Socialization:
We can think of personality as having three components:
Cognitive, Emotional, Behavioral -- each are shaped by socialization.
Social environment is crucial to socialization. Social contact is essential.
Research on nonhuman primates illustrate the importance of social contact and consequences of social isolation (Harlow's monkeys).
Cases of isolated children also illustrate this (Anna, Isabelle, Genie). The term feral children comes from legendary accounts of children raised in the wild (e.g., "Jungle Book")
Most common form of child maltreatment is neglect.
Charles Horton Cooley's "Looking Glass Self" -- a person's self develops in three steps: 1)we imagine how others see us, 2)we imagine how others judge what they see in us (e.g., our appearance, our personality), 3) we develop a self concept in response to 1 & 2.
I am not who you think I am. I am not who I think I am. I am who, I think, you think, I am.
George H. Mead says we learn to mentally take the role of the other person in order to understand or see the world through their eyes. This is called "role-taking." There are three stages to the development of this role-taking self -- 1)babble or imitation stage (largely just a preparation stage), 2) play stage where we learn to take the role of those significant others around us, i.e., our moms, dads, siblings, etc., 3)game stage where we learn to take several roles on at one time and see ourselves from the perspective of the "generalized other." This means we can take many roles on simultaneously and understand what the expectations of society, as a whole, are for us. Mead also says that the self can be seen as having two components, i.e., "I" (spontaneous, unsocialized, creative, and impulsive) and "Me" (the socialized part, the "voice of society").
Both Mead and Cooley offer the sociological view of self and self development. But there are more psychological views.
Freud (id, ego, superego) Freud realized that socialization was important. For Freud, however, it was due to a need to keep biologically driven impulses in check. His theories have been criticized on several fronts.
Piaget (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational). Piaget provides insights into the biological processes of mental capacities but paid little attention to differences among children, such as gender socialization or cultural influences.
Summary Mead, Cooley: Personality and self-development via role-taking and social interaction.
Summary Freud: Personality develops as inborn drives clash with social constraints.
Summary Piaget: Learning occurs in stages as our ability to reason increases.
Erikson (8 stages)
initiative vs guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs role confusion, intimacy vs isolation, generativity vs self-absorption, integrity vs despair
The thing that makes Erikson's work so great is that he bridges the gap between psychology and sociology in many ways by focusing upon social and cultural forces and examining development throughout the life course. Remember socialization is a life-long process. Later studies have shown that race and ethnicity can impact the development process. Positive outcomes may be harder to achieve when one is a victim of racism or prejudice. Kohlberg - moral development of male subjects
- preconventional level (punishment and obedience orientation and naive instrrmental hedonism)
- conventional (good boy/nice girl morality and law-and order orientation)
- postconventional (social contract orientation and universal ethics principles)
Gilligan (moral development females - justice based reasoning versus care-based reasoning) Gilligan examined 28 pregnant women who were struggling with chosing whether or not to have an abortion. Gilligan argued that men are socialized to make moral decisions based on abstract principles of justice, e.g., "what is the fairest to do?" Meanwhile, women are socialized to make moral decisions based on compassion and care, e.g., "who will be hurt the least?"
Anticipatory Socialization:
Desocialization, Resocialization: voluntary vs involuntary
What does your book say about gender and race socialization?
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Agents of Socialization:Family -- Primary agent of socialization
1 - primary locus of procreation and socialization of kids and primary source of emotional support.
2 - where we acquire specific social position
3 - reproduces the class structure as it is passed to next generation
Schools -- Primary with a small "p"
1 - teaches specific knowledge, skills, affects self-image, beliefs, values
2 - socializaiton or transmission of culture and social control through selection, training, tracking
3 - "hidden curriculum" (cultural capital of the elite is valued, other cultural capital gets de-valued, reproduces the class structure
Peers -- people linked by common interests, equal social position and similar ages (usually)
1 - contribute to our sense of belonging and self-worth 2 - normative -- peer groups can have their own norms, attitudes, speech, or dress codes and conformity is important
Media -- impacts children as well as adults
1 - information
2 - exposure to variety
3 - provides an array of viewpoints
4 - awareness of what's available
5 - pure entertainment
6 - Television most pervasive form of media -- average 4-7 hours per day and 98% of homes have one.
Gender, Race and Class Socialization:
What is it to be male? Female? Parents play an important role in this.
What is it to be African American? Jewish? Italian? Hispanic?
Emotions - Hochschild -- emotions are taught through socialization. We learn "feeling rules" just like we learn manners, taste, language. We learn how and when to feel. We learn what is appropriate emotion and what is not. Sometimes when we feel different from what the situation demands of us, we engage in "emotion work" to muster up the necessary feelings. This can lead to a feeling of being a fake, i.e., alienation. Theodore Kemper says that we have primary and secondary emotions. Primary emotions such as happiness, fear, are the types we all have but the emotions which he calls secondary, are the ones which vary according to socialization. For example, an emotion norm may teach us that when we experience anger we should feel guilty for doing so. The guilt is a secondary emotion which arises from the emotion norm or feeling rules.
Please remember to review your textbook (chapters3 and 4)
What are the three components of personality as described in lecture?
How do C. H. Cooley and G.H. Mead approach development of self?
What do sociologists believe in regards to "nurture" versus "nature" debate?
Do feral children provide answers to the above question? If so, how?
Who were Anna, Isabelle, Genie?
Know Piaget's stages of cognitive development (e.g., sensorimotor, formal-operational, etc.)
Freud's model - id, ego, super-ego. How do these contribute to the development of self?
What did Dr. Holyfield continue to remind us as we learned each development model of the self? Hint -- how do these relate to socialization processes?
How do they relate to "desocialization" and "resocialization"?
Goffman's "impression management" backstage/frontstage, self-presentation
What is the dramaturgical perspective? These were in the last chapter but are relevant to socialization.
Total Institution? How does it relate to both degradation ceremonies and stigma?
Pay close attention to your announcement page for other items to consider and NEVER rely on notes from just the book or just lecture.