Socialization:

It is a process of social interaction through which people acquire personality and learn the way
of life of their society.
It is the co-dependence between the individual and society
Society Individual
Teaches norms, values, language, skills, beliefs and other patterns of thought and action
that are imperative in social living (socialization)
Individual Society
Socialization of individuals reproduces the society socially and biologically, ensuring its
continuation through generations.
Individual Personality:
(One of the most important outcomes)
Personalities, in sociological terms, are the fairly stable patterns of thought, feeling and action,
which are typical to that certain individual.
3 main elements:
(1) Cognitive: belief, perception, memory and other intellectual capacities
(2) Emotional: love, hate, envy and other feelings
(3) Behavioral: skills aptitudes, competence and other abilities
People are born with the potential to be many things but what they actually become is a
product of their unique experiences.
Social Interaction:
Takes place according to norms and values of the certain culture.
Personality types that are most admired and imitated in cultures and content of socialization
depends and differs hugely on one society to another.
Characteristic Personality Traits:
Found in every society
Common experiences of socialization found in a unique culture
With in every society, every individual is different mostly because of socialization.
(Biography and Personality)
What specific part of society they are a part of
The particular subcultures from their race, family, friends, religion and region
New experiences and old experiences
The socialization process helps explain general similarities in personality and social behaviour
within society and the many differences that exist between one person and another.
Nature and Nurture
(Nature verses Nurture debate is pointless because both factors, hereditary and learning, are
interrelated and cannot be separated. We are a product of a complex interaction between the two,
not one alone.)
Nature
Charles Darwins book On the Origin of Species
- Behaviours of other animals were largely or wholly determined by inherited factors.
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Sociologists applied this to human society

Classes, nations, races are superior or inferior to one another because of their inherited
qualities.
Human Instincts:
Aggressive Warfare
Herding Socialization
Acquisitive Capitalism

Nurture
Ivan Pavlov, Russian psychologist
- Dogs trained to drool at a bell or anything that had been associated with the food
- Humans have a greater capacity to learn by association
John B. Watson, American psychologist

Messed up infants for fun

Human behavior and personality are completely flexible and can be molded in any
direction

Genetic influence on an individuals personality?

Biology may set broad outlines and limits of an individuals potential, but the use of the
potential is put is determined by their environment.
Nature and Nurture is the process of socialization, where biology and culture meet and
blend.
Effects of Childhood Isolation
Children need more than just physical care if they are to survive and flourish.
Children need at least one person to have a close emotional attachment with. Without this
bond:
- Socialization is impaired
- Irreversible damage may be done to the personality
Emperor Frederick II
- To see if the language the children would pick up were hereditary or learned, he took
infants and had them taken cared of but without any meaningful relationship. All the
children died.
Feral Children
Roman Legend: Romulus and Remus
Documented cases
- 1942 Singh and Zingg
- 1972 Malson
- 1976 H. Lane
- 1978 McLean
- 1980 Shattuck
Effects of Feral Nurture
- Children could not speak
- Fearful or hostile towards other human beings
- Slouched or walked on all fours
- Tore ravenously into their food
- Little success at socializing
- Died at a young age
Disclaimer: The children have no solid proof that they were raised by animals because they
have no history prior to being discovered. They were more likely abandoned and could possibly
already have pre-existing mental issues from either being autistic or being raised in some form
of isolation before being abandoned.
Children Raised in Isolation
Kingsly Davis
- Anna, 6, illegitimate.
o Isolation alone
o Apathetic
o Could not walk, talk or sustain herself
o Little success in socialization
o Died at 10.5
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Isabelle, 6.5, illegitimate

Isolation with mother
Could not speak but can communicate
Success in socialization

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Isabelles introduction into society was successful because:

Wasnt completely isolated
Skills of her trainers
Able to gain the use of language

Institutionalized Children
They have rare chances to develop close ties with an adult.
Attendants in the institution do not have the time to devote personal attention to any individual.
Rene Spitz (1945)
published a paper about the effects of institutionalization to children
compared infants living in an orphanage to those with their mothers
found out that children in the orphanage were physically, socially, and mentally retarded
compared to the other children
Several other studies followed Spitzs research and arrived at the same conclusion. (Bowlby, 1969;
Rutter, 1974).
William Goldfarb (1945)
compared 40 children placed in foster homes soon after born with 40 children who had spent the
first 2 years of their life before being transferred to foster homes
found out that institutionalized children suffered personality defects even after leaving the
orphanage
they had lower IQ scores, more aggressive, and distractible, showed less initiative and more
emotionally cold
Other studies had followed Goldfarbs studies and arrived at the conclusion that disabilities
suffered in early childhood tend to manifest or even grow worse in later years. (Provence and
Lipton, 1962; Yarrow, 1963; Dennis, 1960; Dennis and Najarian, 1957).
Monkeys Raised in Isolation
Harry Harlow and his team conducted a series of experiments that studies the effects of isolation
on rhesus monkeys.
He found out that even in monkeys, the social behaviour is learned and not inherited.
Isolated monkeys
behaves like psychotics
fearful or hostile to other monkeys
doesnt socialize and is apathetic
do not know how to mate
isolated female monkeys that are artificially impregnated became unloving and abusive mothers
since human beings rely much more heavily on learning than monkeys, it was concluded that the
same behaviours would be exhibited by humans under the same conditions
This study proves that without socialization, humans are almost devoid of personality making them
unequipped to face life challenges.
Theories of Learning
Learning a change in the individuals thought, emotion, or action due to previous experiences.

