

   Positive outcome: close relationships and share with others if
    they have achieved a sense of identity.

   Negative outcome: fear commitment, feel isolated and unable
    to depend on anybody in the world.

          Crisis: Generativity vs.
                Stagnation

   Description: ability to look outside oneself and care
    for others --- adults need children as much as
    children need adults, and that this stage reflects the
    need to create a living legacy.
    Positive outcome: nurturing children or helping the
    next generation in other ways.

   Negative outcome: person remains self-centered
    and experience stagnation later in life.
        Crisis: Integrity vs. Despair
                 Important
   Description: Old
    age is a time for
    reflecting upon one's
    own life and its role
    in the big scheme of
    things
   the healthy adult will
    not fear death
 Note how each stage of Erickson’s
Ego Identity Model is associated with
  varying agents of socialization (family,
  peers, education, media, etc...)
Piaget’s “cognitive development”
     or “stages of learning”
   Sensorimotor - no symbolic thought
    “out of sight, out of mind”
   preoperational - begin to use to words
    as mental symbols to describe but not
    translatable
   concrete operational – begin to take the
    role of others but limited
   formal operational – moral reasoning –
    can think abstract thought, impute
    motives, consider justice
    Summary of Mead, Cooley, Freud,
         Erickson and Piaget
   Mead and Cooley - personality/self develops
    through role-taking and interaction (development is
    social)
   Freud - personality develops as inborn desires clash
    with social constraints (development is social but in
    response to biological drives)
   Erickson - stages of personality development
    change according to social constraints (highlights the
    development of self via stages)
   Piaget - learning occurs in stages as our ability to
    reason increases, i.e., moral reasoning (highlights
    the stages of learning - also very dependent upon
    socialization)
Other seemingly natural aspects are
   also products of socialization

        Moral Reasoning…….




           Emotions……..
    “It’s our nature to nurture?”

   http://Katie Couric.... Sociobiology?
    Kohlberg - moral development

            Pre-conventional Levels
   little concern for views of others - based on
                       punishment
                 Conventional Level
       behavior is dependent upon approval
        wide approval is interpreted as right
               (significant others, peers)
                  Looking glass self
             Post-conventional Level
          (few adults reach this stage)
 Morality is viewed in terms of individual rights
  Moral conduct -- the final stage is judged by
     principles based on human rights that
                     transcend
             government and laws.
                Gilligan

   Gender roles influence morality as well
   Men – often make decisions using notions of
               justice – What’s Fair?

   Women – often make decisions using notions
     of relationships -- who gets hurt the least?
   She identified Justice based reasoning as
                       male

           Care-based reasoning as female

   Studies that have compared male and
    
females have found examples of both. Some
    have found one factor is education.
         Gender Socialization

        (What is it to be male? Female?)

   The role of parents and schools in gender
                   socialization
     Recent survey found…..

   Boys and Men are called upon more
               frequently

   College remains a “chilly” climate for
                  women
    Gender Stereotypes associated
             with Men:
   Aggressive
   No Emotions
   Loud
   Messy??
 Are Men really Messy?
   Athletic
   Math and Science Oriented
   CEO
   Money Maker
    Gender Stereotypes associated
            with Women:

   Submissive
   Emotional
   Quiet
   Neat/Clean
   Clumsy
   Artsy
   Housewife
   Child rearing
    Some quizzes to check out!!
   Early socialization
   Kids say the funniest things....Gender

   Role Reversal
   Role reversal
          Racial Socialization

    What is it to be African American, Jewish,
      Italian, Hispanic, Asian, German, Scotch,
              Irish, Native American, etc..
   Rituals, Festivals, Food, Pop culture, Religion
       – all facilitate racial socialization – some
         facilitate negative racial socialization
We Socialize our Children into the
        worlds we know
     Some children are taught early to
         demonstrate the following:
      obedience, neatness, cleanliness




Which Social Class might this represent?
  Some children are taught early to
       demonstrate the following:
 Curiosity, happiness, and self-control



Which Social Class might this represent?
   Kohn found that social class by itself
     was helpful but didn’t explain it all.

       Instead, he looked closer at the
        occupations the parents held….
             And sure enough…..
   Those with jobs that had autonomy…
    encouraged self expression etc..

