Agents of Socialization

peer group

By the time they enter school, children have discovered the peer group, a social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in common. Unlike the family and the school, the peer group lets children escape the direct supervision of adults. Among their peers, children learn how to form relationships on their own. Peer groups also offer the chance to discuss interests that adults may not share with their children (such as clothing and popular music) or permit (such as drugs and sex). It is not surprising, then, that parents often express concern about who their children's friends are. In a rapidly changing society, peer groups have great influence, and the attitudes of young and old may differ because of a "generation gap." The importance of peer groups typically peaks during adolescence, when young people begin to break away from their families and think of themselves as adults. Even during adolescence, however, parental influence on children remains strong. Peers may affect short-term interests such as music or films, but parents have greater influence on long-term goals, such as going to college (Davies & Kandel, 1981). Finally, any neighborhood or school is made up of many peer groups. As Chapter 7 ("Groups and Organizations") explains, individuals tend to view their own group in positive terms and put down other groups. In addition, people are influenced by peer groups they would like to join, a process sociologists call anticipatory socialization, learning that helps a person achieve a desired position. In school, for example, young people may copy the styles and slang of a group they hope will accept them. Later in life, a young lawyer who hopes to become a partner in the law firm may conform to the attitudes and behavior of the firm's partners in order to be accepted.

evaluate

Evaluate This section shows that socialization is complex, with many different factors shaping our personalities as we grow. In addition, these factors do not always work together. For instance, children learn certain things from peer groups and the mass media that may conflict with what they learn at home. Beyond family, school, peer group, and the media, other spheres of life also play a part in social learning. For most people in the United States, these include the workplace, religious organizations, the military, and social clubs. In the end, socialization proves to be not just a simple matter of learning but a complex balancing act as we absorb information from a variety of sources. In the process of sorting and weighing all the information we receive, we form our own distinctive personalities.

Analyze how the family, school, peer groups, and the mass media guide the socialization process.

Every social experience we have affects us in at least a small way. However, several familiar settings have special importance in the socialization process. These include the family, school, peer group, and the mass media.

mass media: television and violence

In 1996, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued the startling statement that violence in television and films had reached such a high level that it posed a hazard to our health. Surveys confirm that three-fourths of U.S. adults say they have either walked out of a movie or turned off television because of too much violence. Almost two-thirds of television programs contain violence, and in most such scenes, characters engaging in violence show no remorse and are not punished (Rideout, 2007). Public concern about violence in the mass media is especially high when it comes to children. About two-thirds of parents say that they are "very concerned" that their children are exposed to too much media violence. Research has found a correlation between the amount of time school children spend watching television and using video games and aggressive behavior such as fighting, the early use of alcohol and other illegal drugs, and even trouble sleeping. In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a recommendation that children's television time be limited to two hours a day, and that parents not permit children under the age of two to watch television at all (Robinson et al., 2001; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011; Garrison, et al, 2011). Back in 1997, the television industry adopted a rating system for programming. In addition, televisions manufactured after 2000 have a "V-chip" that allows parents to block programming that they do not wish their children to watch. But we are left to wonder whether watching sexual or violent programming is itself the cause of harm to young people or whether, for example, children who receive little attention from parents or who suffer from other risk factors end up watching more television. In any case, we might well ask why the mass media contain so much sex and violence in the first place. Television and the other mass media enrich our lives with entertaining and educational programming. The media also increase our exposure to diverse cultures and provoke discussion of current issues. At the same time, the power of the media—especially television—to shape how we think remains highly controversial.

The family: Nurture In Early Childhood

Infants are totally dependent on others for care. The responsibility for providing a safe and caring environment typically falls on parents and other family members. For several years—at least until children begin school—the family also has the job of teaching children skills, values, and beliefs. Overall, research suggests, nothing is more likely to produce a happy, well-adjusted child than a loving family (Gibbs, 2001). Not all family learning results from intentional teaching by parents. Children also learn from the type of environment adults create for them. Whether children learn to see themselves as strong or weak, smart or stupid, loved or simply tolerated—and as Erik Erikson suggests, whether they see the world as trustworthy or dangerous—depends largely on the quality of the surroundings provided by parents and other caregivers.

Mass Media:The extent of mass media

Just how "glued to the tube" are we? Survey data show that the average household has at least one television set turned on for eight hours each day and that people spend more than half their free time watching television. One study, by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that compared to adults, who average about five hours a day, school-age youngsters typically spend even more time—about seven and a half hours each day—watching television or playing video games. African American children spend slightly more time watching television than Hispanic children and both categories spend considerably more time watching TV than white children do. About two-thirds of U.S. children report that the television is typically on during meals, and more than 70 percent claim that parents do not limit the amount of time they spend in front of the screen. Younger children favor watching television and playing video games; as children get older, music videos and web surfing become a bigger part of the mix. At all ages, boys favor video games and girls lean toward music videos (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010; Nielsen Media Research, 2012; TVB, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). In today's society, years before children learn to read, television watching is a part of their daily routine. As they grow, children spend as many hours in front of a television as they do in school or interacting with their parents. This extensive television viewing shows no signs of change despite the fact that, according to research, the more children watch television the slower their cognitive development, the more passive they become, the less they use their imagination, and the higher their risk of obesity. It is not that television is directly harmful to children; rather, extensive television takes time away from interaction with parents and peers, as well as exercise and other activities that are more likely to promote development and good health (American Psychological Association, 1993; Fellman, 1995; Shute, 2010).

