Section 3-Preview

During childhood and adolescence, the major agents of socialization are family, school, peer group, and mass media. The family’s role is critical in forming basic values. Schools introduce children to life beyond the family. In peer groups, young people learn to relate as equals. The mass media provide role models for full integration into society.

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 3-Polling Question

From the list below, what influences your life the most?

A. Parent or parents

B. School

C. Peer groups

D. Mass media

A B C D

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Section 3

The Family and Socialization

• A child’s first exposure to the world occurs within the family, which is the primary agent of childhood socialization.

• Within the family the child learns to think and speak; internalize norms, beliefs, and values; form basic attitudes; develop a capacity for intimate and personal relationships; and acquire a self-image.

Section 3

The Family and Socialization

• Families are generally the first agents of socialization to teach children the gender roles considered appropriate in the general society or in the family’s culture.

• Socialization varies by social class and may be a reflection of the values necessary for the type of jobs held by the parents, according to sociologist Melvin Kohn.

Johnny hadn’t been running the streets long when the knowledge was borne in on him that being a Rocco made him ‘something special’; the reputation of thenotorious Roccos, known to neighbors, schools, police,and welfare agencies as ‘chiselers, thieves, and trouble-makers,’ preceded him. The cop on the beat,Johnny says, always had some cynical smart crack to make. Certain homes were barred to him. Certain children were not permitted to play with him.Wherever he went—on the streets, in the neighborhood settlement house, at the welfareagency’s penny milk station, at school, where other Roccos had been before him, he recognized himself bya gesture, an oblique remark, a wrong laugh.“

—Jean Evans, “Johnny Rocco,”The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1948

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 3

From the list below, who are the most influential people in you life?

A. Parent or parents

B. Other relatives

C. Friends

D. Teachers

A B C D

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Section 3

Socialization in Schools

:• In school, many of a child’s relationships with other people are impersonal.

• In school, rewards and punishments are based on performance rather than affection.

Section 3

Socialization in Schools• The hidden curriculum is the

informal and unofficial aspects of culture that schools teach children in preparation for life.

• The hidden curriculum teaches children discipline, order, cooperation, and conformity—all characteristics required for success in the adult world of work.

Section 3

Socialization in Schools (cont.)

•Because they are separated from the adult world for such long periods of time, school teaches young people to depend on one another for much of their social life.

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 3

A B C D

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Which hidden curriculum influences you the most?

A. Discipline

B. Order

C. Cooperation

D. Conformity

Section 3

Peer Group Socialization

• A peer group is composed of individuals of roughly the same age and interests.

• A child’s peer group is the only agency of socialization that is not controlled primarily by adults.

• In peer groups, children experience conflict, competition, cooperation, and self-direction

Section 3

Peer Group Socialization

• The peer group also provides an opportunity for children to develop close ties with friends outside the family, including members of the opposite sex.

• Interacting with large numbers of diverse people helps children develop the social flexibility needed in a mobile, rapidly changing society.

A. A

B. B

Section 3

Do you think peers or family have more influence on children?

A. Peers

B. Family

A B

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Section 3

The Mass Media and Socialization

• Mass media are means of communication designed to reach the general population, such as television, newspapers and the radio.

Section 3

The Mass Media and Socialization (cont.)

• Positive effects:

– The display of role models

– The mass media provide children with such images and ideals as achievement and success, activity and work, equality and democracy.

Section 3

The Mass Media and Socialization (cont.)

• Negative effects:

– Exposure to violence

– can be used as vehicles for propaganda to influence behavior.

World View

Availability of Television

Source: The World Bank, 2005 World Development Indicators.

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

Section 3

Which is an example of mass media?

A. Television

B. Newspaper

C. Internet

D. All of the above

A B C D

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Section 3-Key Terms

• hidden curriculum

• peer group

• mass media

Vocab 12

hidden curriculum

the informal and unofficial aspects of culture that children are taught in school

Vocab 13

peer group

set of individuals of roughly the same age and interests

Vocab 14

mass media

means of communication designed to reach the general population