   Those heavily supervised encouraged
    obedience, promptness, etc..
     Agents of socialization:

 family -- the primary agent
 religion           sports
 schools            mass media
 peer groups        workplace
Family – Primary Socialization
   1 - primary locus for procreation and
    socialization as well as the primary source of
    emotional support (functionalist might focus
    on this)
   2 - family is where we acquire our specific
    social position in society (symbolic
    interaction might examine role-taking)
   3 - the socialization reproduces the class
    structure as it is passed to next generation
    (conflict theorists look at this)
             Education: secondary
                 socialization
           1 - teaches specific knowledge, skills
             affects self-image, beliefs, values

       2 - transmission of culture, social control
               selection, training, tracking

   3 - “hidden curriculum” poor schools versus
                 wealthy schools –
             cultural capital in action
         Media – informal agent
   The most pervasive form is TV / Facebook / Video games
   Book reports children 2 -5 (24.85) hours per week
   Nielson new report says new average is 5 hours a day per household
    and 151 hours per month!!
   98 percent of U.S. households have at least one TV
   Story Telling through media
   Cultivation through the media creates a predisposition
   Cultivation through Media

   Provides information and introduces us to variety, an array of
    viewpoints, norms available in culture, entertainment……
   Kids who watch 28 hours of TV a week will see 16,000 simulated
    murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he/she reaches 18
    years of age!
                         Facebook
   http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics) :
   There are over 800 million members
   Up to 50% of the members are online at any given time
   Approximately 250 million photos are uploaded everyday
   Average user is connected to 80 community pages and groups
   75% of members are not American
   350 million users access facebook through mobile devices
        Media Critics argue…..

   Advertising is an informal agent of
    socialization and can lead to unrealistic,
    even destructive, gender role images.
    Kilbourne (1990)
Advertisement
 Stereotypes in Advertising
      Distortion of reality?

      Working class and poor are
   disproportionately represented with
  only 1.2% of the characters portrayed

Yet they constitute more than 30 percent
             of the population
           Minorities on TV

   Either under represented or presented
    as very rich or very poor
               Women?

 As women age, they get less roles and
  those they get are of stereotypes, e.g.,
 Witches, Mothers, Nuns, etc…
           “Class Dismissed”

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVu
    6ojB-cMg

   See all 8 episodes
                        Peers
       People linked by common interests, equal
         social position and usually, similar ages

       1 - contribute to our sense of belonging --
                         self-worth

   2 - normative -- peer groups can have their
      own norms, attitudes, speech, and dress
                     codes....
             Technology

 Socialization – and technology –
 A good thing?????


   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7V
    fTtsnh44&feature=related
   Anticipatory
    socialization?

   TV Movies teach teens
    what it is to be a young
    adult….
   Also teach us what to
    fear – will see 200,000
    acts of violence by 18
    years of age
           Role Models –
       Parents, Sports, Class
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-
    N4EDFa-YY&feature=related
 What is
re-socialization
  (voluntary -
  involuntary)?

   “rite of passage”
Anticipatory & Resocialization

   Rites of passage…..
   Say something
    about our social
    structure –
    Voluntary

                     Rites of passage can create a sense of
                     belonging….. Durkheim:
                     “They hold society together and are often
                     the site of the sacred in a given society.”
Rites of passage help ease our changes in status
       Rites of Passage
           Involuntary

   De-socialization often
       occurs before
     re-socialization

       “total institution”

                Emotions

   Why do they fit in discussions about
              socialization?

       Have you ever felt one way but
        expressed something different?
          Emotions Defined



“a bodily cooperation with an image, a thought,
a memory—a cooperation of which the individuals is usually
aware.”
           Structural View

   Kemper’s model: within social structures
    we have varying degrees of (power)
    authority and status (prestige or honor).
    Kemper essentially uses Weber’s notion of
    power. Changes in relative power result
    in the arousal of negative and positive
    emotions.
 More power = satisfaction, security,
  and confidence
 Less power = anxiety, fear and loss of
  confidence

   Status Shields
          Primary Emotions


   Result from situations that bring about
              physiological arousal
     Social Structure May Inhibit
        Certain Emotions……
        Emotions are social objects
   experienced in public but felt in private

   There are emotion norms just as there
     are behavioral norms and we learn
            these via socialization
               “feeling rules”
    Emotions are……

  responses that have been
institutionalized by society and
  transmitted through culture
Fear
Anger
Depression/Sadness
Happiness
 Feeling rules –
 Boundaries that delineate the privileges
  and obligations for what we must feel in
  a given situation – they provide
  direction for feelings and duration
 “a zone” she calls it.
               Secondary

   Those emotions we learn to feel via
    feeling rules/emotion norms

 Guilt               Proud
 Shame               Embarrassment
 Supposed to be
 Angry when insulted
 Calm and cool under pressure
 Happy at weddings
 Sad at funerals
 Rejoice at good news but not too much
  if it is at someone’s expense
    Commercialization of feelings…

       Leads to blocked
          authenticity
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
              viUqo_sP8E4



       Can lead to a new
        kind of alienation
 Role Models from parents to sports

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jilxK
  FxutU&feature=related



Another good film to consider