2.2: How Do We Learn To Be Human Notes:

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOCIALIZATION:

• Primary socialization (mainly within the family) is the most important type of socialization and it takes place from birth to infancy 

• In early childhood, children learn the basics of interacting and the norms and values of the culture we live in (e.g.: how to eat properly)

• The main agencies of secondary socialization were discussed in the previous chapter which include schools, workplaces, etc.

• Each time a person faces a new situation, there are new roles that come with it that need to be learnt. In situations where the behavior needs to change a lot, re-socialization occurs such as joining the armed forces

• It is important to note that young children are not blank slates to be written on - they can reject some messages

THE MAIN AGENCIES OF SOCIALIZATION:

1. FAMILIES:

• Mothers are a crucial component of a child's development so their relationship is important for the child's behavior 

• Social class and the ethnicity of the family are an important aspect that reflect how the child is brought up

• Families continue to act as an agency of socialization from childhood through adulthood

2. EDUCATION:

• Children learn the formal curriculum along with the behavior expected from them

• In modern industrial societies, children attend nursery and preschools while in traditional, these tasks are carried out by the adult members of the family and community

3. PEER RELATIONSHIPS:

• Peer groups are made up by people of the same age and status

• In traditional societies, there are ceremonies done to mark the change from childhood to adulthood. This can bind the age group into a peer group and strongly influence the members' behavior

• Peer groups can occur from the ceremonies, in schools, and continue into adult life

4. THE MEDIA:

• The equivalent of media is oral storytelling tradition which have meanings for children to interpret and learn from

• Example: watching violent television programs such as WWE for a long time can influence the children's behavior and have a negative effect

5. RELIGION:

• Children learn moral values from going to mosques, churches, etc.

6. WORKPLACES:

• People learn how to please their employer as well as their colleagues

INADEQUATE SOCIALIZATION: FERAL AND ISOLATED CHILDREN:

• When socialization is incomplete or ineffective, this is known as inadequate socialization which causes them to be outcasts in society (e.g.: feral or "wild" children such as Mowgli in the Jungle Book)

• Most feral and isolated children:

1. Find it difficult to speak a language since it wasn't learned effectively during the crucial period of development

2. Find it hard to adapt to normal food (e.g.: they can prefer uncooked meat)

3. Do not like wearing conventional clothing

4. May not walk upright (can walk on all fours)

5. May seem uninterested or unable to react to other people

6. May not learn to use a toilet

• Feral children are proof that people are naturally social and in need of other people around us. Otherwise, we cannot develop normally

PROCESSES THROUGH WHICH CHILDREN LEARN SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS:

SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS: 

• Children from a very early age conform to social expectations through imitation (copying the behavior of others). The person they imitate is known as a role model (acting as an example to others)

• The behavior is reinforced by parents when sanctions are involved (good behavior = positive sanction e.g.: words of encouragement while bad behavior = negative sanction e.g.: looks of disappointment)

• Feminist sociologist Ann Oakley argued that children learn the social expectations that go with their sex roles in 4 main ways:

1. Manipulation: occurs when parents encourage and discourage certain activities based on the child's sex. For example, a boy may be encouraged to join martial arts while a girl could be discouraged for even thinking about it

2. Canalization: channeling children towards activities they believe is appropriate for their sex. For example, a boy would play soccer while a girl would play gymnastics and not the other way around

3. Verbal appellations: they are ways parents address their children. For example, a girl would be called beautiful and a boy would be called handsome (not the other way around)

4. Through different activities: they include different activities that boys and girls are involved in. For example, a girl would help her mom in the kitchen while a boy would help his dad in do-it-yourself tasks around the home (not the other way around)

• These ideas were significant in the 1970s. However, in the late 20th century, many parents tried to bring their children up without stereotypes. This would include reading books where the girl is adventurous and resourceful rather than being just the love interest. However, this was harder than expected because:

1. Gendered behavior is not just about how children are socialized. It can be in boys' nature to love wrestling and in girls' nature to love dress up

2. Children can learn conflicting expectations from other agencies such as their peer groups

3. The marketing of products is strongly gendered and this counters the parents' efforts of becoming gender neutral. For example, in clothing shops, there is always a boys and a girls section. 

HIDDEN CURRICULUM:

• The American Barrie Thorne is a feminist sociologist who wanted to upbring her son and daughter in a gender neutral environment but found it difficult due to their presence in school. In school, games such as boys vs girls teach them that their gender is important and then work out how they should behave with respect to their group

• Thus, gender is a hidden curriculum. This refers to how some of the most important things children learn in school are not a part of the formal curriculum. Another example of a hidden curriculum is to speak politely

THE NATURE VS NURTURE DEBATE: 

WHAT IS NATURE VS NURTURE? 

• Nature refers to the influence of biological factors on humans such as behavioral tendencies, genetics, personality, sexual orientation, etc. 

• Nurture refers to the influence of society and culture on human behavior such as parenting style (how one was brought up), education, cultural factors, etc.