Two Theories of Learning:

1. Behaviourist Approach
- found from the work of Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson
- argues that the mind cannot be studied scientifically, this is the reason why they focused on
something that can be studied and observed, namely, the actual behaviour
- sees people as passive
- in essence, this theory states that leaning takes place as a result of conditioning through rewards
and punishments
- reinforcement the pattern of rewards or punishments
- B.F. Skinner (1971)
o said that almost all human learning can be explained in terms of conditioning

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Social learning
modified approach of behaviourist approach
some behaviour is learned incidentally or due to imitation of other human models without
reinforcement
2. Development Approach
- the leading philosopher and psychologist in this subject is Jean Piaget
- not bothered by the concept of the mind
- sees people as active
- they focus on the internal interpretation of situations rather than on external factors such as
punishments and rewards
- states that conditioning alone cannot account for human learning
- Noam Chomsky (1957, 1968, 1971)
o he states that the behaviourist approach cannot be used to explain how children learn language
- Lawrence Kohlberg (1966)
o children do not learn sex roles by being awarded for performing a masculine or feminine behaviour

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The main difference between the two is the importance they give to the workings of the mind.
The developmental approach, which is more accepted theory by modern social scientists, is more
humanist. Freuds Theory
Individual and society are in eternal conflict
3 basic and interacting parts of personality:
Id- unconscious, works according to the pleasure principle (the idea that all needs should be
met immediately)
People are born with sex drives (sex and aggression) that leads to a constant tension between the
individual and the society
Ego- conscious, makes the decisions, operates according to the reality principle (desires of the
id must be satisfied in a method that is both socially appropriate and realistic)
Superego- works according to conscience (personal view on what is right and wrong)
Cooleys Theory
Individual and society are inseparable: society cannot exist without interacting individuals
Looking-glass self
Looking-glass is the society a mirror in which we can observe the reactions of others to our own
behavior
There is no self without society, no I without a corresponding they to provide our self-image.
Meads Theory
Socialized self (conscious of social norms, values, and expectations) is usually dominant over the
spo
Symbolic interaction
Interaction between people that takes place through symbols such as gestures, facial expressions,
and language.
Vital outcome of socialization is the ability to anticipate what others expect of us and to shape our
own behavior (role-taking)
The internalized general concept of social expectations provides the basis for self-evaluation and
hence for self-concept.
The Emergence of Self
Self is situated at the core of ones personality. This is the individuals conscious distinct
personality that is separate from all other
This concept is somewhat vague, but humans certainly experience it as real (we have a definition
of who and what we are).
Our sense of self is due because of social product which was created and modified throughout
our life by constant interaction with other people
Types of Socialization

1) Primary Socialization
- takes place in the early years of life
-teaching of language, cognitive skills, norms, and values
-establishment of emotional ties, appreciation of others roles and

perspectives

2) Anticipatory Socialization
- the kind of learning is directed toward a persons future role
- Ex. When children play house and take in the roles as parents
3) Development Socialization
- based on the achievements of primary socialization
-builds on already acquires skills and knowledge as the adult progresses through situations that
require new obligations, expectations, and roles
-New learning is added to old in a relatively smooth and continuous process of development
-Ex. Marriage, Jobs
4) Reverse Socialization
- occurs when the younger generation transmits cultural knowledge to its elders
- uncommon in traditional societies, but common in heterogeneous modern societies
- Ex. The children from immigrant families teaching their parents the language of the country after
school
5) Resocialization
- involves a sharp break with the past and the internalization of radically different norms and
values where people have been partly or wholly isolated from their previous background\
- Ex. Conversion to a different religion
-involves a total institution
- a place of residence where the inmates are confined for a set period of their lives
- cut off from the rest of society and under the almost absolute control of a hierarchy of officials
The Life Cycle
- The human life cycle may seem purely a matter of biology
- The sequence of birth, childhood, maturity, old age, and death is also social for its length, stages,
challenges, and opportunities depend very much on the society which one lives
-modern industrial societies: associate death with old age traditional societies: more people died
young

- thanks to social factors such as modern medicine, improved nutrition, and higher standards of
sanitation
- the human life span is divided into various stages (number, length, and content vary)
- for a society to survive and become successful, the society must socialize its members into
accepting and effectively performing their changing roles at each stage
Childhood
- may seem a natural part to us, but is a relatively new concept
-preindustrial societies did not see it as another stage of life
- Europe of the Middle Ages: children dressed as adults, took part in the same games, did the
same work, and even portrayed as little adults in paintings
- instead, the youth shifted from prolonged infancy to their adult roles
-even in early industrial societies
-1900 United States- boys aged 10 to 14 were in the labor force
-1979 at the International Labor Organization reported millions of kids between 5-13 yo working in
factories, coal mines in countries such as Morocco, India and Colombia