THE CONCEPT OF SOCIALIZATION

When we are born are we the "tabula-rasa," or blank slate of the mind, upon which experience writes?

James Flynn (author/researcher) studies IQ, a characteristic of humans widely agreed upon to be substantially influenced by our genes. He has noted that over the last four generations, particularly in the developing world, IQ scores have been increasing. To what do we attribute such change?

The Flynn effect "must be attributed to environmental factors because the gene pool cannot possibly have changed appreciably over the time period involved. The environmental effects are the result of the increase in the complexity of the modern world and of better nutrition and pre- and postnatal care" (Walsh and Ellis, 2007, p. 171).

Biology gives us a slate upon which some things are already written (we might call these "traits") but much of that slate remains to be written on and so we have a fascinating area in Sociology to study ---- Childhood Socialization and Socialization throughout the Life Course.

When homo-sapiens have experiences they learn from these and such experiences form a foundation from which to draw in future social interactions. We should always be aware that the new homo-sapien is not entering into a social vacuum. A culture is present that predated the new human and it will provide for him/her a language which, when learned, will open the cultural framework that will in turn surround and shape the individual.

It is through socialization and the learning of cultural values, norms, attitudes, and roles, that the homo-sapien becomes more human and less animal. Are you comfortable with thinking of babies as more animal than human?

Fundamental to a healthy start in the socialization process is development of attachment bonds (i.e., human relationships where meaningful interaction and emotional bonding develop between the significant other [the adult] and neophyte [the child]).

It is widely assumed that positive socialization experiences will lead to the development of a healthy personality/self and the individual's identification of him/herself as a distinct individual separate from other people and things.

The self however takes time and social experience to develop, as it is a product of many social interactions and the identification of statuses (i.e., culturally defined social positions that we occupy as we interact with others) with those interactions. Also, and perhaps most importantly, it takes experiences for young children to recognize that other people have a distinct self beyond that of teacher, pastor, mother or father, brother and sister.

Related to the emergence of the self are statuses. It is thought that through one's occupancy of a statuses, self-identity or social identity emerges (the total of all the statuses that define an individual). Self or social-identity will, by default, change over time since we move into and away from statuses throughout our lifetime. This movement brings us to and away from interactions with others and membership in particular social groups. Thus, THE SELF IS IN A CONTINUAL PROCESS OF BECOMING attributable to our interactions and the many self-identities we have.

What are some examples from your own childhood that helped shape your sense of self?

How can people whose self-images are excessively negative or inaccurate attempt to remedy these problems? How effective do you believe such efforts to be?

To understand human development, behavior and the emergence of self, we must address the various dimensions of self. It is widely acknowledged that following elements of self must develop early in a child's life:

Cognitive Development - how people think and understand the world around them.

Jean Piaget is particularly respected for his work in the area of cognitive development and he argued that this type of development through four stages was essential to the emergence of a person who can functional normally in society.

Moral Development - Every society has a moral order - a shared view of right and wrong. The process of socialization must include teaching people what the moral order particular to their society is and concern about what might happen to one if they violate the moral order.

Lawrence Kohlberg derived a three-level, six-stage model of moral development:

Kohlberg's model of moral development revolves around three levels and six stages (though the last stage was never empirically demonstrated).

Kohlberg assumed not everyone progresses through the stages of moral development. If an individual stops development at the early stages, their definitions of right and wrong are limited to what avoids punishment or what is in their best interests.

In sum, they have not developed a proper social conscience. Thus incomplete moral development produces criminal and other anti-social conduct.

Erik H. Erikson is one of the first to clearly conceptualize socialization as a life-long process and to impress upon our thinking important issues or "crises" of a biological, psychological, and sociological nature that must be addressed successfully at each life stage for the self to develop normally..

Erikson reasoned that "crises" were brought on "by two factors: biological changes in the developing individual and social expectations and stresses" that are socially constructed. Resolution of the conflict at these stages is important to a healthy life throughout the life-course.

