NETA PowerPoint® Slides

to accompany

Prepared by
Tami Bereska
MacEwan University

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 Chapter 4

Socialization:
The Self and Social Identity

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 Overview
A. What is the self?
B. How the self develops
C. Agents of socialization
D. The social structure

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 (A) What is the Self?

Self-concept = the sense of who you are based

on similarities to and differences from others

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Personal-Social Identity Continuum

Outgoing Jewish

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 (B) How the Self Develops
• Nature (biology) and nurture (socialization)
– Biological determinism  e.g., sociobiology
– Behaviourism  e.g., reinforcement
– Bioecological theory  dynamic process of reciprocal interaction
between nature and nurture

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 (C) Agents of Socialization

Family School

Peers Media

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 Family
• First agent of socialization
• Plays a role in self-esteem and interpersonal trust
• Feminist view  reproduction of gender roles
• Conflict view  family as a site of disagreement
• Interactionist view  bidirectional influences
• Postmodern view  diversity of family forms and experiences

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 School
• Transmits knowledge and skills through the official curriculum
– e.g., mathematics, social studies
• Also transmits cultural values and norms
– e.g., cooperation with others

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 Peers
• Source of social comparison
• Pressure to conform
• Problem of bullying
– 40 percent of youth have been bullied or have bullied others

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 Media
• Connects us with others
• Provides us with information
• Provides us with entertainment
• Constructs reality and shapes our perceptions

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 (D) The Social Structure

Statuses Roles

Social Groups Social Institutions

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 Status
• A status is any recognized social position
– e.g., student, professor, sister
• Statuses may be ascribed or achieved
– Ascribed statuses are imposed upon us  e.g., son
– Achieved statuses are attained via our actions  e.g., doctor
• Status set = all of your statuses
• Master status = the most important status in a status set

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 Roles
• A role consists of the behavioural expectations associated with
a given status
– e.g., students are expected to study
– We occupy a status, and we enact a role
• Role conflict = incompatible role demands between statuses
• Role strain = incompatible demands within a single status

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 Social Groups
• Social group = two or more people who share relevant cultural
elements and interact with regular frequency
– e.g., teammates, co-workers, family members
• Delineate statuses and roles
• Social networks link social groups together

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 Social Groups (cont’d)
• Social groups have both positive and negative implications
– Social facilitation  e.g., performing better on stage than in rehearsals
– Social loafing  e.g., the slacking student on a group project
– Conformity  e.g., imitating the “popular” kids at school
– Groupthink  e.g., space shuttle disasters

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 Social Institutions
• Relatively permanent societal structures that govern the
behaviour of groups and promote social order
• Contain structures, processes, and rules
• Highly structured institutions are formal organizations
– Characterized by bureaucracy

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Max Weber’s Ideal Type of Bureaucracy

Division of labour

Hierarchy of authority

Written rules and regulations

Impersonality in decision-making

Employment based on qualifications

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 McDonaldization of Society

Efficiency Predictability

Control Calculability

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 Resocialization
• People may give up an existing status in exchange for a new
one
• Can be voluntary or involuntary
– e.g., resocialization resulting from an amicable divorce versus
widowhood
• May take place in total institutions
– e.g., prison

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 Summary
 The self-concept includes traits along the personal-social
identity continuum
 The self forms via nature and nurture
 Agents of socialization include family, school, peers, and media
 Socialization takes place within the social structure
 The social structure includes statuses, roles, social groups, and
social institutions

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