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5 5 Socialization

Learning Objectives
Remember the definitions of the key terms
highlighted in boldfaced type throughout
this chapter.

Understand the nature-nurture debate

about human development.

Apply the sociological perspective to see

how society defines behavior at various
stages of the life course.

Analyze the contribution of the family,

schooling, the peer group, and the mass
media to personality development.

Evaluate the contributions of six important

thinkers to our understanding of the social-
ization process.

Create a complex appreciation for the fact

that our personalities are not fixed at birth
but develop and change as we interact with
others.

100
 CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Having completed two macro-level chapters, Chapters 3 (“Culture”) and 4 (“Society”),
exploring our social world, we turn now to a micro-level look at how individuals become
members of society through the process of socialization.

On a cold winter day in 1938, a social worker walked quickly to the door of
a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. Investigating a case of possible child abuse, the
social worker entered the home and soon discovered a five-year-old girl hidden in
a second-floor storage room. The child, whose name was Anna, was wedged
into an old chair with her arms tied above her head so that she couldn’t move. She
was wearing filthy clothes, and her arms and legs were as thin as matchsticks
(K. Davis, 1940).
Anna’s situation can only be described as tragic. She had been born in
1932 to an unmarried and mentally impaired woman of twenty-six who lived
with her strict father. Angry about his daughter’s “illegitimate” motherhood, the
grandfather did not even want the child in his house, so for the first six months
of her life, Anna was passed among several welfare agencies. But her mother
could not afford to pay for her care, and Anna was returned to the hostile home
of her grandfather.
To lessen the grandfather’s anger, Anna’s mother kept Anna in the storage room and gave her just enough milk to
keep her alive. There she stayed—day after day, month after month, with almost no human contact—for five long years.
Learning of Anna’s rescue, the sociologist Kingsley Davis immediately went to see the child. He found her with local
officials at a county home. Davis was stunned by the emaciated girl, who could not laugh, speak, or even smile. Anna was
completely unresponsive, as if alone in an empty world.

Social Experience: Human Development: Nature and Nurture

The Key to Our Humanity Anna’s case makes clear that humans depend on others to provide
the care and nurture needed not only for physical growth but also for
Understand personality to develop. A century ago, however, people mistakenly
believed that humans were born with instincts that determined their
Socialization is so basic to human development that we sometimes over- personality and behavior.
look its importance. But here, in the terrible case of an isolated child, we
can see what humans would be like without social contact. Although The Biological Sciences: The Role of Nature
physically alive, Anna hardly seems to have been human. We can see that Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking 1859 study of evolution, described
without social experience, a child is not able to act or communicate in in Chapter 3 (“Culture”), led people to think that human behavior was
a meaningful way and seems to be as much an object as a person. instinctive, simply our “nature.” Such ideas led to claims that the U.S.
Sociologists use the term socialization to refer to the lifelong social economic system reflects “instinctive human competitiveness,” that
experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture. some people are “born criminals,” or that women are “naturally” emo-
Unlike other living species, whose behavior is mostly or entirely set by tional while men are “naturally” rational.
biology, humans need social experience to learn their culture and to sur- People trying to understand cultural diversity also misunderstood
vive. Social experience is also the foundation of personality, a person’s Darwin’s thinking. Centuries of world exploration had taught West-
fairly consistent patterns of acting, thinking, and feeling. We build a per- ern Europeans that people behaved quite differently from one society
sonality by internalizing—taking in—our surroundings. But without to another. But Europeans linked these differences to biology rather
social experience, as Anna’s case shows, personality hardly develops at all. than culture. It was an easy, although incorrect and very damaging,

102 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

Human infants display various reflexes—biologically based behavior patterns that enhance survival. The sucking reflex, which actually begins
before birth, enables the infant to obtain nourishment. The grasping reflex, triggered by placing a finger on the infant’s palm, causing the
hand to close, helps the infant to maintain contact with a parent and, later on, to grasp objects. The Moro reflex, activated by startling the
infant, has the infant swinging both arms outward and then bringing them together across the chest. This action, which disappears after
several months of life, probably developed among our evolutionary ancestors so that a falling infant could grasp the body hair of a parent.

step to claim that members of technologically simple societies were Research with Monkeys
biologically less evolved and therefore “less human.” This ethnocentric In a classic study, the psychologists Harry and Margaret Harlow (1962)
view helped justify colonialism: Why not take advantage of others if placed rhesus monkeys—whose behavior is in some ways surprisingly
they seem not to be human in the same sense that you are? similar to that of humans—in various conditions of social isolation.
They found that complete isolation (with adequate nutrition) for even
The Social Sciences: The Role of Nurture six months seriously disturbed the monkeys’ development. When
In the twentieth century, biological explanations of human behavior returned to their group, these monkeys were passive, anxious, and fearful.
came under fire. The psychologist John B. Watson (1878–1958) devel- The Harlows then placed infant rhesus monkeys in cages with an
oped a theory called behaviorism, which holds that behavior is not artificial “mother” made of wire mesh with a wooden head and the nip-
instinctive but learned. Thus people everywhere are equally human, ple of a feeding tube where the breast would be. These monkeys also sur-
differing only in their cultural patterns. In short, Watson rooted vived but were unable to interact with others when placed in a group.
human behavior not in nature but in nurture. But monkeys in a third category, isolated with an artificial wire
Today, social scientists are cautious about describing any human mesh “mother” covered with soft terry cloth, did better. Each of
behavior as instinctive. This does not mean that biology plays no part these monkeys would cling to its mother closely. Because these mon-
in human behavior. Human life, after all, depends on the functioning keys showed less developmental damage than earlier groups, the
of the body. We also know that children often share biological traits Harlows concluded that the monkeys benefited from this closeness.
(like height and hair color) with their parents and that heredity plays The experiment confirmed how important it is that adults cradle
a part in intelligence, musical and artistic talent, and personality (such infants affectionately.
as how you react to frustration). However, whether you develop your Finally, the Harlows discovered that infant monkeys could recover
inherited potential depends on how you are raised. For example, from about three months of isolation. But by about six months, iso-
unless children use their brain early in life, the brain does not fully lation caused irreversible emotional and behavioral damage.
develop (Goldsmith, 1983; Begley, 1995).
Without denying the importance of nature, then, we can cor- Studies of Isolated Children
rectly say that nurture matters more in shaping human behavior. Tragic cases of children isolated by abusive family members show the
More precisely, nurture is our nature. damage caused by depriving human beings of social experience. We
will review three such cases.
Social Isolation
As the story of Anna shows, being cut off from the social world is very Anna: The Rest of the Story The rest of Anna’s story squares with
harmful to human beings. For ethical reasons, researchers can never the Harlows’ findings. After her discovery, Anna received extensive
place people in total isolation to study what happens. But in the past, medical attention and soon showed improvement. When Kingsley
they have studied the effects of social isolation on nonhuman primates. Davis visited her after ten days, he found her more alert and even

Socialization CHAPTER 5 103

 Read “Final Note on an Extreme Case of Isolation” by Kingsley Davis a one-year-old. With intensive treatment, she became physically
on [Link] healthy, but her language ability remains that of a young child. Today,
Genie lives in a home for developmentally disabled adults.
smiling (perhaps for the first time in her life). Over the next year,
Anna made slow but steady progress, showing more interest in other Evaluate All evidence points to the crucial importance of social
people and gradually learning to walk. After a year and a half, she experience in personality development. Human beings can recover
could feed herself and play with toys. from abuse and short-term isolation. But there is a point—precisely
But as the Harlows might have predicted, five long years of social when is unclear from the small number of cases studied—at which iso-
isolation had caused permanent damage. At age eight, her mental lation in childhood causes permanent developmental damage.
development was less than that of a two-year-old. Not until she was CHECK YOUR LEARNING What do studies of isolated children
almost ten did she begin to use words. Because Anna’s mother was teach us about the importance of social experience?
mentally retarded, perhaps Anna was also. The riddle was never solved,
however, because Anna died at age ten of a blood disorder, possibly
related to the years of abuse she suffered (K. Davis, 1940, 1947).
Understanding Socialization
Another Case: Isabelle A second case involves another girl found Understand
at about the same time as Anna and under similar circumstances.
After more than six years of virtual isolation, this girl, named Socialization is a complex, lifelong process. The following discussions
Isabelle, displayed the same lack of responsiveness as Anna. But highlight the work of six researchers—Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget,
Isabelle had the benefit of an intensive learning program directed Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan, George Herbert Mead, and Erik
by psychologists. Within a week, Isabelle was trying to speak, and H. Erikson—who have made lasting contributions to our understand-
a year and a half later, she knew some 2,000 words. The psycholo- ing of human development.
gists concluded that intensive effort had pushed Isabelle through six
years of normal development in only two years. By the time she Sigmund Freud’s Elements of Personality
was fourteen, Isabelle was attending sixth-grade classes, damaged Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) lived in Vienna at a time when most
by her early ordeal but on her way to a relatively normal life Europeans considered human behavior to be biologically fixed.
(K. Davis, 1947). Trained as a physician, Freud gradually turned to the study of per-
sonality and mental disorders and eventually developed the celebrated
A Third Case: Genie A more recent case of childhood isolation theory of psychoanalysis.
involves a California girl abused by her parents (Curtiss, 1977; Rymer,
1994). From the time she was two, Genie was tied to a potty chair in Basic Human Needs
a dark garage. In 1970, when she was rescued at age thirteen, Genie Freud claimed that biology plays a major part in human development,
weighed only fifty-nine pounds and had the mental development of although not in terms of specific instincts, as is the case in other species.
Rather, he theorized that humans have two basic needs or drives that
are present at birth. First is a need for sexual and emo-
tional bonding, which he called the “life instinct,” or
eros (named after the Greek god of love). Second, we
share an aggressive drive he called the “death instinct,”
or thanatos (the Greek word for “death”). These oppos-
ing forces, operating at an unconscious level, create
deep inner tension.

