Facts of Socialization

1. Facts of Socialization What makes us “feel”, “act”, “love” and “hate”?

2. Socialization……………. lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture. Learn by observation

3. Personality………………. a person’s fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking and feeling. Built by taking in your surroundings (internalizing)

4. Biological (Role of Nature) vs Social (Role of Nuture) Nature Nurture

5. Social Isolation: • Cutting people off from the world • If you do not experience, you do not learn. • Studies on isolation show irreversible damage can be done UP to 6 months of isolation. • So much is lost in isolation that many cannot “function” in regular society.

6. Isolation Studies What happens when children are raised in “isolation”?

7. Anna • 5 yrs old • Born in 1932 • No human contact • Had enough milk/food to survive • Unresponsive – couldn’t laugh, cry, smile, speak

8. After medical attention – did show improvement • Could play with toys and feed herself. • Started to interact with others. • Could have been mentally challenged since the mother was • Died @ age 10 due to a blood disorder which could have been from the years of neglect

9. Isabelle • Similar circumstances (1930s, 5-6 years old, etc) • 6 years of isolation • Experienced 6 years of development in a 2 year period • Was able to go to school

10. Genie • 13 years old • Born in 1957 • Found in 1970 • Weighed 59 lbs • Mental development of a one year old • Became physically healthy • Still mentally underdeveloped • Lives in a home for developmentally disabled adults

11. Researchers

12. Sigmund Freud Founded the “Elements of a personality” All personalities are: • Shaped by two opposed forces: • Eros (The Life Instinct) • Thanatos (The Death Instinct)

13. Freud – con’t Basic components of a personality • The “id” – human being’s basic drives • The “ego” – a person’s conscious efforts to balance innate pleasure seeking drives with the demands of society • The “superego” – the operation of culture within the individual

14. Critical evaluation • Freud’s notion that we internalize norms and his idea that childhood experiences have lasting importance in the socialization process remain critical • Some of his work has been criticized as sexist/bias.

15. Jean Piaget Founded the idea of Cognitive development • Identified four stages of cognitive development: • Sensorimotor stage • Preoperational stage • Concrete operational stage • Formal operational stage

16. Sensorimotor stage Level of human development in which individuals experience the world only through sensory contact

17. Preoperational stage Level of human development in which individuals first use language and other symbols

18. Concrete operational stage Level of development at which individuals first perceive casual connections in their surroundings

19. Formal operational stage Level of human development at which individuals think abstractly and critically

20. Critical evaluation • Piaget showed that human beings’ ability to shape their social world unfolds gradually as the result of both biological maturation and social experience • His theory may not apply to people in a society

21. Lawrence Kohlberg Developed the idea of “Moral development” • Suggest that the moral development of children passes through three stages: • Preconventional • Conventional • Postconventional

22. Preconventional • When young children experience the world through pain and pleasure • “rightness” amounts to “what feels good to me” • Example: • Reason to childproof a home is because children at this level will just reach for something because it is shiny and not think of the consequences

23. Conventional • Teen years • Young people lose some of their “selfishness” as they learn to define right and wrong • “What pleases parents?” • “What are certain cultural norms?” • Begin to assess intention in reaching moral judgements instead of simply looking at what people do • Example: they understand that stealing in order to give food to hungry children is not the same as stealing an iPod to sell for profit.

24. Postconventional • People move beyond their society’s norms • Start to consider abstract ethical problems • They think about liberty, freedom or justice • Example: Rosa Parks may have violated a segregation law but she knew the law was wrong and an injustice

25. Critical Evaluation • Kohlberg’s model presents moral development in distinct stages • His theory is based on research using exclusively male subjects

26. Carol Gilligan Developed the idea of “the gender factor” • Found that boys’ moral development reflects a justice model which stresses formal rules • Girls’ moral development puts more emphasis on caring and responsibility and less on rules

27. Critical Evaluation • Gilligan’s work enhances our understanding of gender issues • She does NOT adequately address the issue of the origin of the gender-based differences identified in her work.

28. George Herbert Mead Developed the idea of “the social self” • The “self” is a dimension of personality composed of an individual’s self-awareness and self-image. • It emerges from social experience • This social experience is based on the exchange of symbols. • Understanding someone’s intentions required imagining the situation from the person’s point of view (a process called taking the role of the other)

29. Charles Horton Cooley • Mead’s research associate • Developed the notion of the “looking-glass self” (the idea that self-image is based on how others respond to us) • The self has a dual nature: • The “I” is the self as subject • The “me” is the self as object

30. The self develops through several stages: • Imitation • Play (children take the roles of significant others) • Games (they take the roles of several other people at the same time) • Acquisition of the generalized other (defined as widespread cultural norms and values we use as references in evaluating ourselves)

31. Critical evaluation • Mead showed that symbolic interaction is the foundation of both self and society • Could be criticized for ignoring the role of biology in the development of the society

32. Erik H. Erikson Developed the idea of “Eight Stages of Development” • Viewed development as occurring throughout life by facing eight challenges

33. Eight Stages of Development Erik H. Erikson

34. Infancy the challenge of trust vs mistrust

35. Toddlerhood the challenge of autonomy vs doubt/shame

36. Preschool the challenge of initiative vs guilt

37. Preadolescence the challenge of industriousness vs inferiority

38. Adolescence the challenge of gaining identity vs confusion

39. Young adulthood the challenge of intimacy vs isolation

40. Middle adulthood the challenge of making a difference vs self-absorption

41. Old age the challenge of integrity vs despair

42. Critical evaluation • Erikson’s theory views personality formation as a lifelong process • Not everyone confronts these challenges in the exact order • Nor is it clear that failure to meet the challenge of one stage mean that a person is doomed to fail later on • His theory may not apply to all people at all times.