SOCI 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: George Herbert Mead, Peer Group, Social Group
Document Summary
It is a process through which people learn to become a member of society. It is a learning process which involves development of a person"s personal sense of self and identity. Socialization can be voluntary and involuntary (elementary school, going to prison): primary socialization: socialization that occur during childhood, secondary socialization: occurs later in life. Families and peer groups communicate expectations and reinforce norms. This introduces people to the beliefs and values of the society. They teach children how to interact with people and objects around them. However, families do not raise children in vacuum. There are various social factors that affect the bringing up of a child in a family. For example, by using sociological imagination we can recognize that, sixty years ago, it wasn"t considered as child abuse if a father hit his children for misbehaving, unlike today. Sociologist argue that race, social class, religion and other social factors play an important role in socialization.