Socialization Throughout the Life Cycle

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Socialization Throughout the Life Cycle
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What is socialization?

• Socialization
• The lifelong process whereby individuals come to
  acquire a sense of their culture and develop
  their human potential

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Perspectives on Socialization

• The Nature vs. Nurture Debate
• Nature our character is innate--genetically
  determined
• Nurture our character is developed through
  social interaction
• Sociologists
• Recognize nature but emphasize nurture
• Acknowledge that people are endowed with genetic
  potential but argue that social factors determine
  how much of that potential is realized

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What does the evidence suggest?

• Studies of children and monkeys raised in
  isolation do not manifest typical social
  characteristics
• If those on the nature side are correct, what
  would we expect to see of those raised in
  isolation?
• Cross Cultural comparisons indicate that male and
  female behavioral variations are not consistent
  across cultures
• How would the nurture side explain this?

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Psychological vs. Sociological Views

• Psychology
• Emphasizes studying the personal identity
  (personality and self) in an attempt to
  understand attitudes and behavior
• Sociology
• Emphasizes studying the development of a social
  identity, the part of self that is built up over
  time through participation in social life

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Psychology Socialization as Crisis

• Sigmund Freud
• Socialization is marked by the continual battle
  between innate urges and the demands of society
  to act civilized

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Sigmund FreudElements of Personality

• Id
• biological drives/impulses/the pleasure seeking
  side of us
• Superego
• the norms and values we learn/the demands of
  society
• Ego
• the mediator/seeks resolution between the demands
  of the id and superego

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Infancy Birth - 18 mos.
• Ego Development Outcome Trust vs. Mistrust
• Basic strength Drive and Hope
• Success in this stage teaches basic trust and
  confidence in life, in the future, and in other
  people. If our needs are not consistently met, we
  may end up with general feelings of worthlessness
  and a mistrust of the world and of others.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Early Childhood 18 mos. - 3 yrs.
• Ego Development Outcome Autonomy vs. Shame
• Basic Strengths Self-control, Courage, and Will
• During this stage, children learn to master
  skills on their own. They learn to walk, talk and
  feed themselves, as well as fine motor
  development and toilet training. Success in this
  stage builds self-esteem and autonomy. However,
  failure in the process of learning these skills
  causes shame and doubt which results in lower
  self-esteem.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Play Age 3 - 5 yrs.
• Ego Development Outcome Initiative vs. Guilt
• Basic Strength Purpose
• During this stage children experience a desire to
  copy the adults and take initiative in creating
  play situations. Children in this stage usually
  become involved in the classic "Oedipal struggle"
  and resolve the struggle through social role
  identification. If they become frustrated over
  natural desires and goals, they experience guilt.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• School Age 6 - 12 yrs.
• Ego Development Outcome Industry vs. Inferiority
• Basic Strengths Method and Competence
• Children in this stage are capable of learning,
  creating and accomplishing numerous new skills
  and knowledge, which gives them a sense of
  industry. This is also a very social stage and if
  they experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy
  and inferiority among peers, they can have
  problems with competence and self-esteem.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Adolescence 12 - 18 yrs.
• Ego Development Outcome Identity vs. Role
  Confusion
• Basic Strengths Devotion and Fidelity
• Up to this point, according to Erikson,
  development depends mostly on what is done to us.
  From this point on, development depends more on
  what we do. The task of this stage is to discover
  who we are as individuals separate from our
  family and as members of a wider society. Failure
  in this stage results in role confusion.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Young adulthood 18 35 yrs.
• Ego Development Outcome Intimacy and Solidarity
  vs. Isolation
• Basic Strengths Affiliation and Love
• At this stage we try to find mutually satisfying
  relationships, primarily through marriage and
  friends. We also usually begin to start a
  family. If we are successful at these tasks, we
  experience deep intimacy. If unsuccessful,
  isolation and distance from others results.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Middle Adulthood 35 - 55 or 65 yrs.
• Ego Development Outcome Generativity vs. Self
  absorption or Stagnation
• Basic Strengths Production and Care
• The significant task of middle age is to transmit
  culture through the family and to establish a
  stable environment. Strength comes from caring
  for others and producing something that
  contributes to society, which Erikson calls
  generativity. People in this stage fear
  inactivity and meaninglessness. Failure in this
  stage leads to self-absorption and stagnation.

