Socialization

• Socialization


  the process where people internalize and learn their culture

  They do so by:

  - engaging in or disengaging from a role

  - becoming aware of themselves as they interact with others
• Explicit Socialization


  purposeful, declarative, INSTRUCTION of social knowledge
• Implicit Socialization


  automatic, unconscious TRANSMISSION of social knowledge
• Primary Socialization


  the process of acquiring the basic skills needed to function in society, usually in the context of the family

  - language

  - basic rules of social interaction

  - limits of acceptable behavior

  - "don't hit," "share," " be nice"
• Secondary Socialization


  explicit and implicit socialization that occurs outside the context of a child's primary social environment (which is usually the family)
• Secondary Socialization at schools occurs via 2 distinct sources of social knowledge


  1. Authority Figures

  2. Peer Groups - groups of people who are similar in age and social status

  - within these groups, members collectively process and engage with the social knowledge they receive from primary socialization (and secondary socialization via authority figures)
• Biological Determinism ('nature" limit position)


  genetics and the biological systems they produce is what gives people particular qualities:

  - temperament

  - intelligence

  - behavioral traits
• Empiricism ("nurture" limit position)


  people's experiences are the reason for the way they develop
• Problems with Testing Nature vs. Nurture Empirically


  - can't be tested experimentally

  - people's experiences are mixed up in the social world
• Sources of Socialization


  - the most important source of socialization in early childhood, is face to face interactions with other people

  Other Sources Include:

  - Children's Literature

  - Mass Media

  - Social Media
• Gender Socialization


  the process of learning and internalizing gender differentiation
• Nature vs. Nurture Gender Debate


  Biological Determinism -> gender essentialism (NATURE)

  Empiricism + Social Construct (NURTURE)
• Gender Essentialism


  the idea that differences between men and women are biologically based

  - Empirical evidence supports the idea that gender essentialism is always mixed up with gender socialization
• Toddlerhood


  - gender socialization continues into toddlerhood

  - both the toys that children play with as toddlers and the activities they're enrolled in by their parents are differentiated by gender