Freud’s Model of Personality

Freud combined basic needs and the influence of
society into a model of personality with three parts:
id, ego, and superego. The id (Latin for “it”) repre-
sents the human being’s basic drives, which are uncon-
scious and demand immediate satisfaction. Rooted in
biology, the id is present at birth, making a newborn
a bundle of demands for attention, touching, and
food. But society opposes the self-centered id, which
is why one of the first words a child typically learns
The personalities we develop depend largely on the environment in which we live. When a child’s is “no.”
world is shredded by violence, the damage (including losing the ability to trust) can be profound To avoid frustration, a child must learn to approach
and lasting. This drawing was made by a child in the Darfur region of Sudan, where armed militia the world realistically. This is done through the ego
have killed more than 300,000 people since 2003. What are the likely effects of such experiences (Latin for “I”), which is a person’s conscious efforts to
on a young person’s self-confidence and capacity to form trusting ties? balance innate pleasure-seeking drives with the demands

104 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

of society. The ego arises as we become aware of our distinct existence
and face the fact that we cannot have everything we want. Freud’s Model of Personality
In the human personality, the superego (Latin for “above or
beyond the ego”) is the cultural values and norms internalized by an id the human being’s ego a person’s conscious superego the cultural
individual. The superego operates as our conscience, telling us why we basic drives efforts to balance innate values and norms
pleasure-seeking drives with the internalized by an
cannot have everything we want. The superego begins to form as a individual
demands of society
child becomes aware of parental demands and matures as the child
comes to understand that everyone’s behavior should take account
of cultural norms. The Sensorimotor Stage
Personality Development Stage one is the sensorimotor stage, the level of human development at
which individuals experience the world only through their senses. For
To the id-centered child, the world is a bewildering assortment of
about the first two years of life, the infant knows the world only through
physical sensations that bring either pleasure or pain. As the superego
the five senses: touching, tasting, smelling, looking, and listening.
develops, however, the child learns the moral concepts of right and
“Knowing” to young children amounts to what their senses tell them.
wrong. Initially, in other words, children can feel good only in a phys-
ical way (such as by being held and cuddled), but after three or four The Preoperational Stage
years, they feel good or bad according to how they judge their behav- About age two, children enter the preoperational stage, the level of human
ior against cultural norms (doing “the right thing”). development at which individuals first use language and other symbols.
The id and superego remain in conflict, but in a well-adjusted Now children begin to think about the world mentally and use imagi-
person, the ego manages these two opposing forces. If conflicts are nation. But “pre-op” children between about two and six still attach
not resolved during childhood, Freud claimed, they may surface as meaning only to specific experiences and objects. They can identify a
personality disorders later on. toy as their “favorite” but cannot explain what types of toys they like.
Culture, in the form of the superego, represses selfish demands, forc- Lacking abstract concepts, a child also cannot judge size, weight,
ing people to look beyond their own desires. Often the competing or volume. In one of his best-known experiments, Piaget placed two
demands of self and society result in a compromise that Freud called identical glasses containing equal amounts of water on a table. He
sublimation. Sublimation redirects selfish drives into socially acceptable asked several children aged five and six if the amount in each glass was
behavior. For example, marriage makes the satisfaction of sexual urges the same. They nodded that it was. The children then watched Piaget
socially acceptable, and competitive sports are an outlet for aggression. take one of the glasses and pour its contents into a taller, narrower
Evaluate In Freud’s time, few people were ready to accept glass so that the level of the water in the glass was higher. He asked
sex as a basic human drive. More recent critics have charged that again if each glass held the same amount. The typical five- or six-
Freud’s work presents humans in male terms and devalues women year-old now insisted that the taller glass held more water. By about
(Donovan & Littenberg, 1982). Freud’s theories are also difficult to age seven, children are able to think abstractly and realize that the
test scientifically. But Freud influenced everyone who later studied amount of water stays the same.
human personality. Of special importance to sociology are his ideas The Concrete Operational Stage
that we internalize social norms and that childhood experiences have
Next comes the concrete operational stage, the level of human devel-
a lasting impact on personality.
opment at which individuals first see causal connections in their sur-
CHECK YOUR LEARNING What are the three elements in Freud’s roundings. Between the ages of seven and eleven, children focus on
model of personality? Explain how each one operates. how and why things happen. In addition, children now attach more
than one symbol to a particular event or object. If, for example, you
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive say to a child of five, “Today is Wednesday,” she might respond, “No,
Development it’s my birthday!”—indicating that she can use just one symbol at a
time. But a ten-year-old at the concrete operational stage would be
The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) studied human able to respond, “Yes, and it’s also my birthday.”
cognition, how people think and understand. As Piaget watched his own
three children grow, he wondered not just what they knew but also how The Formal Operational Stage
they made sense of the world. Piaget went on to identify four stages of The last stage in Piaget’s model is the formal operational stage, the
cognitive development. level of human development at which individuals think abstractly and

Piaget’s Stages of Development

sensorimotor stage the level preoperational stage the concrete operational stage the formal operational stage the
of human development at level of human development at level of human development at level of human development at
which individuals experience which individuals first use which individuals first see causal which individuals think
the world only through their language and other symbols connections in their surroundings abstractly and critically
senses

Socialization CHAPTER 5 105

critically. At about age twelve, young people begin to reason abstractly stealing food to feed one’s hungry children is not the same as stealing
rather than thinking only of concrete situations. If, for example, you an iPod to sell for pocket change.
were to ask a seven-year-old, “What would you like to be when you In Kohlberg’s final stage of moral development, the postconventional
grow up?” you might receive a concrete response such as “a teacher.” level, people move beyond their society’s norms to consider abstract
But most teenagers can think more abstractly and might reply, “I ethical principles. Now they think about liberty, freedom, or jus-
would like a job that helps others.” As they gain the capacity for tice, perhaps arguing that what is legal still may not be right. When
abstract thought, young people also learn to understand metaphors. the African American activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat
Hearing the phrase “A penny for your thoughts” might lead a child on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus in 1955, she violated that city’s
to ask for a coin, but a teenager will recognize a gentle invitation to segregation laws in order to call attention to the racial injustice of
intimacy. the law.
Evaluate Freud saw human beings torn by opposing forces Evaluate Like the work of Piaget, Kohlberg’s model explains
of biology and culture. Piaget saw the mind as active and creative. moral development in terms of distinct stages. But whether this model
He saw an ability to engage the world unfolding in stages as the result applies to people in all societies remains unclear. Further, many people
of both biological maturation and social experience. in the United States apparently never reach the postconventional level
But do people in all societies pass through all four of Piaget’s of moral reasoning, although exactly why is still an open question.
stages? Living in a traditional society that changes slowly probably Another problem with Kohlberg’s research is that his subjects
limits a person’s capacity for abstract and critical thought. Even in the were all boys. He committed a common research error, described in
United States, perhaps 30 percent of people never reach the formal Chapter 2 (“Sociological Investigation”), by generalizing the results
operational stage (Kohlberg & Gilligan, 1971). of male subjects to all people. This problem led a colleague, Carol
CHECK YOUR LEARNING What are Piaget’s four stages of Gilligan, to investigate how gender affects moral reasoning.
cognitive development? What does his theory teach us about CHECK YOUR LEARNING What are Kohlberg’s three stages of
socialization? moral development? What does his theory teach us about social-
ization?
Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development Carol Gilligan’s Theory of Gender
Lawrence Kohlberg (1981) built on Piaget’s work to study moral rea- and Moral Development
soning, how individuals judge situations as right or wrong. Here again,
Carol Gilligan, whose approach is highlighted in the Thinking
development occurs in stages.
About Diversity box, compared the moral development of girls and boys
Young children who experience the world in
and concluded that the two sexes use different standards of rightness.
terms of pain and pleasure (Piaget’s sensori-
Boys, Gilligan (1982, 1990) claims, have a
motor stage) are at the preconventional level
justice perspective, relying on formal rules to
of moral development. At this early stage, in
define right and wrong. Girls, by contrast,
other words, “rightness” amounts to “what
have a care and responsibility perspective,
feels good to me.” For example, a young child
judging a situation with an eye toward per-
may simply reach for something on a table
sonal relationships and loyalties. For
that looks shiny, which is the reason par-
example, as boys see it, stealing is
ents of young children have to “child-
wrong because it breaks the law. Girls
proof ” their homes.
are more likely to wonder why some-
The conventional level, Kohlberg’s second
one would steal and to be sympa-
stage, appears by the teen years (corresponding
thetic toward a person who steals,
to Piaget’s final, formal operational stage). At
say, to feed her family.
this point, young people lose some of their self-
Kohlberg treats rule-based male rea-
ishness as they learn to define right and wrong
soning as superior to the person-based
in terms of what pleases parents and conforms
female approach. Gilligan notes that
to cultural norms. Individuals at this stage also
impersonal rules dominate men’s lives in
begin to assess intention in reaching moral
the workplace, but personal relationships
judgments instead of simply looking at what
are more relevant to women’s lives as
people do. For example, they understand that
mothers and caregivers. Why, then,
Gilligan asks, should we set up male
Childhood is a time to learn principles of right and standards as the norms by which to
wrong. According to Carol Gilligan, however, boys judge everyone?
and girls define what is “right” in different ways.
After reading about Gilligan’s theory, can you Evaluate Gilligan’s work
suggest what these two children might be sharpens our understanding of
arguing about? both human development and

