03 Becoming a Member of Society

• Socialization


  A lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn the culture
• Enculturation


  The process by which people learn the requirements of their surrounding culture and acquire the values and behaviors appropriate or necessary in that culture
• Goals of Socialization

  • Teaches impulse control and helps individuals develop a conscience
  • Teaches individuals how to prepare for and perform certain social roles
  • Cultivates shared sources of meaning and value
• Self


  A sociological concept that develops through social interactions - a set of situations where individuals learn to assume roles and meet the increasing level of complexity of each situation
• Stages of Development of the Self

  • Imitation
  • Play
  • Game
  • Generalized Others
• Identity Formation


  The development of an individual's distinct personality, which is regarded as a persisting entity in a particular stage of life by which a person is recognized or known
• Types of Identity

  • Cultural identity
  • Ethnic identity
  • National identity
  • Religious identity
  • Master identity
• Norm


  A rule that guides the behavior of members of a society or group
• Types of Norms

  • Proscriptive norms
  • Prescriptive norms
  • Mores
  • Folkways
• Values


  Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful, and that serve as broad guidelines for social living
• Status


  A social position that a person holds, which can be either ascribed or achieved
• Role


  The behavior of someone who holds a particular status
• Concepts related to Status and Role

  • Status set
  • Ascribed status
  • Achieved status
  • Role set
  • Role strain
  • Role manipulation
  • Impression management
• Deviance


  Behavior that violates expected rules and norms
• Theoretical Interpretations of Deviance

  • Structural Strain Theory
  • Labeling Theory
  • Social Control Theory
• Society has ways and means to assure conformity, providing mechanisms, rules, rewards, and consequences in cases where conformity is lacking or weak
• Socialization


  refers to a lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn

  the culture
• Enculturation


  is the process by which people learn the requirements of their surrounding culture

  and acquire the values and behaviors appropriate or necessary in that culture.
• Goals of Socialization

  1. Socialization teaches impulse control and helps individuals develop a conscience.

  2. Socialization teaches individuals how to prepare for and perform certain social roles – occupation

  roles, gender roles, and roles of institutions such as marriage and parenthood.

  3. Socialization cultivates shared sources of meaning and value.
• Stage of Development of the Self

  1. Imitation – the child starts with mimicking behaviors and actions of significant others around him

  or her.
• Stage of Development of the Self

  b. Play – the child takes different roles he or she observes in “adult” society, and plays them out to

  gain an understanding of the different social roles.
• Stage of Development of the Self

  b. Play – the child takes different roles he or she observes in “adult” society, and plays them out to

  gain an understanding of the different social roles.
• Stage of Development of the Self

  c. Game – the child must take the role of everyone else involves in the game. In the game stage, the

  organization begins and definite personalities start to emerge.
• Stage of Development of the Self

  d. Generalized Others – children begin to function in organized groups, and most importantly, to

  determine what they will do within a specific group.
• Self-concept 


  is the sum of a person’s knowledge and understanding

  of his or herself.
• Cultural identity


  is one’s feeling of identity or affiliation with a group or culture.
• Ethnic identity 


  is the identification with a certain ethnicity, usually on the basis of a presumed

  common genealogy or ancestry.
• National identity


  is an ethical and philosophical concept whereby all humans are divided into groups

  called nations.
• Religious identity 


  is the set of beliefs and practices generally held by an individual involving

  adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and the study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writing,

  history, and mythology, as well as faith and mystic experience.
• Master identity


  gives the order to the operation of other identities individually or collectively
• Proscriptive norms 


  – states what we should not do
• Norm is a rule that guides the behavior of members of a society or group. Normal refers to that which

  conforms to norms; it is the act of abiding by rules such as norms. Normative refers to what we perceive as

  normal, or what we think should be normal, regardless of whether it is.
• Prescriptive norms 


  – state what we should do
• Mores 


  – refers to norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance
• Folkways


  – refer to norms for routine and casual interaction
• Values 


  – are culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and

  beautiful, and that serve as broad guidelines for social living.
• Status set refers to all the statuses a person holds at a given time.

  Ascribed status is a social position a person receives at birth or takes on involuntarily later in life.

  Achieved status refers to a social position a person takes on voluntarily that reflects personal

  identity and effort
• Role set refers to the number of roles attached to a single status

  Role strain refers to conflict among the roles connected to two or more statuses.

  Role manipulation refers to the role manipulated in order to produce a sort of desirable impression;

  individuals may improvise on the performance of their role so that they appear presentable in the

  situation

  Impression management has the power and influence to create a favorable public opinion of a

  particular person; it can break a person in regards to social standing, and it can repair a damaged

  persona
• Structural Strain Theory


  Robert Merton developed this theory that traces the origin of deviance to the tensions that are

  caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have available to achieve those

  goals
• Labeling Theory


  The labeling theory focuses on the assumption that no act is intrinsically criminal. Definition of

  criminality is established by those in power through the formulation and interpretation of those by

  police, courts, and correctional institutions.