Socialization is the lifelong process by which people learn their culture and acquire a sense of self. It involves learning societal norms, values, and expectations. The ways socialization occurs can differ based on factors like race, gender, and class. It is distinct from simply socializing with others, as its purpose is to interact and learn from others like family and friends.

1. Socialization
Chapter 5

2. Socialization – the complex, lifelong social experience by which
people develop their human potential and learn culture

describes the ways that people
come to understand societal norms and expectations
to accept society’s beliefs
to be aware of societal values (expectations)
acquire a sense of self or social identity
Socialization is different based on race, gender and class
Socialization is not the same as socializing
Which is of companionship and entertainment.
purpose interacting with others, like family, friends, and coworkers for the

3. Sociology or
Psychology?
psychologists are focused on how the
mind influences that behavior
tend to look inward (mental health, emotional
processes)
sociologists study the role of society in
shaping behavior
while sociologists tend to look outward (social
institutions, cultural norms, interactions with others)

4. Sociology vs.
Psychology
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
A sociologist studying how a couple gets to the
point of their first kiss on a date might focus her
research on cultural norms for dating, social
patterns of sexual activity over time, or how this
process is different for seniors than for teens. A
psychologist would.
A psychologist would more likely be interested in
the person’s earliest sexual awareness or the
mental processing of sexual desire.

5. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) – came up with
psychoanalysis (and he was crazy)
•id – Freud’s term for our inborn basic drives
•ego – Freud’s term for a balancing force between
the id and the demands of society
•superego – Freud’s term for conscience, the
internalized norms and values of our social groups
Freud and the Development of Personality
5

6. In thE UPCOMING VIDEO IDENTIFY WHICH
CHARACTER REPRESENTS EACH ELEMENT OF
PERSONALITY.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scON9BThgZk

7. Wants whatever
feels good at the
time, with no
consideration for
the reality of the
situation.

8. “Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me now!
It is fun to have fun!”

9. The superego is the
moral part of us and
develops due to the
moral and ethical
restraints placed on us
by our caregivers.

10. “They should not be here
When our mother is not!
Put them out!
Put them out!”
Said the fish in the pot.”

11. Its the ego's job to meet the
needs of the id, while taking
into consideration the reality
of the situation.

12. “Then our mother came in
And she said to us two,
“Did you have any fun?
Tell me. What did you do?”
...
Should we tell her about it?
Now, what SHOULD we do?
Well . . .
What would you do if your
mother asked you?”

13. id
superego
ego
Wants what it
wants when it
wants it
Wants to follow the rules, • Has to make the
and the moral standards decision of which
in the culture
“voice” to follow
The id is the
primitive mind, it
contains the basic
needs and feelings
Stores and enforces the •Understands that
rules, it will deny
you can’t always get
pleasure to follow the
what you want
rules
An overactive id
can also cause a
person to be
uncaring of others
feelings
If the superego is too strong it
can result in a person who
feels guilty all the time and is
too obsessed with obtaining
perfection
If the ego is too strong it
can result in an adult that
is rational and efficient,
but also cold and boring
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14. Revisit your understanding
of the elements of
Identify, describe,
personality. and explain 2
conflicts of ID and superego that you
either experience or witness on a regular
basis.

15. Jean Piaget
Cognitive Development
Cognition
– How people think and understand
Stages of development
– Sensorimotor stage: Sensory contact understanding
– Preoperational stage: Use of language and other
symbols
– Concrete operational stage: Perception of causal
connections in surroundings
– Formal operational stage: Abstract, critical thinking
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright ♥ 2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

16. Critical Evaluation of Piaget
• Differed from Freud, viewing the mind as
active and creative.
• Cognitive stages are the result of
biological maturation and social
experience.
• Do people in all societies pass through
Piaget’s four stages?
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright ♥ 2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

17. Kohlberg, Gilligan, and the Development of
Morality
Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg (used only boys in studies)
•
amoral stage (0-7) – there is no right or wrong, just personal needs
to be satisfied
•
•
•
preconventional stage (7-10) – learned rules, follow them to stay
out of trouble; right and wrong based on what pleases parents,
teachers and friends
conventional stage (10-?) – morality means to follow the norms
and values they have learned
postconventional stage (maybe never) – most people don’t reach
this stage; reflect on abstract principles of right and wrong and judge
a behavior according to these principles
Psychologist Carol Gilligan (opposed Kohlberg) •
women: more likelty to base morality on personal relationships
•
men: morle likley use abstract principles to define right and wrong

