Socialization
life long process by which people internalize the culture of a given society; learning how to use things within the culture
stages of socialization
primary, secondary, tertiary
Primary stage of socialization
acquiring life skills in family setting; occurs during childhood
Secondary stage of socialization
acquiring life skills outside family (friends, school)
Tertiary stage of socialization
acquiring life skills outside family during adulthood (job training, learn adult responsibilities)
Agents
transmitters of culture; people who take on task of teaching us about the world/socialize us
Types of agents
formal, informal
Formal agents
people with the purpose to train us for the world (parents, teachers)
Informal agents
people who don't have expressed purpose to train us for the world but they do teach us (friends)
Six key agents to socialization?
family, media, peers, religion, school, work
Key agent: Family
teaches us family responsibilities and how to act outside family
Key agent: Media
informs us about occurrences in nation or internationally (news, entertainment)
Key agent: Peers
teaches us how to act in common group; learn what's popular, what we should or shouldn't do, wear, say, etc.
Key agent: Religion
teaches us morals, values, beliefs, repentance, and guilt, religious scriptures
Key agent: Work places
formal agent in formal setting; teaches responsibilities, duties, dress code, etc. in the setting
What marks socialization/socialization from one phase to another?
Rites of passage (graduation, sonorities/fraternity)
Socialization theory of "the looking glass self
feelings of self largely based on how others see us
3 components of self based on the looking glass self theories ARE:
1. Appearance- how I look to others
2. Reactions- how people respond to my appearance
3. Emotions- how I feel about people's reactions to my appearance
Socialization theory of the I and Me
the I and Me interacting/communicating with each other that contributes to the way you interact with/respond to others
What is the "I
uniquely you; personal reaction to situations (similar to Freud's ID)
What is the "Me
the you in the glass/appearance; the social you (similar to Freud's super-ego)
3 stages of development of the I and Me
1. Imitation stage (3+ yrs): copying significant others e.g. parents
2. Play stage (3-6 yrs): starts to pretend to fulfill roles in more imaginative ways. Starts to tap into looking glass and appreciate others' perspectives
3. Game stage (6+ yrs): more so
Generalized other
not significant other (e.g. parents); the rest of society
resocialization
occurs when powerful socialization agents deliberately come along with purpose to cause rapid change in culture (sometimes against will)
Goal of resocialization
to take away part or whole of old self and replace with new self
3 components of resocialization
degradation ceremony, initiation rites, total institution
Degradation ceremony
resocialization component in which old self is teared down by making you dislike old self
Initiation rites in resocialization
rite of passage that helps you make transition into new self
total institutions
place where people undergoing resocialization live and cut off from the world
social structure
stable patterns of relations that provide order to social life
social status
position of a person in a social structure
types of social status
1. ascribed- status given, typically at birth (sex, race, age)
2. achieved- status earned (education attainment, job)
status symbols
clues to people's social positions, where they fit into the culture; varied by culture; may evolve into stereotypes
stereotypes
rigid characterization of a group
master status
main social position in a certain situation; filter through which others interpret your other statuses (usually ascribed status)
when does an achieved status overpower ascribed status as a master status
when achieved status violates mores, laws, or taboos (criminality)
roles
sum total expectations about behavior attached to a particular status
social fact of social status and roles
statuses and roles exist outside of the individual
role strain
all roles associated with one status becomes too much for the individual to bear
status inconsistency
when one has 2 statuses that do not go well together
role conflict
idea that when you have roles that are associated with two statuses that conflict each other
role distancing
idea of disidentification; starts to walk away from roles or can continue with roles but without care or investment
group
one or more individuals whom we share some sense of identity and goals; interact within a specific structure
clique
group with hierarchy
Types of groups
primary and secondary
Primary Group characteristics
small, long term, socio-emotional/personal attachment, greedy demands on members, informal social control, relatively closed boundaries (friends, family, work group)
Secondary Group characteristics
large, long or short term, use members as tools, limited demands on members, formal social control, relatively open boundaries (corporation, nation, city)
social interaction
how people act and react with each other
Exchange theory of social interaction
idea that social interaction involves the exchange of valued resources (tangible or intangible). Give and take. Doesn't need to be equal but has to be reciprocal.
principle of least interest
component of exchange theory; person with least interest in relationship holds power. Individual with most resources has most ability to leave (others dependent on this individual)
limitations of exchange theory
can't explain things e.g. altruism, volunteering, slavery
Dramaturgical Analysis of social interaction
idea that individuals put on different impressions of themselves and play different roles depending on the audience and situation
Ethnomethodology ("The People's Method") of social interaction
-Focus: preexisting norms and how they shape people's interactions
- interaction can be verbal and non-verbal communication
- describes personal space (dependent on relationship)
Social interaction: space/zones between people
- intimate zone (18 in): close friends, family
- personal zone (18 in-4 ft): acquaintances
- social zone (4-12 ft): people you don't really know
- public zone: formal e.g. on stage
Conflict Theory in social interaction
- Focus: influences of social hierarchies/social statuses
- Examines powerful and powerless
- Types of interaction: domination, cooperation, competition
Social interaction: domination
conflict theory; vast majority of power in one actor (emotion= fear)
Social interaction: cooperation
power equally distributed between both actors (emotion= trust)
social interaction: competition
power imbalance but not as extreme as domination (emotion= envy)
process of emotions
external stimulus > physiological responses/initial emotion > cultural script > modified emotional response
Assumptions of emotions
- emotions do not just happen, we manage them
- emotions may not be modified b/c everybody is different and have different cultural scripts
emotion management
idea that people use a set of procedures to emotionally respond appropriately in a certain situation; induction or inhibition of emotions with situation as IV
Framing rules
emotion management; rules we use to determine how we should think about/define a situation. Selection of info to be used in/define a situation
Feeling rules
emotional management; help you to decide if initial response is appropriate for situation
emotion work
process of trying to change degree or quality of emotions
types of emotion work
- evocation: trying to get emotion you don't have
- suppression: trying to discard emotions you shouldn't have in a situation
techniques to evoke or suppress emotions
- cognitive: trying to change ideas and images in head
- bodily: trying to change physical symptoms brought on by present, unwanted emotion(s)
- expressive: gestures you do for others that correlate with the emotions you want others to believe you have
emotion labor
emotion management as a daily process required for job