Lecture 4

Week 3 Part A Socialization & Culture Individuals & Society Socialization A lifelong social experience The process through which people are taught or made to “fit” with other human The process through which we develop our potential and learn patterns of our culture An ongoing process of culture transmission individually and collectively shapes our lives People can attempt to resist socialization Is socialization inherent or learned? Nature Vs. Nurture Nature Life depends on functioning of the body Heredity plays a part in intelligence, and personality characteristics All behaviour is predetermined Nurture Behaviour is learned, humans are “blank slates” and privileges come from pre-existing inequalities Many current values and behaviour different from grandparents, with whom we share genes Socialization Social experience Our ongoing, lifelong experiences shape our personality – our typical way of thinking, feeling and acting Personality Theories and Socialization Functionalism Aids in forming individual personality Cultural transmission of language and culture Aids in social integration – people come together, sharing and identifying with each other Conflict Approaches Social reproduction – societies reproduces itself in terms of status and privilege What is learned varies by gender, class and race/ethnicity Theories and Socialization Continued Feminist Approaches - Similar concern to conflict theorists. Especially important is the internalization of “gendered order Desire to modify socialization processes to address inequalities (2005, Education Canada) Theories & Socialization: Symbolic Interaction Cooley Thomas George Herbert Mead Goffman Social Interaction, Structure, and Construction of Reality Social Interaction the process by which people act and react in relation to others Social Structure any relatively stable pattern of social behaviour Status A recognized social position that a person occupies Status set - all the statuses a person holds at a given time Ascribed Status - a social position a person receives at birth or assumes involuntarily later in life Achieved Status - a social position a person achieves voluntarily that reflects ability and effort Master Status - a status that has special importance for social identity, often shaping a person’s entire life The Social Construction of Reality The process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction symbolic-interaction paradigm social interaction is a complex negotiation of reality Symbolic Interactionism Thomas – “Definition of the Situation” If a situation is defined as real, it is real in it’s consequences Cooley – “The Looking-Glass Self” personality is shaped as individuals see selves mirrored in others’ reactions, what we think of ourselves depends on what we think others think of us. Who we are is a result of how others see us, this can be enlightening, disappointing or satisfying. Symbolic Interactionism George Herbert Mead Role-taking – good communication involves taking the role of the other. The Social Self -- part of an individual’s personality that is composed of self-awareness and self-image Self develops from social interaction. Social experience is the exchange of symbols (gestures and language are symbols). Empathy -- Understanding intention requires imagining the situation from the other’s point of view. By taking the role of the other we become self-aware. Mead’s Development of Self Play stage: children practice the role of another, e.g., parent, female infant feeds doll and puts doll to bed Game stage: then learn to take roles of multiple others, e.g., roles of members of a sports team – baseball: catcher, batter, outfielder Generalized other: finally learn what is expected of us, this is based on cultural norms and values we use in evaluating others Significant others: well-known people who affect their lives (2005: Education Canada) Erving Goffman Dramaturgical Analysis: “The Presentation of Self” Dramaturgical Analysis: The study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performances Front & Back Stage Self, Masks The Presentation of Self/Impression management: An individual’s efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others Performances We convey information to others as we present ourselves Nonverbal Communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions to communicate Body Language and Deception Sometimes body language contradicts spoken language Gender and Personal Performances demeanour; use of space; staring, smiling, and touching Goffman -- Continued Idealization We construct performances to idealize our intentions Embarrassment and Tact Discomfort after a spoiled performance Helping someone “save face” so that “reality” is not swept away Goffman -- Continued Back to Socialization: Socialization Contexts Problems with contexts: inadequate socialization: lack of exposure to all experiences defective socialization: unintended outcomes Disjunctive socialization: lack of continuity between settings Anticipatory socialization: can compensate by encouraging a person to act according to future roles and responsibilities Self-socialization: people construct their own life course Agents of Socialization Religious Affiliations Family teaches skills, values and places in social positions Importance of early relationships: Healthy influence: Secure, loving, trusting environment Maltreatment: Physical, emotional and sexual abuse Education System teaches knowledge and skills, hidden curriculum, and bureaucracy Peer Group teaches the forming of relationships, the “generation gap” and fashions Agents of Socialization - Cont’d Mass Media & Popular Culture Impersonal communications aimed at a wide audience. Television is the main medium, people spend as much as 55 hours a week watching tv or on the computer culture is increasingly segmented by age conduit for affecting consumer behaviour liberation marketing appears to criticize middle-class values to promote own products companies want to cultivate long-term customers CULTURE Part 2 Culture Cultural passed via socialization shared by most group members passed from the old to the young shapes behaviour Culture: sum total of all cultural elements. Values: shared general beliefs about what is desirable or undesirable. Norms: relatively precise rules for permitted or prohibited behaviours. (2005: Education Canada) Types of Norms Folkways: norms, like types of clothing to wear, that do not evoke severe moral condemnation when violated. Mores: norms whose violation does provoke condemnation, e.g., killing. Society: a large group of people who Share a common culture Think of selves as inheriting common traditions Interact with other group members frequently Associated with a geographic area (2005: Education Canada) Social Roles Role: a cluster of behavioural expectations associated with a social position, e.g., teachers lecture, assign grades, do research, and so on. Role conflicts: expectations with one role are inconsistent with those of another, e.g., work/family obligations. Subculture: a group that possess elements that set them apart from the main culture. (2005: Education Canada) Cultural Variation Cultures exhibit enormous variation regarding values norms and roles. Some cultures have many gods males that are not competitive biological males who take on female roles Is globalization reducing variation? McDonaldization of many societies is occurring But restaurants and TV programs are “localized” (2005: Education Canada) Cultural Universals Elements that are found in every known society. Every culture has rules about Sexual behaviour Incest taboo – although Pharaohs of Egypt married sisters Patriarchy: men have more power than women Matriarchies occur -- but women do not have as much power as men in patriarchies (2005: Education Canada) Cultural Integration Elements of a society are integrated; change one and others may change. Studying Culture: Ethnocentrism: seeing things from the point of view of the observer’s culture Eurocentrism: seeing things from the point of view of Western society (not just Europe) Androcentrism: seeing things from a male point of view, e.g., seeing men as active and women as passive (2005: Eductaion Canada) Conflict Theory Cultural beliefs are ideology: a system of thought that serves existing inequalities Sociology of knowledge: the study of the influence of social factors on what constitutes knowledge in a society Encourages the challenging of unexamined attitudes and beliefs (2005: Education Canada) Cultural Materialism Cultures are adaptations to the physical environment, not determined by ideologies Hindu ban on killing cows, because cows are needed to get oxen to do plowing and provide dung for fuel. If they were killed for food, the farmers and families would not survive. (2005: Education Canada) From Sociology to Cultural Studies Europeans influenced the study of culture Foucault argued “homosexual” was an invention of the 19th century to bring it under control of the medical profession Groneman argued the “nymphomaniac” was similarly applied to control women Sociology is being supplanted by cultural studies in some bookstores. Will trend continue? (2005: Education Canada)