Sociology

Introduction to Sociology
Naveed Siddiqui
PhD. M.B.E. PgDip Information Technology
Founder & CEO – Naveed Media Academy
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What to Expect in This Chapter...
 What is Socialization?
 Biology vs. Culture in Socialization
 The Concept of Self
 Dimensions of Human Development
 Theories of Development
 Early Socialization Influences in
American Society
 Adult Socialization

What is Socialization?
Socialization is “...the
process of social
interaction that teaches
the child the intellectual,
physical and social skills
needed to function as a
member of society.

Biology vs. Culture in Socialization
 This is an age-old controversy, commonly
known as the “nature-nurture debate.”
• Early social scientists minimized the role of
biology as a result of experiments by Pavlov,
Watson and others
• The 1970’s witnessed a resurgence of interest
in biology, known as sociobiology.

The Case for Culture: Deprivation and
Development
 Several cases from the annals of social science
research demonstrate the importance of social
contact and cultural content in development:
• Victor, The Wild Boy of Aveyron who had been living
alone in a forest for 5 or 6 years
• Anna, illegitimate daughter of a disapproving family who
kept her isolated
• Genie, daughter of a nearly blind mother who had been
kept harnessed to a potty seat for hours each day

The Concept of Self
 Human beings have both social identities
and personal identities
Social identities consist of all the statuses, or
positions, that we occupy in society.
Personal identities consist of the self-
reflections and self-images that are based at
least in part on our social identities
 Our personal identity is also referred to as
our self.

Dimensions of Human Development:
Cognitive Development
 Psychologist Jean Piaget alerted us to
the fact that children progress through
clear stages in their ability to think
• Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2)—reliance on
touch for information about the world
• Pre-Operational Stage (2-7)—ability to think
symbolically but cannot see world from
another person’s point of view
• Operational Stage (7-12)—can begin to think
logically
• Formal-Logical Stage (12 on)—capable of
abstract, logical thought

Moral Development
 Lawrence Kohlberg alerted us to the
fact that individuals go through stages
of moral development as well:
• Moral orientation toward punishment
• Moral orientation toward reward
• Moral orientation toward disapproval by
others
• Moral orientation toward formal laws
• Moral orientation toward peer values and
democracy
• Moral orientation toward one’s own set of
values
Lawrence
Kohlberg

Gender Identity
 Gender identity is one of the
most important elements of our
sense of self
 Some aspects of gender identity
are rooted in biology, such as
physical strength, pregnancy
and nursing, etc.
 Most of our gender identity,
however, is culturally defined

Theories of Development: Charles
Horton Cooley
 Cooley maintains that the self
develops in a three stage
process he calls the looking
glass self
• We imagine how our actions
appear to others
• We imagine how other people
judge these actions
• We evaluate ourselves based on
presumed judgments of others

Theories of Development: George
Herbert Mead
 Mead suggests that the self is composed
of two parts:
“I”—active and spontaneous part of self
“Me”—comprised of responses of others
which are internalized
 Identifies three stages of development:
• Preparatory Stage—imitation of others
• Play Stage—child formulates role
expectations of one other person at a time
• Game Stage—child can incorporate
expectations of “others” generally, or the
generalized other

Psychological Theories of Development:
Freud and Erikson
 Freud suggested that the personality is
made up of three parts which are
inherently conflicting:
id– drives and instincts
superego—represents society’s norms and
expectations
ego—mediates conflict between id and
superego
 Erikson identified eight stages of human
development, each which pose
challenges and hazards
Erik Erikson
Sigmund
Freud

Recent Developmental Theory:
Daniel Levinson
 Levinson blends sociology and psychology in his
developmental theory of adult socialization
 Suggests that adults go through eight stages:
• Early Adult Period—17-22
• Entering the Adult World—22-28
• Age 30 Transitional Period—28-33
• Settling Down—33-40
• Mid-Life Transition—40-45
• Beginning Middle Adulthood—45-50
• Age 50 Transition—50-55
• Culmination of Middle Adulthood—55-60
• Late Adult Transition—60-65

Early Socialization Influences in
American Society

The Family
 The family is the primary socializing
agent for the first few years of life
 Socialization in the family varies
greatly by social class and ethnicity
 Structural changes in the family have
resulted in formal child care
providers having a greater role in
childhood socialization

The School
 The school is a formal agent of
socialization that seeks to socialize
children in selected skills and knowledge
 Numerous issues face the school as a
socializing agent as a result of conflict
between local values and state/federal
demands:
• Prayer
• AIDS and education
• Evolution

The Peer Group
 Peer group is a socializing agent
that involves equals
 While parents provide basic
values, peer groups have
greater influence in lifestyle
issues
 Peer group socialization often
contradicts that of the family and
the school

The Mass Media
 The mass media have become a
dominant agent of socialization with
the advent of television
98.2% of American households have
at least one television set
American children watch an average
of 2 hours of TV per day during the
week and more than 4 hours on weekends
 Many scholars believe that television is
the cause of increased violence in
American society

Adult Socialization
 Adult socialization is the process by
which adults internalize new role
expectation
 An important feature of adult socialization
is resocialization, exposure to radically
different expectations than one has
previously encountered
• Often resocialization takes place within total
institutions such as prisons, mental hospitals,
or religious cults

Adult Socialization: Marriage
 Marriage is a significant marker of a
transition from adolescence to
adulthood
 Married couples must learn to
define their relationship with
each other and, as a couple,
with society
 This is more difficult today than
in earlier times because
traditional role expectations are being
called into question

Adult Socialization: Parenthood
 Having children introduces
great complexity into a
marriage relationship
• Schedules must be altered
• Finances are usually tighter
• Often, unexpected feelings
emerge

Adult Socialization: Career
Development
 The work world involves new
demands that can be stressful
 Career socialization is
accomplished in a number of
ways, including both
professional schools and on-
the-job training

Adult Socialization: Aging
 In many societies, such as Japan and
China, age brings increased prestige
 In American society, older people
are usually regarded as less
valuable
they are asked to retire at a certain age
they may be put in nursing homes if they
are unable to care for themselves
 This creates great concerns for the
elderly, wondering where they are going
to live, who will care for them when they
get sick, etc.

Sociology

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