Post on 07-Jun-2020
Agents of Socialization
Agents of Socialization?
• Agents of Socialization– People or groups that affect our . . .
• Self-concept• Attitudes• Behaviors
1.) The Family• 1st to have an impact• Intense experiences• Lifelong impact• Sets basic sense of self• Establishes initial motivations, values, and
beliefs
Family and Social Class
Working-class• Main concern - stay out of
trouble
• Kids develop naturally
• Use more physical punishment
Middle-class• Focus on development of
curiosity, self-expression, and self control
• Believe need lots of guidance
• More likely to reason with children
•Melvin Kohn•Working-class and middle-class parents raise kids differently
Why Such Different Attitudes?
Hypothesis - World of Work
Working-class• Bosses tell workers exactly what to do• Parents expecting children will have similar jobs . . . • Socialize qualities they have found useful at work
(conformity, obedience)
Middle Class• Jobs usually more initiative/decision making• Parents expecting children to have similar jobs . . . • Socialize qualities they have found useful at work
(independent thinking, taking initiative)
*BUT . . . not all parents followed the “correct” model
Kohn - Conclusions• Type of work and level of decision making
freedom was key!
• Middle class office workers– Closely supervised followed the working-class model
• Working class parents who had a fair amount of freedom in decision making at work . . . – Ex. - carpenters, plumbers, painters, home repair– Followed the middle-class model
2.) The NeighborhoodSociologists: Wilson(1987), Brookes (1997), Sampson (2001)
• Kids from poor neighborhoods are more likely to: – get in trouble with the law– become pregnant– drop out of school
• Residents of more affluent neighborhoods watch out for children more
• In riskier neighborhoods adults watch out for children less
3.) Religion
• Significant even for people who do not grow up in religious homes
• Ideas pervade U.S. society
• Provide basic ideas of morality
4.) Day CareSociologists: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Study (1999), Guensburg (2001)
• More hours in daycare more likely to:– Fight– Be cruel or “mean”– Have weaker bonds with mother
• Less time in day care:– more cooperative– more affectionate toward mother
BUT WHY?
Benefits to Day Care
• More hours in day care . . . higher language skills
• Children from dysfunctional families benefit the most (Scarr and Eisenberg 1993)
5.) The School
• Learn a broader perspective• Prepares to take roles in the world beyond the
family
6.) Peer Groups
• Very powerful agent!!• Standards of our peer group tend to
dominate our lives• Members of a peer groups tend to have
the same likes/dislikes, goals, values, and behaviors
7.) The Mass Media• 32% of children under 12 in the U.S. have their
own TV • 53% of ages 12-18 have own TV
• Young people average 5.5 hours a day with some form of media
• Over 200 studies have shown links between watching violence in the media and short term increases in aggressive behavior in young people
8.) The Workplace
• U.S. teenage employment higher than any other industrialized country
• Teens working more than 20 hours/week often leads to lower grades (Greenhouse 2001)