The Basics of Socialization
The process by which people learn their culture, including its norms, values, and symbols.
What is socialization?
Psychologists Harry and Margaret Harlow conducted experiments on social isolation using these animals.
What are rhesus monkeys?
Generally considered the first and most important agent of socialization in early childhood.
What is the family?
Erving Goffman's sociological theory that compares social interaction to a theater performance where people perform roles on stage.
What is dramaturgy?
The process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors to adapt to a new situation or environment.
What is resocialization?
Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, this organization adapted its badges over a century to teach girls independent life skills, STEM, and entrepreneurship.
What are the Girl Scouts?
Discovered at age six in a dark room with her mute mother, this isolated child made a full recovery to a normal speaking level after two years of intensive training.
Who is Isabelle?
Sociologist Melvin Kohn found that working-class parents tend to value obedience and authority, while middle-class parents tend to encourage this quality.
What is autonomy? (or independence/ creativity)
Charles Horton Cooley's concept that our self-image develops from how we imagine others view and judge us.
What is the looking-glass self?
Erving Goffman's term for an institution (such as a prison, military boot camp, or asylum) where people are cut off from broader society and strictly controlled.
What is a total institution?
This Korean first-birthday tradition involves placing objects in front of a baby to foretell their future career, wealth, or health.
What is the dol (doljabi)?
Kept in a small room on the second floor and fed only milk for six years, this child died of jaundice at age nine after reaching only the speech level of a two-year-old.
Who is Anna?
Unintended lessons taught in schools—such as punctuality, respect for authority, and competition—that prepare students to be "good citizens."
What is hidden curriculum?
George Herbert Mead argued that the self develops in three stages: the preparatory stage, the play stage, and this third stage.
What is the game stage?
The process by which adults practice and prepare for future social roles (such as parenthood or a new career) before officially taking them on.
What is anticipatory socialization?
The stable aspects of what and how an individual thinks, feels, and acts, which develop through unique social experiences and cultural encouragement.
What is personality?
Romanian orphans who were placed into this type of care before the age of two showed the most cognitive and motor recovery compared to those left in institutions.
What is foster care?
Messages and practices concerning the nature of a person's racial or ethnic status as it relates to identity and social hierarchy.
What is racial socialization?
According to Mead, this term refers to the internalized expectations, attitudes, and values of the wider society or social group.
What is the generalized other?
A ritual or ceremony that marks the transition from one stage of life to another, such as graduation or marriage.
What is a rite of passage?
The social and physical traits deemed important by society (such as class, race, and gender) that shape an individual's experiences and worldview.
What is social location?
The term used to describe children who have grown up with extreme human isolation or lack of human contact since birth.
What are feral children?
The famous 1940s psychological test using four dolls of different skin tones, conducted by Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark, was cited in this landmark Supreme Court case.
What is Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?
In Goffman's dramaturgical analysis, this area is where individuals drop their front, relax, and step out of their social roles.
What is the back stage?
The systematic study of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging.
What is social gerontology?