106 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

 Thinking About Diversity: The Importance of Gender in Research
Race, Class, and Gender

C
arol Gilligan (1990) has shown how gender Why? Gilligan claims that the answer lies in our were hesitant—many were fearful that they would
guides social behavior. Her early work society’s socialization of females. In U.S. society, be talked about.
exposed the gender bias in studies by the ideal woman is calm, controlled, and eager to
Kohlberg and others who had used only male sub- please. Then too, as girls move from the elementary What Do You Think?
jects. But as her research progressed, Gilligan grades to secondary school, they have fewer
1. How does Gilligan’s research show the impor-
made a major discovery: Boys and girls actually use women teachers and find that most authority fig-
tance of gender in the socialization process?
different standards in making moral decisions. By ures are men. As a result, by their late teens, girls
ignoring gender, we end up with an incomplete view struggle to regain the personal strength they had a 2. Do you think boys are subject to some of the
of human behavior. decade earlier. same pressures and difficulties as girls? What
Gilligan has also looked at the effect of gender When their research was finished, Gilligan and about the fact that a much smaller share of
on self-esteem. Her research team interviewed her colleagues returned to a private girls’ school boys than girls makes it to college? Explain
more than 2,000 girls, aged six to eighteen, over where they had interviewed their subjects to share your answer.
a five-year period. She found a clear pattern: the results of their work. As their conclusions led 3. Can you think of ways in which your gender
Young girls start out eager and confident, but their them to expect, most of the younger girls who had has shaped the development of your person-
self-esteem slips away as they pass through been interviewed were eager to have their names ality? Point out three significant ways gender
adolescence. appear in the forthcoming book. But the older girls has shaped your own life.

Watch the video “Gender Socialization” on [Link] Second, the self develops only with social experience, as the indi-
vidual interacts with others. Without interaction, as we see from cases
of isolated children, the body grows, but no self emerges.
gender issues in research. Yet the question remains, does nature or Third, Mead continued, social experience is the exchange of sym-
nurture account for the differences between females and males? In bols. Only people use words, a wave of the hand, or a smile to create
Gilligan’s view, cultural conditioning is at work, a view that finds sup- meaning. We can train a dog using reward and punishment, but the
port in other research. Nancy Chodorow (1994) claims that children dog attaches no meaning to its actions. Human beings, by contrast,
grow up in homes in which, typically, mothers do much more nurtur- find meaning in almost every action.
ing than fathers. As girls identify with mothers, they become more con- Fourth, Mead stated that seeking meaning leads people to imagine
cerned with care and responsibility to others. By contrast, boys other people’s intentions. In short, we draw conclusions from people’s
become more like fathers, who are often detached from the home, actions, imagining their underlying intentions. A dog responds to
and develop the same formal and detached personalities. Perhaps what you do; a human responds to what you have in mind as you do
the moral reasoning of females and males will become more similar it. You can train a dog to go to the hallway and bring back an umbrella,
as more women organize their lives around the workplace. which is handy on a rainy day. But because the dog doesn’t under-
CHECK YOUR LEARNING According to Gilligan, how do boys stand intention, if the dog cannot find the umbrella, it is incapable of
and girls differ in their approach to understanding right and wrong? the human response: to look for a raincoat instead.
Fifth, Mead explained that understanding intention requires imag-
George Herbert Mead’s Theory ining the situation from the other’s point of view. Using symbols, we
imagine ourselves “in another person’s shoes” and see ourselves as
of the Social Self that person does. We can therefore anticipate how others will respond
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) developed the theory of social to us even before we act. A simple toss of a ball requires stepping out-
behaviorism to explain how social experience develops an individual’s side ourselves to imagine how another will catch our throw. All social
personality (1962, orig. 1934). interaction involves seeing ourselves as others see us—a process that
Mead termed taking the role of the other.
The Self
Mead’s central concept is the self, the part of an individual’s person- The Looking-Glass Self
ality composed of self-awareness and self-image. Mead’s genius was in As we interact with others, the people around us become a mirror
seeing the self as the product of social experience. (an object that people used to call a “looking glass”) in which we can
First, said Mead, the self is not there at birth; it develops. The self see ourselves. What we think of ourselves, then, depends on how we
is not part of the body, and it does not exist at birth. Mead rejected think others see us. For example, if we think others see us as clever,
the idea that personality is guided by biological drives (as Freud we will think of ourselves in the same way. But if we feel they think
asserted) or biological maturation (as Piaget claimed). of us as clumsy, then that is how we will see ourselves. Charles Hor-

Socialization CHAPTER 5 107

 The self is able no one one other in many others in many others in
simultaneously to (no ability to take one situation one situation many situations
take the role of: the role of the other)

recognizing the
when: engaging in imitation engaging in play engaging in games generalized other

FIGURE 5–1 Building on Social Experience

George Herbert Mead described the development of the self as a process of gaining social experience. That is, the self
develops as we expand our capacity to take the role of the other.

ton Cooley (1864–1929) used the phrase looking-glass self to mean Development of the Self
a self-image based on how we think others see us (1964, orig. 1902). According to Mead, the key to developing the self is learning to take the
The I and the Me role of the other. Because of their limited social experience, infants can
do this only through imitation. They mimic behavior without under-
Mead’s sixth point is that by taking the role of the other, we become self-
standing underlying intentions, and so at this point, they have no self.
aware. Another way of saying this is that the self has two parts. One part
As children learn to use language and other symbols, the self emerges
of the self operates as the subject, being active and spontaneous. Mead
in the form of play. Play involves assuming roles modeled on significant
called the active side of the self the “I” (the subjective form of the per-
others, people, such as parents, who have special importance for
sonal pronoun). The other part of the self works as an object, that is,
socialization. Playing “mommy and daddy” is an important activity that
the way we imagine others see us. Mead called the objective side of the
helps young children imagine the world from a parent’s point of view.
self the “me” (the objective form of the personal pronoun). All social
Gradually, children learn to take the roles of several others at
experience has both components: We initiate an action (the I-phase,
once. This skill lets them move from simple play (say, playing catch)
or subject side, of self), and then we continue the action based on how
with one other to complex games (such as baseball) involving many
others respond to us (the me-phase, or object side, of self).
others. By about age seven, most children have the social experience
needed to engage in team sports.
Figure 5–1 charts the progression from imitation to play to games.
But there is a final stage in the development of the self. A game involves
taking the role of specific people in just one situation. Everyday life
demands that we see ourselves in terms of cultural norms as any mem-
ber of our society might. Mead used the term generalized other to
refer to widespread cultural norms and values we use as references in
evaluating ourselves.
As life goes on, the self continues to change along with our social
experiences. But no matter how much the world shapes us, we always
remain creative beings, able to react to the world around us. Thus,
Mead concluded, we play a key role in our own socialization.
Evaluate Mead’s work explores the character of social expe-
rience itself. In the symbolic interaction of human beings, he believed
he had found the root of both self and society.
Mead’s view is completely social, allowing no biological element
at all. This is a problem for critics who stand with Freud (who said our
general drives are rooted in the body) and Piaget (whose stages of
development are tied to biological maturity).
Be careful not to confuse Mead’s concepts of the I and the me with
Freud’s id and superego. For Freud, the id originates in our biology,
but Mead rejected any biological element of the self (although he
never clearly spelled out the origin of the I). In addition, the id and the
George Herbert Mead wrote, “No hard-and-fast line can be drawn between superego are locked in continual combat, but the I and the me work
our own selves and the selves of others.” The artwork Manyness by Rimma cooperatively together (Meltzer, 1978).
Gerlovina and Valeriy Gerlovin conveys this important truth. Although we tend
to think of ourselves as unique individuals, each person’s characteristics CHECK YOUR LEARNING Explain the meaning and importance of
develop in an ongoing process of interaction with others. Mead’s concepts of the I and the me. What did Mead mean by “taking
Rimma Gerlovina and Valeriy Gerlovin, Manyness, 1990. © the artists, New City, N.Y. the role of the other”? Why is this process so important to socialization?

