Vermette - PP - Chapter 4 - Socialization and the life cycle

Introduction to SociologyNinth Edition

Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier,

Richard P. Appelbaum, & Deborah Carr

Chapter 4Socialization and the Life Cycle

Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

Socialization and the Life Cycle

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• If a child does well on a crossword puzzle, the best response is:– (a) You’re so smart!– (b) You worked so hard!– (c) How did you do that?


Learning Objectives

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• Basic Concepts– Learn about how the four main agents of socialization

contribute to social reproduction– Learn the stages of the life course and see the

similarities and differences among cultures

• Theories of Socialization– Learn the theories of child development according to

Mead, Piaget, Freud, and Chodorow


Learning Objectives

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• Research on Socialization Today– Learn how recent research on midlife and child care

challenges assumptions about midlife, gender roles, and child care

• Unanswered Questions about Socialization– Learn more about the debate over the influence of media

on gender role socialization


Basic Concepts

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• Socialization– Lifelong process through which people

acquire norms and values and develop a sense of self

• Social reproduction– Passage of norms, values, and social

practices from one generation to another through socialization


Basic Concepts

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• Primary socialization– Socialization from infancy to early

childhood

• Secondary socialization– Socialization from early childhood

through adult life


Basic Concepts

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Basic Concepts

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• Agents of socialization– Groups or social contexts within which

processes of socialization take place• The family• Schools• Peer relationships• The mass media• Work


Basic Concepts

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• Social Role– Set of socially defined expectations of

behavior associated with a given status or social position


Basic Concepts

• Identity– Social identity– Self-identity

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Basic Concepts

• Socialization through the Life Course– Childhood– Teenage years– Young adulthood–Mature adulthood– Old age

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Basic Concepts

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Basic Concepts

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Theories of Socialization

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• George Herbert Mead– Social self– Self-consciousness– Generalized other



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• Jean Piaget– Stages in childhood• Sensorimotor stage—birth to age 2• Preoperational stage—age 2 to 7• Concrete operational stage—age 7 to 11• Formal operational stage—age 11 to 15



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• Nancy Chodorow– Emotional attachments– Boys break from mothers more than

girls– Development of masculine and feminine

character traits



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• Carol Gilligan– Devaluation of women’s roles and

feminine qualities– Others-centered females– Outward-oriented males


Research on Socialization Today

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• Women in the Workforce– Gender roles are changing– Deborah Carr’s research

Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 20

• Early Child Care and Youth Development– Should women pull their children out of

day care and leave the workforce to stay with them?

Research on Socialization Today


Unanswered Questions about Socialization

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• Gender socialization– Gender roles and learning– Influence of media



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• The question of video games– Does playing violent video games lead

to physical violence?


Concept Quiz

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What is social reproduction?(a) the process through which any given society ensures its continuance through appropriate mate selection and family building (b) the process through which the cultural artifacts of one culture are adopted and employed by another, thereby losing their original meaning and significance(c) the process through which children develop personalities similar to those of their parents(d) the process of perpetuating values, norms, and social practices, which leads to structural continuity


Concept Quiz

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Jason considers himself a very generous person and has worked hard to cultivate that quality. He now works as a prison guard, where his job often leads him to yell at others or to deny desperately sought privileges to prisoners as a form of punishment. This situation may result in a great deal of tension between Jason’s ___ and his ___ .(a) job; home life(b) inner life; outer life(c) social identity; self-identity(d) childhood socialization; adult socialization


Concept Quiz

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Why might work be considered a more important agent of socialization in industrialized societies than in other kinds of societies?(a) Because work in industrialized societies is more intellectually challenging, it requires a longer period of training and learning, which contribute to adult socialization.(b) Because the majority of work in industrialized countries is done outside the home, it comprises a whole new set of norms and expectations to which workers must become accustomed.(c) Because children go to work much earlier in nonindustrialized societies, there is nothing new to learn once they reach adulthood.

(d) People in industrialized societies put more value on the work they perform, leading them to care more deeply about adjusting themselves to workplace expectations.


Concept Quiz

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Socially defined expectations for a person in a given social position are called ______.(a) social roles(b) social norms(c) social identities(d) agents of socialization


Concept Quiz

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In which of the following scenarios is an understanding of the generalized other discernible?(a) Two little girls are playing together and one suggests that they play school, with one girl taking the part of the student and the other taking the part of the teacher.(b) A boy and a girl argue about whether a hit ball was fair or foul in the makeshift baseball diamond they constructed in the backyard. (c) A child asks his mother why there is a boys’ bathroom and a girls’ bathroom at school but only one bathroom at home.(d) A girl begins using the word “they” in the proper context for the first time.


Concept Quiz

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What is gender socialization?(a) the process of rewarding boys who behave aggressively, while punishing those who express emotional vulnerability(b) the learning of gender roles through social factors such as schooling, the media, and family(c) the process through which mothers become closer and more affectionate with their daughters than with their sons(d) the cultural relearning that takes place in work environments into which women have only recently entered


Discussion Question: Thinking Sociologically

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Concisely review how an individual becomes a social person according to the three leading theorists discussed in this chapter: G. H. Mead, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud. Which theory seems most appropriate and correct to you? Explain why.


Discussion Question: Thinking Sociologically

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Consuming alcoholic beverages is one of many things we do as a result of socialization. Suggest how the family, peers, schools, and mass media help establish the desire to consume alcoholic drinks. Of these influences, which force is the most persuasive? Explain.

This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 4

Vermette - PP - Chapter 4 - Socialization and the life cycle

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