Socializing the Individual

Chap. 5

The sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs and values that are characteristic of an individual

Nature vs. Nurture debate The sociobiologist argument: emphasizes the

nature point of view. Biology is the basis of all social behavior. HEREDITY is the transmission of genetic characteristics from parents to children. An INSTINCT is biologically inherited trait.

The nurture argument is that personality is the result of one’s social environment and learning.

Personality

Factors that Shape Individual

Personality Development

Heredity: inherited

characteristics, biological

drives, limits

Parents: parental

characteristics

Birth order: Number of

siblings and order of birth

Cultural environment:

basic personality types found in

a society

Some characteristics are present at birth: hair color, eye color, pigment

Aptitude is the capacity to learn a particular skill or body of knowledge; music, art

Some develop only because of environmental factors such as encouragement; verbal aptitude encouraged by reading to develop innate talent of child

Can limit an individual

Heredity

Personality is influenced by birth order Research has shown first born children are

more likely to be achievement oriented and responsible than later children, tend to be more conservative in thinking.

Later born children are better in social relationships and tend to be more affectionate, more risk taking and social and intellectual rebels

Birth Order

Age of parents changes how they relate to children

Level of education, religious orientation, economic status, cultural heritage, and occupational background

Parental Characteristics

American traits of competitiveness, individualism affect American children

Boys and girls experience different cultures affecting development

Ethnicity of family Neighborhood-rural vs. urban, regional

differences

Cultural Environment

Book case studies prove need for social interaction for development

Anna kept alone in isolation Isabelle kept alone with mother Genie never develops

Institutionalization further proves need for caring environment for development. Necessary for forming attachments.

Isolation in Childhood

How does a person’s sense of self emerge? The interactive process through which

people learn the basic skills, values, beliefs and behavior patterns of a society is called SOCIALIZATION

Your SELF is your conscious awareness of possessing a distinct identity that separates you and your environment from other members of society.

The Social Self

John Locke, English philosopher, insisted that each newly born human being is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which anything can be written

We acquire our personalities as we develop Socialization is a process by which

individuals absorb the aspects of their culture with which they come in contact

Locke; The Tabula Rasa

Charles Horton Cooley, an interactionist The interactive process by which we develop

an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear to others.

Three step process: 1.we imagine how we appear to others 2.based on their reactions to us, we determine

whether others view us as we view ourselves 3.we use our perceptions of how others judge

us to develop feelings about ourselves.

Cooley: The Looking Glass Self

George Herbert Mead, interactionist Seeing ourselves as others do is only the

beginning Eventually we begin to take on the roles of

others. Allows us to anticipate what others expect of us.

1. we internalize the expectations of those closest to us (significant others)

2.expectations of society guide behavior 3. we have internalized self and the

generalized other

Mead: Role-Taking

Name Process of Socialization Theory

John Locke

Charles Horton Cooley

George Herbert Mead

The Tabula Rasa: Each person is a blank slate at birth, with no personality. People develop personality as a result of their social experiences. Moreover, infants can be molded into any type of person.

The Looking-Glass Self: Infants have no sense of person or place. Children develop an image of themselves based on how others see them. Other people act as a mirror, reflecting back the image a child projects through their reactions to the child’s behavior.

Role-Taking: People not only come to see themselves as others see them, but also take on or pretend to take on the roles of others through imitation, play, and games. This process enables people to anticipate what others expect of them.

Born with no sense of self, begins development about age 3

Begin to play role games, attempt to see world through other’s eyes

Organized games come later where have to anticipate actions of others

Self consists of the “I” the unsocialized, spontaneous, self-interested component of personality, and the “ME”- the part which is aware of the expectations and attitudes of society-the socialized self.

Specific individuals, groups, and institutions that enable socialization to take place

Agents of Socialization

The most important agent in every society. Principle socializer or young children. Where learn values, norms, and beliefs of

the society and pattern for future interactions.

Can be deliberate or unintended. Be polite vs. watch behavior of parents.

Not all families the same, members of subgroups influence, large cultural patterns with individual differences

The Family

Primary group of individuals about the same age and similar social characteristics.

Particularly influential pre-teen and teen years.

Very influenced by the looking glass self concept, want to fit in.

Often values at odds with the larger culture, parents become alarmed if these values seem to become more important than family or larger cultural norms.

The Peer Group

Mandatory school attendance. Much of this socialization is deliberate,

teaching reading, civics, responsibility. Unintentional socialization plays great part

of school day with role models and peer groups.

The School

No face to face interaction but still strong cultural influence.

Books, films, magazines, the internet, radio, tv, music.

98% American homes have TVs, average child watches 28 hours a week.

Average American child spends almost twice as much time watching TV as they spend in school.

The Mass Media

Lots of research examining the effects of TV. By age 18, children will have witnessed

200,000 fictional acts of violence, including 16,000 murders.

Does this encourage violence? Image of white, middle class America, with

these values predominant. Educational tool-expand world and culture.

TV effects

A TOTAL INSTITUTION is a setting in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a set period of time and are subject to tight control.

Prisons, military boot camp, monasteries, mental hospitals

Resocialization involves a break from past experiences and learning new norms and values

Weaken individual identity in order to rebuild it.

Resocialization