Socialization is the means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills

necessary to perform as functioning members of their society.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Discuss the different types of socialization - group, gender and cultural

Understand the different theories of socialization based on the works of
Cooley, Mead, and Freud (among others)
KEY POINTS

Group socialization is the theory that an individual's peer groups,

rather than parental figures ,influences his or her personality and behavior in
adulthood.
Gender socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes
considered appropriate for a given sex.
Cultural socialization refers to parenting practices that teach children
about their racial history or heritage and, sometimes, is referred to as pride
development.
Sigmund Freud proposed that the human psyche could be divided into
three parts: Id, ego, and super-ego.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development is a comprehensive theory

about the nature and development of human intelligence.

Positive Adult Development is one of the four major forms of adult

developmental study that can be identified. The other three forms are
directionless change, stasis, and decline.
TERM
Socialization- The process of learning one's culture and how to live within it.
EXAMPLE

Primary Socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values,

and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. For
example if a child saw his/her mother expressing a discriminatory opinion about
a minority group, then that child may think this behavior is acceptable and could
continue to have this opinion about minority groups
FULL TEXT
Socialization" is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists,
political scientists, and educationalists to refer to the lifelong process of inheriting
and disseminating norms, customs, and ideologies, providing an individual with the
skills and habits necessary for participating within his or her own society.
Socialization is thus "the means by which social and cultural continuity are
attained."
Socialization is the means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills
necessary to perform as a functioning member of their society and is the most
influential learning process one can experience. Unlike other living species, whose
behavior is biologically set, humans need social experiences to learn their culture

and to survive. Although cultural variability manifests in the actions, customs, and
behaviors of whole social groups, the most fundamental expression of culture is
found at the individual level. This expression can only occur after an individual has
been socialized by his or her parents, family, extended family, and extended social
networks.
The looking-glass self is a social psychological concept, created by Charles Horton
Cooley in 1902, stating that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal
interactions and the perceptions of others. The term refers to people shaping
themselves based on other people's perception, which leads people to reinforce
other people's perspectives on themselves. People shape themselves based on
what other people perceive and confirm other people's opinion on themselves.
George Herbert Mead developed a theory of social behaviorism to explain how
social experience develops an individual's personality. Mead's central concept is the
self: the part of an individual's personality composed of self-awareness and selfimage. Mead claimed that the self is not there at birth, rather, it is developed with
social experience.
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of
psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue
between a patient and a psychoanalyst. In his later work, Freud proposed that the
human psyche could be divided into three parts: Id, ego, and super-ego. The id is
the completely unconscious, impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that
operates on the "pleasure principle" and is the source of basic impulses and drives;
it seeks immediate pleasure and gratification. The ego acts according to the reality
principle (i.e., it seeks to please the id's drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the
long term rather than bringing grief). Finally, the super-ego aims for perfection. It
comprises that organized part of the personality structure, mainly but not entirely
unconscious that includes the individual's ego ideals, spiritual goals, and the
psychic agency that criticizes and prohibits his or her drives, fantasies, feelings, and
actions.
Different Forms of Socialization
Group socialization is the theory that an individual's peer groups, rather than
parental figures, influences his or her personality and behavior in adulthood.
Adolescents spend more time with peers than with parents. Therefore, peer groups
have strongercorrelations with personality development than parental figures do.
For example, twin brothers, whose genetic makeup are identical, will differ in
personality because they have different groups of friends, not necessarily because
their parents raised them differently.
Gender socialization Henslin (1999) contends that "an important part of
socialization is the learning of culturally defined gender roles" (p. 76). Gender
socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes considered appropriate
for a given sex. Boys learn to be boys, and girls learn to be girls. This "learning"
happens by way of many different agents of socialization. The family is certainly
important in reinforcing gender roles, but so are one's friends, school, work, and
the mass media. Gender roles are reinforced through "countless subtle and not so
subtle ways," said Henslin (1999, p. 76).
Cultural socialization refers to parenting practices that teach children about their
racial history or heritage and, sometimes, is referred to as "pride development. "
Preparation for bias refers to parenting practices focused on preparing children to
be aware of, and cope with, discrimination. Promotion of mistrust refers to the
parenting practices of socializing children to be wary of people from other races.

