Chapter 4 - Summary - Socialization

Question 1

To what degree are our unique physical and human characteristics based on heredity and social environment?

Answer 1

• Individuals are born with some unique and physical characteristics, others are gained through socialization
• biology dictates our physical makeup
• social environment largely determines how we develop and behave

Question 2

Why is socialization crucial to healthy human development?

Answer 2

• even nonhuman primates need social contact with others of their species in order to develop properly
• in the case of two children deliberately raised in isolation (Anna and Genie) we see the importance of positive socialization and negative effects of social isolation

Question 3

What are the key agents of socialization?

Answer 3

agents include family, schools, peer groups, media and workplace

Question 4

What is the role of family in socialization?

Answer 4

• procreating and socializing children
• providing emotional support
• assigning social position

Question 5

What is the role of school in socialization?

Answer 5

• self image
• beliefs
• values

Question 6

What is the role of peer groups in socialization?

Answer 6

• sense of belonging and self-worth
• teach and reinforce cultural norms
• information about acceptable behaviour

Question 7

What is the role of media in socialization?

Answer 7

• informing us about world events
• introducing us to wide variety of people
• providing opportunity to live vicariously through other people’s experiences

Question 8

How do sociologists explain out development of a self-concept?

Answer 8

• Charles Horton Cooley developed the image of the looking-glass self
• initial sense of self is based on how families perceive and treat us
• George Herbert Mead - linked idea of self-concept to role-playing and learning rules of social interaction (“I” and “me”

Question 9

What are the main social psychological theories on human development?

Answer 9

• Freud - id, ego and super ego
• Jean Piaget - four cognitive stages of development
• Lawrence Kohlberg - moral development in 6 stages
• Carol Cilligan - male/female differences regarding morality, identified 3 stages in female moral development

Question 10

What are the different types of socialization through various stages of life?

Answer 10

• anticipatory socialization - learning knowledge and skills for future roles
• parents socialized through children
• adults learn through workplace socialization
• resocialization - the process of learning new attitudes, values, and behaviours, voluntarily or involuntarily