Socialization

Human Nature

How much does a person’s characteristics come from “nature”- heredity and how much from “nurture”- social environment (contact with others)??

Heredity

Intelligence- capacity for mental or intellectual achievement s/a ability to think logically

Aptitude- capacity for developing physical or social skills s/a athletic prowess

Role of heredity in determining intelligence and aptitude is controversial The extent to which intelligence and aptitude are

inherited is up for debate Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray assume

that more than ½ of intelligence comes from genes

Most social scientists consider intelligence to be learned from social environment

Significance of Heredity

Although nature sets limits on what we can achieve, socialization plays a large role in determining what we do achieve Whatever potential is inherited can be

enhanced or stunted through socialization Example: infants who grow up with abusive

parents, tend to grow up to be more aggressive than if raised by affectionate parents

Significance of Socialization

Humans are born helpless (tablua rasa- blank slate)- John Locke Depend on adults to survival

Traits that seem basic and essential to human nature appear to depend on socialization Evidence can be found from case studies

of children deprived of socialization or who have been socialized into geniuses

Impairing development

Feral children- children supposedly raised by animals Cases where children run on all fours, had

no speech, preferred uncooked food and couldn’t do simple things

Isabella & Genie

Isabella born to an unwed mother in OH Grandfather kept her & her deaf-mute mother secluded in

a dark roomDiscovered at age 6- showed great fear and hostility towards

people Genie- found in CA in 1970 had been deprived of

socialization for nearly 13 years Tied to her potty seat during the day and straitjacketed and

caged to her crib at night. Her father would beat her if she made any noise, and barked and growled at her.

When found she couldn’t stand straight, was unable to speak and had the intelligence and social maturity of a 1 year old

Creating Geniuses

Specialized socialization can create geniuses

Example: Edith- finished grammar school in 4 years, skipped high school, graduated college at age 15, got doctorate before 18. Father filled her days with reading, math,

classical music, intellectual discussions and debates and literature

Played chess for entertainmentBorn with potential for becoming a genius

but through extraordinary socialization the potential was transformed into reality

Socialization into the self, mind and emotions

Cooley and the Looking-Glass SelfCharles Horton Cooley, a symbolic

interactionist concluded that the “self” is socially created Said our sense of self-develops from

interaction with others Coined the term “looking-glass self” to

describe the process by which our sense of self develops

Looking-Glass Self3 elements

We imagine how we appear to those around usExample: we think that others perceive us as witty or dull

We interpret others’ reactionswe come to conclusions about how others evaluate us- do

they like us, do they not? We develop self concept

How we interpret others’ reactions to us frames our feelings and ideas about ourselves

A favorable reflection in the “social mirror” leads to a positive self-concept and visa versa

The development of self doesn’t depend on accurate evaluations Self is always changing- as we monitor how others

react to us, we continually modify the self

Mead and Role-Taking

George Herbert Mead, another social interactionist added that play is crucial to the development of self Children gradually learn to take the role of others

and put themselves in someone else’s shoesAt 1st they take only role of significant others- people who

have a significant influence on their lives (parents, siblings, etc.)

Eventually their ability to take the roles of others extends to being able to take the role of “the group as a whole”

The term “Generalized others”- how people in general think of us

Role Taking

We go through 3 stages as we learn to take the role of others Imitation- children under the age of 3 can

only mimic others Play- from 3-6, children pretend to take the

roles of specific peopleFirefighter, nurse, superheroes, parents

Team games- to play these games the individual must be able to take multiple rolesbaseball

Piaget and the Development of Reasoning

Children go through 4 stages as they learn how to reason Sensorimotor stage: birth-2. understanding

is limited to direct contact w/environment- 5 senses

Preoperational stage: 2-7. children develop the ability to use symbols but don’t yet understand common concepts s/a size, speed or causationCan count but don’t know what #s mean

Stages continued

Concrete operational stage: 7-12. reasoning ability is more developed but not concrete Understand numbers, causation, speed, and

take on roles but cant talk about concepts s/a truth, honesty, etc. w/o examples

Formal operational stage: 12+. Children are capable of abstract thinking

Can talk about concepts, come to conclusions based on general principles and use rules to solve abstract problems

Sigmund Freud

Believed that personality consists of 3 elements Id-inherited drives for self-gratification Ego-balances between the needs of the Id

and the demands of society Superego- social conscience

Sociologists object to Freud’s view that inborn and unconscious motivations are the primary reasons for human behavior

Conclusion

Most socialization is meant to turn us into conforming members of society We do some things and not others as a

result of socialization Our “social mirror”- the result of being

socialized into self and emotions- sets up effective controls over our behavior