108 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

Erik H. Erikson’s Eight Stages in other cultures and in other times in history would define a suc-
cessful life in Erikson’s terms.
of Development In sum, Erikson’s model points out that many factors, including the
Although some analysts (including Freud) point to childhood as family and school, shape our personalities. In the next section, we
the crucial time when personality takes shape, Erik H. Erikson take a close look at these important agents of socialization.
(1902–1994) took a broader view of socialization. He explained that
we face challenges throughout the life course (1963, orig. 1950). C H E C K Y O U R L E A R N I N G In what ways does Erikson take a
broader view of socialization than other thinkers presented in this
Stage 1: Infancy—the challenge of trust (versus mistrust). chapter?
Between birth and about eighteen months, infants face the first
of life’s challenges: to establish a sense of trust that their world
is a safe place. Family members play a key part in how any Agents of Socialization
infant meets this challenge.
Analyze
Stage 2: Toddlerhood—the challenge of autonomy (versus
doubt and shame). The next challenge, up to age three, is to Every social experience we have affects us in at least a small way. How-
learn skills to cope with the world in a confident way. Failing to ever, several familiar settings have special importance in the socializa-
gain self-control leads children to doubt their abilities. tion process. These include the family, school, peer group, and the
Stage 3: Preschool—the challenge of initiative (versus guilt). mass media.
Four- and five-year-olds must learn to engage their surround-
ings—including people outside the family—or experience
guilt at failing to meet the expectations of parents and others.
Stage 4: Preadolescence—the challenge of industriousness
(versus inferiority). Between ages six and thirteen, children
enter school, make friends, and strike out on their own more
and more. They either feel proud of their accomplishments or
fear that they do not measure up.
Stage 5: Adolescence—the challenge of gaining identity
(versus confusion). During the teen years, young people
struggle to establish their own identity. In part, teenagers
identify with others, but they also want to be unique. Almost
all teens experience some confusion as they struggle to
establish an identity.
Stage 6: Young adulthood—the challenge of intimacy (versus
isolation). The challenge for young adults is to form and
maintain intimate relationships with others. Falling in love (as
well as making close friends) involves balancing the need to
bond with the need to have a separate identity.
Stage 7: Middle adulthood—the challenge of making a differ-
ence (versus self-absorption). The challenge of middle age is
contributing to the lives of others in the family, at work, and in
the larger world. Failing at this, people become self-centered,
caught up in their own limited concerns.
Stage 8: Old age—the challenge of integrity (versus
despair). As the end of life approaches, people hope to look
back on what they have accomplished with a sense of integrity
and satisfaction. For those who have been self-absorbed, old
age brings only a sense of despair over missed opportunities.

Evaluate Erikson’s theory views personality formation as a Sociological research indicates that wealthy parents tend to encourage
lifelong process, with success at one stage (say, as an infant gaining creativity in their children while poor parents tend to foster conformity.
trust) preparing us to meet the next challenge. However, not every- Although this general difference may be valid, parents at all class levels can
and do provide loving support and guidance by simply involving themselves in
one faces these challenges in the exact order presented by Erikson.
their children’s lives. Henry Ossawa Tanner’s painting The Banjo Lesson
Nor is it clear that failure to meet the challenge of one stage of life
stands as a lasting testament to this process.
means that a person is doomed to fail later on. A broader question, Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Banjo Lesson, 1893. Oil on canvas. Hampton University Museum,
raised earlier in our discussion of Piaget’s ideas, is whether people Hampton, Virginia.

Socialization CHAPTER 5 109

 Alejo Gonzalez, a native of Los Angeles, considers Emily Johnston attends school
himself white, African American, and Latino. in Herkimer County in upstate
New York, where almost all of
her classmates are white.
WASHINGTON

MONTANA VERMONT MAINE

NORTH MINNESOTA
DAKOTA
OREGON
MICHIGAN
NEW HAMPSHIRE
HAM
IDAHO WISCONSIN NEW
NEW MASSACHUSETTS
MASSAC
SOUTH
DAKOTA YORK
YORK
WYOMING
RHODE ISLAND
IS
CONNECTICUT
CONNECT
IOWA PENNSYLVANIA
NEVADA NEBRASKA NEW JERSEY
OHIO
INDIANA
COLORADO D.C. DELAWARE
UTAH ILLINOIS WEST
VIRGINIA MARYLAND
KANSAS
VIRGINIA
MISSOURI KENTUCKY
NORTH
CAROLINA
TENNESSEE
CALIFORNIA ARIZONA OKLAHOMA ARKANSAS
NEW SOUTH Number of People
MEXICO CAROLINA
GEORGIA
Indicating Two or
ALABAMA More Races
TEXAS
MISSISSIPPI 50,000 to 469,800
ALASKA
10,000 to 49,999
LOUISIANA
FLORIDA 5,000 to 9,999
HAWAII 1,000 to 4,999
100 to 999
0 to 99

Seeing Ourselves
NATIONAL MAP 5–1 Racially Mixed People across the United States
This map shows, for 2010, the county-by-county distribution of people who described themselves as racially mixed.
How do you think growing up in an area with a high level of racially mixed people (such as Los Angeles or Miami) would be
different from growing up in an area with few such people (for example, in upstate New York or the Plains States in the
middle of the country)?

Explore the percentage of racially mixed people in your local community and in counties across the
United States on [Link]
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2010).

The Family Race and Class

The family affects socialization in many ways. For most people, Through the family, parents give a social identity to children. In part,
in fact, the family may be the most important socialization agent social identity involves race. Racial identity can be complex because,
of all. as Chapter 14 (“Race and Ethnicity”) explains, societies define race in
various ways. In addition, in 2010, more than 7.5 million people
Nurture in Early Childhood (2.4 percent) said they consider themselves to be of two or more racial
Infants are totally dependent on others for care. The responsibility for categories. This number was 1.4 percent back in 2000, so it is rising.
providing a safe and caring environment typically falls on parents and The figure is certain to continue to go up, as an even larger share
other family members. For several years—at least until children begin (about 4 percent) of all births in the United States are now recorded
school—the family also has the job of teaching children skills, values, as interracial (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). National Map 5–1 shows
and beliefs. Overall, research suggests, nothing is more likely to produce where people who describe themselves as racially mixed live.
a happy, well-adjusted child than a loving family (Gibbs, 2001). Social class, like race, plays a large part in shaping a child’s per-
Not all family learning results from intentional teaching by par- sonality. Whether born into families of high or low social position,
ents. Children also learn from the type of environment adults create children gradually come to realize that their family’s social stand-
for them. Whether children learn to see themselves as strong or weak, ing affects how others see them and, in time, how they come to see
smart or stupid, loved or simply tolerated—and as Erik Erikson sug- themselves.
gests, whether they see the world as trustworthy or dangerous— In addition, research shows that class position affects not just
depends largely on the quality of the surroundings provided by how much money parents have to spend on their children but also
parents and other caregivers. what parents expect of them (Ellison, Bartkowski, & Segal, 1996).

110 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

 Sociology Are We Grown Up Yet? Defining Adulthood
in Focus
Solly: (seeing several friends walking down the job, gaining the ability to support a family financially,
dorm hallway, just returned from dinner) Yo, guys! no longer living with parents, and finally, marrying
Jeremy’s twenty-one today. We’re going down to and becoming a parent. In other words, almost
the Box Car to celebrate. everyone in the United States thinks a person who
Matt: (shaking his head) Dunno, dude. I got a lab has done all of these things is fully “grown up.”
to finish up. It’s just another birthday. At what age are these transitions likely to be
Solly: Not just any birthday, my friend. He’s twenty- completed? On average, the answer is about
one—an adult! twenty-six. But such an average masks an impor-
tant difference based on social class. People who
Matt: (sarcastically) If turning twenty-one would
do not attend college (more commonly among
make me an adult, I wouldn’t still be clueless about
people growing up in lower-income families) typi-
what I want to do with my life!
cally finish school before age twenty, and a full-

A
re you an adult or still an adolescent? Does time job, independent living, marriage, and
turning twenty-one make you a “grown-up”? parenthood may follow in a year or two. Those
According to the sociologist Tom Smith from more privileged backgrounds are likely to
(2003), in our society, there is no one factor that attend college and may even go on to graduate
announces the onset of adulthood. In fact, the or professional school, delaying the process of
results of his survey—using a representative sam- becoming an adult for as long as ten years, past
ple of 1,398 people over the age of eighteen—sug- the age of thirty.
gest that many factors play a part in our decision to
consider a young person “grown up.” Join the Blog!
According to the survey, the single most impor- Do you consider yourself an adult? At what age
tant transition in claiming adult standing in the United do you think adulthood begins? Why? Go to
States today is the completion of schooling. But MySocLab and join the Sociology in Focus blog
other factors are also important: Smith’s respon- What significance does graduating from college to share your opinions and experiences and to
dents linked adult standing to taking on a full-time have in the process of becoming an adult? see what others think.

