Socialization is the teaching of intellectual, physical, and socail skills needed to function as a member of society. Through the process of socialization a child slowly acquires their unique personality. This type of thinking states that no child is born with distinctive traits that govern the way they think, feel and behave. All things are learned.
The debate of whether a person's qualities are innate or learned is known as the nature vs. nurture debate.
Heredity represents a basic potential, the outlines and limits of which are biologically determined. Modern psychologists argue that all human instincts have been lost in human evolution. Thus, to be human is through socialization.
Agents of Socialization
The agents of socialization are the elements within society that allow one to spread their wings and find their true inner self. The four major agents of socialization are family, peer group, school, and media.
Family: Considered the most influential social institution. It provides continuity in such areas of language, religion, class, and personality. It remains central throughout a person's life.
School: Provides cognitive development as well as an indoctrination of values. This broadens our social experiences about people of varying social backgrounds.
Peer Group: Members about equal in status help one develop freedom from parents. During adolescence the peer group may become more influential than the family.
Media: Communicates to large numbers of people as is quickly becoming one of the most influential mediums in one's life.
Resocialization vs. Total Institution
Resocialization involves a break from the past, so that one can learn new values and norms. It is accomplished by stripping away all semblance of individual identity and replacing it with the identity of the institution. Once a person's sense of self is weakened it is easier for the person in power to convince that person to conform.
Total institutions are settings in which people are isolated from the rest of society for a certain amount of time and are subject to tight control. Boot camps, prisons, mental institurions, and monasteries are all examples of total institutions.
Cooley's Looking Glass Self
This theory refers to the interactive process by which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear to others. This is a three step process.
1. We imagine how we might appear to others.
2. Based on the reactions of others, we determine whether others view us as we appear to view ourselves.
3.We form our identity
If significant people perceive a child as smart, they will act toward them that way. Thus, child will come to think of themselves as smart.
The Development of Role Taking- Herbert Mead
People learn that others expect certain things from us. We learn this through role taking. This process goes through three stages: play, game, and generalized other. During the play stage children imitate others behavior. During the game stage kids participate in organized games and have to take into account the written and unwritten rules. The gereralized other is when we can see through the perspective of others, not just one particular person.
Dramaturgical Analysis- Erving Goffman
The study of social interaction as a theatre is dramaturgy. He argues that people in everyday life are like actors on a stage. The key distinction is the difference between front and back stage. Front stage is where peole maintain the appropriate appearance they with to project, while the back stage is where people knowingly violate their performances. Goffman used the term role-distance to describe the gap that exists between who we are and who we portray ourselves to be. When our performance doesn't go off well we use face saving behavior. This enables us to avoid embarrassement. When others wish to save face for us they will use studied nonobservance. Basically, it means to ignore others' flaws so that you don't embarass them.
Feral Children
For more information on feral children
Unfortunately, there are several recorded cases of children raised without the influence of a cultural environment. In some cases, even children who were raised by animals. In these cases, when they were found they had very few human characteristics. They were unable to reason, control bodily functions, language, or manners. Studies on these children greatly support sociologist's notion that being human comes from our cultural environment.
Are we born human or do we learn how to be human?
Anna-discovered at age 6 and was little more than a skeleton. Could not walk or talk. Her face was expressionless and had no interest in other people. Over time she learned to talk, walk and care for herself. She died at age 10.
Isabella-found with deaf mute mother in a dark room. She crawled, did not speak and was thought to be mentally handicapped. After two years she caught up to those of her own age.
Genie-tied to potty by day and bed by night. Found at 13 in seriously bad shape. She could not speak and had an IQ near 0. Institutionalized for life at 21.
Victor-Found in mts. of France, naked, eating raw meat, and running on all fours!