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Erik EriksonEight Stages of Development

• Late Adulthood 55 or 65 - Death
• Ego Development Outcome Integrity vs. Despair
• Basic Strengths Wisdom
• Older adults often look back on their lives with
  happiness and feel fulfilled that life is
  meaningful and they have contributed to life.
  Erikson calls this feeling integrity. Strength
  comes from the wisdom that the world is large and
  we accept death as the completion of life.
  However, some adults in this stage despair at
  their experiences and perceived failures. They
  fear death as they struggle to find a purpose to
  their lives.
• (Adapted from Arlene F. Harder, 2002)

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Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor Stage
• 0 - 2 yrs.
• Children explore the world through their senses
  and motor activities
• Children know the world only by touching,
  tasting, smelling, seeing, and hearing
• Object permanence and attachment to a few
  important people form

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Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development

• Preoperational Stage
• 2 - 7 yrs.
• Children learn to use symbols to represent things
  (language)
• Children can begin pretending and thinking about
  things that they cannot see
• Children lack the ability to think in abstract
  concepts and are very ego-centric, since they can
  only think of things from their own perspective

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Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development

• Concrete Operational Stage
• 7 - 11 yrs.
• Children focus on how and why
• Logical reasoning develops but is linked
  primarily to concrete objects that children can
  see.
• Children can add, subtract, and use the principle
  of conservation (idea that physical properties of
  objects are the same even if form/shape changes).

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Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development

• Formal Operational Stage
• 12 yrs.
• Individuals think abstractly and critically
• Concepts can be manipulated and problem-solving
  thought out in advance
• Historical time can be fully understood
• Individuals gain the capacity to understand and
  use metaphors
• Not all adults become fully operational

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Lawrence KohlbergTheory of Moral Development

• Pre-conventional Level of Morality
• Begins around age 7
• Moral reasoning develops based on meeting
  personal motives to obtain rewards or avoid
  punishment
• Right what feels good to me

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Lawrence KohlbergTheory of Moral Development

• Conventional Level of Morality
• About 10 years into adolescence (appears by the
  teens)
• Moral dilemmas are resolved by established social
  convention, the law, or other sources of
  authority.
• Individuals seek social approval for moral
  behavior.
• Right what pleases parents and conforms to
  social norms

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Lawrence KohlbergTheory of Moral Development

• Post-conventional Level of Morality
• Adulthood
• Individuals move beyond societys norms and
  consider abstract ethical principlesequality,
  justice, reciprocal rights and responsibilities
  may transcend authority.
• Conscience may override law.
• Some adults never reach the post-conventional
  level of morality.

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Carol GilliganGender and Moral Development

• Kohlbergs theory based on all-male research
• Gilligan compared moral development of boys and
  girls and concluded that the two sexes have
  different standards of rightness.
• Males justice perspective, rely on formal
  rules to define right/wrong
• Females care and responsibility, judge
  situations based on personal relationships and
  loyalties

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Symbolic Interactionism and the Development of
Self

• Self
• The unique sense of identity that distinguishes
  each individual from all other individuals
• Personality
• The set of attitudes, beliefs, and behavior that
  make up an individual
• The self is a key element in the formation of
  personality

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Charles Horton Cooley

• The Looking-Glass Self
• Feelings about self are the product of two
  exercises
• Imagination of our appearance to the other
• Imagination of the others judgment of this
  appearance

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George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)

• Mead was most influential in development of
  symbolic interactionism as a perspective
• Self is combination of two parts (I and Me)
• Ispontaneous, creative, and impulsive side
  (un-socialized)
• Methe socialized self, concerned with others
  perceptions, operates to control our impulses

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George Herbert Mead

• Consciousness develops as we engage in
  role-taking, imagining what others think and feel
• Generalized Other
• imagine roles of others
• learn meanings associated with those roles
• assume several roles simultaneously
• judge what a typical person might do
• Reference for evaluating ourselves
• Significant Other
• People who have special importance for
  socialization those whose opinions and approval
  mean a great deal

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MeadStages in the Development of Self

• Preparatory Stage (0 - 3 yrs.)
• Imitating the behavior of others
• Play Stage (3 - 5 yrs.)
• Able to assume and play roles of others
• Learn the meanings associated with those roles
• Game Stage (Early school years)
• Take on several roles simultaneously, able to
  take role of generalized other

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Agents of Socialization

• Family
• Considered the most important agent of
  socialization
• Strongest influence during primary years
• First place we learn values and attitudes
• Family socialization assists in directing a
  childs life chances

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Agents of Socialization

• Education
• Considered 2nd most important agent of
  socialization
• Teaches knowledge, skills, and social roles
• Socializes children into adoption of core
  cultural values
• Furthers assimilation of children from different
  social backgrounds

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Agents of Socialization

• Peers
• People generally of the same age that share
  similar interests and social background
• An important agent of socialization during
  adolescence
• Peers expectations often conflict with parents
  expectations
• Does socialization end when one is no longer an
  adolescent?

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Agents of Socialization

• Media
• An increasingly import agent of socialization
• It is pervasive
• 98 of households have a television
• 2.4 televisions per household
• Average of 7 hours of viewing a day
• (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001)
• Is the media a bad agent of socialization?

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Mass Media and the Social Construction of Reality

• Television programming is based around a white,
  middle-class, male standard
• Violation of the norms associated with this
  standard are an increasing source of
  entertainment
• The media constructs and reinforces beliefs about
  society