4.6 Conclusion
As we have seen in this chapter, who we are is closely tied to the societies we live in and to the groups which we belong to. Our identities and senses of self are not created in isolation, they are created through the process of interaction with other people. We may think of our identities and emotions as uniquely our own, but they are embedded in larger social patterns. How we learn to become human is influenced by our parents and families, peers, and the larger institutions of our society. While we may think the process of socialization ends once we become adults, it continues throughout our lifetimes. In later chapters, we will explore how people are socialized into their gender, class, and race. In the next chapter we will focus on how group level interactions, social networks, and organizations shape our lives.
4.6.1 Review of Learning Objectives
In this chapter we explored micro level sociology. We began by exploring various frameworks to understand how society influences our understanding of reality. We then turned to different theories of the self and how our social relationships can influence our emotions. We ended by discussing the influence of socialization on our lives, from a very young age into adulthood. This chapter points to how things that we assumed are individualistic are actually embedded in social relationships and larger social patterns.
4.6.2 Key Terms
Agents of socialization: individuals or institutions that are socializing someone.
Anticipatory socialization: preparation for future life roles.
Deep acting: an intentional, self-induced change in feeling.
Dramaturgy: framework for understanding social life as a form of theater.
Ethnomethodology: study of everyday folk methods, how we go about ordering our day-to-day lives.
Emotion work: process of suppressing or evoking emotions.
Game stage: stage of self development where children learn to consider several roles at the same time and how those roles interact with each other
Habitualization: repeated actions that form a pattern.
Identity salience: the subjective importance of the various roles or identities we hold.
Institutionalization: implanting a convention or norm into society.
Generalized other: the common behavioral expectations of general society.
Looking-glass self: theory that our self is developed based on what we think others think about us.
Play stage: stage of self development where children begin to take on the role of one other person.
Resocialization: process where people unlearn previous socialization, while being socialized by new individuals or institutions.
Roles: position containing a set of socially defined attributes and expectations that determine appropriate behavior for an individual or group based on their status in relation to other people or groups.
Self: a person’s distinct identity that is developed through social interaction.
Social Constructionism: framework that explains how the meaning of something is dependent on our social relationships.
Socialization: the lifelong process of an individual or group learning the expected norms and customs of a group or society through social interaction.
Surface acting: a change in body language, tone of voice, or facial expression but not a change in feeling.
Targets of socialization: the people that are being socialized.
Thomas Theorem: if people define something as real, it will have real consequences.
4.6.3 Discussion Questions
- Which theory of the self do you find most convincing? Why?
- If you were to analyze the image at the beginning of the chapter in terms of one of the sociological theories of the self, which one would you apply? What would the theory emphasize?
- How would you conduct a dramaturgical analysis of your college’s student center? Where are the front stages and backstages? What roles are people performing?
- When have you engaged in surface acting? Deep acting? What could be the long term consequences of having to continually engage in surface acting?
- What are examples from your life of socialization beyond childhood? What have your occupational socialization experiences been like? How formal were they?
4.6.4 Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
“Conclusion” by Matthew Gougherty is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
4.6.5 Chapter Bibliography
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