SOCI 205 1nd Edition Lecture 11 Outline of Last Lecture I. SocializationII. Limits of socializationIII. CooleyIV. MeadeV. EriksonOutline of Current Lecture II. Agents of socializationIII. Statuses and RolesIV. Gender rolesV. Social construction of realityCurrent LectureAgents of Socialization- Families, schools, peers, the media, and total institutions are all important socializing agents or environments- Total institution—an institution in which one is totally immersed and that controls all thebasics of day-to-day lifeo Boarding schools, colleges, monasteries, army, prisons- Families as agents of socz’no Considered most important because it is the primary unito Strongest influence during primary yearso First place we learn values and attitudeso Can be a two way street: as parents teach values, morals, etc., children teach their parents about new technology- Education as agent of socz’no Teaches knowledge, sharing, taking turns, resolving conflicto Socializes children into adoption of ‘core’ cultural valueso Further assimilation of children from different social backgrounds- Peers as agents of socz’no People generally of the same age that share similar interests and social backgroundo Adolescents spend a great deal of their time in the company of peersThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o Can reinforce messages taught in the home, or contradict themo Conformity is generally expected- Media as agents of socz’no Increasingly important agent of socializationo It is pervasive 98% of households have a television 2.4 televisions per householdso Media constructs and reinforces beliefs about societyStatuses and Roles- Role theory provides a way to describe social interaction- A status is a position in society that comes with a set of expectationso Ascribed status—one we are born with that is unlikely to changeo Achieved status—a status into which one enters; voluntary status earned throughindividual efforto Master status—a status that seems to override all others and affects all other statuses that one possesses- Roles are the behaviors expected from a particular statuso Role conflict—occurs when the roles associated with one status clash with the roles associated with a different statuso Role strain—occurs when roles associated with a single status clash Either of these may lead to role exitGender Roles- Set of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as male or femaleo The social world interacts with boys and girls very differently and consequently socialize them into different rolesSocial Construction of Reality- People give meaning or value to ideas or objects through social interaction- It’s an ongoing process that is embedded in our everyday interactions- Symbolic interactionism—a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions- Dramaturgical theory—the view of social life as essentially a theatrical performance, in which we are all actors on a metaphorical stage with roles, scripts, costumes, and sets.- Because our reality is socially constructed, an unexpected change in that reality can be upsetting, frustrating, or incomprehensible- We all have a stake in maintaining consensus on shared meanings so that our society cancontinue to function