Socialization and the Life Course

1. Socialization and the Life Course Chapter 4

2. Socialization • Lifelong social experiences by which individuals develop their human potential and learn culture • Personality – a person’s fairly consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting • Self – a dimension of personality composed of an individual’s self-awareness and self-image

3. Personality Enculturation Cultural Transmission Hardwiring

4. The Self and Socialization • View of ourselves comes from contemplation of personal qualities and impressions of how others perceive us • Self: Distinct identity that sets us apart from others • Not static phenomenon • Interest in how individual develops and modifies sense of self as a result of social interaction

5. Social Environment:The Impact of Isolation • Interaction of heredity and environment shape human development • Isabelle and Genie • Importance of earliest socialization experiences for children • Primate Studies • Harlow showed isolation had damaging effect on monkeys

6. Figure 13-1: Genie’s Sketch Source: Curtiss 1977:274.

7. Sigmund Freud’s Personality Model • Id – the human being’s basic drives • Ego – a person’s conscious efforts to balance innate pleasure-seeking drives with the demands of society • Superego – the operation of culture within the individual

8. George Herbert Mead • Stages of self • 1st stage – Preparatory stage – children imitate people around them • 2nd stage – Play stage- role taking – mentally assuming the perspective of another • 3rd stage – Game stage- can consider tasks and relationships simultaneously

9. Charles Horton Cooley • Looking glass self – we learn who we are by interacting with others • Imagine how we are presenting ourselves • Imagine how people are evaluating us • Form opinions about ourselves based on our perceptions

10. Jean Piaget – Stages of Cognitive Development • 1st stage – sensorimotor – level of human development in which individuals experience the world only through sensory contact • 2nd stage – preoperational – individuals first use language and other symbols

11. Jean Piaget – Stages of Cognitive Development • Stage 3 – concrete operational – individuals first perceive causal connections in their surroundings • Stage 4 – formal operational – individuals think abstractly and critically

12. Mead: Theory of the Self • Self begins as privileged, central position in a person’s world • As the person matures, the self changes and begins to reflect greater concern about reactions of others • Significant others: Individuals most important in the development of the self

13. Goffman: Presentation of the Self • Impressionmanagement: Individual learns to slant presentation of self to create distinctive appearances and satisfy particular audiences • Also known as dramaturgical approach • Face-work: Need to maintain proper image of self to continue social interaction

14. Erik Erikson • 8 stages of development • Stage 1 – Infancy – trust vs. distrust • Stage 2 - Toddlerhood – autonomy vs. doubt and shame • Stage 3 – Preschool – Initiative vs. guilt • Stage 4 – Pre-Adolescence – industriousness vs. inferiority

15. Erik Erikson • Stage 5 – Adolescence – identity vs. confusion • Stage 6 – Young Adulthood – Intimacy vs. isolation • Stage 7 – Middle Adulthood – Making a difference vs. Self-absorption • Stage 8 – Old Age – integrity vs. despair

16. Agents of Socialization • Family • School • Peer groups • Mass media and technology

17. Targeted Socialization • Anticipatory socialization – social learning geared toward gaining a desired position • Resocialization – altering personality through deliberate control of the environment • Total Institution – all aspects of a person’s life are under one authority