18. Socialization into the Self and
Mind
•socialization – the process by which people learn the characteristics of their
group–the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and actions thought appropriate for
them
•self – the unique human capacity of being able to see ourselves “from the
outside”; the view we internalize of how others see use
•looking-glass self – a term coined by Charles Horton Cooley to refer to the
process by which our self develops though internalizing others’ reactions to us
•taking the role of the other – putting oneself in someone eles’s shoes;
understanding how someone else feels and thinks and thus anticipating how that
person will act
•significant other – an individual who significantly influences someone else’s
life
•generalized other – the norms, values, attitudes, and expectations of people
“in general”; the child’s ability to take the role of the generalized other is a
significant step in the development of a self

19. Cooley and the Looking-Glass Self
The looking-glass self is a term coined by Charles Horton Cooley to
refer to the process by which our self develops though internalizing
others’ reactions to us. It contains three elements:
1. We imagine how we appear to those around us. (EXAMPLE: We may
think that others perceive us as witty or dull.)
2. We interpret others’ reaction. (EXAMPLE: We come to conclusions
about how others evaluate us. Do they like us for being witty? Do they
dislike us for being dull?)
3. We develop a self-concept. (EXAMPLE: Based on our interpretations of
how others react to us, we develop feels and ideas about ourselves. A
favorable reflection in this social mirror leads to a positive self-concept,
a negative relection to a negative self-concept.)
The looking-glass self and three-step process in continuous and
repetitious. We constantly change our self-image, even in old age.

20. Cooley and the Looking-Glass Self
 How
much value one sees in
oneself is greatly affected by
socialization and how you
believe you are seen by
society.

21. Mead and Role Taking
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931),
symbolic interactionist, was a University of
Chicago sociologist(putting selfabout taking
who wrote in someone
the role of the other
else’s shoes to understand anticipate how
how someone
else feels and thinks and to
that person will act.)
(1863-1931), symbolic interactionist, was a
University of Chicago sociologist who wrote
about taking the role of the other (puttinghow
self
in someone else’s shoes to understand to
someone else feels and thinks and
anticipate how that person will act.)
(1863-1931), symbolic interactionist, was a
University of the role of the other (putting self
Chicago sociologist who wrote
about takingelse’s shoes to understand how
in someone feels and thinks and to
someone else that person will act.)
anticipate how

22. Mead and Role Taking
Three stages of taking the role of the other:
1. imitation (under age 3; no sense of self; imitate others): Children under three can only
mimic others. They do not yet have a self of self separate from others, and they can only
imitate other people’s gestures and words. (This stage is actually not role taking, but it
prepares the child for it.)
2. play (ages 3-6; play “pretend” others… Xena, Spiderman, etc.): From about the age of
3 to 6, children pretend to take the roles of specific people. They might pretend that they are
a firefighter, a wrestler, the Lone Ranger, Supergirl, Xena, Spiderman, and so on. They also
like costumes at this stage and enjoy dressing up in their parents’ clothing , tying a towel
around their neck to “become” Superman or Wonder Woman.
3. games (after about age 6 or 7; team games or “organized play”; learn to take multiple
roles): Organized play, or team games, coincides roughly with the early school years. The
significance for the self is that to play these games the individual must be able to take
multiple roles. One of Mead’s favorite examples was that of a baseball game, in which each
player must be able to take the role of all the other players. To play baseball, the child not
only must know his or her own role but also must be able to anticipate who will do what
when the ball is hit or thrown.

23. Mead and Role Taking
•
Mead on “I” vs. “Me”… “Not only the self but also the
human mind is a social product.” We cannot think
without symbols and we get symbols from society. The
mind, like language, is the product of society.
• “I” – the self as subject
• “Me” – the self as object

24. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
4 Stages of Reasoning
1. The sensorimotor stage (from birth to about 2): understanding is limited to
2.
•
•
direct contact with the environment; do not know that their bodies are
separate from the environment; no understanding of cause and effect
The preoperational stage (from about age 2 to age 7): develop the ability
to use symbols; do not understand common concepts such as size, speed, or
causation; only understand things from their view
The concrete operational stage (from the age of about 7 to 12): reasoning
become more developed; understanding remains concrete; understand
numbers, causation, and speed; can take the role of the other and participate
in team games; without concrete examples, cannot talk about concepts such
as truth, honesty , or justice. (Example: can explain something specific is a lie
but cannot explain what truth itself is.)
The formal operational stage (after the age of about 12): capable of
abstract thinking; can reach conclusions based on general principles and use
rules to solve abstract problems; become young philosophers.