The School: What children learn

Schooling is not the same for children living in rich and poor communities. As Chapter 20 ("Education") explains, children from well-off families typically have a far better experience in school than those whose families are poor. What children learn in school goes beyond the formally planned lessons. Schools also informally teach many things, which together might be called the hidden curriculum. Activities such as spelling bees teach children not only how to spell words but also how society divides the population into "winners" and "losers." Organized sports help students develop their strength and skills and also teach children important life lessons in cooperation and competition. For most children, school is also the first experience with bureaucracy. The school day is based on impersonal rules and a strict time schedule. Not surprisingly, these are also the traits of the large organizations that will employ young people later in life.

The School: Gender

Schools join with families in socializing children into gender roles. Studies show that at school, boys engage in more physical activities and spend more time outdoors, and girls are more likely to help teachers with various housekeeping chores. Boys also engage in more aggressive behavior in the classroom, while girls are typically quieter and better behaved (Best, 1983; Jordan & Cowan, 1995).

Mass Media: Television and Politics

The comedian Fred Allen once quipped that we call television a "medium" because it is "rarely well done." For a number of reasons, television (as well as other mass media) provokes plenty of criticism. Some liberal critics argue that for most of television's history, racial and ethnic minorities have not been visible or have been included only in stereotypical roles (such as African Americans playing butlers and maids, Asian Americans playing gardeners, or Hispanics playing new immigrants). In recent years, however, minorities have moved closer to center stage on television. There are ten times as many Hispanic actors on prime-time television as there were in the 1970s, and they play a far larger range of characters (Lichter & Amundson, 1997; Fetto, 2003b). From another perspective, conservative critics charge that the television and film industries are dominated by a liberal "cultural elite." In recent years, they claim, "politically correct" media have advanced liberal causes, including feminism and gay rights (Rothman, Powers, & Rothman, 1993; Goldberg, 2002). But not everyone agrees, and some counter that the popularity of Fox News, home to Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and other conservative commentators, suggests that television programming offers "spin" from both sides of the political spectrum (Rothman, Powers, & Rothman, 1993; B. Goldberg, 2002; Pew Center for People and the Press, 2012). One study of the 2008 presidential election found that the Democratic candidate Barack Obama was endorsed by almost three times as many U.S. newspapers as Republican candidate John McCain ("Ongoing Tally," 2008). In 2012, of the 100 U.S. newspapers with the largest circulation, Barack Obama was endorsed by forty-one newspapers; Republican Mitt Romney was endorsed by thirty-five newspapers, while the remaining twenty-four did not make a clear endorsement of one or the other candidate (Peters & Woolley, 2012). So there appears to be some basis for the claim that, overall, the print media lean in a liberal direction. But research also suggests that a wide range of political opinion is available in all of today's mass media. In addition, while most people claim to want the news presented "without a point of view," a majority of people focus on those media sources, whether more liberal or more conservative, that provide news and analysis that are closer to their own personal opinions (Pew Research Center, 2012).

The family: Race & Class

Through the family, parents give a social identity to children. In part, social identity involves race. Racial identity can be complex because, as Chapter 14 ("Race and Ethnicity") explains, societies define race in various ways. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that, in 2011, 8.7 million people or 2.8 percent of the nation's population considered themselves to be of two or more racial categories. This share is twice the figure of 1.4 percent that was reported back in 2000. The share is certain to keep going up because about 6 percent of all births in the United States are now recorded as interracial (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). National Map 5-1 on page 137 shows where people who describe themselves as racially mixed live. Social class, like race, plays a large part in shaping a child's personality. Whether born into families of high or low social position, children gradually come to realize that their family's social standing affects how others see them and, in time, how they come to see themselves. In addition, research shows that class position affects not just how much money parents have to spend on their children but also what parents expect of them (Ellison, Bartkowski, & Segal, 1996). Parents of all social class backgrounds want their children to be successful and to make a difference in the world. But when asked to pick from a list of traits that are desirable in a child, lower-class parents are far more likely than upper-class parents to point to "obedience" as a key trait in a child. By contrast, wellto-do parents are more likely than low-income parents to praise children who can "think for themselves" (NORC, 2013). What accounts for the difference? Melvin Kohn (1977) explains that people of lower social standing usually have limited education and perform routine jobs under close supervision. Expecting that their children will hold similar positions, they encourage obedience and may even use physical punishment like spanking to get it. Because welloff parents have had more schooling, they usually have jobs that demand independence, imagination, and creativity, so they try to inspire the same qualities in their children. Consciously or not, all parents act in ways that encourage their children to follow in their footsteps. Wealthier parents are more likely to push their children to achieve, and they also typically provide their daughters and sons with an extensive program of leisure activities, including sports, travel, and music lessons. These enrichment activities—far less available to children growing up in lowincome families—build cultural capital, which advances learning and creates a sense of confidence in these children that they will succeed later in life (Lareau, 2002; NORC, 2013). Social class also affects how long the process of growing up takes, as the Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life box on page 138 explains.

The peer group takes on great importance during

adolescence

The peer group frees young people from adult

adult supervision

The average U.S. child spends as much time watching television and videos as

attending school and interacting with parents

Family has the greatest impact on

attitudes and behavior

The peer group helps shape

attitudes and behavior

Schools give most children their first experience with

bureaucracy and impersonal evaluation

Ideas about gender are learned first in the

family

Why is the family so important to the socialization process? d. All of the above are correct.

find answer

Schools reinforce ideas about

gender

The mass media often reinforce stereotypes about

gender and race

Schools teach knowledge and skills needed for

later life

The mass media have a huge impact on socialization in

modern, high-income societies

A family's social position, including race and social class, shapes a child's

personality

Schools expose children to greater

social diversity

The family is usually the first setting of

socialization

The mass media expose people to a great deal of

violence