Socialization

Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Kings University College is on the
traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg,
Haudenausaune, Lenaapeewak, and Attawandaron
peoples. In our class, we are working towards
reconciliation by learning about the history,
experiences, and cultures of Indigenous peoples.
Using your Sociological Imagination

Israel and Palestine

Pride and Blues Clues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezEdMZhA5jk
Class Agenda

Define socialization and understand how

different theorists understand the self
Discuss socialization and the life course
Understand how socialization happens and
agents of socialization
Case study: Genie
 How do you know
how to behave in
our society? How
Consider the do you know the
common values
following and attitudes?
Is it nature or
nurture?
Socialization
The process by which people learn to function in social
life and become aware of themselves as they interact
with others.
1.

1. Entering and disengaging from a succession of

roles.
2. Becoming aware of themselves as they interact
with others.
Socialization
As a process:
We learn who we are
Our role in society
It shapes our behaviours and molds our
consciousness
Socialization

Primary Socialization: occurs during childhood

Secondary Socialization: occurs later in life
Socialization

Microsociological perspective:
Socialization helps us to discover how to behave
properly and what to expect from others if we follow (or
challenge) society’s norms and values.
Socialization

Macrosociological perspective:
Socialization provides for the transmission of a
culture from one generation to the next and
thereby for the long-term continuance of a society.
Socialization: Formation of the Self

Continued social interaction enables infants to

begin developing a self-image or sense of self.
Self
Consists of your ideas and attitudes about who you are
as an independent being.
Socialization: Formation of the Self

Sigmund Freud
Proposed the first social-scientific interpretation of
the process by which the self emerges.
He argued that only social interaction allows the
self to emerge.
Children develop a sense of appropriate behaviour
and a moral sense of right and wrong as a result of
learning self-control.
Socialization: Formation of the Self

Charles Horton Cooley

Introduced the “looking-glass self,” in which the
following process occurs:
We interact with others, they gesture and react to us;
this allows us to imagine how we appear to them.
We then judge how others evaluate us.
From these judgments, we develop a self-concept or set
of feelings and ideas about who we are.
Socialization: Formation of the Self

George Herbert Mead

Proposed the following concepts in self
development:
The “I”: Subjective and impulsive aspect of the
self that is present from birth.
The “me”: Objective component of the self that
emerges as people communicate symbolically and
learn to take the role of the other.
Socialization: Formation of the Self
Mead’s Four Stages of Development: Role-Taking
1. Imitation (of significant others e.g., parents – talking)
2. Pretending (let’s play house / school / doctor...)
3. Playing complex games (take the role of SEVERAL
OTHERS CONCURRENTLY)
4. Developing a sense of cultural standards (image of the
generalized other / application to self of the cultural
standards)
Consider the How does society
matter to our
following socialization?
Biography and History Intersect
A person’s potential is also shaped by the unique slice of
history through which he or she lives.
Success and failure occur in part because of circumstances
beyond our control.
Biography and History Intersect
Ancient China Ancient Greece
Rice agriculture required Small-scale herding and
substantial fishing
cooperation Less socially complex /
central organization more politically
harmony and social decentralized than
order ancient China with more
Thinking stressed mutual personal freedom
social obligation and Philosophies tended to be
consensus analytical—processes and
Philosophy focused on events were caused by
how whole systems cause discrete categories
processes and events
Life Course Perspective
Life course
The distinct phases of life through which people pass.

These stages vary from one society and historical period to

another.
Rites of passage
Cultural ceremonies that mark the transition from one stage of life to
another or from life to death.

e.g., baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funerals

Life Course Perspective
Childhood and Adolescence
In preindustrial societies, children were considered small adults.

The idea of childhood emerged when and where it did because of

social necessity and social possibility.
The term “adolescence” developed once teenagers were relieved
of adult responsibilities.
Life Course Perspective
Age cohort
A category of people born in the same range of years.

Age roles
The norms and expectations about the behaviour of people in different
age cohorts.
Life Course Perspective
Generation
An age cohort that shares unique formative experiences
during the first few decades of life, which help to shape
a collective identity and set of values.
Generations are most likely to form during times of rapid
social change.
Life Course Perspective
Canadian Generations
1. ‘Greatest Generation’ (early 1900s–1928)

Came “of age” during the Great Depression

Experienced / fought in World War II (1939–45)
2. ‘Silent Generation’ (1929–1945)

Also known as the ‘Traditionalist’ or ‘Lucky’ generation

3. Baby Boomers (1946–1965)

The leading edge of a cultural revolution that embraced civil rights

and opposed war
Popular music (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Guess Who…) encouraged
opposition to the establishment
 What does looking
Consider the at society in
following generations allow
us to do?
How does Socialization happen?

Social environment
Composed of others to whom individuals must adapt
to satisfy their own needs and interests.
Adaptation
The process of changing one’s actions to maximize
the degree to which an environment satisfies one’s
needs and interests.
Theories and Agents of Socialization
Functionalists emphasize how socialization
helps to maintain orderly social relations.
Conflict and feminist theorists typically stress
the discord based on class, gender, and other
divisions.
Symbolic interactionists highlight the creativity
of individuals in attaching meaning to their
social surroundings.
Theories and Agents of Socialization

Agents of Socialization
Socialization processes operate through a variety of
social institutions:
Families
Schools
Peer groups
The mass media
Theories and Agents of Socialization

Families
Most important agent of primary socialization (takes
place during childhood; personality and core
identity).
The process of mastering the basic skills required to
function in society during childhood.
The family into which you are born also exerts an
enduring influence over the course of your life.
Theories and Agents of Socialization

Schools: Functions and Conflicts

The public school system became increasingly
responsible for secondary socialization:
Socialization outside the family after
childhood
The hidden curriculum in school involves
teaching obedience to authority and
conformity to cultural norms.
Theories and Agents of Socialization
Peer Groups
People who are about the same age and of similar status as
the individual.
Help integrate young people into the larger society and form
an independent identity.
Teach adolescents how to adapt to the ways of the larger
society
Status
Refers to a recognized social position an individual can occupy.
Theories and Agents of Socialization

The Mass Media

Have become an increasingly important
socializing agent in the twenty-first century.
Includes television, radio, movies, videos,
music downloads, the Internet, newspapers,
magazines, and books.
What would feminist researchers say media
says about gender?
Resocialization and Total Institutions
Resocialization: Occurs when powerful socializing agents
deliberately cause rapid change in people’s values, roles,
and self-conception, sometimes against their will.
Examples: prisons, religions, army

Total institutions: Settings in which people are isolated

from larger society and are under strict control and
constant supervision of a specialized staff.
Examples: Residential schools
 Let’s
take a
break
Genie Wiley
https://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x54r5z

Thoughts?
See you next week!