Understanding Culture, Society and Politics Reviewer

Lesson 5—Socialization Process and Self-Making

 Socialization is a process where someone interacts socially, to acquire knowledge and beliefs
that will help him integrate with society. It is important because it molds people to become
social beings and to be integrated to society. It also ensures the continuity of culture.
 Agents of socialization is our source of learning to become social beings.
o Family is the most important agent. It gives us our social standing, primarily our
economic standing (are you born poor or rich?—Ian). And when everyone is gone,
our family is our wailing wall.
o School is a formal agent that teaches and develops cognitive skills to help us in our
future forays into the workplace. It is our first experience in a systematic institution.
o Peer group is an agent that influences our behavior and values. It is an informal type
of socialization that is responsible for molding self-identity and helps us gain
independence from our parents.
o Mass media is a one-way process. It has no feedback mechanism, unlike social media
which has one. It affects how we perceive situations and events around us.
o Religion gives us guidance on appropriate behavior. It is a very good source of
individual direction based on the idea of morality.
o Workplace is where we put what we learned in school into practice.
 In the span of human life, people undergo stages of socialization.
o Childhood is the first 12 years of life. Children view the world through the senses,
which is time for “playful innocence”. But not for all, children from the lower classes
can be exposed to responsibilities at an early age.
o Adolescence corresponds to our teen years. We question our identity, the roles and
norms we subscribe to. It is characterized by physical development and immaturity
o Adulthood is where maturity and rationality occur.
 Early adulthood covers from 20-40 years old. It is where personalities are
formed and we meet day to day responsibilities and goals in life. (Being
promoted, getting dream jobs)
 Middle adulthood ranged from 40-60 years old. It is where we question
ourselves if we reached the goals we’ve set for ourselves.
 Old age starts at 60 and is characterized by the transition from social roles to
retirement. From walking to talking.
 Socialization is a process of being human. Agency is our right to decide and to choose for
ourselves.
o Social determinism says that individuals have no choice but to follow certain factors
or causes that control their behavior. For example, poor people has no choice but to
work and work to feed their families.
o Wild children lack the skills to become a member of society.
 Acquiring a self
 o George Herbert Mead‘s symbolic interactionism says that the self is a product of
socialization and acquired through the use of symbolic gestures. Gestures are
behaviors displayed to respond to another being.
 Play stage is where we imitate other’s gestures. Game stage is where the child
begins to take consideration the various roles of other participants
simultaneously. Use the example of bahay-bahayan.
o Significant others are people to whom an individual is intimate with (family, friends
etc.) Generalized others are where we practice norms.
o The “me” self is what we place in the generalized others, because it is what we
learned from our interaction with the society. The “I” self responds to the attitude of
the community. Simply put, the “me” is our socially constructed identity, based on
folkways, mores, and expectations. The “I” self is our personal opinions and our
response to the generalized others. (Di ko magets to—Ian)
o In positioning theory, our identity is a product of our positioning within a discourse.
o Dramaturgy says that social interaction is like a performance, in which we present an
aspect of ourselves which is acceptable to others, and hide which is not. Components
include the setting (place and situation), backstage (true self), front stage (what we
show others), and audience (recipient of our actions)
 We often manage the impression we show to our audience.
 Our personal identity is molded by our social biography. We hold our status while we act the
roles.

S T A T US ROLES

Achieved (through hardwork). Set (many more roles than statuses, as

Ex.: doctor each status typically has multiples roles
attached)

Ascribed (passed on, through blood)

Ex.: monarchs
Master (overpowers the two above), often
shaping a person's life.
Ex.: nationality, occupation
Performance (expected behavior of people
who occupy the status)
Conflict (expectations from multiple roles)

Strain (difficulty performing the roles)

Exit (leaving roles)

•doubt, finding an alternative, departure, new
identity