When people in the United States were asked to pick from a list of growing up in low-income families—build cultural capital, which
traits that are desirable in a child, parents of all social class back- advances learning and creates a sense of confidence in these children
grounds claim that they want their child to be “popular.” But almost that they will succeed later in life (Lareau, 2002; NORC, 2011).
60 percent of parents from the lower class point to “obedience” as a Social class also affects how long the process of growing up takes,
key trait in a child, compared to only about 40 percent of parents in as the Sociology in Focus box explains.
the upper class. By contrast, well-to-do parents are more likely than
low-income parents to praise children who can “think for themselves”
(NORC, 2011). The School
What accounts for the difference? Melvin Kohn (1977) explains Schooling enlarges children’s social world to include people with
that people of lower social standing usually have limited education backgrounds different from their own. It is only as they encounter
and perform routine jobs under close supervision. Expecting that people who differ from themselves that children come to under-
their children will hold similar positions, they encourage obedience stand the importance of factors such as race and social position. As
and may even use physical punishment like spanking to get it. Because they do, they are likely to cluster in playgroups made up of one class,
well-off parents have had more schooling, they usually have jobs that race, and gender.
demand independence, imagination, and creativity, so they try to
inspire the same qualities in their children. Consciously or not, all Gender
parents act in ways that encourage their children to follow in their Schools join with families in socializing children into gender roles.
footsteps. Studies show that at school, boys engage in more physical activities
Wealthier parents are more likely to push their children to and spend more time outdoors, and girls are more likely to help teach-
achieve, and they also typically provide their daughters and sons with ers with various housekeeping chores. Boys also engage in more
an extensive program of leisure activities, including sports, travel, and aggressive behavior in the classroom, while girls are typically quieter
music lessons. These enrichment activities—far less available to children and better behaved (Best, 1983; Jordan & Cowan, 1995).

Socialization CHAPTER 5 111

 In high-income countries In low-income countries offer the chance to discuss interests that adults may not share with
such as the United States, such as Nigeria, the mass their children (such as clothing and popular music) or permit (such
television is an important media play a smaller role as drugs and sex).
part of socialization. in socialization.
It is not surprising, then, that parents often express concern
100 99 99 98 about who their children’s friends are. In a rapidly changing society,
93 peer groups have great influence, and the attitudes of young and
90 89
old may differ because of a “generation gap.” The importance of
80
Percentage of Households

peer groups typically peaks during adolescence, when young people

70
begin to break away from their families and think of themselves as
with Television

60 56 adults.
50 Even during adolescence, however, parental influence on chil-
40 dren remains strong. Peers may affect short-term interests such as
30 music or films, but parents have greater influence on long-term goals,
25
such as going to college (Davies & Kandel, 1981).
20
Finally, any neighborhood or school is made up of many peer
10
groups. As Chapter 7 (“Groups and Organizations”) explains, indi-
0
viduals tend to view their own group in positive terms and put
down other groups. In addition, people are influenced by peer
o

a
ina ublic
an

tes
a

eri
xic
nad

sta
Jap

Sta

groups they would like to join, a process sociologists call

Nig
Me

i
of 's Rep

Pak
Ca

ited

anticipatory socialization, learning that helps a person achieve a

Ch
Un

le
p

desired position. In school, for example, young people may copy the
Peo

styles and slang of a group they hope will accept them. Later in life,
Global Snapshot a young lawyer who hopes to become a partner in the law firm may
conform to the attitudes and behavior of the firm’s partners in
FIGURE 5–2 Television Ownership in Global Perspective
order to be accepted.
Television is popular in high- and middle-income countries, where almost every
household owns at least one TV set.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2010); World Bank (2010).
The Mass Media
August 30, Isle of Coll, off the west coast of Scotland. The
last time we visited this remote island, there was no electricity and
most of the people spoke the ancient Gaelic language. Now that a power
What Children Learn cable comes from the mainland, homes have lights, appliances, televi-
Schooling is not the same for children living in rich and poor com- sion, and the Internet! Almost with the flip of a switch, this tiny place
munities. As Chapter 20 (“Education”) explains, children from well- has been thrust into the modern world. It is no surprise that the island’s
off families typically have a far better experience in school than those traditions are fast disappearing, with few performances of its histori-
whose families are poor. cal dancing or music to be found. A rising share of the population now
For all children, the lessons learned in school include more consists of mainlanders who ferry over with their cars to spend time in
than the formal lesson plans. Schools also informally teach many their vacation homes. And everyone now speaks English.
things, which together might be called the hidden curriculum. Activ-
ities such as spelling bees teach children not only how to spell words The mass media are the means for delivering impersonal commu-
but also how society divides the population into “winners” and nications to a vast audience. The term media (plural of medium) comes
“losers.” Organized sports help students develop their strength and from the Latin word for “middle,” suggesting that media connect peo-
skills and also teach children important life lessons in cooperation ple. Mass media arise as communications technology (first newspapers
and competition. and then radio, television, films, and the Internet) spreads informa-
For most children, school is also the first experience with bureau- tion on a massive scale.
cracy. The school day is based on impersonal rules and a strict time In the United States today, the mass media have an enormous
schedule. Not surprisingly, these are also the traits of the large organ- influence on our attitudes and behavior. Television, introduced in the
izations that will employ young people later in life. 1930s, became the dominant medium after World War II, and 98 per-
cent of U.S. households now have at least one set (by comparison,
just 95 percent have telephones). Five out of six households also have
The Peer Group cable or satellite television. As Figure 5–2 shows, the United States
By the time they enter school, children have joined a peer group, a has one of the highest rates of television ownership in the world. In
social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in this country, it is people with lower incomes who spend the most time
common. Unlike the family and the school, the peer group lets chil- watching TV as well as using their television to watch movies and to
dren escape the direct supervision of adults. Among their peers, chil- play video games (Nielsen Media Research, 2008; U.S. Census Bureau,
dren learn how to form relationships on their own. Peer groups also 2010).

112 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

The Extent of Mass Media Exposure are fairly conservative on many issues (Adkins & Washburn, 2007). In
Just how “glued to the tube” are we? Survey data show that the aver- addition, some television cable channels (such as MSNBC) have a
age household has at least one television set turned on for eight hours decidedly liberal point of view, while others (such as Fox Network) are
each day and that people spend more than half their free time watch- more conservative.
ing television. One study, by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found One study of the 2008 presidential election found that the Demo-
that, compared to adults, school-age youngsters typically spend cratic candidate Barack Obama was endorsed by almost three times
even more time—about seven and a half hours each day—watching as many U.S. newspapers as Republican candidate John McCain
television or playing video games. The extent of daily television view- (“Ongoing Tally,” 2008). At the same time, research suggests that a
ing is greater for African American children (averaging almost six wide range of political opinion is available in today’s mass media and
hours) and Hispanic children (almost five and a half hours) than for that most of us tend to focus on those media sources, whether more
white children (about three and a half hours). liberal or more conservative, that are closer to our own personal opin-
About two-thirds of U.S. children report that the television is ions (Morris, 2007).
typically on during meals, and more than 70 percent claim that par-
ents do not limit the amount of time they spend in front of the screen. Television and Violence
Younger children favor watching television and playing video games; In 1996, the American Medical Association issued the startling state-
as children get older, music videos and Web surfing become a bigger ment that violence in television and films had reached such a high
part of the mix. At all ages, boys favor video games and girls lean level that it posed a hazard to our health. More recently, a study found
toward music videos (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010; U.S. Census a strong link between aggressive behavior and the amount of time
Bureau, 2010; Nielsen Media Research, 2011). elementary school children spend watching television and playing
Years before children learn to read, television watching is a reg- video games (Robinson et al., 2001). The public is concerned about
ular part of their daily routine. As they grow, children spend as many this issue: Three-fourths of U.S. adults report having walked out of a
hours in front of a television as they do in school or interacting with movie or turned off the television because of too much violence.
their parents. This is the case despite research suggesting that tele- About two-thirds of parents say that they are “very concerned” that
vision makes children more passive and less likely to use their imag- their children are exposed to too much media violence. There may
ination. Researchers explain that most television is not itself harmful be reason for this concern: Almost two-thirds of television programs
to children; however, watching television prevents children from contain violence, and in most such scenes, violent characters show
engaging in other activities—especially interacting with other chil- no remorse and are not punished (B. J. Wilson, 1998; Rideout, 2007).
dren and adults—which is vital to social and mental development Back in 1997, the television industry adopted a rating system.
(American Psychological Association, 1993; Fellman, 1995; Shute, But we are left to wonder whether watching sexual or violent pro-
2010). gramming harms people as much as critics say. More important,