Egalitarianism refers to socializing children with the belief that all people are equal
and should be treated with a common humanity.

Sociological Theories
1. Symbolic Interaction Theory
The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is
a major framework of sociological theory. This perspective relies on the
symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social
interaction. Although symbolic interactionism traces its origins to Max
Weber's assertion that individuals act according to their interpretation of the
meaning of their world, the American philosopher George Herbert
Mead introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s.
Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective
meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors. Subjective
meanings are given primacy because it is believed that people behave based
on what they believe and not just on what is objectively true. Thus, society is
thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation. People
interpret one anothers behavior and it is these interpretations that form the
social bond. These interpretations are called the definition of the
situation. For example, why would young people smoke cigarettes even
when all objective medical evidence points to the dangers of doing so? The
answer is in the definition of the situation that people create. Studies find
that teenagers are well informed about the risks of tobacco, but they also
think that smoking is cool, that they themselves will be safe from harm, and
that smoking projects a positive image to their peers. So, the symbolic
meaning of smoking overrides that actual facts regarding smoking and risk.
Some fundamental aspects of our social experience and identities,
like race and gender, can be understood through the symbolic interactionist
lens. Having no biological bases at all, both race and gender are social
constructs that function based on what we believe to be true about people,
given what they look like. We use socially constructed meanings of race and
gender to help us decide who to interact with, how to do so, and to help us
determine, sometimes inaccurately, the meaning of a person's words or
actions.

Critics of this theory claim that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro
level of social interpretationthe big picture. In other words, symbolic
interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely
on the trees rather than the forest. The perspective also receives
criticism for slighting the influence of social forces and institutions on
individual interactions. In the case of smoking, the unctionalist
perspective might miss the powerful role that the institution of mass media
plays in shaping perceptions of smoking through advertising, and by
portraying smoking in film and television. In the cases of race and gender,
this perspective would not account for social forces like systemic
racism or gender discrimination, which strongly influence what we believe
race and gender mean.

2. Conflict Theory
Conflict theory emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social
order. This perspective is derived from the works of Karl Marx, who saw
society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic
resources. Social order is maintained by domination, with power in the hands
of those with the greatest political, economic, and social resources. When
consensus exists, it is attributable to people being united around common interests,
often in opposition to other groups.

Marx theorized that the work of producing consensus was done in the
"superstructure" of society--which is composed of social institutions, political
structures, and culture--and what it produced consensus for was the "base,"
the economic relations of productio. Following on the heels of Marx, Italian
scholar and activist Antonio Gramsci argued that consensus to rule is
achieved in large part through cultural hegemony, which refers to the
dominant group's ability to attain consent to their rule through ideas, norms,
values, and beliefs.
According to conflict theory, inequality exists because those in control of a
disproportionate share of societys resources actively defend their
advantages. The masses are not bound to society by their shared values, but
by coercion at the hands of those in power. This perspective
emphasizes social control, not consensus and conformity. Groups and
individuals advance their own interests, struggling over control of societal
resources.

Those with the most resources exercise power over others with inequality
and power struggles result. There is great attention paid to class, race,
and gender in this perspective because they are seen as the grounds of the
most pertinent and enduring struggles in society.
Whereas most other sociological theories focus on the positive aspects of
society, conflict perspective focuses on the negative, conflicted, and everchanging nature of society. Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo,
avoid social change, and believe people cooperate to effect social order,
conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even
when this means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people
force social order on the poor and the weak. Conflict theorists, for example,
may interpret an elite board of regents raising tuition to pay for esoteric
new programs that raise the prestige of a local college as self-serving rather
than as beneficial for students.
Whereas American sociologists in the 1940s and 1950s generally ignored the
conflict perspective in favor of the functionalist, the tumultuous 1960s saw
American sociologists gain considerable interest in conflict theory. They also
expanded Marx's idea that the key conflict in society was strictly economic.
Today, conflict theorists find social conflict between any groups in which the
potential for inequality exists: racial, gender, religious, political, economic,
and so on. Conflict theorists note that unequal groups usually have
conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against one
another. This constant competition between groups forms the basis for the
ever-changing nature of society. Critics of the conflict perspective suggest
that it glosses over the complexities and nuances of everyday life and
relationships of power.
3. Functionalist Theory
The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the
major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works
of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is
possible or how society remains relatively stable. Functionalism interprets
each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the
whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of
society is functional for the stability of the whole society.
The different parts are primarily the institutions of society, each of which is
organized to fill different needs and each of which has particular

consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend on
each other.
For example, the government, or state, provides education for the children of
the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself
running. The family is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to
have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families. In the
process, the children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn
support the state. If all goes well, the parts of society produce order,
stability, and productivity. If all does not go well, the parts of society then
must adapt to recapture a new order, stability, and productivity.
Functionalism emphasizes the consensus and order that exist in society,
focusing on social stability and shared public values. From this perspective,
disorganization in the system, such as deviant behavior, leads to change
because societal components must adjust to achieve stability.
When one part of the system is not working or is dysfunctional, it affects all
other parts and creates social problems, which leads to social change.
The functionalist perspective achieved its greatest popularity among
American sociologists in the 1940s and 1950s. While European functionalists
originally focused on explaining the inner workings of social order, American
functionalists focused on discovering the functions of human behavior.
Among these American functionalist sociologists is Robert K. Merton. who
divided human functions into two types: manifest functions, which are
intentional and obvious, and latent functions, which are unintentional and
not obvious. The manifest function of attending a church or synagogue, for
instance, is to worship as part of a religious community, but its latent
function may be to help members learn to discern personal from institutional
values. With common sense, manifest functions become easily apparent. Yet
this is not necessarily the case for latent functions, which often demand a
sociological approach to be revealed.
Functionalism has been critiqued by many sociologists for its neglect of the
often negative implications of social order. Some critics, like Italian
theorist Antonio Gramsci claim that the perspective justifies the status quo,
and the process of cultural hegemony which maintains it. Functionalism does
not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social
environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead,
functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various
parts of society will compensate in a seemingly natural way for any problems
that may arise.

4. Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is one of the major contemporary sociological theories, which
analyzes the status of women and men in society with the purpose of using
that knowledge to better women's lives. Feminist theory is most concerned
with giving a voice to women and highlighting the various ways women have
contributed to society. Feminist theorists also question the differences
between women, including how race, class, ethnicity, sexuality,
nationality, and age intersect with gender. Contemporary sociologist. Patricia
Hill Collins is known throughout the field for developing, deploying, and
popularizing the concept of intersectionality in her theory and research.
Feminist theory is most concerned with giving a voice to women and
highlighting the various ways women have contributed to society.
There are four main types of feminist theory that attempt to explain the
societal differences between men and women:
Gender Differences: The gender difference perspective examines
how women's location in, and experience of, social situations differ
from men's. For example, cultural feminists look to the different values
associated with womanhood and femininity as a reason why men and
women experience the social world differently. Other feminist theorists
believe that the different roles assigned to women and men within
institutions better explain gender difference, including the sexual
division of labor in the household. Existential and phenomenological
feminists focus on how women have been marginalized and defined as
the other in patriarchal societies. Women are thus seen as objects
and are denied the opportunity for self-realization.

Gender Inequality: Gender-inequality theories recognize that

women's location in, and experience of, social situations are not only
different but also unequal to men's. Liberal feminists argue that
women have the same capacity as men for moral reasoning and
agency, but that patriarchy, particularly the sexist patterning of the
division of labor, has historically denied women the opportunity to
express and practice this reasoning. Women have been isolated to
the private sphere of the household and, thus, left without a voice in
the public sphere. Even after women enter the public sphere, they are

still expected to manage the private sphere and take care of household
duties and child rearing. Liberal feminists point out that marriage is a
site of gender inequality and that women do not benefit from being
married as men do. Indeed, married women have higher levels of
stress than unmarried women and married men. According to liberal
feminists, the sexual division of labor in both the public and private
spheres needs to be altered in order for women to achieve equality.