Stage	Age Period	Characteristic to be achieved	Hazards to Achievement	An Illustrative Quote from Erikson
Trust vs. Mistrust	Infancy (Birth to 1 year	The child should develop trust in self, self urges, parents, and those in the immediate world.	Abuse, neglect, inconsistent or inappropriate love, early or harsh weaning.	"The infant's first social achievement, then, is his willingness to let the mother out sight without undue anxiety or rage, because she has become an inner certainty as well as an outer predictability" (Erikson, 1963:247). "[Parents] must not only have certain ways of guiding by prohibition and permission; they must also be able to represent to the child a deep, an almost somatic conviction that there is a meaning to what they are doing" (Erikson, 1963:249).
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt	1 to 4 years	The social environment encourages children to display autonomy and to see themselves as an individual separate from parental control. This must be done without creating self-doubt. Erikson (252) notes "[a]s his environment encourages him to 'stand on his own feet,' it must protect him against meaningless and arbitrary experiences of shame and of early doubt".	Denial of early experience or freedom, undue use of shame, growing self-doubt.	"This stage, therefore, becomes decisive for the ratio of love and hate, cooperation and willfulness, freedom and self-expression and its suppression. From a sense of self-control without loss of self-esteem comes a lasting sense of good will and pride; from a sense of loss of self-control and of foreign overcontrol comes a lasting propensity for doubt and shame" (254).
Initiative vs. Guilt	From 4-5 years	The child learns to direct their activities toward the purposeful control of and completion of many adult-like tasks. In sum, the child sees a future consequence in their activity.	Irrational discipline from adults and internalization of ethics unchallengeable given the child's level of cognitive develop- ment. In their desire to meet with social approval, children may be negatively sanctioned for their "exuberant enjoyment of new locomotor and mental power" (255).	"Yet, initiative is a necessary part of every act, and man needs a sense of initiative for whatever he learns and does, from fruit-gathering to a system of enterprise" (255). "And here we note that...the child is at no time more ready to learn quickly and avidly, to become bigger in the sense of sharing obligations and performance than during this period of his development" (258).
Industry vs. Inferiority	6 to onset of puberty	Development of a sense of industriousness and deriving pleasure from task completion and use of new tools. Industriousness is further enhanced by the child's ability to work with others and achieve status recognition from them.	A sense of inadequacy or inferiority stemming from a lack of skills necessary to complete tasks, excessive competition and failure to gain status recognition.	"He has experienced a sense of finality regarding the fact that there is no workable future within the womb of his family, and thus becomes ready to apply himself to given skills and tasks..." (259) "To bring a productive situation to completion is an aim which gradually supersedes the whims and wishes of play" (259) "Many a child's development is disrupted when family life has failed to prepare him for school life, or when school life fails to sustain the promises of earlier stages" (260)
Identity vs. Role Confusion	Adolescence	A sense of self identity developed from identification with one's abilities and aptitudes as well as personal confidence that one's past and present hold promise for the future.	The danger of this stage is a sense of role confusion stemming from a lack of role models. Exclusion from desired interactions with peers is also deleterious.	Youth are "concerned with what they appear to be in the eyes of others as compared with what they feel they are, and with the question of how to connect the roles and skills cultivated earlier with the occupational prototypes of the day" (261) The intolerance of some peers because of their dress, race, ethnicity, or social class is treated by Erikson as a "defense against a sense of identity confusion" (262).
Intimacy vs. Isolation	Young Adulthood	Sense of intimacy found in the ability to establish and maintain close personal relationships with others.	Developmental problems in the earlier stages make it difficult to establish such affirming and close relationships with others.	"...the young adult, emerging from the search for and the insistence on identity, is eager and willing to fuse his identity with that of others. He is ready...to commit himself to concrete affiliations and partnerships and to develop the ethical strength to abide by such commitments, even though they may call for significant sacrifices and compromises" (263).
Generativity vs. Stagnation	30s to 50s	Sense of productivity and creativity resulting from work and parenting activities.	Sense of stagnation produced by feeling inadequate as a parent, spouse, and/or worker
Integrity vs. Despair	Old Age	Sense of ego-integrity achieved by acceptance of the life one has lived.	Feelings of despair and dissatisfaction with one's role as a senior member of society

It has been my pleasure to be here today. Please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me if you have any questions about my discipline, what my colleagues and I do at the Department of Sociology at UNA. In fact, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or curiosity about attending UNA.