Television and Politics

The comedian Fred Allen once quipped that we
call television a “medium” because it is “rarely well
done.” For a number of reasons, television (as well
as other mass media) provokes plenty of criticism.
Some liberal critics argue that for most of televi-
sion’s history, racial and ethnic minorities have
not been visible or have been included only in
stereotypical roles (such as African Americans
playing butlers and maids, Asian Americans play-
ing gardeners, or Hispanics playing new immi-
grants). In recent years, however, minorities have
moved closer to center stage on television. There
are ten times as many Hispanic actors on prime-
time television as there were in the 1970s, and they
play a far larger range of characters (Lichter &
Amundson, 1997; Fetto, 2003b).
On the other side of the fence, conservative
critics charge that the television and film industries
are dominated by a liberal “cultural elite.” In recent
years, they claim, “politically correct” media have Concern with violence and the mass media extends to the world of video games, especially
advanced liberal causes, including feminism and gay those popular with young boys. Among the most controversial games, which include high
rights (Rothman, Powers, & Rothman, 1993; B. levels of violence, is “Call of Duty.” Do you think the current rating codes are sufficient to guide
Goldberg, 2002). But not everyone agrees, with parents and children who buy video games, or would you support greater restrictions on game
some studies suggesting that the mainstream media content?

Socialization CHAPTER 5 113

 Nine-year-old Claire Lodel lives in Ten-year-old Hashi Baako
Butte, Montana, where neither she nor lives in Somalia, where he
any of her friends works for income. works almost 30 hours per
Greenland
(Den.) Area of inset week herding cattle.
U.S.
RUSSIA
CANADA

GEORGIA KAZAKHSTAN MONGOLIA

UZBEKISTAN
NORTH
UNITED ARMENIA
TURKMENISTAN
KYRGYZSTAN
KOREA
AZERBAIJAN TAJIKISTAN
STATES CHINA SOUTH
TUNISIA LEBANON SYRIA
IRAN AFGHANISTAN KOREA JAPAN
ISRAEL IRAQ
MOROCCO West Bank KUWAIT BHUTAN
30° JORDAN
PAKISTAN NEPAL 30°
ALGERIA LIBYA BAHRAIN Hong
BAHAMAS QATAR
DOM. REP.
Western Sahara EGYPT SAUDI Kong
U.S. BELIZE Puerto Rico (U.S.) (Mor.) ARABIA
U.A.E. INDIA MYANMAR Taiwan
MEXICO CUBA ST. KITTS & NEVIS OMAN
(BURMA) Macao
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA MAURITANIA MALI LAOS
BANGLADESH
JAMAICA HAITI DOMINICA
CAPE NIGER ERITREA YEMEN
ST. LUCIA
VERDE
SENEGAL THAILAND PHILIPPINES
GUATEMALA BARBADOS CHAD VIETNAM
GRENADA
ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES GAMBIA
BURKINA
FASO
SUDAN DJIBOUTI
EL SALVADOR NIGERIA MARSHALL
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO GUINEA-BISSAU CAMBODIA
HONDURAS VENEZUELA GHANA ETHIOPIA ISLANDS
GUYANA GUINEA CENT. PALAU
NICARAGUA French Guiana SIERRA LEONE BENIN
AFR. REP. SRI BRUNEI FEDERATED STATES
COSTA RICA OF MICRONESIA
COLOMBIA (Fr.) LIBERIA TOGO CAM.
UGANDA
SOMALIA MALDIVES LANKA MALAYSIA
PANAMA CÔTE D’IVOIRE EQ. GUINEA RWANDA Singapore
0° KENYA 0°
ECUADOR SURINAME SAO TOME & PRINCIPE GABON NAURU
DEM. REP. KIRIBATI
OF THE BURUNDI
REP. OF THE CONGO
CONGO TANZANIA COMOROS
I N D O N E S I A PAPUA SOLOMON

PERU
BRAZIL TIMOR-LESTE
NEW GUINEA ISLANDS TUVALU

ANGOLA SEYCHELLES
SAMOA MALAWI
ZAMBIA VANUATU FIJI
BOLIVIA MADAGASCAR
ZIMBABWE
NAMIBIA MAURITIUS
TONGA BOTSWANA New
PARAGUAY Caledonia
150° 120° CHILE MOZAMBIQUE AUSTRALIA (Fr.)
SWAZILAND
30° SOUTH 30°
LESOTHO
AFRICA
URUGUAY
20° 0° 20° 40° ARGENTINA NEW
0 500 Km ZEALAND

EUROPE

ICELAND SWEDEN
NORWAY FINLAND
90° 60° 30° 0° 30° 60° 90° 120° 150°
60° ESTONIA Percentage of Children Ages
LATVIA
RUSSIA 7 to 14 in the Labor Force
DENMARK
UNITED LITHUANIA
KINGDOM
IRELAND NETH. POLAND
BELARUS
A N TA R C T I C A 25.0% or more
BEL. GERMANY
LUX.
CZECH
REP. SLVK.
UKRAINE 15.0% to 24.9%
AUS. MOLDOVA
SWITZ. HUNG.
ROMANIA
5.0% to 14.9%
FRANCE SLO.
SERBIA
CROATIA
BOS. & HERZ.
BULGARIA
Fewer than 5.0%
MONT.
KOS. MAC.
ITALY ALB.
40° SPAIN GREECE
PORTUGAL TURKEY

MALTA CYPRUS

Window on the World

GLOBAL MAP 5–1 Child Labor in Global Perspective
Because industrialization extends childhood and discourages children from working and other activities considered suit-
able only for adults, child labor is uncommon in the United States and other high-income countries. In less economically
developed nations of the world, however, children are a vital economic asset, and they typically begin working as soon as
they are able. How would childhood in, say, the African nation of Chad or Sudan differ from that in the United States or
Canada?
Sources: UNICEF (2010) and World Bank (2010).

why do the mass media contain so much sex and violence in the Beyond family, school, peer group, and the media, other spheres of
first place? life also play a part in social learning. For most people in the United
Television and the other mass media enrich our lives with enter- States, these include the workplace, religious organizations, the mili-
taining and educational programming. The media also increase our tary, and social clubs. In the end, socialization proves to be not just a
exposure to diverse cultures and provoke discussion of current issues. simple matter of learning but a complex balancing act as we absorb
At the same time, the power of the media—especially television—to information from a variety of sources. In the process of sorting and
shape how we think remains highly controversial. weighing all the information we receive, we form our own distinctive
personalities.
Evaluate This section shows that socialization is complex,
with many different factors shaping our personalities as we grow. In CHECK YOUR LEARNING Identify all the major agents of socializa-
addition, these factors do not always work together. For instance, tion discussed in this section of the chapter. What are some of the
children learn certain things from peer groups and the mass media unique ways that each of these helps us develop our individual
that may conflict with what they learn at home. personalities?

