Navigating Socialization and Culture
SOCIALIZATION
The lifelong social learning a person undergoes to become a able member of society
TYPES OF SOCIALIZATION
Primary Socialization
Occurs in the early years of a person’s life, typically in the home, where good and bad behaviour is modelled by close family members
Secondary Socialization
Occurs after childhood, when new roles, norms, attitudes, beliefs, etc. are learned from people outside the family
Also...
Anticipatory Socialization
The process of preparing for future roles
Resocialization
The process of learning and unlearning rules, roles, and identities
Gender, Class, Racial Socialization
The process of learning the behaviours expected of different genders, classes, races, etc.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
Most widely accepted view of socialization in sociology. Associated with Charles H. Cooley and George H. Mead.
The looking-glass self
Self-concept; generalized other
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
Primary Socialization
Family
Secondary Socialization
School
Peers
Media
CULTURE
Both the content and the product of socialization
PROCESSES OF CULTURAL CHANGE
Structural differentiation (associated with Durkheim)
Commodification (associated with Marx)
Rationalization (associated with Weber)
Regardless of process, culture change operates in one of two ways:
(1) Diffusion
Occurs when people begin using a new idea, practice, behaviour, etc., and it spreads
(2) Acculturation
Occurs on an individual or group level when two cultures come into contact
NAMES WORTH KNOWING
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was one of the first sociologists to think of social life in terms of social systems, and asserted the importance of cultural change in relation to social change.
Charles Cooley (1864–1929) maintained that primary groups (e.g. family, play groups) were the sources of people’s morals, sentiments, and ideals, demonstrating the significance of socialization and social interaction; he is well known for the looking-glass self, which refers to the way a person’s self-image reflects the way others view him or her.
Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) held that culture was an independent variable that could not be reduced to any other component of the social system.
Erving Goffman (1922–1982) studied resocialization in total institutions, including hospitals and jails.
Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) proposed that people inherit their cultural attitudes, and this inheritance maintains traditional class structures.
George Ritzer (b. 1940) sees postmodern culture in terms of consumerism, which maintains italism by creating new forms of consumption of goods and services (e.g. through credit cards, shopping malls).
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