• The debate simply includes two sides of people: one who sees that nature is what influences people's behavior more and the other that sees that nurture has a greater influence. Both sides are partly right however sociologists focus more on nurture since it appeals to sociologists

DETERMINISM:

• The positions of people in this debate are called determinists. Those who argue that nature is all important are biological determinists while others who argue that nurture is all important are social determinists

1. NATURE SIDE OF THE DEBATE:

• Sociobiologists argue that all social behaviors are directed by natural instincts or biological drives from the genes encoded in our cells (inherited)

• It is rejected by most sociologists

• Sociobiologists argue that humans evolve during natural selection to help during survival and this is why traits are likely to be passed down

• Some traits that could be biologically determined include:

1. Criminal behavior since there may be genetic predisposition 

2. Intelligence since there could be a genetic component to it

3. Sexual orientation since to determine whether someone is heterosexual, bisexual, etc., one looks at their genes

2. NURTURE SIDE OF THE DEBATE:

• Sociologists argue that while we do inherit tendencies, these do not determine how we behave due to socialization

WHY IS SOCIOBIOLOGY REJECTED BY MOST SOCIOLOGISTS?

• The existence of celibacy (practiced by Christian monks and nuns), monogamy, etc. show how we can suppress our biological drives

• Everyone has biological needs but how we satisfy them will depend on our culture

SEX AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE DEBATE:

• Anthropologist G.P Murdock argued that men and women had different roles due to their biological differences. Example: women were involved in childbearing while men had roles with greater physical strength

• Feminist Ann Oakley argued against him stating that some societies such as the Mbuti pygmies have no rules dividing labor and concludes that biological characteristics do not bar women from any roles

• Functionalist Talcott Parsons stated that a woman's role is expressive, meaning that it involves emotional warmth and provides love and understanding to the breadwinner (the husband). However, Ann Oakley accuses Parsons for basing his beliefs and values of his own culture and that his findings only exist as a convenience to men

• Males have a biological interest of producing as many offspring as possible and are less tolerant to infidelity while women have a need of choosing the right partner carefully

ROLE, AGE, GENDER, ETHNIC GROUP, AND CLASS INFLUENCES ON SOCIAL IDENTITY:

1. ROLE:

• Roles are based on our relationship with others. Example: One can be a teacher, a mother, a business owner, and an influencer. Each role makes up a part of one’s identity (how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them)

• Role conflicts (where role remands clash) can occur such as a woman who is both an employee and a mother.

• Sociologists are particularly interested in aspects of our identity that everyone has: age and age group as well as ethnic and gender identities

2. AGE AND IDENTITY:

• In traditional societies, people had no idea how old they were. It was more of a cycle than a number. For example, men were children, warriors, and then elders

• Industrial societies placed an emphasis on age in terms of years and responsibilities that come along with an age. Example: driver’s license at 16 years old

• Members of the same age group are known as a generation (usually every 25 years)

• Experiences between different generations can arise conflicts as a result of a generation gap 

• A birth cohort occurs when members of an age group share a common experience of growing up at the same point in history. Example: baby boom after WW2

• Adolescence (period from childhood to adulthood) is difficult since it involves status anxiety i.e. feeling pressure to achieve a status and can join a youth culture

3. GENDER AND IDENTITY:

• In traditional societies gender roles were fixed. However, anthropologist Margaret Mead found surprising variations in gender roles in New Guinea:

1. The Arapesh: men and women were peaceful

2. The Mundugamor: men and women were war-like

3. The Tchambuli: women worked while men stayed home and worked on their appearance

• This emphasizes the importance of nurture over nature

• Men who conform to the expected gender role of their society are masculine and women who conform to their expected gender role are feminine 

• Masculinity and femininity were thought of as opposites. Masculinity was thought of as strong while femininity was thought of as weak

• Patriarchy is embedded deeply in societies and women are represented as sexual objects

• Traits that became more acceptable for males that were seen as feminine include:

1. Showing emotion publicly such as crying

2. Taking care over their appearance

3. Talking about their relationships 

4. For fathers, having a close emotional bond with their babies or infants

ETHNICITY GROUP AND IDENTITY:

• Whenever different groups of people meet each other, they always make a distinction between themselves which led to racism

• More recently, cultural differences (language, religion, etc.) have become a greater source of tension

• Ethnicity is a social construct and their groups exist inly because people identify themselves and others as members of the group and reinforce boundaries between groups

• Due to migration, there has been a rise in ethnic diversity in modern industrial societies 

• Nationality became a more central part of many people's identities and nationalism developed in order to unite diverse people

• Creating a national identity is important when:

1. There are several sub-cultures/ethnic groups as the sense that the national identity should be stronger than the loyalty to the sub-culture

2. The national boundaries are artificial (they are not physical like rivers/mountains)

• States persuade people to accept a national identity using means such as:

1. National symbols (e.g.: flag)

2. A head of state (e.g.: king)

3. National anthems

4. National rituals such as parades

5. National sports team

6. Broadcasting and mass media

SOCIAL CLASS AND IDENTITY:

• It is difficult to know the distinction between social classes because there isn't a clear boundary

• There are 3 main classes: upper, middle, and working class where the:

1. Upper: has the ability to spend considerable amounts of money such as joining an exclusive club

2. Middle: they often try to show their class status through conspicuous consumption in the same way as the upper

3. Working: most are able to keep a positive attitude of life (despite what the media might say) regardless of how low their living and working conditions are

NOTES DONE BY FARIDA SABET

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