114 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

Socialization and the Life Course adolescence emerged as a buffer between childhood and adulthood.
We generally link adolescence, or the teenage years, with emotional
Apply and social turmoil as young people struggle to develop their own
identities. Again, we are tempted to attribute teenage rebelliousness
Although childhood has special importance in the socialization and confusion to the biological changes of puberty. But it is in fact
process, learning continues throughout our lives. An overview of the the result of cultural inconsistency. For example, the mass media glo-
life course reveals that our society organizes human experience rify sex and schools hand out condoms, even as parents urge restraint.
according to age—childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Consider, too, that an eighteen-year-old may face the adult duty of
going to war but lacks the adult right to drink a beer. In short, ado-
lescence is a time of social contradictions, when people are no longer
Childhood
children but not yet adults.
A few years ago, the Nike Corporation, maker of popular athletic As is true of all stages of life, adolescence varies according to social
shoes, came under attack. Its shoes are made in Taiwan and Indone- background. Most young people from working-class families move
sia, in many cases by children who work in factories instead of going directly from high school into the adult world of work and parenting.
to school. About 200 million of the world’s children work, with 60 Wealthier teens, however, have the resources to attend college and per-
percent of working children doing farming. Half of the world’s work- haps graduate school, stretching their adolescent years into the late
ing children are in Asia, while another one-fourth are in Africa. About twenties and even the thirties (T. W. Smith, 2003). The Thinking About
half of them labor full time, and one-third of these boys and girls Diversity box on page 116 provides an example of how race and eth-
do work that is dangerous to their physical and mental health. For nicity can shape the academic performance of high school students.
their efforts, they earn very little—typically, about 50 cents an hour
(Human Rights Watch, 2006; International Labor Organization, Adulthood
2010; Thrupkaew, 2010; U.S. Department of Labor, 2010). Global
Map 5–1 shows that child labor is most common in Africa and Asia. If stages of the life course were based on biological changes, it would
Criticism of Nike springs from the fact that most North Ameri- be easy to define adulthood. Regardless of exactly when it begins,
cans think of childhood—roughly the first twelve years of life—as a adulthood is the time when most of life’s accomplishments take place,
carefree time for learning and play. Yet as the historian Philippe Ariès including pursuing a career and raising a family. Personalities are
(1965) explains, the whole idea of “childhood” is fairly new. During largely formed by then, although marked changes in a person’s
the Middle Ages, children of four or five were treated like adults and environment—such as unemployment, divorce, or serious illness—
expected to fend for themselves. may cause significant changes to the self.
We defend our idea of childhood because children are biologically Early Adulthood
immature. But a look back in time and around the world shows that
During early adulthood—until about age forty—young adults learn
the concept of childhood is grounded not in biology but in culture
to manage day-to-day affairs for themselves, often juggling conflicting
(LaRossa & Reitzes, 2001). In rich countries, not everyone has to work,
so childhood can be extended to allow time for young people to learn
the skills they will need in a high-technology workplace.
Because childhood in the United States lasts such a long
time, some people worry when children seem to be growing
up too fast. In part, this “hurried child” syndrome results from
changes in the family—including high divorce rates and both
parents in the labor force—that leave children with less super-
vision. In addition, “adult” programming on television
(not to mention in films and on the Internet) carries
grown-up concerns such as sex, drugs, and violence into
young people’s lives. Today’s ten- to twelve-year-olds,
says one executive of a children’s television channel,
have about the same interests and experiences typ-
ical of twelve- to fourteen-year-olds a genera-
tion ago. Perhaps this is why today’s children,
compared to kids fifty years ago, have higher
levels of stress and anxiety (K. S. Hymowitz,
1998; Gorman, 2000; Hoffman, 2010).

In recent decades, some people have become concerned that U.S. society is shortening childhood, pushing
Adolescence children to grow up faster and faster. In the television show Pretty Little Liars, this young woman in high school
At the same time that industrialization cre- is having an affair with her teacher. Do television programs and films like this contribute to a “hurried child
ated childhood as a distinct stage of life, syndrome”? Do you see this as a problem or not? Why?

Socialization CHAPTER 5 115

 Thinking About Diversity: The Development of Self
Race, Class, and Gender among High School Students

A
dolescence is a time when people ask panics are headed for manual occupations—as gar- gives them little chance to find out that their beliefs
questions like “Who am I?” and “What do I deners or laborers—they are seen as not caring very are wrong.
want to become?” In the end, we all have to much about doing well. Finally, Asian American stu- Students of all racial and ethnic categories say
answer these questions for ourselves. But race and dents are seen as hardworking high achievers, either they want to do well in school. But not getting to
ethnicity are likely to have an effect on what our because they are smart or because they spend their know those who differ from themselves means that
answers turn out to be. time on academics rather than, say, sports. they measure success only in relation to their own
Grace Kao (2000) studied the identity and goals From her interviews, Kao learned that most stu- category. To African American students, in other
of students enrolled in Johnstown High School, a dents think these stereotypes are true and take words, “success” means doing as well as other
large (3,000-student) school in a Chicago suburb. them personally. They expect people, including black students and not flunking out. To Hispanics,
Johnstown High is considered a good school with themselves, to perform in school more or less the “success” means avoiding manual labor and end-
above-average test scores. It is also racially and way the stereotype predicts. In addition, young ing up with any job in an office. Whites and Asians,
ethnically diverse: 47 percent of the students are people—whether white, black, Hispanic, or Asian— by contrast, define “success” as earning high
white, 43 percent are African American, 7 percent mostly hang out with others like themselves, which grades and living up to the high-achievement
are Hispanic, and 3 percent are of Asian descent. stereotype. For all these young people, then, “self”
Kao interviewed sixty-three Johnstown stu- develops through the lens of how race and ethnic-
dents, female and male, both individually and in ity are defined by our society.
small groups with others of the same race and eth-
nicity. Talking with them, she learned how impor- What Do You Think?
tant racial and ethnic stereotypes are in young
1. Were you aware of racial and ethnic
people’s developing sense of self.
stereotypes similar to those described
What are these stereotypes? White
here in your high school? What about
students are seen as hardworking in
your college?
school and concerned about getting
high grades. African American students 2. Do you think that gender stereotypes
are thought to study less, either affect the performance of women and
because they are not as smart or men in school as much as racial and
because they just don’t try as hard. In ethnic stereotypes? Explain.
any case, students see African Ameri- 3. What can be done to reduce the dam-
cans at high risk of failure in school. aging effects of racial and ethnic
Because the stereotype says that His- stereotypes?

priorities: schooling, job, partner, children, and parents. During this number of women in middle adulthood return to school and seek
stage of life, many women try to “do it all,” a pattern that reflects the new careers.
fact that our culture gives them the major responsibility for child For everyone, growing older means experiencing physical
rearing and housework even if they have demanding jobs outside the decline, a prospect our culture makes especially challenging for
home. women. Because good looks are considered more important for
women, the appearance of wrinkles and graying hair can be trau-
Middle Adulthood matic. Men have their own particular difficulties as they get older.
In middle adulthood—roughly ages forty to sixty-five—people sense Some must admit that they are never going to reach earlier career
that their life circumstances are pretty well set. They also become goals. Others realize that the price of career success has been neg-
more aware of the fragility of health, which the young typically take lect of family or personal health.
for granted. Women who have spent many years raising a family
find middle adulthood emotionally trying. Children grow up and Old Age
require less attention, and husbands become absorbed in their Old age—the later years of adulthood and the final stage of life itself—
careers, leaving some women with spaces in their lives that are dif- begins around the mid-sixties. In the United States, about one in eight
ficult to fill. Many women who divorce also face serious financial people is at least age sixty-five, and the elderly now outnumber
problems (Weitzman, 1985, 1996). For all these reasons, an increasing teenagers (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).

116 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

 Once again, societies attach different meanings to this stage of orderly transition involving five distinct stages. Typically, a person
life. As explained in Chapter 15 (“Aging and the Elderly”), it is older first faces death with denial, perhaps out of fear and perhaps
members of traditional societies who typically control most of the because our culture tends to ignore the reality of death. The second
land and other wealth. Also, since traditional societies change slowly, phase is anger, when a person facing death sees it as a gross injus-
older people possess useful wisdom gained over their lifetime, which tice. Third, anger gives way to negotiation as the person imagines the
earns them much respect. possibility of avoiding death by striking a bargain with God. The
In industrial societies, however, most younger people work and fourth response, resignation, is often accompanied by psychologi-
live apart from their parents, becoming independent of their elders. cal depression. Finally, a complete adjustment to death requires
Rapid change also gives our society a “youth orientation” that defines acceptance. At this point, no longer paralyzed by fear and anxiety,
the young as more “hip” and “with it,” and what is old as unimpor- the person whose life is ending sets out to find peace and makes
tant or even obsolete. To younger people, the elderly may seem out of the most of whatever time remains.
touch with new trends and fashions, and their knowledge and expe- More recent research has shown that Kübler-Ross simplified the
rience may seem of little value. process of dying—not everyone passes through these stages or does
Perhaps this anti-elderly bias will decline as the share of older so in the order in which she presents them (Konigsberg, 2011). At the
people in the United States steadily increases. The percentage of the same time, this research has helped draw attention to death and dying.
U.S. population over age sixty-five has more than tripled in the past As the share of women and men in old age increases, we can expect
hundred years. With life expectancy still increasing, most men and our culture to become more comfortable with the idea of death. In
women in their mid-sixties today (the “young elderly”) can look recent years, people in the United States have started talking about
forward to living decades longer. Analysts predict that by 2030, the death more openly, and the trend is toward viewing dying as prefer-
number of seniors will double to 72 million, and the “average” per- able to prolonged suffering. More married couples now prepare for
son in the United States will be close to forty (U.S. Census Bureau, death with legal and financial planning. This openness may ease some-
2010). what the pain of the surviving spouse, a consideration for women,
Old age differs in an important way from earlier stages in the who, more often than not, outlive their husbands.
life course. Growing up typically means entering new roles and tak-
ing on new responsibilities, but growing old is the opposite expe- The Life Course: Patterns and Variations
rience—leaving roles that provided both satisfaction and social
identity. For some people, retirement is a period of restful activity, This brief look at the life course points to two major conclusions.
but for others, it can mean losing valued routines and even out- First, although each stage of life is linked to the biological process
right boredom. Like any life transition, retirement demands learn- of aging, the life course is largely a social construction. For this rea-
ing new patterns while at the same son, people in other societies may experience a stage of life quite
time letting go of habits from the differently or, for that matter, not at all. Second, in any society, the
past. stages of the life course present certain problems and transitions
that involve learning something new and, in many cases, unlearn-
Death and Dying ing familiar routines.
Societies organize the life course according to age, but other
Throughout most of human his- forces, such as class, race, ethnicity, and gender, also shape people’s
tory, low living standards and lim- lives. This means that the general patterns described in this chapter
ited medical technology meant apply somewhat differently to various categories
that death from accident or dis- of people.
ease could come at any stage of People’s life experiences also vary,
life. Today, however, 84 percent depending on when, in the history of
of people in the United States the society, they were born. A cohort
die after age fifty-five (Xu et al., is a category of people with something
2010). in common, usually their age.
After observing many peo- Because members of a particular
ple as they were dying, the psy- age cohort are generally influenced
chiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross by the same economic and cultural
(1969) described death as an trends, they tend to have similar
attitudes and values. Women and
men born in the 1940s and 1950s, for
A cohort is a category of similar-age
example, grew up during a time of
people who share common life
economic expansion that gave them
experiences. Just as audiences at
Rolling Stones concerts in the 1960s
a sense of optimism. Today’s college
were mainly young people, so many of students, who have grown up in an
the group’s fans today are the same age of economic uncertainty, are
people, now over age sixty. less confident about the future.