Gender Oppression: Theories of gender oppression go further than

theories of gender difference and gender inequality by arguing that not
only are women different from or unequal to men, but that they are
actively oppressed, subordinated, and even abused by men. Power is
the key variable in the two main theories of gender oppression:
psychoanalytic feminism and radical feminism. Psychoanalytic
feminists attempt to explain power relations between men and women
by reformulating Freud's theories of the subconscious and unconscious,
human emotions, and childhood development. They feel that conscious
calculation cannot fully explain the production and reproduction of
patriarchy. Radical feminists argue that being a woman is a positive
thing in and of itself, but that this is not acknowledged in patriarchal
societies where women are oppressed. They identify physical
violence as being at the base of patriarchy, but they think that
patriarchy can be defeated if women recognize their own value and
strength, establish a sisterhood of trust with other women, confront
oppression critically, and form female separatist networks in the
private and public spheres.

Structural Oppression: Structural oppression theories posit that

women's oppression and inequality are a result of capitalism,
patriarchy, and racism. Socialist feminists agree with Karl Marx and
Freidrich Engels that the working class is exploited as a consequence of
the capitalist mode of production, but they seek to extend this
exploitation not just to class but also to gender. Intersectionality
theorists seek to explain oppression and inequality across a variety of
variables, including class, gender, race, ethnicity, and age. They make
the important insight that not all women experience oppression in the
same way. White women and black women, for example, face different
forms of discrimination in the workplace. Thus, different groups of
women come to view the world through a shared standpoint of
"heterogeneous commonality."

5. Critical Theory
Critical theory is a type of social theory oriented toward critiquing and
changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to
understanding or explaining it. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the
surface of social life and uncover the keep us from a full and true
understanding of how the world works. Critical theory is a type of social
theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole, in
contrast to traditional theory oriented only to understanding or explaining
it. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the surface of social life and uncover
the assumptions that keep us from a full and true understanding of how the
world works. It was developed by a group of sociologists at the University of
Frankfurt in Germany who referred to themselves as The Frankfurt School,
including Jrgen Habermas, Herbert Marcuse, Walter Benjamin, Max
Horkheimer, and Theodor Adorno. Two core concepts of critical theory are
that it should be directed at the totality of society in its historical specificity
(how it came to be at a specific point in time) and that it should improve the
understanding of society by integrating all the major social sciences,
including geography, economics, sociology, history, political science,
anthropology, and psychology.
According to Max Horkheimer, Director of the Frankfurt School's Institute for
Social Research, a critical theory is adequate only if it meets three criteria: it
must be explanatory, practical, and normative, all at the same time. That is,
it must explain what is wrong with current social reality, identify the actors to
change it, and provide both clear norms for criticism and achievable practical
goals for social transformation.

6. Labeling Theory
Labeling theory is one of the most important approaches to understanding
deviant and criminal behavior. It begins with the assumption that no act is
intrinsically criminal. Definitions of criminality are established by those in

power through the formulation of laws and the interpretation of those laws
by police, courts, and correctional institutions.
7. Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory is a theory that attempts to explain socialization and
its effect of the development of the self. It looks at the individual learning
process, the formation of self, and the influence of society in socializing
individuals. Social learning theory is commonly used by sociologists to
explain deviance and crime.
8. Structural Strain Theory
Robert K. Merton developed the structural strain theory as an extension of
the functionalist perspective on deviance. This theory traces the origins of
deviance to the tensions that are caused by the gap between cultural goals
and the means people have available to achieve those goals.
9. Rational Choice Theory
Economics plays a huge role in human behavior. That is, people are often
motivated by money and the possibility of making a profit, calculating the
likely costs and benefits of any action before deciding what to do. This way of
thinking is called rational choice theory.
10. Game Theory
Game theory is a theory of social interaction, which attempts to explain the
interaction people have with one another. As the name of the theory
suggests, game theory sees human interaction as just that: a game.