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CHAPTER 3: SOCIALIZATION: FROM INFANCY to OLD AGE

I. Human Development- The Influence of Nature vs. Nurture
Anna was in isolation for five years. She developed minimally after she made contact with human. She
died of a blood disease at ten years old.

In an effort to understand the impact of nature and nurture on human development, researchers studied
animals not humans. They did this out of ethical reasons; that is, not to damage a baby inadvertently.

The Harlows placed rhesus monkeys in various conditions and observed their resulting behavior.
1. Those placed in total isolation for as little as six months were severely disturbed, and when they were
returned to their monkey group, they were still passive, anxious, and fearful.
2. Monkeys placed in a cage with an artificial mother made of mesh wire with a wooden head and
nipples survived but were unable to interact when placed in a group.
3. Those isolated with an artificial mother covered in a soft terry cloth did better.
Conclusion: Monkeys benefited from closeness; adults should cradle infants affectionately.

II. Understanding Socialization
1. Freud- biology and culture/society in battle; id, ego, superego; etc.

2. Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development-
Piaget studied how people think and understand. He noted people go through four stages of cognitive
development:
i. In the Sensorimotor Stage humans experience the world only through their senses (i.e., touching,
tasting, etc.) (0-2 yrs.)
ii. In the Preoperational Stage people first use language and other symbols; kids use their imaginations.
This toy is their favorite but they cant say what type of toy is a favorite yet. (~2yrs)
iii. In the Concrete Operational Stage people see causal connections in our surrounding; focus on how
and why things happen; today is my birthday and its Tuesday. (7-11 yrs. old)
iv. In the Formal Operational Stage people think abstractly and critically (12yrs.)

3. Lawrence Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development- how people come to judge situations as right or
wrong. People go through three stages in their development of moral judgment, according to Kohlberg:
i. Preconventional level of moral development- young child sees the world in terms of pain and pleasure;
and rightness amounts to what feels good to me.
ii Conventional Level- happens in the teen years when a person loses some of ones selfishness as they
learn to define right and wrong in terms of what pleases parents and conforms to cultural norms; not just
actions but also intentions.
iii. Postconventional- is the final stage when people move beyond their societys norms to consider
abstract ethical principles and may argue whats legal may not be moral (e.g., Rosa Parks broke
segregation laws on the bus).

4. Carol Gilligans Theory of Gender and Moral Development- notes that boys and girls use different
standards of rightness. Boys use a justice perspective that relies on formal rules to define right and
wrong (rule-based) while girls rely on a responsibility perspective and have an eye toward judging a
situation in terms of personal relationships and loyalties. She asks why should the boys method (as
advanced by Kohlberg) be the standard for judging peoples behavior.

5. George Herbert Meads Theory of the Social Self-

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Self- is the part of a persons personality that is composed of self-awareness and self-image. He sees the
self as a product of social experience (the self is social).
People imagine the underlying intentions of others and not merely mimic them as a dog would. To do this
(understanding intention) requires imagining a situation from the others point of view. We put ourselves
into the shoes of others and image how they see us; this lets a person to anticipate how others will
respond to us even before we act. All symbolic interaction involves seeing ourselves as others see us in a
process Mead called taking the role of the other.

Looking glass self- In effect, others are a mirror (looking glass self) into which they look and see
themselves. If we think others see us as clever, well see ourselves in this way, for example.

The I and the me- By taking the role of the other a person becomes self-aware. The self has two
parts- the I which operates as the subject, being active and spontaneous; and the me works as an
object, the way we image others see us. We initiate an action (I side of our self) and then we evaluate
the action based on how others respond to us (the me-phase, or objective side of the self).

The key to the development of the self is learning to take the role of the other. Infants mimic others;
children play and take the role of significant others; then people take the role of several others at once.
We move from simple play involving one other person (Eli playing Quinn) to complex games involving
many others (about 7 yrs. old). According to the textbook, the generalized other refers to widespread
cultural norms and values we use as references in evaluating ourselves.

Mead sees that a person plays an active role in the socialization process.

6. Erik H. Eriksons Eight Stages of Development- not just early childhood but also the life course.

III. Agents of Socialization
The Family- often the most important agent of socialization.
Nurture in Early Childhood- Infants are totally dependent on parents and other family members; the type
of environment that is created by the family affects a childs development.
Race and Class- shape a childs identity. An increasing but still small number of children are inter-racial
(4% of all births). All social classes expect their child to be popular but almost 60% of the lower class
want their kids to be obedient while about 40% in the upper class want kids to think for themselves.
Upper class kids receive enrichment activities that improves their cultural capital, that is, knowing
things in society that advances learning and creates a sense of confidence.

The School- presents to children kids that are different from them and on the playground kids tend to
cluster with those like themselves (by class, race, and gender).
Gender roles- are reinforced in school with boys involved in outside activities while girls are more quiet
in the classroom.
What children Learn- schooling is different in rich and poor communities. Also, there is a hidden
curriculum for example, a spelling bee teaches kids to spell and to think on their feet but also that there
are winners and losers. Sports teach strength and skills but also competition and cooperation, for
instance.

The Peer Group- is a social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in common.
Peer groups are used by the young to escape from adult supervision, learn how to form relationships,
discuss topics that they wouldnt with their parents. People are also influence by the groups theyd like
to join. This is called anticipatory socialization. They take on the attitudes and behavior of the groups
theyd like to join (eg, jocks or later lawyers).

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The Mass Media- Media means connect with people. Mass means spreading information on a
massive scale. 82% of US households have a personal computer; 77% are connected to the Internet; 99%
have TVs.
Extent of Exposure to Mass Media-
*80% of men and women watch TV every day.
*The TV is on in American households 8 hours per day;
*adults watch it 5 hours/day;
*men ~5 hours,
*women ~5 hours,
*school-age children- 7 hours
*Minorities watch more than non-minorities
*Lower income people more than affluent;
*Kids watch TV before they learn to read
EFFECTSMore passive, less use of imagination, higher risk of obesity, takes time away from face-to-
face interactions.
TV and Politics-
*claim TV is liberal/conservative biased;
*minorities are/have been invisible;
*have stereotyped roles
TV and Violence- people think theres too much violence and sex on TV and research shows a
correlation between the amount of time school children spend watching TV & video games and
aggressive behavior, illegal drugs, trouble sleeping. American Academy of Pediatricians recommend
children be limited to 2 hours of TV per day; and those under two years of age not at all. Is it watching
TV that adversely affects kids, or is it the parents lack of attention toward them?

SOCIALIZATION AND THE LIFE COURSE-
Childhood, etc. - Industrialization created childhood and adolescence as life stages. (1) Although there
are biological processes going on throughout ones life stages, the life course is largely a social
construct. People in different societies imagine life in different ways (i.e., stages) experience life
differently. (2) Each life stage presents different problems and transitions require learning something
new and largely unlearning familiar routines.

Resocialization- a total institution is a place where people live 24/7.They are isolated from the rest of
society and controlled by an administrative staff. All aspects of a persons life is supervised. They are
controlled and standardized; formal rules govern them, having routines all to resocialize them. This
means that their personalities are radically changed by carefully controlling the environment. First the
staff breaks down and then builds up a person. The outcome is compliance and rehabilitated, recovered,
more hostile and bitter, or institutionalized meaning totally dependent on the institution.