copy; Copyright 2010 Alan S. Berger.ppt

? Copyright 2010 Alan S. Berger * Socialization What happens in socialization is that the social world is internalized within the child. The same process, though perhaps weaker in quality, occurs every time the adult is initiated into a new social context or a new social group. Society, then, is not only something “out there,” in the Durkheimian sense, but it is also “in here,” part of our innermost being. Peter L. Berger, Invitation to Sociology ? Copyright 2010 Alan S. Berger * Socialization: The Key to Our Humanity and personality Socialization is the lifelong social experience by which individuals develop their human potential and learn culture. Social experience is also the foundation for the personality, a person’s fairly consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. ? Copyright 2010 Alan S. Berger * Socialization: The Key to Our Humanity and personality ? In the nineteenth century there was an intense debate regarding the relative importance of nature (biology) and nurture (socialization) in the shaping of human behavior. Modern sociologists view nurture as much more important than nature in shaping human behavior. ? Studies of twins (including identical twins) shows that socialization and heredity both contribute to human development ?The Nature vs Nurture debate continues ? Copyright 2010 Alan S. Berger * Socialization: The Key to Our Humanity and personality Research on the effects of social isolation has demonstrated the importance of socialization. All the evidence points to the crucial role in social development in forming personality. Harry and Margaret Harlow’s experimental work with rhesus monkeys. Studies of isolated children such as Anna, Isabelle, and Genie ? Copyright 2010 Alan S. Berger * Creating a sense of self : Cooley The Self and Socialization The formation of the self – the set of concepts we use in defining who we are – is a central part of the socialization process. The self emerges in the course of interaction wit