CHPT 3 SOCIALIZATION TEXT AND LECTURE STUDY NOTES .doc
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Sociology Study Notes Chapter 3 - Socialization
Terms:
Adult Socialization: process by which adults take on new statuses ad acquire new and
different social identities
Agents of Socialization: the individuals, groups and institutions that impart and from
which we acquire, the range of information required to interact effectively and participate
in society
Anticipatory Socialization: involves beginning to take on the norms and behaviors of a
role you aspire to but do not yet occupy
Game Stage: children have developed a generalized impression of the behavior people
expect as well as awareness of their own importance to the group and vise-versa (third
and final development stage describe by Mead)
Generalized Other: is a conception of how people in general will respond in a situation
(internalized)
I: is the subjective or active part of the self, according to Mead
Imitative Stage: children two years old and under do not interact effectively with others
because they cannot take the role of the other, they merely imitate the behavior of oth-
ers (first developmental stage described by Mead)
Instincts: are inborn patterns of behavior that are often responses to specific stimuli
Looking-Glass Self: suggests that the gestures and reactions of others are a mirror in
which we see ourselves
Me: is the objective element of the self, according to Mead
Peer Group: comprises individuals who are usually of the same age and enjoy approxi-
mately equal statuses
Play Stage: children begin to adopt the roles of significant others-- a parent, a sports
celebrity, a storybook hero-- and their play shifts from imitative to imaginative (second
developmental stage described by Mead)
Primary Group: a small group (especially the family) that is characterized by intimate,
face-to-face association and cooperation
Primary Socialization: the crucial learning process that occurs in childhood and makes
us members of society
Secondary Socialization: is the learning that occurs after people have undergone pri-
mary socialization
Resocialization: is the deliberate attempt to correct or instill particular values and be-
haviors in an individual or group
Self: a sense individual identity, allows us to understand ourselves and differentiate our-
selves from others
Significant Others: are people, such as parents, who are of central importance in the
development of the self
Socialization: is the social process hereby people undergo development by interacting
with the people around them
Status: refers to the culturally and socially defined position a person occupies in an in-
teraction
Taking the Role of the Other: involves anticipating in advance how others will see and
react to you, its an essential skill that children must develop to be effective members of
society
Total Institutions: are settings in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a
set period and where all aspects of a person’s life are regulated under one authority
Text Book Notes
What is Socialization?
-childhood socialization experts insist that negativism is an essential stage in develop-
ing a sense of self and becoming an autonomous human being
-negativism is the way a child learns what really can or cannot be done; it is a way of
testing limits and it is also a form of rebellion whereby the child sets limits for the parents
-to be socialized means to learn how to act and interact appropriately with others, to be-
come a competent and effective member of society
-to have self we have to understand ourselves in relation to others; how people are con-
strained by norms and values and how people are autonomous agents able to make de-
cisions for themselves
-social interaction and socialization the individual acquires a self-identity and skills
needed to live in a society
-human beings are cultural beings and the tools of culture become a part of us through
socialization
-we have learned to act by watching others; norms constrain us; they channel and
guide our behavior in everyday life
-norms make smooth orderly interaction possible
-a subculture is a group within a larger culture that has distinctive values, norms and
practices
Nature and Nurture
- human behavior : nature (biological inheritance) or nurture (the social environment)
-we become human through the process of social interaction
-CASE: Anna
-long term social isolation of an infant
-hidden away in a room until she was six years old
-only given the resources to survive; when she was found she was unable to
walk, talk, feed herself or respond to others
-she made slow progress but years of social isolation left her with permanent
disabilities
-the self refers to our awareness of ideas and attitudes about our own personal and so-
cial identity
The Self and Socialization