Socialization CHAPTER 5 117

Resocialization: Total Institutions fences, barred windows, and locked doors and limit their access to
the telephone, mail, and visitors. The institution becomes their entire
Apply world, making it easier for the staff to bring about personality
change—or at least obedience—in the inmate.
A final type of socialization, experienced by about 2.5 million peo- Resocialization is a two-part process. First, the staff breaks down
ple in the United States, involves being confined—usually against the new inmate’s existing identity. For example, an inmate must give
their will—in prisons or mental hospitals (U.S. Department of Jus- up personal possessions, including clothing and grooming articles
tice, 2010; U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, 2011). This is used to maintain a distinctive appearance. Instead, the staff provides
the world of the total institution, a setting in which people are iso- standard-issue clothes so that everyone looks alike. The staff sub-
lated from the rest of society and manipulated by an administrative jects new inmates to “mortifications of self,” which can include
staff. searches, head shaving, medical examinations, fingerprinting, and
According to Erving Goffman (1961), total institutions have three assignment of a serial number. Once inside the walls, individuals
important characteristics. First, staff members supervise all aspects also give up their privacy as guards routinely inspect their living
of daily life, including when and where residents (often called quarters.
“inmates”) eat, sleep, and work. Second, life in a total institution is In the second part of the resocialization process, the staff tries
controlled and standardized, with the same food, uniforms, and activ- to build a new self in the inmate through a system of rewards and
ities for everyone. Third, formal rules dictate when, where, and how punishments. Having a book to read, watching television, or making
inmates perform their daily routines. a telephone call may seem like minor pleasures to the outsider, but in
The purpose of such rigid routines is resocialization, radically the rigid environment of the total institution, gaining such simple
changing an inmate’s personality by carefully controlling the environ- privileges as these can be a powerful motivation to conform. The
ment. Prisons and mental hospitals physically isolate inmates behind length of confinement typically depends on how well the inmate coop-
erates with the staff.
Total institutions affect people in
different ways. Some inmates
may end up “rehabilitated”
or “recovered,” but others
may change little, and still
others may become hos-
tile and bitter. Over a long
period of time, living in a
rigidly controlled envi-
ronment can leave some
people institutionalized,
without the capacity for
independent living.
But what about the
rest of us? Does socializa-
tion crush our individuality
or empower us to reach our
creative potential? The Contro-
Prisons are one example of a total institution in which inmates dress alike and carry out daily routines under the direct
versy & Debate box takes a
supervision and control of institutional staff. What do we expect prison to do to young people convicted of crimes? How
well do you think prisons do what people expect them to?
closer look at this question.

118 CHAPTER 5 Socialization

Controversy
Are We Free within Society?
& Debate

Mike: Sociology is a really interesting course. back minorities, including women. A more con- from the revolutionary acts that led to its founding,
Since my professor started telling us how to look servative response is that, yes, society does shape is one story after another of people pursuing per-
at the world with a sociological eye, I’m realizing our lives but we should also realize that we can sonal goals despite great odds.
that a lot of who I am and where I am is because remain free all the same because, first, to the All of these arguments can be found in George
of society. extent that we believe in our way of life, society Herbert Mead’s analysis of socialization. Mead
Kim: (teasingly) Oh, so society is responsible for does not seem oppressive. Second, even when knew that society makes demands on us, some-
you turning out so smart and witty and good-look- we run up against social barriers that we do not times limiting our options. But he also saw that
ing? accept, we remain free because society can never human beings are spontaneous and creative,
dictate our dreams. Our history as a nation, right capable of continually acting on society both with
Mike: No, that’s all me. But I’m seeing that being at
acceptance and with efforts to bring about
college and playing football is maybe not all
change. Mead noted the power of society
me. I mean, it’s at least also about social
while still affirming the human capacity to
class and gender. What people are and the
evaluate, criticize, and ultimately choose and
society around them can never be completely
change.
separated.

T
In the end, then, we may seem like pup-
his chapter stresses one key theme:
pets, but this impression is correct only on the
Society shapes how we think, feel, and
surface. A crucial difference is that we have the
act. If this is so, then in what sense are
ability to stop, look up at the “strings” that
we free? To answer this important question,
make us move, decide what we think about
consider the Muppets, puppet stars of televi-
them, and even yank on the strings defiantly
sion and film that many of us remember from
(Berger, 1963:176). If our pull is strong enough,
childhood. Watching the antics of Kermit the
we can accomplish more than we might think.
Frog, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the troupe,
As Margaret Mead once remarked, “Never
we almost believe they are real rather than
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, com-
objects controlled from backstage or below.
mitted citizens can change the world. Indeed,
As the sociological perspective points out,
it is the only thing that ever has.”
human beings are like puppets in that we, too,
respond to backstage forces. Society, after all,
What Do You Think?
gives us a culture and also shapes our lives
according to class, race, and gender. If this is 1. Do you think that our society gives more
so, can we really claim to be free? freedom to males than to females? Why
Sociologists answer this question with or why not?
many voices. The politically liberal response 2. Do you think that most people in our soci-
is that individuals are not free of society—in ety feel that they have some control over
fact, as social creatures, we never could be. their lives or not? Why?
But if we have to live in a society with power 3. Has learning about socialization increased
over us, then it is important to do what we or decreased your feeling of freedom?
can to make our world more socially just. We Why?
can do this by trying to lessen inequality, Does understanding more about how society shapes our
working to reduce class differences and to lives give us greater power to “cut the strings” and choose
eliminate barriers to opportunity that hold for ourselves how to live?

Socialization CHAPTER 5 119

Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life
CHAPTER 5 Socialization

When do we grow up and become adults?

As this chapter explains, many factors come into play in the process of moving from
one stage of the life course to another. In global perspective, what makes our society
unusual is that there is no one event that clearly tells everyone (and us, too) that the
milestone of adulthood has been reached. We have important events that say, for exam-
ple, when someone completes high school (graduation ceremony) or becomes married
(wedding ceremony). Look at the photos shown here. In each case, what do we learn
about how the society defines the transition from one stage of life to another?

Hint Societies differ in how they structure the life course, including Among the Hamer people in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia,
which stages of life are defined as important, what years of life various young boys must undergo a test to mark their transition to
stages correspond to, and how clearly movement from one stage to another manhood. Usually the event is triggered by the boy’s
is marked. Given our cultural emphasis on individual choice and expressing a desire to marry. In this ritual, witnessed by
freedom, many people tend to say “You’re only as old as you everyone in his society, the boy must jump over a line of
feel” and let people decide these things for themselves. bulls selected by the girl’s family. If he succeeds in doing
When it comes to reaching adulthood, our society is this three times, he is declared a man and the wedding
not very clear—the box on page 111 points out can take place (marking the girl’s transition to
many factors that figure into becoming an womanhood). Does our society have any ceremony or
adult. So there is no widespread “adult ritual” as event similar to this to mark the transition to
we see in these photos. Keep in mind that, for us,
adulthood?
class matters a lot in this process, with young people
from more affluent families staying in school and delay-
ing full adulthood until well into their twenties or even
their thirties. Finally, in these tough economic times, the
share of young people in their twenties living with parents
goes way up, which can delay adulthood for an entire
cohort.

120